Nowadays, the Internet of Things (IOT), electronics, and neural interfaces are becoming an integral part of our life. These technologies place unprecedentedly high demands on materials in terms of their mechanical and electrical properties. There are several strategies for forming conductive layers in such composites, e.g., volume blending to achieve a percolation threshold, inkjet printing, lithography, and laser processing. The latter is a low-cost, environmentally friendly, scalable way to produce composites. In our work, we synthesized AgNW and characterized them using Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Selective area electron diffraction (SAED). We found that our AgNW absorbed in the UV-vis range of 345 to 410 nm. This is due to the plasmon resonance phenomenon of AgNW. Then, we applied the dispersion of AgNW on the surface of the polymer substrate, dried them and we got the films of AgNW.. We irradiated these films with a 432 nm laser. As a result of the treatment, we observed two processes. The first one was the sintering and partial melting of nanowires under the influence of laser radiation, as a consequence of which, the sheet resistance dropped more than twice. The second was the melting of the polymer at the interface and the subsequent integration of AgNW into the substrate. This allowed us to improve the adhesion from 0–1 B to 5 B, and to obtain a composite capable of bending, with radius of 0.5 mm. We also evaluated the shielding efficiency of the obtained composites. The shielding efficiency for 500–600 nm thick porous film samples were 40 dB, and for 3.1–4.1 µm porous films the shielding efficiency was about 85–90 dB in a frequency range of 0.01–40 GHz. The data obtained by us are the basis for producing flexible electronic components based on AgNW/PET composite for various applications using laser processing methods.

The modern pace of scientific and technological development dictates unprecedented requirements for the speed of information transfer. The THz range is considered one of the most promising and has been actively developing in recent years. Along with the need to develop transmitting devices, the demand for shielding materials in this range, including transparent ones, is also growing. In this work, we present two types of composite films based on silver nanowires and PEDOT:PSS. We characterized these composite films in terms of optoelectrical parameters, as well as shielding characteristics in the THz range. We found that our composite films have a sheet resistance (R□) of about 8.6 ± 1.2 Ω/□ with a transparency of about 83.41% and shielding efficiency is 25.85 dB in the THz region, which makes them excellent candidates for transparent shielding materials. We also made a bilayer sandwich structure from these composite films, which showed a shielding efficiency of about 49.34 dB in the range of 0.2–0.8 THz with a transparency of 66.33%. In addition, we assessed the possibility of real application of the structures in terms of stability to external conditions. Our composite films sustain atmospheric corrosion and maintain stable sheet resistance for 30 days.

Highly efficient shielding materials, transparent in the visible and IR ranges are becoming important in practice. This stimulates the development of cheap methods for creating transparent conductors with low sheet resistance and high optical transparency. This work presents a complex approach based on preliminary modeling of the shielding characteristics of two-layer sandwich structures based on irregular aluminum mesh (IAM) formed by the cracked template method. Experimentally measured spectral dependences of the transmission coefficient of single-layer IAM are used as a reference point for modeling. According to the simulation results, two types of sandwich structures were designed using IAM, with varying filling factors and a fixed PMMA layer thickness of 4 mm. The experimentally measured shielding characteristics of the sandwich structures in the range of 0.01–7 GHz are in good agreement with the calculated data. The obtained structures demonstrate a shielding efficiency of 55.96 dB and 65.55 dB at a frequency of 3.5 GHz (the average range of 5G communications). At the same time, their optical transparency at a wavelength of 550 nm are 84.07% and 75.78%, respectively. Our sandwich structures show electromagnetic shielding performance and uniform diffraction pattern. It gives them an advantage over structures based on regular meshes. The obtained results highlight the prospect of the proposed comprehensive approach for obtaining highly efficient, low-cost optically transparent shielding structures. Such materials are needed for modern wireless communication systems and metrology applications.

Subject of study. The study focuses on an acousto-optical modulator composed of a polyvinylidene fluoride film with transparent indium–tin oxide electrodes deposited on both surfaces. Aim of study. The aim is to analyze the stability of the mechanical, piezoelectric, and optical properties of the polyvinylidene fluoride film-based acousto-optical modulators with indium–tin oxide electrodes during manufacturing and operation at different temperatures. Method. In this method, the mechanical characteristics of samples under tension are measured along two directions (parallel and perpendicular to the drawing direction of the polyvinylidene fluoride film) at room temperature to perform a dynamic mechanical analysis under isothermal conditions and within a temperature range of 30°C–180°C. The piezoelectric coefficient d₃₃ is measured, under temperature variation from −40^∘C to +80^∘C, using a charge-based method with pulsed force impact, and the transmittance is determined within the visible wavelength range from 380 nm to 780 nm to calculate the light transmission coefficient. Main results. An experimental measurement cell was created to measure the piezoelectric coefficient d₃₃ across a wide temperature range. Mechanical test results for static and dynamic loading of the polyvinylidene fluoride film, both before and after the deposition of the indium–tin oxide electrodes, were obtained. Temperature dependencies of d₃₃ for this structure were established from −40^∘C to +80^∘C, and the optical properties of the samples exposed to low and high temperatures were documented. Practical significance. Based on these findings, recommendations for the operating and storage conditions of acousto-optic devices incorporating the studied structures, along with guidelines for manufacturing, are presented.

Glow-discharge plasma (GDP) poling is revisited as an electrode-free method for activating piezoelectricity in poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) films. Although this method was proposed several decades ago, its effect on the properties of PVDF films has remained poorly understood. In this work, we demonstrate that GDP enables efficient poling of oriented PVDF films without pre-deposited electrodes and investigate the relationship between plasma treatment time, structural evolution, and piezoelectric response. Commercially available 25 μm-thick oriented PVDF films (PolyK) were treated in a DC glow discharge for 15 s to 15 min and characterized using FTIR, DSC, piezoresponse force microscopy, UV–Vis–NIR spectrophotometry, quasi-static d₃₃ measurements and water contact-angle measurements. GDP poling produced a side-averaged piezoelectric coefficient d₃₃ of up to ~25 pC/N within 1–5 min, with local maxima at approximately 1, 2.5, and 5 min. This behavior was accompanied by pronounced changes in the domain structure, including an increase in the ferroelectric domain size from 86 to 552 nm, while the crystallinity and electroactive phase fraction changed only moderately. Plasma treatment also increased the wettability of the plasma-facing surface, reducing the water contact angle from about 85° to 42° within 3 min. At longer treatment times (>5 min), however, the piezoelectric response decreased and the optical transparency deteriorated because of increased haze and turbidity, most likely associated with plasma-induced chemical modification of the surface layers. These results indicate that GDP poling has an effective processing window of 1–5 min. The proposed approach provides a vacuum-compatible and electrode-free route for preparing PVDF films with increased surface wettability for flexible piezoelectric sensors, wearable electronics, and integrated polymer-based devices, because it is compatible with electrode deposition on an already activated polymer surface within a single vacuum cycle.

Transparent conductive electrodes that combine flexibility with effective electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding are important for next-gen flexible electronics and 5G/6G communication devices. Achieving high optical transparency, low sheet resistance, and broadband shielding performance remains a sophisticated task. This work demonstrates a solution: the synthesis and comprehensive characterization of flexible In₂O₃/Ag/In₂O₃ (IAI) structures on polyethylene terephthalate substrates. The optimized structure with a 13.2 ± 1.1 nm silver interlayer achieves an incredible combination of properties: high optical transmittance (82.59% at 500 nm), low sheet resistance (6.4 ± 0.8 Ω/sq), and insignificant optical haze (1.04%). Broadband EMI shielding measurements from 10 MHz to 1 THz reveal a uniform shielding effectiveness of 25–30 dB across band from radiowave to terahertz. The IAI structures also show outstanding mechanical resilience, maintaining their electrical and shielding performance under repeated bending. This unique set of attributes positions IAI thin films as a prospective material for transparent EMI shielding in advanced telecommunications and flexible optoelectronics.