Patent ID: 8105472

Claim:
A method of forming a transparent conductive coating on a substrate comprising; a. admixing metal nanopowder in a solvent with at least one ingredient of the group consisting of binder, surfactant, additive, polymer, buffer, dispersant and/or coupling agent to form an homogenized mixture; b. admixing the homogenized mixture with water or a water miscible solvent or mixture of solvents to form an emulsion; c. applying the emulsion on a surface of a substrate to be coated; d. evaporating the solvent from the coated emulsion; e. sintering the coated layer to form a conductive pattern comprising a network of thin, interconnected metal traces defining openings on the substrate; and electroplating the conductive pattern with an electrolyte composition containing metal ions wherein the following steps are added before the electroplating step: (i) depositing a photoresist material on the transparent conductive coating, filling the openings in the pattern and covering the conductive pattern; (ii) irradiating the photoresist material through the substrate in a manner that only the photoresist material in the openings of the pattern is exposed; and (iii) washing away the unexposed photoresist material; and wherein the remainder of the photoresist is removed from the coating after electroplating.