Metal oxynitride deposition using high-base pressure reactive magnetron sputtering

Systems, compositions, and methods for using reactive magnetron sputtering to encapsulate nanowire networks to improve their chemical, thermal, and electrical stability while maintaining transparency are disclosed. For example, oxynitride films are deposited onto silver nanowire networks using full-metal targets without imparting oxidative damage onto the nanowires. The oxynitrides can be deposited using residual water vapor in the chamber that can take advantage of relatively poor vacuum conditions, which would be compatible with high-volume roll-to-roll sputtering approaches, and would also reduce the cost of encapsulating sensitive metal nanostructure which would encounter high temperatures, currents, or humidity. The resulting films can be applicable in a wide variety of fields as transparent encapsulants, where metal nanostructures would need to be protected from harsh environmental conditions and/or high temperatures-including but not limited to: solar cell electrodes, transparent heaters, touch screens, and LEDs.