Detailed Description
The touch structure and the display device of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the schematic drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown, and it should be understood that those skilled in the art can modify the present invention described herein while still achieving the advantageous effects of the present invention. Accordingly, the following description should be construed as broadly as possible to those skilled in the art and not as limiting the invention.
The invention is described in more detail in the following paragraphs by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. Advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and from the claims. It is to be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and are not to precise scale, which is merely for the purpose of facilitating and distinctly claiming the embodiments of the present invention.
In the description that follows, it will be understood that when a layer (or film), region, pattern, or structure is referred to as being "on" a substrate, layer (or film), region, and/or pattern, it can be directly on another layer or substrate, and/or intervening layers may also be present. In addition, it will be understood that when a layer is referred to as being "under" another layer, it can be directly under the other layer, and/or one or more intervening layers may also be present. In addition, references to "on" and "under" layers may be made based on the drawings.
As shown in fig. 1 to 7, an embodiment of the invention provides a touch structure, including:
the semiconductor device comprises a dielectric layer 2 formed on a substrate 1, wherein a plurality of first openings 3 and a plurality of second openings 4 are formed in the dielectric layer 2, the second openings 4 are positioned between adjacent first openings 3, and the depth of each first opening 3 is greater than that of each second opening 4; and
and a nano-metal wire layer 6 formed in the first opening 3 and the second opening 4, wherein the second opening 4 is used for preventing the nano-metal wire layer 6 in the adjacent first opening 3 from conducting.
Therefore, the first opening is arranged in the dielectric layer, the touch layer is directly formed in the dielectric layer with the first opening, the preparation of the graphical structure of the touch layer is realized, and the situation that the touch layer is peeled off when the whole touch layer is firstly formed and then graphical is carried out is avoided.
The following describes preferred embodiments of the touch structure and the display device to clearly illustrate the content of the present invention, and it should be understood that the content of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and other modifications by conventional technical means of those skilled in the art are within the scope of the idea of the present invention.
As shown in fig. 2, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a touch structure, including the following steps:
step S11, providing a substrate;
step S12, forming a dielectric layer on the substrate;
step S13, patterning the dielectric layer to form a plurality of first openings; and
in step S14, a touch layer is formed in the first openings.
Referring to fig. 3, for step S11, a substrate 1 is provided. In one embodiment, the substrate 1 may be a rigid material, such as a glass substrate, a silicon substrate, a metal substrate, and the like. In one embodiment, the substrate 1 may also be a flexible material, and the material of the substrate 1 may be, but is not limited to, acryl, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyacrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), Polyamide (PA), Polyimide (PI), polybenzimidazole Polybutylene (PB), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), Polycarbonate (PC), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), Polyetherimide (PEI), polyether sulfone (PES), Polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), polyethylene oxide, polyglycolic acid (PGA), polymethylpentene (PMP), Polyoxymethylene (POM), polyphenylene ether (PPE), polypropylene (PP), Polystyrene (PS), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), polyvinyl chloride (PVF), and polyvinyl chloride (PVF), Polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), or styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN), and the like. In this embodiment, the substrate 1 is, for example, a polyimide substrate or the like. The first substrate of the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and may be made of other materials.
It will be appreciated that in a preferred embodiment, the substrate 1 is pre-treated to remove impurities such as particulates, organics and metal ions.
In step S12, please refer to fig. 4, a dielectric layer 2 is formed on the substrate 1.
The dielectric layer 2 may be an organic material layer, such as a photoresist layer.
The dielectric layer 2 may also be an inorganic material layer, such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, etc.
According to different materials, different forming methods can be selected, for example, organic material layers such as a photoresist layer can be formed by coating; the inorganic material layer such as a silicon oxide layer may be formed by a chemical vapor deposition process.
In one embodiment, the thickness H1 of the
dielectric layer 2 is
Next, referring to fig. 5, for step S13, the dielectric layer 2 is patterned to form a plurality of first openings 3.
The first opening 3 may be formed by a photolithography process.
In one embodiment, the
first opening 3 may be through the
dielectric layer 2. Of course, the
first opening 3 may be located in the
dielectric layer 2, i.e. not through the
dielectric layer 2. For example, for the case of non-penetration, the depth of the
first opening 3 may be
The first opening 3 may be a long strip shape in a top view from the top surface of the dielectric layer 2, or may be a hole, i.e., a square shape, a circular shape, or a non-long strip shape similar thereto.
As can be seen from fig. 5, the first opening 3 is tapered from top to bottom, i.e. it has an inverted trapezoidal structure. The formation of a subsequent touch layer can be facilitated, and the adhesive force can be improved.
In one embodiment, the side wall of the first opening 3 forms an angle α of 45 ° to 89 °, such as 60 °, 75 °, 87 °, etc., with the upper surface of the substrate 1.
Then, for step S14, please refer to fig. 6, a touch layer is formed in the first openings 3; to obtain the shaped touch layer structure.
Specifically, the method comprises the following steps:
a nano-metal wire solution is coated on the dielectric layer 2 formed with the first opening 3 so that the nano-metal wire solution flows into the first opening. The coating of the nanowire solution can be accomplished using existing techniques. For example, methods of coating include, but are not limited to: inkjet, broadcast, gravure, letterpress, flexography, nanoimprint, screen printing, blade coating, spin coating, pin drawing (stylus), slot coating, or flow coating.
The nano metal wire solution is provided with a plurality of nano metal wires which are distributed in a solvent.
During coating, the nano-metal wire solution on the dielectric layer 2 will flow into the first opening 3, but the nano-metal wire solution may also be formed on the dielectric layer 2, so the dosage and thickness during coating need to be adjusted according to actual conditions, such as the size and shape of the first opening, so as to leave as little or no nano-metal wire solution on the top surface of the dielectric layer 2 as possible.
Then, the nano metal wire solution is dried to form the nano metal wire layer, which is the touch layer 6 of the present invention.
In one embodiment, drying may be performed by vacuum, reduced pressure, infrared heating, hot air heating, or the like, for a period of time ranging from about 50s to about 100s, such as 55s, 60s, 70s, or the like.
It can be seen that after drying, the touch layer 6 is formed in the first opening 3, and patterning of the touch layer 6 can be achieved by virtue of the presence of the dielectric layer 2. Therefore, the touch layer is formed only by coating and curing, and operations such as patterning etching and the like are not needed for the touch layer, so that the peeling phenomenon is avoided. A relatively thin touch layer may be formed on the top surface of the dielectric layer 2, the thickness of the touch layer may be about several nm or even less, and considering that the touch layer is made of nano metal wires, the touch layer is not conductive enough at an ultra-thin thickness, and thus the obtained patterned structure of the touch layer does not substantially generate interference, thereby improving the reliability of the patterned structure of the touch layer.
In one embodiment, the
touch layer 6 has a thickness of
The nano metal wire in the touch layer may be a nano wire of gold (Au), silver (Ag), platinum (Pt), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), palladium (Pd), or the like. Because silver has the characteristics of good conductivity and light transmittance and the like, the nano metal wire is preferably a silver nanowire (namely a nano silver wire), and the touch layer is preferably a nano silver wire layer.
In addition, after the touch layer 6 is formed in the plurality of first openings 3, the method further includes: an optical adhesive layer (not shown) is formed on the dielectric layer 2 on which the touch layer 6 is formed.
Further, in order to improve the situation that the touch layer may exist on the top surface of the dielectric layer 2, the present invention optimizes the above process, specifically:
referring to fig. 7, for step S13, the dielectric layer 2 is patterned to form a plurality of first openings 3 and a plurality of second openings 4, where the second openings 4 are located between adjacent first openings 3 (only one first opening 3 is schematically shown in fig. 5), and the depth of the first opening 3 is greater than the depth of the second opening 4.
In one embodiment, the first opening 3 and the second opening 4 may be formed in the same step, for example, by exposure and development, or by a photolithography and etching process.
At this time, the opening width of the first opening 3 is greater than the opening width of the second opening 4, and the depth of the smaller opening formed after exposure, development or etching is smaller.
In one embodiment, the first opening 3 and the second opening 4 may also be formed in different steps, for example, by different masks and different photolithography and/or etching processes.
At this time, the opening width of the first opening 3 may be larger than the opening width of the second opening 4, or may be equal to or smaller than the opening width.
In the present invention, the numerical range of the opening widths of the first opening 3 and the second opening 4 is not particularly limited, and those skilled in the art can reasonably set the sizes of the opening widths of the first opening 3 and the second opening 4 based on the disclosure of the present invention and according to specific production requirements.
The first opening 3 may penetrate through the dielectric layer 2 to expose the substrate 1, i.e., the depth of the first opening 3 is H1, which is consistent with the thickness of the dielectric layer 2. The second opening 4 is shallow relative to the first opening 3, for example, the depth H2 ≦ H1/4 of the second opening 4, such as H1/5, H1/6, etc.
The first opening 3 may not penetrate through the dielectric layer 2.
The number of the second openings 4 may be greater than the number of the first openings 3. For example, one first opening 3 may correspond to a plurality of second openings 4.
The first opening 3 may be a long strip shape in a top view from the top surface of the dielectric layer 2, or may be a hole, i.e., a square shape, a circular shape, or a non-long strip shape similar thereto.
As shown in fig. 8a, in the case that the first opening 3 is long, the second opening 4 may be small and long (for example, the width is small compared with the first opening 3), and arranged on two sides of the first opening 3, and each side is adjacent to only one second opening 4; as shown in fig. 8b, the second opening 4 may also be a hole, that is, a plurality of second openings 4 are arranged in a row along the length direction of the first opening 3 at one side of the first opening 3.
For the case where the first opening 3 is a hole, the second opening 4 may be set to be a small recess, for example, the area occupied at the opening of the second opening 4 is smaller than the area occupied at the opening of the first opening 3.
According to practical requirements, a plurality (or multiple rows) of second openings 4 can be arranged between two adjacent first openings 3, and each second opening 4 can be in a shape structure or a shape structure basically. The spacing between adjacent second openings 4 may be smaller than the maximum opening dimension of said second openings 4.
In one embodiment, the second opening 4 is adjacent to the first opening 3, as shown in fig. 7, to form a protrusion 5, which is designed to facilitate the flow of the subsequent nano-metal wire solution into the first opening 3 and/or the second opening 4, avoiding the accumulation on the dielectric layer 2 and the conduction with the nano-metal wire layer formed in the first opening 3.
As can be seen from fig. 7, the first opening 3 is tapered from top to bottom, i.e. it has an inverted trapezoidal structure. The formation of a subsequent touch layer can be facilitated, and the adhesive force can be improved.
In one embodiment, the side wall of the first opening 3 forms an angle α of 45 ° to 89 °, such as 60 °, 75 °, 87 °, etc., with the upper surface of the substrate 1.
In one embodiment, the angle β between the sidewall of the second opening 4 and the upper surface of the substrate 1 is between 45 ° and 89 °, such as 60 °, 75 °, 87 °, and the like
Thereafter, referring to fig. 9, in step S14, a touch layer 6 is formed in the first openings 3 to obtain a formed touch layer structure, and the second openings 4 prevent the touch layer 6 in the adjacent first openings 3 from conducting when the touch layer 6 is formed.
Specifically, the method comprises the following steps:
and coating a nano metal wire solution on the patterned dielectric layer 2, so that the nano metal wire solution flows into the first opening and the second opening. The coating of the nanowire solution can be accomplished using existing techniques. For example, methods of coating include, but are not limited to: inkjet, broadcast, gravure, letterpress, flexography, nanoimprint, screen printing, blade coating, spin coating, pin drawing (stylus), slot coating, or flow coating.
The nano metal wire solution is provided with a plurality of nano metal wires which are distributed in a solvent.
During coating, the nanometal wire solution on the dielectric layer 2 will flow into the first opening 3 and the second opening 4 at the edge of the first opening 3 due to the existence of the second opening 4, and further, since the first opening 3 and the second opening 4 are adjacent and have a protrusion (as shown by the dotted circle in fig. 6), it is basically ensured that the nanometal wire solution will not remain on the dielectric layer 2, especially at the edge of the first opening 3. The second opening 4 can realize reasonable collection of the possible redundant nano-metal wire solution during coating, and avoid interference on the nano-metal wire layer to be formed in the first opening 3.
Then, the nano metal wire solution is dried to form the nano metal wire layer, which is the touch layer 6 of the present invention.
In one embodiment, drying may be performed by vacuum, reduced pressure, infrared heating, hot air heating, or the like, for a period of time ranging from about 50s to about 100s, such as 55s, 60s, 70s, or the like.
It can be seen that after drying, the touch layer 6 is formed in the first opening 3, and patterning of the touch layer 6 can be achieved by virtue of the presence of the dielectric layer 2. Therefore, the touch layer is formed only by coating and curing, and operations such as patterning etching and the like are not needed for the touch layer, so that the peeling phenomenon is avoided. A residual touch layer 6' is also formed in the second opening 4, and this part of the residual touch layer 6' is isolated in the second opening 4, that is, the touch layer 6 filled in the first opening 3 is separated from the touch layer 6' filled in the second opening 4 by the dielectric layer 2, so that the situation that different touch layers 6 are interfered and even conducted is avoided. Because the specification of the second opening 4 is small (e.g., shallow, small occupied space, etc.), the obtained touch layer patterned structure basically does not generate interference, thereby improving the reliability of the touch layer patterned structure.
In one embodiment, the
touch layer 6 has a thickness of
The nano metal wire in the touch layer may be a nano wire of gold (Au), silver (Ag), platinum (Pt), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), palladium (Pd), or the like. Because silver has the characteristics of good conductivity and light transmittance and the like, the nano metal wire is preferably a silver nanowire (namely a nano silver wire), and the touch layer is preferably a nano silver wire layer.
In addition, after the touch layer 6 is formed in the plurality of first openings 3, the method further includes: an optical adhesive layer (not shown) is formed on the dielectric layer 2 on which the touch layer 6 is formed.
In addition, the embodiment of the invention also provides a display device which comprises the touch control structure.
The display device can be applied to any product or component with a display function, such as a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer, a television, a display, a notebook computer, a digital photo frame, a navigator and the like.
In view of the above, it is desirable to provide,
in the touch structure and the display device provided by the invention, the touch structure comprises a substrate; the dielectric layer is arranged on the substrate, a plurality of first openings are distributed in the dielectric layer at intervals, and each first opening is provided with a large end face far away from the substrate and a small end face close to the substrate; and a touch layer directly contacting the first opening. Therefore, the first opening is arranged in the dielectric layer, the touch layer is directly formed in the dielectric layer with the first opening, the preparation of the graphical structure of the touch layer is realized, and the situation that the touch layer is peeled off when the whole touch layer is firstly formed and then graphical is carried out is avoided.
Furthermore, the dielectric layer is further provided with a second opening which is arranged close to the first opening, so that the touch layer is ensured to be completely formed in the first opening and the second opening and not formed on the top surface of the dielectric layer, the touch layer is not unnecessarily conducted, and the reliability is guaranteed.
Furthermore, the first opening is gradually narrowed from top to bottom, so that the adhesive force of the nano metal wire layer is better increased, and stripping is prevented.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include such modifications and variations.