Detailed Description
In order to make the contents of the present invention more clearly understood, the contents of the present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention is of course not limited to this particular embodiment, and general alternatives known to those skilled in the art are also covered by the scope of the invention.
It is to be understood that the described embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, and not restrictive of the full scope of the invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention. The present invention is described in detail with reference to the drawings, and for convenience of explanation, the drawings are not enlarged partially according to the general scale, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.
The core idea of the invention is that firstly a nano metal layer and a transparent film layer are formed on a substrate, then a plurality of grooves are formed in the transparent film layer and the nano metal layer is exposed, then an adhesion promoting layer is formed in the grooves and on the transparent film layer, the adhesion promoting layer is contacted with the nano metal layer through the grooves, the penetration of the adhesion promoting layer in the nano metal layer can be reduced, the adhesion promoting layer can be ensured to play the functions of adhesion and UV blocking, and the conductivity of the conductive film structure is improved.
Referring to fig. 1, which is a flowchart illustrating a method for fabricating a conductive film structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 1, the present invention provides a method for fabricating a conductive film structure, including the following steps:
step S01: providing a substrate, and sequentially forming a nano metal layer and a transparent film layer on the substrate;
step S02: forming a plurality of grooves, wherein the grooves are positioned in the transparent film layer and expose part of the nano metal layer;
step S03: and forming an adhesion promoting layer, wherein the adhesion promoting layer fills the groove and covers the transparent film layer.
In the invention, the groove exposes out of part of the nano metal layer, so that the subsequently formed adhesion promoting layer is contacted with the nano metal layer through the groove, thereby not only avoiding poor conductivity caused by excessive adhesion promoting layer permeating into the nano metal layer, but also enabling the adhesion promoting layer to be contacted with the nano metal layer, and ensuring the adhesion of the adhesion promoting layer and the function of blocking UV. In the present invention, the nano metal layer may be exposed at the bottom of the groove (i.e., the groove is located in the transparent film layer and the bottom of the groove just exposes the nano metal layer), or the nano metal layer may be exposed at the sidewall of the groove (i.e., the groove is located in the transparent film layer and the nano metal layer and the bottom of the groove is exposed from the substrate), or both the bottom and the sidewall of the groove may be exposed from the nano metal layer (i.e., the groove is located in the transparent film layer and a part of the thickness of the nano metal layer). Of course, other groove structures may be used to realize the partial contact between the adhesion promoting layer and the nano metal layer, and the present invention is not limited thereto. The following is a detailed description of two embodiments.
[ EXAMPLES one ]
Fig. 2a to 2c are schematic cross-sectional structure diagrams of steps of a method for manufacturing a conductive film structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, and please refer to fig. 2a to 2c, and refer to fig. 1 to describe in detail the method for manufacturing a conductive film structure according to the present invention:
in step S01, please refer to fig. 2a, a substrate 10 is provided, and a nano metal layer 11 and a transparent film 12 are formed on the substrate 10.
The substrate 10 is a flexible substrate, that is, made of a flexible material, and if a flexible material is selected, the flexible material is a material having a certain strength and a certain flexibility in industry. The material of the substrate 10 includes, but is not limited to, acryl, Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polyacrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), Polyamide (PA), Polyimide (PI), polybenzimidazole Polybutylene (PB), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), Polycarbonate (PC), Polyetheretherketone (PEEK), Polyetherimide (PEI), Polyethersulfone (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), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN), or the like. In this embodiment, the flexible substrate is made of PI.
In this embodiment, a rigid substrate such as a glass substrate may be coated with a flexible material, an antireflection film, a nano metal layer, and other elements may be formed on the flexible material, and after all processes are completed, the glass substrate under the flexible material may be peeled off to form the flexible substrate. It is also possible to coat a flexible material on a rigid substrate such as a glass substrate and then peel off the glass substrate under the flexible material to form a flexible substrate.
In step S01, the nanometal layer 11 is formed on the substrate 10. The material of the nano metal layer 11 includes, but is not limited to, a nano silver wire. In this embodiment, a nano silver wire solution, which is a suspension solution of a nano silver wire dissolved in a specific solvent, such as water, an aqueous solution, an ionic solution, a salt-containing solution, a supercritical fluid, oil, or a mixture thereof, may be coated on the substrate 10, and the solvent may further include additives such as a dispersant, a surfactant, a cross-linking agent, a stabilizer, a wetting agent, or a thickener. And then solidifying the nano silver wire solution, wherein the solidifying method can be natural airing, simple baking or heating solidification and the like, so that the nano silver wire solution is solidified to form a nano silver wire layer. The nano silver wire layer comprises a substrate and nano silver wires embedded in the substrate, the nano silver wires are in lap joint through molecular force to form a conductive network, and the substrate is used for protecting the nano silver wires from being influenced by external environments such as corrosion and abrasion.
The method for forming the nano silver wire solution may be one of spin coating, slit coating, blade coating, wire bar coating, spray coating, roll coating, screen printing, gravure printing, offset printing, flexo printing, pad printing, or inkjet printing, and may also be deposition, sputtering, or the like. The curing method can be natural drying, simple baking or heating curing and the like, so that the nano silver wire solution is cured to form a nano silver wire layer.
Next, a transparent film layer 12 is formed on the nano metal layer 11. The transparent film layer 12 serves to prevent a subsequently formed adhesion promoting layer from penetrating into the nano metal layer 11, and therefore, the transparent film layer 12 only needs to be transparent and does not affect the whole conductive film structure. In this embodiment, the material of the transparent film 12 includes, but is not limited to, silicon oxide or ITO, and the forming method of the transparent film 12 may be determined by the material, for example, when the material of the transparent film 12 is silicon oxide, the transparent film may be formed by a chemical vapor deposition method; when the material of the transparent film layer 12 is ITO, it can be formed by sputtering or evaporation. The material and forming method of the transparent film layer 12 are not limited in the present invention.
In step S02, please refer to fig. 2b, a plurality of grooves 13 are formed, wherein the grooves 13 are located in the transparent film 12 and expose a portion of the nanometal layer 11.
Specifically, first, a photoresist layer (not shown) is formed on the transparent film layer 12; patterning the photoresist layer, for example, exposing and developing, to form a patterned photoresist layer; then, taking the patterned photoresist layer as a mask, etching the transparent film layer 12 until part of the nano metal layer 11 is exposed, namely, completely etching the transparent film layer 12 which is not covered by the photoresist layer to the nano metal layer 11 to form a plurality of grooves 13; and finally, removing the patterned photoresist layer.
The bottom of the groove 13 exposes a part of the nano metal layer 12. Preferably, the grooves 13 are uniformly distributed in the transparent film layer 12. In this embodiment, the longitudinal section of the groove 13 may be square, and the longitudinal section refers to the shape of the section of the groove 13 viewed after being cut perpendicular to the substrate 10, that is, the shape shown in fig. 2 b. In other embodiments, the longitudinal section of the groove 13 may also be regular trapezoid, inverted triangle, irregular shape, etc. Preferably, the size of the top opening of the groove 13 needs to be larger than or equal to the size of the bottom of the groove 13, for example, the long side of the trapezoid is arranged at the top of the groove 13, and the short side is arranged at the bottom of the groove 13, such arrangement is based on the shape structure with a large opening and a small bottom, and the adhesion promotion layer is more easily poured into the groove 13 when being coated, so that the adhesion promotion layer can be uniformly and completely dissolved into the groove 13. Of course, the shape and size of the groove 13 are not limited in the present invention.
In step S03, please refer to fig. 2c, an adhesion promoting layer 14 is formed, and the adhesion promoting layer 14 fills the groove 13 and covers the transparent film 12.
In this embodiment, the adhesion promoting layer 14 is preferably an OC layer, and specifically, an OC solution may be formed on the substrate 10 by a coating method, the OC solution fills the groove 13 and covers the transparent film layer 12, and then the OC solution is heated to evaporate the solvent in the OC to form an OC layer which fills the groove 13 and covers the transparent film layer 12.
In this embodiment, a nano metal layer 11 and a transparent film layer 12 are first formed on the substrate 10, then the transparent film layer 12 is etched to form a plurality of grooves 13, a portion of the nano metal layer 11 is exposed at the bottom of the groove 13, then an adhesion-promoting layer 14 is formed in the groove 13 and on the transparent film layer 12, and the adhesion-promoting layer 14 is in contact with the nano metal layer 11 through the groove 13, so that the infiltration of OC in the nano metal layer 11 can be reduced, and the adhesion-promoting layer 14 can be ensured to exert the functions of adhesion and UV blocking, thereby improving the conductivity of the conductive film structure.
Further, the nano metal layer 11 is a nano silver wire layer, the adhesion promotion layer 14 is an OC layer, the OC layer passes through the groove and the nano silver wire layer contact, so that the infiltration of the OC layer in the nano silver wire layer can be reduced, the OC layer can be ensured to exert the adhesion and the function of blocking UV, and the conductivity of the conductive film structure is improved.
[ example two ]
The difference from the first embodiment is that the sidewall of the groove exposes a portion of the nano metal layer, and the bottom of the groove exposes a portion of the substrate.
Fig. 3a to 3c are schematic cross-sectional structure diagrams of steps of a method for manufacturing a conductive film structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and please refer to fig. 3a to 3c, and refer to fig. 1 to describe in detail the method for manufacturing a conductive film structure according to the present invention:
in step S01, please refer to fig. 3a, a substrate 20 is provided, and a nano metal layer 21 and a transparent film 22 are formed on the substrate 20.
The substrate 20 is a flexible substrate, that is, made of a flexible material, and if a flexible material is selected, the flexible material is a material having a certain strength and a certain flexibility in industry. The substrate 20 is made of, but 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), and 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), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN), or the like. In this embodiment, the flexible substrate is made of PI.
In this embodiment, a flexible material may be coated on a rigid substrate such as a glass substrate, electrodes and other elements may be fabricated on the flexible material, and after all processes are completed, the glass substrate under the flexible material may be peeled off to form a flexible substrate. It is also possible to coat a flexible material on a rigid substrate such as a glass substrate and then peel off the glass substrate under the flexible material to form a flexible substrate.
In step S01, the nano metal layer 21 is formed on the substrate 20. The material of the nano metal layer 21 includes, but is not limited to, a nano silver wire. In this embodiment, a nano silver wire solution, which is a suspension solution of a nano silver wire dissolved in a specific solvent, such as water, an aqueous solution, an ionic solution, a salt-containing solution, a supercritical fluid, oil, or a mixture thereof, may be coated on the substrate 20, and the solvent may further include additives such as a dispersant, a surfactant, a cross-linking agent, a stabilizer, a wetting agent, or a thickener. And then solidifying the nano silver wire solution, wherein the solidifying method can be natural airing, simple baking or heating solidification and the like, so that the nano silver wire solution is solidified to form a nano silver wire layer. The nano silver wire layer comprises a substrate and nano silver wires embedded in the substrate, the nano silver wires are in lap joint through molecular force to form a conductive network, and the substrate is used for protecting the nano silver wires from being influenced by external environments such as corrosion and abrasion.
The method for forming the nano silver wire solution may be one of spin coating, slit coating, blade coating, wire bar coating, spray coating, roll coating, screen printing, gravure printing, offset printing, flexo printing, pad printing, or inkjet printing, and may also be deposition, sputtering, or the like. The curing method can be natural drying, simple baking or heating curing and the like, so that the nano silver wire solution is cured to form a nano silver wire layer.
In step S01, a transparent film layer 22 is also formed on the nanometal layer 21. The transparent film layer 22 serves to prevent a subsequently formed adhesion promoting layer from penetrating into the nano metal layer 21, and therefore, the transparent film layer 22 only needs to be transparent and does not affect the whole conductive film structure. In this embodiment, the material of the transparent film 22 includes, but is not limited to, silicon oxide or ITO, and the forming method of the transparent film 22 may be determined by the material, for example, when the material of the transparent film 22 is silicon oxide, the transparent film may be formed by a chemical vapor deposition method; when the material of the transparent film layer 22 is ITO, it can be formed by sputtering or evaporation. The material and forming method of the transparent film layer 22 are not limited in the present invention.
In step S02, please refer to fig. 3b, a plurality of grooves 23 are formed, wherein the grooves 23 are located in the transparent film 12 and expose a portion of the nanometal layer 21.
Specifically, first, a photoresist layer (not shown) is formed on the transparent film layer 22; patterning the photoresist layer, for example, exposing and developing, to form a patterned photoresist layer; then, taking the patterned photoresist layer as a mask, etching the transparent film layer 22 until part of the nano metal layer 21 is exposed, and then continuing to etch the nano metal layer 21 until part of the substrate 20 is exposed, namely, completely etching the transparent film layer 22 and the nano metal layer 21 which are not covered by the photoresist layer to the substrate 20 to form a plurality of grooves 23, wherein the nano metal layer 21 is exposed on the side wall of each groove 23; and finally, removing the patterned photoresist layer.
The bottom of the groove 23 exposes a portion of the substrate 20. Preferably, the grooves 23 are uniformly distributed in the transparent film layer 22. In this embodiment, the longitudinal section of the groove 23 may be rectangular, and the longitudinal section refers to the shape of the cross section of the groove 23 when the groove is cut perpendicular to the substrate 20, that is, the shape shown in fig. 3 b. In other embodiments, the longitudinal section of the groove 23 may also be regular trapezoid, inverted triangle, irregular shape, etc. Preferably, the size of the top opening of the groove 23 needs to be larger than or equal to the size of the bottom of the groove 23, for example, the long side of the trapezoid is disposed at the top of the groove 23, and the short side is disposed at the bottom of the groove 23, such that when the shape structure with a large opening and a small bottom is adopted, the adhesion promotion layer is more easily poured into the groove 23 when being coated, so that the adhesion promotion layer can be uniformly and completely dissolved into the groove 23. Of course, the shape and material of the groove 23 are not limited in the present invention.
In step S03, please refer to fig. 3c, an adhesion promoting layer 24 is formed, and the adhesion promoting layer 24 fills the groove 23 and covers the transparent film layer 22.
In this embodiment, the adhesion promoting layer 24 is preferably an OC layer, and specifically, an OC solution may be formed on the substrate 20 by a coating method, the OC solution fills the groove 23 and covers the transparent film layer 22, and then the OC solution is heated to evaporate the solvent in the OC to form an OC layer which fills the groove 23 and covers the transparent film layer 22.
In this embodiment, a nano metal layer 21 and a transparent film layer 22 are first formed on the substrate 20, then the transparent film layer 22 and the nano metal layer 21 are etched to form a plurality of grooves 23 exposing a portion of the substrate 10, a portion of the nano metal layer 21 is exposed on a sidewall of the groove 23, then an adhesion-promoting layer 24 is formed in the groove 23 and on the transparent film layer 22, and the adhesion-promoting layer 24 is in contact with the nano metal layer 21 through the groove 23, so that the infiltration of OC in the nano metal layer 21 can be reduced, and the adhesion-promoting layer 24 can be ensured to exert the functions of adhesion and UV blocking, thereby improving the conductivity of the conductive film structure.
Further, the nano metal layer 21 is a nano silver wire layer, the adhesion promoting layer 24 is an OC layer, the OC layer passes through the groove and the nano silver wire layer contact, so that the infiltration of the OC layer in the nano silver wire layer can be reduced, the OC layer can be ensured to exert the adhesion and the function of blocking UV, and the conductivity of the conductive film structure is improved.
Of course, in the process of etching the nanometal layer 21, only a part of the nanometal layer 21 may be etched, so that the sidewall and the bottom of the groove 23 formed in this way both expose a part of the nanometal layer 21, and the contact area between the adhesion promoting layer 24 and the nanometal layer 21 may be increased. Of course, if the contact area between the adhesion promoting layer 24 and the nano metal layer 21 needs to be changed, it can also be achieved by changing the cross sectional area of the groove 23.
Correspondingly, the invention also provides a conductive film structure which is manufactured by adopting the manufacturing method of the conductive film structure.
Referring to fig. 2c, the conductive film structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention is manufactured by the method of manufacturing a conductive film structure, including: the nano metal layer 11, the transparent film layer 12 and the adhesion promoting layer 14 are sequentially located on the substrate 10, wherein the adhesion promoting layer 14 is embedded into the transparent film layer 12 through the groove 13 and is in contact with the nano metal layer 11.
In this embodiment, the groove 13 is located in the transparent film layer 12, and a portion of the nanometal layer 11 is exposed at the bottom thereof. The adhesion promoting layer 14 is in contact with the nano metal layer 11 through the groove 13, so that the infiltration of OC into the nano metal layer 11 can be reduced, the adhesion promoting layer 14 can be ensured to play the functions of adhesion and UV blocking, and the conductivity of the conductive film structure is improved.
Preferably, the material of the nano metal layer 11 includes a nano silver wire, the material of the adhesion promoting layer 14 includes OC, and the material of the transparent film layer 12 includes, but is not limited to, silicon oxide or ITO.
Referring to fig. 3c, the conductive film structure according to the second embodiment is manufactured by the method for manufacturing a conductive film structure, including: the nano metal layer 21, the transparent film layer 22 and the adhesion promoting layer 24 are sequentially arranged on the substrate 20, wherein the adhesion promoting layer 24 is embedded in the transparent film layer 22 through the groove 23 and is in contact with the nano metal layer 21.
In this embodiment, the groove 23 is located in the transparent film layer 22, a portion of the nano metal layer 21 is exposed on a sidewall thereof, and a portion of the substrate 20 is exposed on a bottom thereof. The adhesion promoting layer 24 is in contact with the nano metal layer 21 through the groove 23, so that the infiltration of OC into the nano metal layer 21 can be reduced, and the adhesion promoting layer 24 can be ensured to play the functions of adhesion and UV blocking, thereby improving the conductivity of the conductive film structure.
Preferably, the material of the nano metal layer 21 includes a nano silver wire, the material of the adhesion promoting layer 24 includes OC, and the material of the transparent film layer 22 includes, but is not limited to, silicon oxide or ITO.
Correspondingly, the invention also provides a touch panel comprising the conductive film structure.
In the touch panel, the nano metal layer is used as a touch electrode, so that the touch panel has good conductivity and excellent light transmittance and bending resistance, and the nano metal layer is in contact with the adhesion-promoting layer through the groove, and other positions are isolated through the transparent film layer, so that the infiltration of the adhesion-promoting layer into the nano metal layer can be reduced, the problem of poor conductivity caused by the complete contact of the nano metal layer and the adhesion-promoting layer is solved, and the adhesion-promoting layer can play the functions of adhesion and UV blocking, and the conductivity of the conductive film structure is improved.
The touch panel can be used for mobile terminals such as mobile phones, game machines and tablet computers, and can also be used for various electronic products such as notebook computers, desktop computers, public information inquiry equipment and multimedia teaching equipment.
In summary, in the conductive film structure, the manufacturing method thereof, and the touch panel provided by the invention, the nano metal layer and the transparent film layer are formed on the substrate, the plurality of grooves are formed in the transparent film layer and expose the nano metal layer, and the adhesion promoting layer is formed in the grooves and on the transparent film layer, and can be contacted with the nano metal layer through the grooves, so that the infiltration of OC in the nano metal layer can be reduced, and the adhesion promoting layer can be ensured to exert the functions of adhesion and UV blocking, thereby improving the conductivity of the conductive film structure.
Further, the nano metal layer is a nano silver wire layer, the adhesion promotion layer is an OC layer, the OC layer passes through the groove with the nano silver wire layer contacts, the infiltration of the OC layer in the nano silver wire layer can be reduced, the OC layer can be guaranteed to play the functions of adhesion and UV blocking, and therefore the conductivity of the conducting film structure is improved.
The above description is only for the purpose of describing the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and any variations and modifications made by those skilled in the art based on the above disclosure are within the scope of the appended claims.