Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide a touch panel, a preparation method thereof and a touch panel, so as to solve the problems that the routing of the touch panel easily enters a visible area, the visibility appearance of the touch panel is poor and the like.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a touch panel, including:
the substrate comprises a visible area and a frame area surrounding the visible area, the visible area comprises an operable area, and a gap is formed between the edge of the operable area and the edge of the visible area;
the nanometer metal wire conducting layer is positioned on the visible area and the frame area of the substrate;
the wiring layer is positioned on the nano metal wire conducting layer of the frame area;
the transparent insulating layer is positioned on the routing layer and the nano metal wire conducting layer of the visible area; and
an opaque layer on the transparent insulating layer at the bezel region and the gap and exposing the operable region.
Optionally, a gap between an edge of the operable region and an edge of the visible region is less than or equal to 0.3 mm.
Optionally, the material of the transparent insulating layer includes silicon oxide and/or silicon nitride, and the thickness of the transparent insulating layer is 50nm to 500 nm.
Optionally, the material of the opaque layer includes one or more of nano silver, nano gold or nano copper, and the thickness of the opaque layer is 500nm-1500 nm.
Optionally, the touch panel further includes a cover plate and a laminating layer, and the laminating layer is located between the opaque layer and the cover plate to laminate the opaque layer and the cover plate.
The invention also provides a preparation method of the touch panel, which comprises the following steps:
providing a substrate, wherein the substrate comprises a visible area and a frame area surrounding the visible area, the visible area comprises an operable area, and a gap is formed between the edge of the operable area and the edge of the visible area;
forming a nano metal wire conducting layer, wherein the nano metal wire conducting layer is positioned on a visible area and a frame area of the substrate;
forming a routing layer, wherein the routing layer is positioned on the nano metal wire conducting layer of the frame area; and
and forming a transparent insulating layer and an opaque layer, wherein the transparent insulating layer is positioned on the routing layer and the nano metal wire conducting layer of the visible area, and the opaque layer is positioned on the transparent insulating layer positioned at the frame area and the gap and exposes the operable area.
Optionally, after the forming the conductive layer of the nano metal wire, the method for manufacturing a touch panel further includes:
forming an adhesion promoting layer, wherein the adhesion promoting layer covers the nano metal wire conducting layer;
and etching the adhesion promoting layer and the nano metal wire conducting layer to form a touch electrode.
Optionally, at least a portion of the adhesion promotion layer and the conductive layer of the nano metal line are embedded into each other in the thickness direction of the adhesion promotion layer.
Optionally, the step of forming the transparent insulating layer and the opaque layer includes:
forming the transparent insulating layer, wherein the transparent insulating layer is positioned on the routing layer and the nano metal wire conducting layer of the visible area;
forming an opaque material layer covering the transparent insulating layer;
and removing the opaque material layer of the operable area to form the opaque layer, wherein the opaque layer is positioned on the frame area and the transparent insulating layer at the gap and exposes the operable area.
Optionally, the transparent insulating layer and the opaque material layer are formed by at least one of chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, or atomic layer deposition.
In the touch panel and the preparation method thereof provided by the invention, after a routing layer is formed on a nano metal wire conducting layer of a frame area, a transparent insulating layer is covered on the routing layer and the nano metal wire conducting layer in a whole piece, then an opaque layer is formed on the insulating layer, and an operable area part of the opaque layer is removed, namely, the inner edge of the opaque layer is aligned with the edge of the operable area.
Detailed Description
In the background art, it has been mentioned that the current touch panel is difficult to realize a narrow bezel design. This is because the trace is usually formed by a printing process, but the process deviation of the printing process is large, and the trace easily enters the visible area, which results in poor visibility and appearance of the touch panel. Therefore, the inventor finds that, in the subsequent process of the touch panel, a cover plate is attached, a certain distance is usually left at the edge of the visible area to ensure that the attachment is smooth and no bubbles appear, and the gap at the edge of the visible area can be fully utilized.
Specifically, referring to fig. 1, a touch panel includes a substrate 1 ', where the substrate 1' includes a visible area 11 'and a frame area 12', the frame area 12 'surrounds the visible area 11', and a routing layer 4 'of the touch panel covers the frame area 12', in order to avoid the routing layer 4 'entering the visible area 11', which causes poor appearance, a certain distance (greater than 0.3mm) needs to be left between the frame area 12 'and the visible area 11'. In order to attach the cover plate, the edge of the visible area 11 'needs to be spaced apart (greater than 0.3mm), i.e. the gap between the operable area 111' and the edge of the visible area 11 'is left, so that the routing layer 4' can be coated into the edge of the visible area 11 'when the routing layer 4' is printed in the frame area 12 ', and the visible area 11' is not affected thereby. However, this method requires a gap between the frame region 12 ' and the visible region 11 ' and between the edge of the visible region 11 ' and the operable region 111 ', which further increases the size of the frame region 12 ' and does not meet the design requirement of a narrow frame.
In view of the above, the present invention provides a touch panel and a method for manufacturing the same, in which after a routing layer is formed on a nano metal wire conductive layer in a frame region, a transparent insulating layer is entirely covered on the routing layer and the nano metal wire conductive layer, and then an opaque layer is formed on the insulating layer, the opaque layer removes an operable region portion, that is, an inner edge of the opaque layer is aligned with an edge of the operable region, if the routing layer is applied in a visible region, since the transparent insulating layer is transparent and the opaque layer is opaque, the opaque layer covers the routing layer and a gap between the edge of the operable region and the edge of the visible region, and also covers a portion of the routing layer applied in the visible region, thereby reducing a probability of poor visibility appearance of the touch panel.
The touch panel and the method for manufacturing the touch panel according to the embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description. 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.
Referring to fig. 2 and fig. 8, the present embodiment provides a touch panel, including: the substrate 1, the substrate 1 includes a visible area 11 and a frame area 12 surrounding the visible area 11, the visible area 11 includes an operable area 111, and a gap 112 is formed between the edge of the operable area 111 and the edge of the visible area 11; the nano metal wire conducting layer 2 is positioned on the visible area 11 and the frame area 12 of the substrate 1; the wiring layer 4 is positioned on the nano metal wire conducting layer 2 of the frame area 12; the transparent insulating layer 5 is positioned on the routing layer 4 and the nano metal wire conducting layer 2 of the visible area 11; an opaque layer 61, the opaque layer 61 being on the transparent insulating layer 5 at the frame region 12 and the gap 112 and exposing the operable region 111.
As used herein, "transparent" means a transmittance of 80% or more in the visible light region, and "opaque" means a transmittance of 10% or less in the visible light region, it being understood that the greater the transparency of the transparent insulating layer 5 in the present embodiment, the better the transparency, and the smaller the transparency of the opaque layer 61.
Further, the touch panel further includes a cover plate and a laminating layer, and the laminating layer is located between the opaque layer 61 and the cover plate to laminate the opaque layer 61 and the cover plate.
Referring to fig. 3, the present embodiment provides a method for manufacturing a touch panel, including:
s1: providing a substrate, wherein the substrate comprises a visible area and a frame area surrounding the visible area, the visible area comprises an operable area, and a gap is formed between the edge of the operable area and the edge of the visible area;
s2: forming a nano metal wire conducting layer, wherein the nano metal wire conducting layer is positioned on a visible area and a frame area of the substrate;
s3: forming a routing layer, wherein the routing layer is positioned on the nano metal wire conducting layer of the frame area; and
s4: and forming a transparent insulating layer and an opaque layer, wherein the transparent insulating layer is positioned on the routing layer and the nano metal wire conducting layer of the visible area, and the opaque layer is positioned on the transparent insulating layer at the frame area and the gap and exposes the operable area.
Referring to fig. 4, a substrate 1 is provided, and the substrate 1 provides a support for the entire touch panel. The substrate 1 is generally made of a transparent insulating material, for example: the substrate 1 may be made of a rigid substrate formed of a material such as glass, metal, or ceramic, or may be made of a material such as acryl, Polymethylmethacrylate (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), or polyethylene terephthalate (PP), Flexible substrates formed of any suitable insulating material such as polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), or styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN).
The substrate 1 comprises a visible region 11 and a frame region 12 surrounding the visible region 11, wherein the visible region 11 is generally used for transparent display, and the frame region 12 is generally opaque to highlight the display content of the visible region 11. Further, the visible region 11 includes an operable region 111, and an edge of the operable region 111 has a gap 112 with an edge of the visible region 11. For example, the substrate 1 has a rectangular shape, and the frame region 12 and the gap 112 have annular shapes. And, the width of the gap 112 at the edge of the operable area 111 and the edge of the visible area 11 is equal everywhere. Optionally, the cross-sectional width of the gap 112 is less than or equal to 0.3mm, for example, 0.1mm, 0.15mm, 0.2mm or 0.25mm, which is not limited by the invention.
Next, coating a nano-metal wire solution on the substrate 1, wherein the nano-metal wire solution is a suspension solution formed by dissolving a nano-metal wire in a specific solvent, the solvent may be water, an aqueous solution, an ionic solution, a salt-containing solution, a supercritical fluid, oil or a mixture thereof, the solvent may further contain an additive such as a dispersant, a surfactant, a cross-linking agent, a stabilizer, a wetting agent or a thickener, the nano-metal wire solution is coated on the substrate 1, and heating and drying are performed to solidify the nano-metal wire solution coated on the substrate 1 to form the nano-metal wire conductive layer 2, the nano-metal wire conductive layer 2 includes a matrix and nano-metal wires embedded in the matrix, the nano-metal wires are connected by molecular force to form a conductive network, and the matrix is used for protecting the nano-metal wires from corrosion, Wear and the like. The nano metal wire may be a nano wire of gold (Au), silver (Ag), platinum (Pt), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), palladium (Pd), etc., and is preferably a silver nano wire (i.e., a nano silver wire) in terms of conductivity, light transmittance, etc. The length of the silver nanowires is about 10 to 300 μm, preferably 20 to 100 μm, and the cross-sectional diameter (i.e., wire diameter) of the silver nanowires is less than 500nm, preferably less than 100 nm. The thickness of the conductive layer 2 of the nano-metal wire is, for example, between 10nm and 1 μm.
With continued reference to fig. 4, an adhesion promoting layer 3 is formed on the conductive layer 2 of the nano-metal line. Optionally, the material of the adhesion promotion layer 3 may be one or more of high molecular polymer, nitride and oxide, the high molecular polymer may be polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinyl butyral (PVB resin), polyaniline (PAN or PANI), polyphenylene ether (PPE), polyphenylene acetylene (PPV), poly 3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT), polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSS), poly 3-hexylthiophene (P3HT), poly 3-octylthiophene (P3OT), poly C-61-butyric acid-methyl ester (PCBM), poly [ 2-methoxy-5- (2-ethyl-hexyloxy) -1, 4-phenylene ethylene ] (MEH-PPV), etc., and the nitride may be silicon nitride, and the oxide may be silicon oxide. In this embodiment, the material of the adhesion promoting layer 3 is a transparent optical adhesive prepared by one or more of adhesive materials such as polyamide resin, polyurethane resin, epoxy resin, and the like, and the step of forming the adhesion promoting layer 3 may be: coating a transparent optical glue solution on the nano metal wire conducting layer 2 by adopting a spraying process; and then heating and drying are carried out, and the adhesion promoting layer 3 is formed by curing. Further, the transparent optical adhesive solution has fluidity, the nano metal wire conducting layer 2 is usually in a net shape, and before being uncured, the transparent optical adhesive solution can permeate into the nano metal wire conducting layer 2, so that at least part of the adhesion promoting layer 3 formed after curing can be embedded into the nano metal wire conducting layer 2 in the thickness direction, the nano metal wire conducting layer 2 is better attached to the substrate 1, migration among the nano metal wires is not easy to occur, the lap joint is firmer, and the conductivity and the sensitivity of the touch panel are further improved.
Next, referring to fig. 5, the adhesion promoting layer 3 and the metal nanowire conducting layer 2 are etched to form a pattern, the adhesion promoting layer 3 and the metal nanowire conducting layer 2 in the visible area 11 form a touch electrode, and the adhesion promoting layer 3 and the metal nanowire conducting layer 2 in the frame area 12 are used for leading out the touch electrode.
Next, referring to fig. 6, a wiring layer 4 is printed on the nano metal wire conductive layer 2 of the frame area 12, and the wiring layer 4 covers the nano metal wire conductive layer 2 of the frame area 12. The material of the wiring layer 4 may be one or more of silver, gold, indium tin oxide, or graphene. In this embodiment, after the routing layer 4 is formed by using a printing process, the routing layer 4 is further etched by using a laser etching process, so as to form a plurality of traces on the nano metal wire conductive layer 2 in the frame area 12, and the traces are overlapped with the touch electrodes by using a subsequent process. Further, due to the instability of the printing process, when the routing layer 4 is printed in the bezel area 12, the routing layer 4 is easily smeared into the visible area 11, and in particular, the routing layer 4 is more easily smeared into the gap 112 between the edge of the visible area 11 and the edge of the operable area 111, resulting in poor visible appearance.
Next, referring to fig. 7, a transparent insulating layer 5 and an opaque material layer 6 are formed, the transparent insulating layer 5 covers the whole of the frame area 12 and the visible area 11, the opaque material layer 6 covers the transparent insulating layer 5, and the transparent insulating layer 5 is used for isolating the routing layer 4 from the opaque material layer 6 and isolating the touch electrode from the opaque material layer 6. Further, the material of the transparent insulating layer 5 is a transparent insulating material, such as silicon oxide and/or silicon nitride, the opaque material layer 6 is an opaque conductive material or an opaque non-conductive material, such as one or more of nano silver, nano gold, or nano copper, of course, the materials of the transparent insulating layer 5 and the opaque material layer 6 may also be other materials, which is not illustrated here. In this embodiment, the transparent insulating layer 5 and the opaque material layer 6 are formed by at least one of chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, or atomic layer deposition, which are stable, so that the very thin transparent insulating layer 5 and the very thin opaque material layer 6 can be formed, and bubbles generated in the subsequent cover plate attaching process due to the excessive thickness of the transparent insulating layer 5 and the opaque material layer 6 are prevented from affecting the yield. Specifically, the thickness of the transparent insulating layer 5 is, for example, 50nm to 500nm, and the thickness of the opaque material layer 6 is, for example, 500nm to 1500 nm.
Referring to fig. 8, the opaque material layer 6 is etched to remove the opaque material layer 6 in the operable area 111, so as to form the opaque layer 61, the opaque layer 61 covers the transparent insulating layer 5 in the frame area 12 and the transparent insulating layer 5 in the gap 112, if the routing layer 4 is coated in the gap 112, since the opaque layer 61 is opaque, and the inner edge of the opaque layer 61 is aligned with the edge of the operable area 111, that is, the opaque layer 61 can block the routing layer 4 coated in the gap 112, thereby preventing the generation of a visible defective product.
In summary, in the touch panel and the method for manufacturing the touch panel according to the embodiments of the invention, after the routing layer is formed on the metal nanowire conducting layer in the frame region, the transparent insulating layer is entirely covered on the routing layer and the metal nanowire conducting layer, and then the opaque layer is formed on the insulating layer, the opaque layer removes the operable region portion, that is, the inner edge of the opaque layer is aligned with the edge of the operable region, if the routing layer is coated in the visible region, since the transparent insulating layer is transparent and the opaque layer is opaque, the opaque layer covers the routing layer and the gap between the edge of the operable region and the edge of the visible region, and can also cover the portion of the routing layer coated in the visible region, thereby reducing the probability of poor visual appearance of the touch panel.
The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention in any way. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.