CN114816099A

CN114816099A - Electronic device

Info

Publication number: CN114816099A
Application number: CN202110118193.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 许良珍; 张羽; 吴菲朕; 林義忠
Original assignee: TPK Advanced Solutions Inc
Current assignee: TPK Advanced Solutions Inc
Priority date: 2021-01-28
Filing date: 2021-01-28
Publication date: 2022-07-29

Abstract

An electronic device includes a flexible substrate. The flexible substrate comprises a touch area and a peripheral area. The touch area comprises a plurality of first electrodes, a plurality of insulating layers, a plurality of second electrodes and a plurality of metal wires. The plurality of first electrodes comprise a first nano silver conductive layer and a first conductive thin layer. The first conductive thin layer is positioned on the first nano silver conductive layer. A plurality of insulating layers are positioned over the plurality of first electrodes. The plurality of second electrodes are positioned on the plurality of insulating layers and comprise a second nano silver conducting layer and a second conducting thin layer. The second conductive thin layer is positioned on the second nano silver conductive layer. The insulating layers are used for isolating the first electrodes and the second electrodes. At least one of the first electrodes and the second electrodes is coupled with the metal lines in the peripheral area. An electronic device is provided to improve the problems of the sensor structure thickness and the resistance of the flexible panel being too high.

Description

Electronic device

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an electronic device. In detail, the present disclosure relates to an electronic device in the field of touch technology.

Background

The existing touch technology is developed towards an ultrathin flexible panel, the structural thickness of the sensors of the flexible panel is too thick to affect the display picture, and moreover, the resistance value of the sensors of the flexible panel is too high, so that the panel cannot meet the sensing detection of the existing touch pen. According to the prior art of CN106919278A, the problems of reducing the thickness of the bridge, increasing the yield of the panel process, and maintaining the appropriate resistance value are the problems to be solved by the current ultra-thin flexible panel.

Accordingly, there are a number of deficiencies in the above-described techniques that leave a need for practitioners in the art to develop other suitable flexible panel structures.

Disclosure of Invention

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to an electronic device. The electronic device includes a flexible substrate. The flexible substrate comprises a touch area and a peripheral area. The touch area comprises a plurality of first electrodes, a plurality of insulating layers, a plurality of second electrodes and a plurality of metal wires. The plurality of first electrodes comprise a first nano silver conductive layer and a first conductive thin layer. The first conductive thin layer is positioned on the first nano silver conductive layer. A plurality of insulating layers are positioned over the plurality of first electrodes. The plurality of second electrodes are positioned on the plurality of insulating layers and comprise a second nano silver conducting layer and a second conducting thin layer. The second conductive thin layer is positioned on the second nano silver conductive layer. The insulating layers are used for isolating the first electrodes and the second electrodes. At least one of the first electrodes and the second electrodes is coupled with the metal lines in the peripheral area.

In some embodiments, the plurality of metal lines comprise copper. The resistance value of the metal wires is between 0.001 omega and 1 omega.

In some embodiments, the first and second thin conductive layers both comprise silver. The thickness of the first conductive thin layer and the second conductive thin layer is between 1nm and 50 nm.

In some embodiments, the first conductive thin layer and the second conductive thin layer have a thickness of 3nm to 25 nm.

In some embodiments, the first conductive thin layer and the second conductive thin layer have a thickness of 3nm to 15 nm.

In some embodiments, the composite resistance value of the first conductive thin layer and the first nano-silver conductive layer is between 0.001 Ω and 50 Ω.

In some embodiments, the composite resistance value of the second conductive thin layer and the second nano silver conductive layer is between 0.001 Ω and 50 Ω.

In some embodiments, the touch area further comprises a photoresist hybrid cover layer. The photoresist mixed covering layer covers the second nano silver conducting layer.

In some embodiments, the photoresist hybrid cap layer has a thickness of 0.001 μm to 3 μm.

In some embodiments, the flexible substrate comprises polyimide and cyclic olefin polymer.

In some embodiments, the touch area further comprises a buffer layer. The buffer layer is positioned between the flexible substrate and the first nano silver conducting layer.

In some embodiments, the buffer layer has a thickness of 0.001 μm to 3 μm.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to an electronic device. The electronic device includes a flexible substrate. The flexible substrate comprises a touch area and a peripheral area. The touch area comprises a plurality of first electrodes, a plurality of insulating layers, a plurality of second electrodes and at least one conductive thin layer. The plurality of first electrodes comprise a first nanosilver conductive layer. A plurality of insulating layers are positioned over the plurality of first electrodes. A plurality of second electrodes are located over the plurality of insulating layers. The plurality of second electrodes comprise a second nanosilver conductive layer. At least one conductive thin layer is positioned on the first nano silver conductive layer or the second nano silver conductive layer. The insulating layers are used for isolating the first electrodes and the second electrodes.

In summary, the present disclosure provides an electronic device to solve the problem of too high thickness and resistance of the sensor structure of the flexible panel.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the problems to be solved, solutions to problems, and effects thereof, and the specific details thereof will be set forth in the following description and the related drawings.

Drawings

The disclosure may be better understood with reference to the following description taken in the following paragraphs and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a portion of a block diagram of an electronic device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 2A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a portion of an electronic device according to some embodiments of the disclosure;

fig. 2B is a schematic cross-sectional view of a portion of an electronic device according to some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an electronic device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of a structure according to some embodiments of the disclosure; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a metal line according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[ notation ] to show

100: electronic device

M1: a plurality of first electrodes

M2: multiple second electrodes

110: metal wire

120: a first nano silver conductive layer

121: a first conductive thin layer

130: insulating layer

140: second nano silver conductive layer

141: second conductive thin layer

150: flexible substrate

160: buffer layer

170: photoresist hybrid coating

180: passivation layer

190: water-blocking and gas-barrier layer

191: the first water-blocking gas-barrier layer

192: the second water-resistant gas barrier layer

AA': section line

D: touch control area

P: peripheral zone

L: boundary line

Z: cross section enlargement

410: metal wire

420: metal wire

Detailed Description

The spirit of the present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings and detailed description, in which it is apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as taught herein.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. The singular forms "a", "an", "the" and "the", as used herein, also include the plural forms.

As used herein, the terms "comprising," "including," "having," "containing," and the like are open-ended terms that mean including, but not limited to.

With respect to the term (terms) used herein, it is generally understood that each term has its ordinary meaning in the art, in the context of this document, and in the context of particular contexts, unless otherwise indicated. Certain words used to describe the disclosure are discussed below or elsewhere in this specification to provide additional guidance to those skilled in the art in describing the disclosure.

Fig. 1 is a top view schematic diagram of a portion of a structure of an electronic device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device 100 may be a panel and a display device.

The electronic device 100 includes a flexible substrate. The flexible substrate comprises a touch area and a peripheral area. The touch area includes a plurality of first electrodes M1, a plurality of insulating layers, and a plurality of second electrodes M2. Note that the multiple insulating layers are located at intersections of the multiple first electrodes M1 and the multiple second electrodes M2.

Fig. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an electronic device according to some embodiments of the disclosure. Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 2A, fig. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the electronic device 100 of fig. 1 along line AA'.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 2A, the electronic device 100 includes a flexible substrate 150, a first nano-silver conductive layer 120, an insulating layer 130, a second nano-silver conductive layer 140, a metal line 110, a photoresist hybrid covering layer 170, a passivation layer 180, and a water-blocking gas barrier layer 190.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 2A, the first nanosilver conductive layer 120 is located on the flexible substrate 150, and the material of the flexible substrate 150 is polyimide and cyclic olefin polymer, so that the flexible substrate 150 has good flexibility and optically high transmittance. In one embodiment, the thickness of the flexible substrate 150 is between 0.001 μm and 50 μm. In another embodiment, the thickness of the flexible substrate 150 is between 2 μm and 25 μm. In yet another embodiment, the thickness of the flexible substrate 150 is between 3 μm and 10 μm.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 also includes a buffer layer 160. The buffer layer 160 is located between the flexible substrate 150 and the first nanosilver conductive layer 120. In one embodiment, the thickness of the buffer layer 160 is between 0.001 μm and 3 μm. In another embodiment, the buffer layer 160 has a thickness of 0.01 μm to 1.5 μm. In yet another embodiment, the buffer layer 160 has a thickness of 0.02 μm to 1 μm. It should be noted that the buffer layer 160 is designed on the electronic device 100 according to the acid-base resistance of the flexible substrate 150 to the solvent and the actual requirement during the manufacturing process.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 1 and fig. 2A, the plurality of first electrodes M1 includes a first nano-silver conductive layer 120 and a first conductive thin layer 121. The first conductive thin layer 121 is positioned on the first nano-silver conductive layer 120. It should be noted that the first conductive layer comprises silver and is sputtered on the surface of the first nanosilver conductive layer 120. In some embodiments, the material property of the first nanosilver conductive layer 120 is close to that of a liquid, and the first conductive thin layer 121 is soluble in the first nanosilver conductive layer 120. In some embodiments, the thickness of the first conductive thin layer 121 is between 1nm and 50 nm. In still other embodiments, the thickness of the first conductive thin layer 121 is between 3nm and 25 nm. In other embodiments, the thickness of the first conductive thin layer 121 is between 3nm and 15 nm. It should be noted that the first conductive thin layer 121 can reduce the resistance value, and the optical transmittance is affected by exceeding the thickness range. In some embodiments, the first nanosilver conductive layer 120 is equal to or less than 100 nm.

In some embodiments, the composite resistance value of the first nanosilver conductive layer 120 plus the first conductive thin layer 121 is between 0.001 Ω and 50 Ω. In other embodiments, the combined resistance of the first nanosilver conductive layer 120 and the first conductive thin layer 121 is between 3 Ω and 30 Ω. In still other embodiments, the combined resistance of the first nanosilver conductive layer 120 and the first conductive thin layer 121 is between 5 Ω and 20 Ω.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 1 and fig. 2A, the plurality of second electrodes M2 includes a second nano-silver conductive layer 140 and a second conductive thin layer 141. The second conductive thin layer 141 is positioned on the second nano silver conductive layer 140. It should be noted that the second conductive thin layer contains silver and is sputtered on the surface of the second nano-silver conductive layer 140. In some embodiments, the second nanosilver conductive layer 140 has a material property close to that of a liquid, and the second conductive thin layer 141 is soluble in the second nanosilver conductive layer 140. In some embodiments, the thickness of the second conductive thin layer 141 is between 1nm and 50 nm. In still other embodiments, the second thin conductive layer 141 has a thickness of 3nm to 25 nm. In other embodiments, the thickness of the second conductive thin layer 141 is between 3nm and 15 nm. It should be noted that the second conductive thin layer 141 can reduce the resistance value, and the optical transmittance is affected by exceeding the thickness range. In some embodiments, the second nanosilver conductive layer 140 is equal to or less than 100 nm.

In some embodiments, the composite resistance value of the second nanosilver conductive layer 140 and the second conductive thin layer 141 is between 0.001 Ω and 50 Ω. In other embodiments, the combined resistance of the second nanosilver conductive layer 140 and the second conductive thin layer 141 is between 3 Ω and 30 Ω. In still other embodiments, the combined resistance of the second nanosilver conductive layer 140 and the second conductive thin layer 141 is between 5 Ω and 20 Ω.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 2A, the first nanosilver conductive layer 120 and the second nanosilver conductive layer 140 can be bent and have high optical transmittance. Therefore, the size of the jumper wire of the first nano silver conductive layer 120 does not need to be too large, and the problem of visual jumper wire by naked eyes does not exist.

In some embodiments, it should be noted that the first nanosilver conductive layer 120 is used as a jumper, the second nanosilver conductive layer 140 and the metal line 110 are fabricated while making the whole circuit and pattern (pattern) in the peripheral region P and the touch region D, and the second nanosilver conductive layer 140 and the metal line 110 are implemented by using the same mask, so that a photolithography process can be reduced. It should be noted that the metal line 110 is only located in the peripheral region P and is coupled to at least one of the first nano-silver conductive layer 120 and the second nano-silver conductive layer 140 at the boundary line L. In some embodiments, the metal line 110 is made of copper. In some embodiments, the peripheral region P further includes a second nano-silver conductive layer 140, and the metal line 110 is plated on the second nano-silver conductive layer 140 in the peripheral region P. In some embodiments, the metal lines 110 are electroplated on the plurality of first electrodes M1 and the plurality of second electrodes M2.

In some embodiments, the process steps for manufacturing the first conductive layer 121 and the second conductive layer 141 may be sputtering or evaporation.

In some embodiments, the resistance of the metal line 110 is between 0.001 Ω and 1 Ω. In other embodiments, the resistance of the metal line 110 is between 0.01 Ω and 0.8 Ω. In still other embodiments, the resistance of the metal line 110 is between 0.1 Ω and 0.5 Ω.

In some embodiments, the insulating layer 130 is located between the first nano-silver conductive layer 120 and the second nano-silver conductive layer 140, and is used to isolate the first nano-silver conductive layer 120 and the second nano-silver conductive layer 140. In some embodiments, the thickness of the insulating layer 130 is between 0.001 μm and 3 μm. In other embodiments, the thickness of the insulating layer 130 is between 0.5 μm and 2.5 μm. In still other embodiments, the thickness of the insulating layer 130 is between 0.8 μm and 1.7 μm.

In some embodiments, due to the nano-silver characteristic, a photoresist mixture coating layer 170 is formed on the second nano-silver conductive layer 140 to protect the second nano-silver conductive layer 140 from decomposition due to Ultraviolet (UV) radiation. In some embodiments, the photoresist mixture cover layer 170 includes a polymer solvent and a photoresist during the manufacturing process, so that the photoresist mixture cover layer 170 can be exposed and patterned to serve as the photoresist mixture cover layer of the touch area D, and in addition, the photoresist mixture cover layer 170 not only has high light transmittance, but also has flexibility in physical properties. The polymer solvent of the photoresist mixed layer 170 will be baked during the process.

In some embodiments, the photoresist hybrid cap layer 170 has a thickness of 0.001 μm to 3 μm. In other embodiments, the photoresist hybrid cap layer 170 has a thickness of 0.02 μm to 2.5 μm. In still other embodiments, the photoresist hybrid cap layer 170 has a thickness of 0.1 μm to 1.5 μm.

In some embodiments, the thickness of the passivation layer 180 is between 0.001 μm to 3 μm. In other embodiments, the thickness of the passivation layer 180 is between 0.5 μm and 2.5 μm. In still other embodiments, the thickness of the passivation layer 180 is between 1 μm and 2.5 μm.

In some embodiments, the water-blocking gas barrier layer 190 is used to prevent moisture from entering, and comprises a first water-blocking gas barrier layer 191 and a second water-blocking gas barrier layer 192. In some embodiments, the second water-blocking gas barrier layer 192 is positioned over the first water-blocking gas barrier layer 191. In some embodiments, the material of the first water blocking gas barrier layer 191 is silicon nitride (Si3N4) and the material of the second water blocking gas barrier layer 192 is silicon dioxide (SiO 2).

In some embodiments, the first water-blocking gas barrier layer 191 has a thickness of 0.001 μm to 1 μm. In other embodiments, the first water-blocking gas barrier layer 191 has a thickness of 0.05 μm to 0.8 μm. In still other embodiments, the first water-blocking gas barrier layer 191 has a thickness of 0.1 μm to 0.7 μm.

In some embodiments, the second water-blocking gas barrier layer 192 has a thickness of 0.001 μm to 1 μm. In other embodiments, the second water-blocking gas barrier layer 192 has a thickness of 0.05 μm to 0.8 μm. In still other embodiments, the second water-blocking gas barrier layer 192 has a thickness of 1 μm to 0.7 μm.

Fig. 2B is a schematic partial cross-sectional view illustrating an electronic device according to some embodiments of the disclosure. In some embodiments, compared to fig. 2A, at least one conductive thin layer 121 is located on the first nanosilver conductive layer 120, and the remaining structures are the same as those in the embodiment of fig. 2A, and are not repeated herein.

Fig. 2C is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an electronic device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, compared to fig. 2A, the remaining structure of the at least one conductive thin layer 141 on the second nano-silver conductive layer 140 is the same as the embodiment of fig. 2A, and is not repeated herein.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the structure according to some embodiments of the disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3, fig. 3 corresponds to an enlarged view of Z in fig. 2A. Z is an enlarged view of the first conductive thin layer 121 sputtered on the first nano-silver conductive layer 120 or the second conductive thin layer 141 sputtered on the second nano-silver conductive layer 140. Because the nano silver wires in the nano silver conducting layer are distributed in a scattered way and have good flexibility, the vision is not disturbed or the Moire (Moire pattern) is not generated. In addition, silver has superior conductivity and provides a faster response speed than Indium Tin Oxide (ITO). Furthermore, the distribution density of the nano silver wires can be controlled to improve the optical penetration rate.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a metal line according to some embodiments of the disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4, the metal lines 410 are in a 15 μm by 15 μm lap pattern. The metal lines 420 are in a 10 μm by 10 μm lap pattern. It should be noted that the

metal lines

410 and 420 are connected to the first nano-silver conductive layer 120 and the second nano-silver conductive layer 140 by the bonding pattern shown in fig. 4.

According to the foregoing embodiments, an electronic device is provided to improve the problems of the sensor structure thickness and the resistance of the flexible panel being too high.

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to specific embodiments, other possible implementations are not excluded. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be determined by the scope defined by the appended claims, and shall not be limited by the foregoing embodiments.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. All changes and modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

the flexible substrate comprises a touch area and a peripheral area;

wherein the touch area includes:

a plurality of first electrodes, wherein the plurality of first electrodes comprise a first nano-silver conductive layer and a first conductive thin layer, and the first conductive thin layer is positioned on the first nano-silver conductive layer;

a plurality of insulating layers over the plurality of first electrodes;

a plurality of second electrodes disposed on the plurality of insulating layers and including a second nano-silver conductive layer and a second conductive thin layer, wherein the second conductive thin layer is disposed on the second nano-silver conductive layer, and the plurality of insulating layers are used for isolating the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes; and

a plurality of metal lines, wherein at least one of the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes is coupled to the plurality of metal lines at the peripheral region.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of metal lines comprise copper, and wherein a resistance value of the plurality of metal lines is between 0.001 Ω and 1 Ω.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the first conductive thin layer and the second conductive thin layer each comprise silver, and wherein the thickness of the first conductive thin layer and the second conductive thin layer is between 1nm and 50 nm.

4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the first conductive thin layer and the second conductive thin layer have a thickness of 3nm to 25 nm.

5. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the first conductive thin layer and the second conductive thin layer have a thickness of 3nm to 15 nm.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein a composite resistance value of the first conductive thin layer and the first nano-silver conductive layer is between 0.001 Ω and 50 Ω.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein a composite resistance value of the second conductive thin layer and the second nano-silver conductive layer is between 0.001 Ω and 50 Ω.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the touch area further comprises a photoresist hybrid cover layer covering the second nanosilver conductive layer.

9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the photoresist hybrid cap layer has a thickness of 0.001 μm to 3 μm.

10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate comprises polyimide and cyclic olefin polymer.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the touch area further comprises a buffer layer between the flexible substrate and the first nanosilver conductive layer.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the buffer layer has a thickness of 0.001 μm to 3 μm.

13. An electronic device, comprising:

the flexible substrate comprises a touch area and a peripheral area;

wherein the touch area includes:

a plurality of first electrodes, the plurality of first electrodes comprising a first nanosilver conductive layer;

a plurality of insulating layers over the plurality of first electrodes;

a plurality of second electrodes located on the insulating layers, wherein the second electrodes comprise a second nano-silver conductive layer; and

at least one conductive thin layer on the first nano silver conductive layer or the second nano silver conductive layer;

wherein the insulating layers are used for isolating the first electrodes and the second electrodes.