JP2015210706A - Transparent electrode capacitance sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transparent electrode capacitance sensor which is excellent in designability, secures a wide view area, prevents the occurrence of air bubbles and has reduced parasitic capacitance by reduction of a step between a transparent electrode and an auxiliary electrode, is excellent in reliability, and has reduced material cost.SOLUTION: A transparent electrode capacitance sensor 1 includes: a transparent resin substrate 11; at least one or more transparent electrodes 12a provided on the transparent resin substrate 11; a pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b provided on at least a part of the outer periphery of the transparent electrode 12a; and an extraction wire 13 connected to the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b through the transparent electrode 12a. The pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b has a thickness thicker than that of the transparent electrode 12a, and is formed of the same material as that of the transparent electrode 12a.

Description

  The present invention relates to a transparent electrode capacitance sensor.

  As one type of touch sensor detection method, there is a capacitance method in which a sensor reacts to electricity flowing in a finger in contact with a screen and converts the movement of the finger into a calculation command. As a capacitive sensor using this capacitive method, an auxiliary electrode having an electrical resistance lower than that of the transparent electrode is disclosed on at least a part of the outer periphery of the transparent electrode in order to suppress variation in detection sensitivity. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  However, in the sensor described in Patent Document 1, when the displacement between the transparent electrode and the auxiliary electrode occurs during the manufacturing process, the conduction area between the transparent electrode and the auxiliary electrode may vary depending on the amount of deviation. However, if the transparent electrode and the auxiliary electrode are to be positioned with high accuracy in order to prevent the conductive area between the transparent electrode and the auxiliary electrode from varying according to the amount of deviation, there is a problem that the manufacturing process becomes complicated. . In order to overcome this problem, a method is disclosed in which the positioning accuracy of the auxiliary electrode and the transparent electrode is increased by positioning the contour line of the light-transmitting resist on the contour line of the transparent electrode that is not covered by the auxiliary electrode. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).

JP 2012-133673 A JP 2012-178149 A

However, as the material of the auxiliary electrode, in the invention of Patent Document 1, a conductive paste or metal film containing a low-resistance conductive metal material such as silver ink, and in the invention of Patent Document 2, silver, copper, or gold is used. An ink containing metal particles, an ink containing carbon or graphite, a metal foil, or the like is used. Thus, when the auxiliary electrode is formed from a material different from the transparent electrode material, the auxiliary electrode portion on the outer periphery of the transparent electrode is conspicuously lowered in design, and a large step is formed between the transparent electrode and the auxiliary electrode. When forming a cover layer that covers the surface, bubbles are likely to be generated, which increases parasitic capacitance, and the auxiliary electrode portion has a problem that the view area of the transparent electrode is reduced.
In addition, since materials such as silver and gold are expensive, there is a problem that the cost of materials increases when these materials are used.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, has excellent design properties, ensures a wide view area, and further reduces the step between the transparent electrode and the auxiliary electrode, thereby preventing bubble generation and parasitic capacitance. An object of the present invention is to provide a transparent electrode capacitive sensor with reduced reliability, excellent reliability and reduced material cost.

  The feature of the transparent electrode capacitance sensor of the present invention is that it is provided on at least a part of the outer periphery of the transparent resin substrate, at least one transparent electrode provided on the transparent resin substrate, and the transparent electrode. A pseudo auxiliary electrode and a lead wire connected to the pseudo auxiliary electrode through the transparent electrode, the pseudo auxiliary electrode being thicker than the transparent electrode and made of the same material as the transparent electrode .

  When connecting the lead wire to the pseudo auxiliary electrode, a step of thickness of (pseudo auxiliary electrode thickness + lead wire thickness) occurs at the connection portion, but the lead wire is made pseudo auxiliary as in the present invention. If the connection is made through the transparent electrode instead of the direct connection, the step generated at the connection portion is only the thickness of the lead-out wiring.

  It is preferable that the pseudo auxiliary electrode and the lead wiring are separated by a distance of 1 to 10 times the thickness of the lead wiring in a plan view.

  The pseudo auxiliary electrode is preferably formed to be thicker than the thickness of the transparent electrode as long as it does not exceed the thickness of the transparent electrode plus 6 μm.

  The pseudo auxiliary electrode is preferably provided in a range of 1/7 or more of the outer periphery of the transparent electrode.

  The lead wiring is preferably formed to a thickness in the range of 0.1 to 3 μm.

  It is preferable that a carbon layer is further provided on the lead wiring, and the lead wiring portion provided with the carbon layer is connected to the pseudo auxiliary electrode through a transparent electrode.

  According to the present invention, the design is excellent, a wide view area is ensured, and furthermore, by reducing the step between the transparent electrode and the auxiliary electrode, the generation of bubbles is prevented, and the parasitic capacitance is reduced. It is possible to provide a transparent electrode capacitive sensor that is excellent in the above-mentioned and reduced in material cost.

(A) is a top view of the transparent electrode electrostatic capacitance sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (b) is AA arrow sectional drawing of the figure (a), (c) is the figure ( It is an enlarged view of the circled part of b). It is a figure explaining the manufacturing method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) It is a top view of the conventional transparent electrode capacitive sensor, (b) is a GG arrow sectional view of the same figure (a), (c) is the circled part of the same figure (b) FIG. (A) It is a top view of the transparent electrode capacitive sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (b) is BB arrow sectional drawing of the figure (a). (A) It is a top view of the transparent electrode electrostatic capacitance sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (b) is CC sectional view taken on the line of the figure (a). (A) It is a top view of the transparent electrode capacitive sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (b) is DD sectional view taken on the line of the figure (a). (A) It is a top view of the transparent electrode capacitive sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (b) is EE arrow sectional drawing of the figure (a). (A) It is a top view of the transparent electrode capacitive sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (b) is FF arrow sectional drawing of the figure (a). It is a flowchart which shows the manufacturing process of the transparent electrode electrostatic capacitance sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  A transparent electrode capacitance sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Fig.1 (a) is a top view of the transparent electrode capacitive sensor which concerns on this embodiment of this invention, FIG.1 (b) is AA arrow sectional drawing of Fig.1 (a), FIG. 1 (c) is an enlarged view of a circled portion in FIG. 1 (b).

  The transparent electrode capacitance sensor 1 includes a transparent resin base material 11, a transparent electrode 12a provided on the transparent resin base material 11, and an outer peripheral portion of the transparent electrode 12a. And a lead wire 13 having one end connected to the transparent electrode 12a in the notch 12c, and an adhesive layer 14 provided on the upper surface of FIG. 1B. The transparent electrode 12a and the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b are made of the same material.

  In the present embodiment, in order not to directly connect the lead wiring 13 to the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b, a notch 12c is provided in a part of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b. It is connected to the transparent electrode 12a of the part 12c.

  In the connection portion between the lead wire 13 and the transparent electrode 12a in the notch 12c, the distance between the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b and the lead wire 13 is 1 of the thickness of the lead wire 13 in the plan view shown in FIG. It is preferably 10 times, more preferably 2 to 5 times. If the distance between the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b and the lead-out wiring 13 is less than one times the thickness of the lead-out wiring 13, there is a possibility that air bubbles may be mixed.

As shown in FIG. 1 (c), the lead wire 13 is connected to an end of the transparent electrode 12a, the connecting portion, the lead wire 13 is thicker than the amount corresponding transparent electrode 12a of the step t _p.

  The transparent resin substrate 11 is a film-like, sheet-like, or plate-like member formed of an insulating material having light transmittance. As the material of the transparent resin base material 11, a material made of a hard material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), acrylic resin, or an elastic material such as thermoplastic polyurethane, thermosetting polyurethane, or silicone rubber is suitable. Can be used.

More specifically, as a material for the transparent resin base material 11, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl alcohol, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyvinylidene fluoride Resin materials such as polyarylate, cycloolefin polymer (COP), and cycloolefin copolymer (COC) can be preferably used. Among these resin materials, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polycarbonate (PC) are preferable as the material of the transparent resin substrate 11 from the viewpoint of strength and the like. Moreover, glass and a transparent metal oxide can also be employ | adopted as a material of a base material.
The thickness of the transparent resin substrate 11 is preferably 10 μm or more and 200 μm or less. If the thickness of the transparent resin substrate 11 is 10 μm or more, the transparent resin substrate 11 is not easily broken, and if the thickness of the transparent resin substrate 11 is 200 μm or less, the transparent electrode capacitance sensor 1 can be thinned. .

The transparent electrode 12a is made of dispersed conductive polymer having transparency such as ITO (indium tin oxide), FTO (fluorine doped tin oxide), polythiophene, polyaniline, and metal (Ag, Cu, Ni, Au, etc.) nanowires. It is formed in a rectangular shape on the transparent resin substrate 11 by printing, coating, or the like using a light-transmitting conductive material such as polymer.
Note that the shape of the transparent electrode itself is not necessarily limited to a rectangular shape, and may be a shape such as a circle or an ellipse. It is formed in an oval shape.

  In the case of a conductive polymer, the material of the transparent electrode 12a includes polypyrrole, poly (N-methylpyrrole), poly (3-methylthiophene), poly (3-methoxythiophene), poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) ) (PEDOT) or the like can be preferably used. A water-dispersed polythiophene derivative (PEDOT / PSS) using polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSS) as a water-soluble polymer is preferable because it is water-soluble and can form a conductive polymer coating film by a simple coating process.

  When the transparent electrode 12a is formed by printing or coating, the thickness of the conductive coating film constituting the transparent electrode 12a is preferably 0.05 μm or more and 5 μm or less, and more preferably 0.1 μm or more and 1 μm or less. If the thickness of the conductive coating film is 0.05 μm or more, the conductivity can be suitably secured, and if it is 0.1 μm or more, a sufficient surface resistance of 600Ω / □ or less can be stably obtained as detection sensitivity. . Moreover, if the thickness of a conductive coating film is 5 micrometers or less, a coating film can be formed easily.

The lead wiring 13 is made of a material having an electric resistance lower than that of the transparent electrode 12a. For example, the lead wiring 13 may be configured using Ag paste.
Further, the lead-out wiring 13 may be composed of a metal thin film made of Cu, Al, Ni, Ag, Au, or the like or an alloy thereof, and the metal (Cu, Al, Ni, Ag, Au, etc.) as described above may be used. The lead-out wiring 13 may have a laminated structure, for example, a structure in which the base is Cu, a Ni intermediate layer is provided thereon, and Au is provided thereon as a coat layer. When the lead wiring 13 is a metal thin film, the thickness of the lead wiring 13 is 0.1 to 3 μm, preferably 0.1 to 1 μm, and more preferably 0.1 to 0.5 μm. If the thickness is 0.1 μm or more, stable conductivity can be ensured without attenuating the resistance value of the transparent electrode 12a. If the thickness is 3 μm or less, the step with the transparent electrode 12a is sufficiently small, 1 μm or more. If it is 0.5 μm or less, the step is smaller.
As described above, the lead-out wiring 13 is preferably a metal thin film from the viewpoint of reducing the step while ensuring conductivity.
Here, in the prior art, a material having the same or similar material resistance as that used for the lead-out wiring in order to suppress variations in detection sensitivity is used as the auxiliary electrode material, and this auxiliary electrode is provided between the lead-out wiring and the transparent electrode. Is intervening.

In the prior art, a silver auxiliary electrode is often used in consideration of the entire state such as resistance value and design, and a silver paste is used to form the silver auxiliary electrode. This silver paste is a material having a high solid content ratio between silver particles and a resin binder for high-definition printing and a low volatile content such as a solvent. For this reason, there is little change in the thickness after printing. A screen printing method using a screen printing plate using a general SUS mesh usually has a film thickness of 20 μm to 50 μm. Further, even when considering reducing the film thickness, considering mass productivity, The limit is about 4 to 1/5. The coating thickness of the silver paste at the time of printing is determined by this film thickness, and the silver paste cannot be made very thin because of the small amount of volatile components as described above in a process such as drying.
Furthermore, in order to make the auxiliary electrode thin, it is not impossible to make the film thickness thin with a thin ultra-high mesh or the like, but in this case, handling becomes very delicate and handling properties are deteriorated. For these reasons, it is difficult to sufficiently reduce the level difference between the transparent electrode and the auxiliary electrode in the prior art in consideration of mass productivity.

On the other hand, in the present invention, variation in detection sensitivity is suppressed by providing the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b made of the same material as the transparent electrode 12a and having a thickness larger than that of the transparent electrode 12a on the outer peripheral portion of the transparent electrode 12a. That is, in the present invention, since the transparent electrode 12a and the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b are formed of the same material, the electrical resistance in composition of the material is the same. However, since the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b is thicker than the transparent electrode 12a, the electric resistance of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b is lower than the electric resistance of the transparent electrode 12a. However, as the thickness of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b increases, the step between the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b and the transparent electrode 12a increases, and there is a problem of bubbles, and even if the same material as the transparent electrode 12a is used, the thickness increases. Since the transparency is lowered, leading to a reduction in design, the step between the transparent electrode 12a and the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b is preferably 6 μm or less, more preferably 4 μm or less, and most preferably 3 μm or less.
Here, since the transparent electrode material is generally a material that can be printed and applied thinly, the portion of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b is thicker than the transparent electrode 12a. Compared to an auxiliary electrode formed of silver paste or the like, the auxiliary electrode can be made sufficiently thin. Therefore, the step between the transparent electrode 12a and the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b can be sufficiently reduced.
Therefore, a step with a risk of bubble generation is t _p in FIG. 1 (c), the step generation site, as shown in FIG. 1 (c), the lead-out wiring 13 of the connection portion of the transparent electrode 12a Limited to narrow areas.

On the other hand, when the extraction wiring 13 is formed of a metal thin film, the extraction wiring 13 is formed by vapor-depositing a metal on the transparent resin base material 11, and then the transparent electrode 12 a and the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12 b are formed.
In this case, it is preferable that a carbon layer is provided on the lead wiring 13 and the transparent electrode 12a is provided on the carbon layer so that the lead wiring 13 is not directly bonded to the transparent electrode 12a made of PEDOT / PSS. . Since the solution of the transparent electrode material such as PEDOT / PSS is acidic, if the transparent electrode material is applied so as to be in direct contact with the lead wiring 13, the lead wiring 13 may be oxidized. Therefore, when the carbon layer is formed on the lead wiring 13 by a printing method or the like and the transparent electrode 12a is formed on the carbon layer, the oxidation of the lead wiring 13 as described above can be avoided. For this reason, the reliability of a connection state can be improved by interposing a carbon layer between the lead-out wiring 13 and the transparent electrode 12a.

  The adhesive layer 14 is a layer for protection or the like formed so as to cover the transparent electrode 12a, the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b, and the lead wiring 13. The pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 14 is a layer having a pressure-sensitive adhesive on one side of a light-transmitting resin film and attached to the transparent electrode 12a, the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b, and the lead-out wiring 13 by the pressure-sensitive adhesive. The adhesive layer 14 can also be formed using, for example, a photosensitive dry film, a UV curable resist material, a heat curable resist material, or the like.

  Examples of the resin film constituting the adhesive layer 14 include polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), acrylic resin, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl alcohol, and polybutylene terephthalate. In addition, a resin such as polyvinylidene fluoride and polyarylate is used as a material. Moreover, the adhesive layer 14 may be provided with a film made of glass, transparent metal oxide, or the like instead of the resin film or in addition to the resin film. Moreover, an acrylic resin can be mentioned as a specific example of an adhesive.

  Here, the structure of the transparent electrode electrostatic capacitance sensor of a prior art is demonstrated. 3A is a top view of a conventional transparent electrode capacitance sensor, FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line GG in FIG. 3A, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a circled portion in FIG.

  The transparent electrode capacitance sensor 7 of the prior art includes a transparent resin substrate 71, a rectangular transparent electrode 72 provided on one side of the transparent resin substrate 71, and an auxiliary provided on one side of the rectangle of the transparent electrode 72. An electrode 73a, a lead wire 73b having one end connected to the auxiliary electrode 73a, and an adhesive layer 74 provided on the upper surface of FIG.

  The top view of the transparent electrode capacitance sensor of the prior art shown in FIG. 3A and the top view of the transparent electrode capacitance sensor of the present embodiment shown in FIG. In the electrode capacitance sensor 7, the auxiliary electrode 73a is provided on one side of the rectangle of the transparent electrode 72, whereas in the transparent electrode capacitance sensor 1 of the present embodiment, the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b is provided on the outer periphery of the transparent electrode 12a. The dimensions are the same except that is provided.

  The transparent resin base material 71, the transparent electrode 72, the lead-out wiring 73b, and the adhesive layer 74 of the prior art are the same materials as the transparent resin base material 11, the transparent electrode 12a, the lead-out wiring 13, and the adhesive layer 14 of the embodiment of the present invention in order. Formed from.

  The main difference between the transparent electrode capacitive sensor 7 of the prior art and the transparent electrode capacitive sensor 1 of the present embodiment is that the transparent electrode 12a and the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b are PEDOT in the transparent electrode capacitive sensor 1 of the present embodiment. The transparent electrode capacitance sensor 7 of the prior art is made of the same material such as / PSS, while the transparent electrode 72 is made of PEDOT / PSS and the like, and the auxiliary electrode 73a is the same as the lead wiring 73b. It is formed from a low Ag paste or the like.

In the transparent electrode capacitance sensor 7 of the prior art, the auxiliary electrode 73a is formed by printing Ag paste. As described above, in this case, the auxiliary electrode 73a is made thin with mass productivity. There are technical limitations.
As shown in FIG. 3 (c), the auxiliary electrode 73a is provided thickened by the amount of the step t _c a transparent electrode 72. If the Ag paste to the auxiliary electrode 73a, the PEDOT / PSS is used in the transparent electrode 72, as described above, considering the mass-productivity, it is technically difficult to form a step _{t c} to 4μm or less.

Moreover, in the conventional transparent electrode capacitance sensor 7 provided with the auxiliary electrode 73a formed of a material different from that of the transparent electrode 72, when used for a touch panel or the like, the portion of the auxiliary electrode 73a is conspicuous and the design property is lowered. There was a problem to do. Further, in the transparent electrode capacitance sensor 7 of the prior art, since the step between the transparent electrode 72 and the auxiliary electrode 73a is usually large so as to exceed 7 μm, bubbles are generated when the adhesive layer 74 is covered, and the parasitic capacitance is increased. There was a problem of doing. As shown in FIG. 3A, in the prior art, there is a step generation portion that generates bubbles over the entire length of the auxiliary electrode 73a.
Further, in the prior art, an expensive material such as silver is often used for the auxiliary electrode in consideration of the entire state such as resistance value and designability, and in this case, there is a problem that the material cost is increased. It was.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the transparent electrode 12a and the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b are configured using the same PEDOT / PSS, the portion of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b may be conspicuous when used for a touch panel or the like. Therefore, it is good in terms of design. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, as described above, the step between the transparent electrode 12a and the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b can be set to 6 μm or less by the method described in detail later. As described above, the region is limited to a narrow region of the connection portion between the lead-out wiring 13 and the transparent electrode 12a shown in FIG. Therefore, the problem of bubble generation at the time of covering the adhesive layer 14 is solved, and the parasitic capacitance is reduced.
In addition, material costs can be reduced compared to using expensive materials such as silver.

  In FIG. 1A, the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b is formed over substantially the entire circumference except for a part of the outer circumference of the transparent electrode 12a. However, the transparent electrode capacitance sensor 1 of the present invention is applied to a touch panel or the like. In this case, it has been confirmed that it is sufficient that the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b having a thickness larger than that of the transparent electrode 12a is 1/7 or more of the circumference of the outer periphery of the transparent electrode 12a. By reducing the area of the pseudo auxiliary electrode portion, a wide view area is secured.

  Next, a method for manufacturing a transparent electrode capacitive sensor according to this embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 (a), (b), (c), FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a manufacturing process of the transparent electrode capacitive sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention.

<Step 1 (S1)>
A transparent electrode 12a is formed by applying a transparent conductive material such as PEDOT / PSS to one side of a transparent resin substrate 11 of a transparent polymer such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) using a printing method so as to form a predetermined pattern.

In addition, as a printing method, general methods, such as inkjet printing, screen printing, PAD printing, flexographic printing, can be used. Among these, inkjet printing is preferable because the degree of freedom of the coating pattern to be formed is high.
Further, in order to obtain a predetermined pattern, the application pattern of the transparent electrode material may be applied so as to be a predetermined pattern, and after applying the transparent electrode material, dry etching or the like is performed so that the predetermined pattern is obtained. In this case, patterning may be performed.

<Step 2 (S2)>
As shown in FIG. 2, on the transparent electrode 12a formed in Step 1 (S1), the same as that used in Step 1 by using a printing method on the outer periphery of the transparent electrode 12a so as to form a notch 12c. A transparent electrode material (such as PEDOT / PSS) is applied to form a pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b. Thus, the portion of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b is thicker than the transparent electrode 12a because the transparent electrode material is overcoated.

Since the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b is a portion thicker than the transparent electrode 12a by applying a transparent electrode material on the transparent electrode 12a, there is a step between the transparent electrode 12a and the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b. it can.
However, as described above, since the transparent electrode material can be applied sufficiently thinly compared to the conventional silver paste or the like, the step between the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b and the transparent electrode 12a formed as described above. Can also be reduced.
Accordingly, the formation of bubbles at the stepped portion when the adhesive layer 14 is formed can be suppressed, and the parasitic capacitance associated with the bubbles can be reduced, so that a decrease in sensitivity of the transparent electrode capacitance sensor can be prevented.
The step between the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b and the transparent electrode 12a can be formed to 6 μm or less, and further to 3 μm or less.

  In Step 1 and Step 2 described above, the case where the transparent electrode material is applied once has been described. However, the number of times of application is not particularly limited, and in order to form the transparent electrode 12a. The transparent electrode material may be applied a plurality of times (twice or more), or the transparent electrode material may be applied a plurality of times (twice or more) to form the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b.

It is easier to finely control the thickness of the transparent electrode 12a and the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b by performing thinner application a plurality of times, rather than obtaining a predetermined state by applying the transparent electrode material once.
On the other hand, as the number of times of application of the transparent electrode material increases, labor is also increased. Therefore, how many times the transparent electrode material is applied to form the transparent electrode 12a and the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b depends on the thickness, etc. It may be determined appropriately in consideration of improvement of controllability and increase in labor.

<Step 3 (S3)>
As shown in FIG. 1A, the lead-out wiring 13 made of Ag paste or the like is formed by screen printing so as to overlap the transparent electrode 12a at the notch 12c. The lead wire 13 made of Ag paste has a thickness of 5 to 20 μm.

<Step 4 (S4)>
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a transparent polymer such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is coated so as to cover the transparent resin base material 11, the transparent electrode 12a, the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b, and the lead-out wiring 13. Thus, the adhesive layer 14 is formed.

In the above description, the procedure for forming the lead wiring 13 after forming the transparent electrode 12a and the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b has been described. However, the lead wiring 13 may be formed on the transparent resin substrate 11 first. For example, a metal thin film is formed on the transparent resin substrate 11 by metal vapor deposition, a predetermined lead wiring 13 is formed by dry etching, and then step 1 (formation of the transparent electrode 12a) and step 2 (formation of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 12b) The transparent electrode material may be applied so that
In this case, as described above, in order to avoid oxidation of the lead-out wiring 13, a carbon layer is formed on the part of the lead-out wiring 13 to which the transparent electrode material is applied by a printing method or the like, It is preferable that the electrode material does not directly touch the lead wiring 13.

Example 1
After forming the transparent electrode 22a and the pseudo auxiliary electrode 22b using the PEDOT / PSS on the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) transparent resin base material 21 in the configuration of FIGS. 4A and 4B, the pseudo auxiliary electrode is formed. The lead wiring 23 of Ag paste connected to the transparent electrode 22a left outside one side of 22b (the right side in FIG. 4A) was formed.

A transparent resin substrate 21 of a PET film having a thickness of 50 [mu] m, to form a transparent electrode 22a is coated with a PEDOT / PSS solution viscosity of about 10C _p to a predetermined pattern by using an ink jet method. Thereafter, a PEDOT / PSS solution having the same viscosity of about 10 Cp is left by using the inkjet method so that the transparent electrode 22a is left outside (on the right side of) the one side of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 22b as shown in FIG. Thus, the pseudo auxiliary electrode 22b was formed. Next, the lead-out wiring 23 is formed using an Ag paste having a lower electrical resistance than the transparent electrode 22a so as to overlap with a part of the transparent electrode 22a left outside one side of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 22b. Was formed on the entire surface to obtain a transparent electrode capacitance sensor 2.

  The thickness of the transparent electrode 22a is 0.05 to 5 μm, the additional thickness of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 22b on the transparent electrode 22a is 0.3 to 3 μm, and the thickness of the Ag paste extraction wiring 23 is 5 to 20 μm.

(Example 2)
5 (a) and 5 (b), on the transparent resin substrate 31 of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), using PEDOT / PSS, the transparent electrode 32a and the outside of one side (the right side of FIG. 5 (a)). ), A pseudo auxiliary electrode 32b having a pair of projections 32c is formed, and then an Ag paste lead-out wiring 33 connected to the transparent electrode 32a provided between the pair of projections 32c of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 32b. Formed.

A transparent resin substrate 31 of a PET film having a thickness of 50 [mu] m, and the PEDOT / PSS solution viscosity of about 10C _p to form a transparent electrode 32a is applied to a predetermined pattern using an inkjet device. Thereafter, a PEDOT / PSS solution having the same viscosity of about 10 Cp is left by using the inkjet method so that the transparent electrode 32a is left on the outer side (right side in the drawing) of one side of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 32b as shown in FIG. A pseudo auxiliary electrode 32b having a pair of protrusions 32c was formed. Next, the lead-out wiring 33 is formed using an Ag paste having a lower electrical resistance than the transparent electrode 32a so as to overlap a part of the transparent electrode 32a between the pair of projections 32c of the pseudo auxiliary electrode, and then the adhesive layer 34 is formed. Was formed on the entire surface to obtain a transparent electrode capacitance sensor 3.

  The thickness of the transparent electrode 32a is 0.05 to 5 μm, the additional thickness of the pair of protrusions 32c of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 32b is 0.3 to 3 μm, and the thickness of the Ag paste extraction wiring 33 is 5 to 20 μm.

(Example 2 ')
6 (a) and 6 (b), a transparent electrode 42a and an outer side of one side (on the right side of FIG. 6 (a)) on a transparent resin substrate 41 of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) using PEDOT / PSS. ) To form a pseudo auxiliary electrode 42b having a pair of protrusions 42c. A pattern of the lead-out wiring 43 was previously formed by Cu vapor deposition at a portion between the pair of protrusions 42c of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 42b, and the transparent electrode 42a was formed thereon.

After forming the pattern of the lead wire 43 by Cu deposition at a predetermined site of the transparent resin substrate 41 of a PET film having a thickness of 50 [mu] m, coated with a PEDOT / PSS solution viscosity of about 10C _p to a predetermined pattern by using an ink jet device Thus, the transparent electrode 42a was formed. Thereafter, a PEDOT / PSS solution having the same viscosity of about 10 Cp is applied to the portion where the lead-out wiring 43 on the outer side (right side in the drawing) of one side of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 42b is located, as shown in FIG. A pseudo auxiliary electrode 42b having a pair of protrusions 42c was formed so as to leave the transparent electrode 42a.
One end of the lead-out wiring 43 formed by Cu vapor deposition having a lower electrical resistance than the transparent electrode 42a previously formed on the transparent resin substrate 41 is the end of the transparent electrode 42a between the pair of protrusions 42c of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 42b. Are arranged so as to overlap 1 mm. Next, an adhesive layer 44 was formed on the entire surface to obtain a transparent electrode capacitance sensor 4.

  The thickness of the transparent electrode 32a is 0.05 to 5 μm, the additional thickness of the pair of protrusions 32c of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 32b is 0.3 to 3 μm, and the thickness of the lead wiring 43 by Cu deposition is 0.1 to 3 μm. It is.

(Example 3)
After forming the transparent electrode 52a and the pseudo auxiliary electrode 52b using the PEDOT / PSS on the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) transparent resin substrate 51 with the configuration of FIGS. 7A and 7B, the pseudo auxiliary electrode is formed. The lead wiring 53 of Ag paste connected to the transparent electrode 52a provided in the part between the pair of protrusions 52c of 52b was formed.

A transparent resin substrate 51 of a PET film having a thickness of 50 [mu] m, to form a transparent electrode 52a is applied to a predetermined pattern by ink jet method PEDOT / PSS is used a solution of a viscosity of about 10C _p. Then, a PEDOT / PSS solution of the same viscosity of about 10C _p by an inkjet method to form a pseudo auxiliary electrode 52b and a pair of projections 52c of the PEDOT / PSS having the shape shown in Figure 7 (a). The thickness of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 52b provided inside the transparent electrode 52a of FIG. 7A is the outer peripheral portion of the transparent electrodes 22a and 32a in Examples 1 and 2 (FIGS. 4A and 5A). The pseudo auxiliary electrodes 22b and 32b are formed thinner than the thickness of the pseudo auxiliary electrodes 22b and 32b. The thickness of the pair of protrusions 52c of the pseudo auxiliary electrode shown in FIG. 7A is formed on the outer periphery of the transparent electrodes 22a and 32a in the first and second embodiments (FIGS. 4A and 5A). The pseudo auxiliary electrodes 22b and 32b have the same thickness. Next, after forming the lead-out wiring 53 using an Ag paste having a lower electrical resistance than the transparent electrode 32a so as to overlap a part of the transparent electrode 52a provided between the pair of protrusions 52c of the pseudo auxiliary electrode, an adhesive is formed. The layer 54 was formed on the entire surface to obtain the transparent electrode capacitance sensor 5.

  The thickness of the transparent electrode 52a is 0.05 to 5 μm, the additional thickness of the pair of protrusions 52c of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 32b is 0.3 to 3 μm, and the thickness of the Ag paste extraction wiring 33 is 5 to 20 μm.

Example 4
8A and 8B, a transparent electrode 62a of Ag nanowire-dispersed PEDOT / PSS and a pseudo auxiliary electrode 62b of Ag nanowire-dispersed PEDOT / PSS are formed on a transparent resin substrate 61 of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). After that, an Ag paste lead wiring 63 connected to the transparent electrode 62a provided between the pair of protrusions 62c of the pseudo auxiliary electrode was formed.

A transparent resin substrate 61 of a PET film having a thickness of 50 [mu] m, to form a transparent electrode 62a is applied to a predetermined pattern by ink jet method using Ag nanowire dispersion PEDOT / PSS solution viscosity of about 10C _p. Next, a pseudo auxiliary electrode 62b having a shape shown in FIG. 8A and a pair of protrusions 62c were formed by an inkjet method using an Ag nanowire-dispersed PEDOT / PSS solution. The thickness of the pseudo auxiliary electrode 62b provided inside the transparent electrode 62a of FIG. 8A is the outer peripheral portion of the transparent electrodes 22a and 32a in Examples 1 and 2 (FIGS. 4A and 5A). The pseudo auxiliary electrodes 22b and 32b are formed thinner than the thickness of the pseudo auxiliary electrodes 22b and 32b. The thickness of the pair of protrusions 62c of the pseudo auxiliary electrode in FIG. 8A was also formed on the outer peripheral portion of the transparent electrodes 22a and 32a in Examples 1 and 2 (FIGS. 4A and 5A). It was made thinner than the thickness of the pseudo auxiliary electrodes 22b and 32b. Next, after forming the lead-out wiring 63 using Ag paste having a lower electrical resistance than the transparent electrode 62a in a form overlapping with a part of the transparent electrode 62a provided between the pair of protrusions 62c of the pseudo auxiliary electrode, An adhesive layer 64 was formed on the entire surface to obtain a transparent electrode capacitance sensor 6.

  The thickness of the transparent electrode 62a is 0.05 to 5 μm, the additional thickness of the pair of protrusions 62c of the pseudo auxiliary electrode made of Ag nanowire is 0.1 to 1 μm, and the thickness of the Ag paste extraction wiring 63 is 5 to 20 μm. It is.

From Examples 1, 2, 2 ′, 3, and 4, it has become clear that the following effects (a), (b), (c), and (d) can be obtained.
(A) In the first and second embodiments, compared to the conventional auxiliary electrode made of silver ink or the like, the stepped portion with the auxiliary electrode is greatly reduced by forming a thin auxiliary auxiliary electrode having light transmittance. As a result, it was possible to suppress bubbles at the interface with the OCA layer and reduce parasitic capacitance. In addition, when the lead-out wiring is arranged outside the view area of the electrode, it becomes inconspicuous and the design can be improved.
(B) In Example 2 ′, since the lead-out wiring was thinner from the Cu vapor-deposited film than in Examples 1 and 2, almost no level difference was generated.
(C) In Example 3, compared with Examples 1 and 2, it became possible to stabilize the characteristics of the central portion of the transparent electrode part.
(D) In Example 4, compared to Example 3, by using Ag nanowire-dispersed PEDOT / PSS with higher conductivity for the pseudo auxiliary electrode, the central auxiliary auxiliary electrode can be made less noticeable and the design is improved. did it.

In the case of PEDOT / PSS, the pseudo auxiliary electrode varies depending on the thickness and the like, but for example, the surface resistance can be about 200Ω / □. On the other hand, in the case of Ag nanowire-dispersed PEDOT / PSS, the resistance value can be further reduced. When Ag nanowire-dispersed PEDOT / PSS is used for a transparent electrode, the surface resistance of the transparent electrode is, for example, about 80Ω / □. When used for the pseudo auxiliary electrode, the surface resistance of the pseudo auxiliary electrode can be set to, for example, about 40 to 50Ω / □.
In addition, the pseudo auxiliary electrode is preferably formed to have a thickness of 0.1 μm or more, 0.2 μm or more, and more preferably 0.5 μm or more thicker than the transparent electrode. Although the transparent electrode portion and the pseudo auxiliary electrode portion are made of the same material, the electrical resistance of the pseudo auxiliary electrode portion can be lowered.

  As described above, the step between the transparent electrode and the pseudo auxiliary electrode can be set to 6 μm or less by the method for manufacturing the transparent electrode capacitance sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention, and can also be set to 3 μm or less. It is.

When the auxiliary electrode provided on the outer periphery or inside of the transparent electrode is formed of a pseudo auxiliary electrode made of the same material as that of the transparent electrode as in the present invention, it is more transparent and less conspicuous than the conventional auxiliary electrode, and is excellent in design.
Further, compared to the case where an expensive material such as silver is used for the auxiliary electrode, the pseudo auxiliary electrode is the same material as the transparent electrode, so that the material cost can be suppressed.
Furthermore, even if it is said that the thickness is made thicker than the transparent electrode by using the same material as the transparent electrode, compared to the material used for the conventional auxiliary electrode, the pseudo auxiliary electrode is considerably different. Since it can be formed thin, the level difference between the transparent electrode and the pseudo auxiliary electrode is extremely small. Therefore, the generation of bubbles at the time of forming the adhesive layer due to the level difference is suppressed, and the parasitic capacitance can be reduced.
In addition, in the case of forming by ink jet printing, since the degree of freedom with respect to the range in which the pseudo auxiliary electrode is formed is high, the area of the pseudo auxiliary electrode can be reduced and the view area can be suitably enlarged.

As described above, the transparent electrode and the pseudo auxiliary electrode may be formed by printing the material used for the transparent electrode several times.
In this case, the material used for each printing (application) is basically the same material (the same transparent electrode material). For example, the material is not applied until the application and the drying process are completed. In some cases, however, it is necessary to adjust the viscosity in order to prevent it from flowing out. In this case, the amount of the diluent or the like may be adjusted so as to obtain an appropriate viscosity.
Diluents and the like are basically vaporized in a drying process and the like, and almost no components are left, but a small amount of components may remain.
However, this degree of difference is understood as the same material.

Moreover, although the said Example showed by the case where it performed by the inkjet printing method, a screen printing method, a PAD printing method, a flexographic printing method, etc. can also be used, and it is possible to use a general printing method. it is obvious.
Furthermore, although the case where Ag nanowire was disperse | distributed to the PEDOT / PSS solution which forms a conductive polymer was shown above, since Ag nanowire itself exhibits electroconductivity, even if it is a solution which forms a polymer which is not electrically conductive Good.
In addition, in Example 4, the transparent electrode 62a, the pseudo auxiliary electrode 62b (including the protruding portion 62c), and the like may be formed using only Ag nanowires.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, it cannot be overemphasized that the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiments. Further, it is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Transparent electrode capacitance sensor 11, 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71
Transparent resin base materials 12a, 22a, 32a, 42a, 52a, 62a, 72
Transparent electrodes 12b, 22b, 32b, 42b, 52b, 62b, 73a
Pseudo auxiliary electrode 12c Notch 32c, 42c, 52c, 62c A pair of protrusions 13, 23, 33, 43, 53, 63, 73b,
Lead wiring 14, 24, 34, 44, 54, 64, 74
Adhesive layer t _p , t _c steps

Claims (6)

A transparent resin substrate;
At least one or more transparent electrodes provided on the transparent resin substrate;
A pseudo auxiliary electrode provided on at least a part of the outer periphery of the transparent electrode;
A lead wire connected to the pseudo auxiliary electrode via the transparent electrode, and
The transparent auxiliary capacitance sensor, wherein the pseudo auxiliary electrode is thicker than the transparent electrode and is made of the same material as the transparent electrode.   2. The transparent electrode capacitance sensor according to claim 1, wherein the pseudo auxiliary electrode and the extraction wiring are separated from each other by a distance of 1 to 10 times the thickness of the extraction wiring in a plan view.   The said pseudo auxiliary electrode is formed in the range which does not exceed the thickness which added 6 micrometers to the thickness of the said transparent electrode, and is formed more thickly than the thickness of the said transparent electrode. Transparent electrode capacitance sensor.   The transparent electrode capacitance sensor according to claim 1, wherein the pseudo auxiliary electrode is provided in a range of 1/7 or more of the outer periphery of the transparent electrode.   The transparent electrode capacitive sensor according to claim 1, wherein the lead-out wiring is formed to a thickness in the range of 0.1 to 3 μm. A carbon layer is further provided on the lead wiring,
The transparent electrode static electricity according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a portion of the lead-out wiring provided with the carbon layer is connected to the pseudo auxiliary electrode through the transparent electrode. Capacitance sensor.

Images