JP5831603B2 - Transparent conductive film and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transparent conductive film useful as a transparent electrode, a pointing device, an electromagnetic wave shielding film, and the like, a manufacturing method thereof, and a pointing device using the transparent conductive film.

  In general, a transparent conductive film that is one of the transparent conductive laminates has the property of having both conductivity and optical transparency, so industrially, transparent electrodes, electromagnetic shielding films, It can be used as a planar heating film, an antireflection film or the like. For this reason, in recent years, it is frequently used as a pointing device (position input device) used particularly for touch panels.

  By the way, various types of pointing devices such as a capacitive coupling type and an optical type have been proposed. Among these methods, the transparent conductive film is used because, for example, a resistive film type that specifies the input position by contacting the upper and lower electrodes and a capacitance that specifies the input position from a change in capacitance Of the formula.

The pointing device is also used as an input device, for example, as a front part of a display of a portable terminal, a portable game machine, etc., and is used as a touch panel together with the display. For this reason, the pointing device used in these applications particularly needs transmission and reflection characteristics that do not impair the display performance of the display.
In the capacitance type, it is also important to take measures to make the presence or absence of a conductive layer that detects a change in capacitance inconspicuous.

  In Patent Document 1, an electrode made of the same material as the transparent electrode (dummy electrode) is formed and disposed in a portion where there is no transparent electrode for position detection in an electrically insulated state, and the transparent electrode is installed. It tries to approximate the optical characteristics where there is not.

JP 2008-129708 A

  However, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, there is a problem that a gap remains between the transparent electrode and the dummy electrode, which becomes conspicuous.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the subject, and the objective of this invention is providing the transparent conductive film which can make the presence or absence of an electroconductive layer inconspicuous, a pointing device, and its manufacturing method.

In addition, in one aspect of the present invention, at least one of the first transparent layers having a rectangular cross-sectional shape and not having conductivity is a region defined by the convex portions of the first transparent layer. And a step of laminating at least one conductive layer and a step of laminating a second transparent layer on the conductive layer.
In addition, in one aspect of the present invention, at least one of the first transparent layers having a rectangular cross-sectional shape and not having conductivity is a region defined by the convex portions of the first transparent layer. And a step of laminating at least two second transparent layers, and a step of laminating at least one conductive layer between the second transparent layers. It is.
In addition, in one aspect of the present invention, at least one of the first transparent layers having a rectangular cross-sectional shape and at least one layer having no conductivity is provided on the first surface. A step of laminating two or more second transparent layers different from the transparent layer, and a step of laminating at least one conductive layer between the second transparent layers; A step of laminating at least one third transparent layer having no conductivity in a region of the first transparent layer where the conductive layer is not laminated, and a method for producing a transparent conductive film It is.
Further, in one aspect of the present invention, at least one surface has at least one concave portion and at least one convex portion, and each surface of the convex portion is on the same plane, and the convex portion The side surface of the first transparent layer erected perpendicularly to the concave portion and a conductive layer formed on the convex portion, which is laminated on at least one portion of the convex portion of the first transparent layer And a conductive layer laminated on at least a part of the concave portion of the first transparent layer and formed on the concave portion.
Further, in one aspect of the present invention, at least one surface has at least one concave portion and at least one convex portion, and each surface of the convex portion is on the same plane, and the convex portion The side of the step of laminating a conductive layer on at least a part of the first transparent layer standing upright to the recess, and laminating a second transparent layer on the conductive layer; It is a manufacturing method of the transparent conductive film containing this.
Further, in one aspect of the present invention, at least one surface has at least one concave portion and at least one convex portion, and each surface of the convex portion is on the same plane, and the convex portion A side surface of the first transparent layer is formed by stacking a second transparent layer on at least a part of the first transparent layer standing upright to the concave portion, and the first transparent layer or the second transparent layer. And laminating a conductive layer on at least a part of the surface of the layer.

In one aspect of the present invention, at least one of them has a rectangular cross-sectional shape and is laminated in a region defined by a first transparent layer having no conductivity and a convex portion of the first transparent layer. In addition, the transparent conductive film includes at least one conductive layer and a second transparent layer.
Further, in one aspect of the present invention, at least one of the first transparent layers has a rectangular cross-sectional shape and does not have conductivity, and is different from the first transparent layer. Two or more second transparent layers having no conductivity are laminated, and a layer including at least one conductive layer is laminated between the second transparent layers.

  According to the present invention, the optical characteristics of the layer including the conductive layer and the transparent layer having no conductivity can be brought close to each other, and the presence or absence of the conductive layer can be made inconspicuous.

Next, in one aspect of the present invention, the first transparent layer further has at least one layer of conductivity in a portion where a layer including at least one layer of conductive layer is not laminated. The third transparent layer is laminated, and the material of the first transparent layer is composed of glass, polyolefin, polyester, polyamide, polyimide, polyacrylate, polycarbonate, polyacrylate, polyethersulfone, and polysulfone The material of the third layer is selected from the group consisting of titanium oxide, zirconium oxide, zinc sulfide, tantalum oxide, zinc oxide, indium oxide, and niobium oxide. It is characterized by being at least one.
According to the present invention, the optical characteristics of the layer including the conductive layer and the transparent layer having no conductivity can be brought close to each other, and the presence or absence of the conductive layer can be made inconspicuous.

Next, in one embodiment of the present invention, both have a rectangular cross-sectional shape, and there is a transparent layer having no electrical conductivity composed of at least one layer, and a transparent layer having no electrical conductivity on one surface. A layer including at least one conductive layer is laminated between them, and a layer including at least one conductive layer is formed between the transparent layers having no conductivity on the opposite surface. It is characterized by being laminated.
According to the present invention, the optical characteristics of the layer including the conductive layer and the transparent layer having no conductivity can be brought close to each other, and the presence or absence of the conductive layer can be made inconspicuous.

Next, an aspect of the present invention is a pointing device configured using a transparent conductive film, wherein the transparent conductive film according to any one of the above aspects is used as the transparent conductive film. It is a feature.
According to this invention, compared with a pointing device using a transparent conductive film formed without being based on any of the above-described aspects of the invention, the optical characteristics of the layer including the conductive layer and the transparent layer having no conductivity Can be made closer to each other, and the presence or absence of the conductive layer can be made inconspicuous.

Next, an aspect of the present invention includes a step of partially laminating a layer including at least one conductive layer on both sides of a transparent layer having at least one layer and not having conductivity. A method for producing a transparent conductive film, wherein a step of laminating at least one layer having no electrical conductivity between layers including at least one conductive layer partially laminated during the step It is characterized by performing.
According to the present invention, the optical characteristics of the layer including the conductive layer and the transparent layer having no conductivity can be brought close to each other, and the presence or absence of the conductive layer can be made inconspicuous.

Next, an aspect of the present invention includes a step of making a cross section of at least one surface of the first transparent layer having no conductivity, which is composed of at least one layer or more, rectangular, and the first transparent layer A method for producing a transparent conductive film comprising a step of laminating a layer including at least one conductive layer in a rectangular recess, wherein at least one conductive layer is stacked in the rectangular recess during the step. A layer having at least one second layer having no electrical conductivity is laminated between the layers containing, and the material of the first transparent layer is glass, polyolefin, polyester, polyamide, polyimide, polyacrylate, polycarbonate, At least one selected from the group consisting of polyacrylate, polyethersulfone, and polysulfone, and the material of the second layer is titanium oxide Zirconium oxide, zinc sulfide, tantalum oxide, zinc oxide, indium oxide, and wherein the at least one selected from the group consisting of niobium oxide.
According to the present invention, the optical characteristics of the layer including the conductive layer and the transparent layer having no conductivity can be brought close to each other, and the presence or absence of the conductive layer can be made inconspicuous.

Next, an aspect of the present invention includes a step of making a cross section of at least one surface of a non-conductive transparent layer comprising at least one layer a rectangle, and at least one of the non-conductive transparent layer. The method includes a step of laminating a layer including a conductive layer of at least one layer, and a step of peeling the laminated layer from the rectangular convex portion in the transparent layer having no conductivity.
According to the present invention, the optical characteristics of the layer including the conductive layer and the transparent layer having no conductivity can be brought close to each other, and the presence or absence of the conductive layer can be made inconspicuous.

Next, an aspect of the present invention includes a step of making a cross section of at least one surface of the first transparent layer having at least one layer having no electrical conductivity rectangular, and at least the first transparent layer includes A method for producing a transparent conductive film, comprising: laminating a layer containing one or more conductive layers; and peeling the laminated layer from the rectangular convex portion in the first transparent layer, After the step, a step of laminating at least one or more second non-conductive layers on the rectangular protrusions in the first transparent layer is performed, and the material of the first transparent layer is glass , Polyolefin, polyester, polyamide, polyimide, polyacrylate, polycarbonate, polyacrylate, polyethersulfone, and at least one selected from the group consisting of polysulfone The material of the second layer is at least one selected from the group consisting of titanium oxide, zirconium oxide, zinc sulfide, tantalum oxide, zinc oxide, indium oxide, and niobium oxide. Features.
According to the present invention, the optical characteristics of the layer including the conductive layer and the transparent layer having no conductivity can be brought close to each other, and the presence or absence of the conductive layer can be made inconspicuous.

  According to the present invention, in a transparent conductive film in which a layer including at least one conductive layer is partially laminated on one surface of the transparent layer, a portion having a layer including at least one conductive layer Accordingly, it is possible to provide a transparent conductive film that makes optical characteristics close to each other close to each other and makes the presence or absence of the conductive layer inconspicuous, a manufacturing method thereof, and a pointing device including the transparent conductive film.

It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the pointing device using the transparent conductive film of embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the transparent conductive film of embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the transparent conductive film of embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the transparent conductive film of embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “the present embodiment”) will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Constitution)
First, a pointing device 100 configured using the transparent conductive film of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a tomogram schematically showing the laminated structure of the pointing device 100.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pointing device 100 is
Transparent layers 10 and 11 (hereinafter may be referred to as transparent layer 1 as required);
A layer including the stacked conductive layers 20C1 to 20Cn (hereinafter may be referred to as the conductive layer 20C as needed) (hereinafter referred to as the electrode layer 20 as required);
A layer including the laminated conductive layers 21C1 to 21Cm (hereinafter referred to as an electrode layer 21 as required) (this electrode layer 21 and the electrode layer 20 may be referred to as an electrode layer 2 without being distinguished) ,
A layer in which layers 301 to 30p having no conductivity are stacked (hereinafter, referred to as an electrodeless layer 30 as necessary);
A layer in which non-conductive layers 311 to 31q are stacked (hereinafter, referred to as an electrodeless layer 31 as necessary) (this electrodeless layer 30 and the electrodeless layer 31 are not distinguished from each other and are referred to as an electrodeless layer 3) ),
Adhesive layer 4;
Wirings 50 and 51 respectively connected to the electrode layers 20 and 21 (hereinafter, the wiring 50 and the wiring 51 may be referred to as the wiring 5 without being distinguished);
It has. The electrode layer 2 and the non-electrode layer 3 are located between each other and are arranged in a state of being alternately stacked in the plane direction of the transparent layers 10 and 11. In addition, at least one layer having no conductivity is stacked in a portion where at least one layer including a conductive layer is not stacked.

  The set of the transparent layer 10, the conductive layer 20, and the electrodeless layer 30 constitutes the transparent conductive film A, and the set of the transparent layer 11, the conductive layer 21, and the electrodeless layer 31 is another transparent conductive film. A film B is formed. This can be used as a component such as a transparent electrode, a touch panel, or an electromagnetic shielding film. Further, when the electrode layer 2 and the electrodeless layer 3 are laminated on both surfaces of the transparent layer 10, the adhesive layer 4 is not necessarily required.

  The transparent conductive film A and the transparent conductive film B used in the pointing device 100 in FIG. 1 are configured as shown in FIG. 1, and as shown in FIG. 2, the transparent layer has a rectangular wave-shaped cross section. A portion having a shape may be formed, and a conductive layer may be provided in a concave portion formed between the convex portions to be the transparent layer. In this case, a non-conductive layer 7a may be provided as an (optical) adjusting layer on the layer 2a provided with a conductive layer made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) or the like.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the layers 8a and 8b having no conductivity are laminated as the (optical) adjustment layer on the convex portion where the layer including the conductive layer of the transparent conductive film shown in FIG. 2 is not laminated. You may make it do. The layer having no conductivity described above may be a transparent resin.

  Furthermore, a conductive layer similar to that shown in FIG. 2 or a layer having no conductivity may be provided so as to be laminated on both sides of the transparent layer as shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, a case where a transparent conductive film is used as the pointing device 100 shown in FIG. 1 will be specifically described below.

  The transparent layer 1 is a transparent glass or film, and a layer in which a layer such as a hard coat is laminated thereon is suitable. A transparent resin may be used. However, the configuration of the transparent substrate is not limited to this. Further, the thickness of the transparent layer 1 may vary depending on the location, and the thinnest portion is about 10 to 200 μm, and the cross section of the surface portion has a rectangular wave shape as shown in FIGS. It doesn't matter. In that case, the difference between the thin part and the thick part of the cross section is about several to several tens of μm.

  Moreover, the transparent layer 1 may be subjected to surface treatment such as easy adhesion treatment, plasma treatment, corona treatment, or the like on one or both surfaces. In addition, an inorganic film or an organic film may be appropriately laminated for the purpose of improving the transmittance or adjusting the color tone.

  As the material of the transparent layer 1, glass, polyolefin (polyethylene, polypropylene, etc.), polyester (polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, etc.) can be used.

  As the material of the transparent layer 1, polyamide (nylon 6, nylon 66, etc.), polyimide, polyarylate, polycarbonate, polyacrylate, polyethersulfone, polysulfone can be used.

  Furthermore, as a material for the transparent layer 1, it is also possible to use a plastic film obtained by unstretching or stretching a copolymer of the above-described material.

  Moreover, as a material of the transparent layer 1, besides the material mentioned above. It is also possible to use other plastic films with high transparency.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, a case where the material of the transparent layer 1 is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is advantageous in terms of cost, will be described.

  The method for forming the conductive layer 20C includes, for example, polyacetylene, polydiacetylene, polyaniline, polyparaphenylene, polyparaphenylene vinylene, polythiophene, polyethylene dioxythiophene, polyfuran, polypyrrole, polyphenylene sulfide, polypyridyl vinylene, And polyazine and the like. These are only one type, in combination of two or more depending on the purpose, a method of applying the conductive polymer, a vacuum deposition method using a target of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide), zinc oxide, Examples include a physical vapor deposition method such as sputtering and a chemical vapor deposition method such as a CVD method.

  In order to form the layers constituting the electrodeless layers 30 and 31 excluding the conductive layer 20C, inorganic compounds such as oxides, sulfides, fluorides and nitrides generally used as optical thin films are used. Specific examples include magnesium oxide, silicon dioxide, magnesium fluoride, aluminum fluoride, titanium oxide, zirconium oxide, zinc sulfide, tantalum oxide, zinc oxide, indium oxide, niobium oxide, and tantalum oxide. Using these inorganic compounds, they are formed by a vacuum vapor deposition method, a physical vapor deposition method such as sputtering, or a chemical vapor deposition method such as a CVD method. Since the refractive index of the inorganic compound varies depending on the material and the film thickness, the optical characteristics are adjusted by forming a material according to the purpose with a specific film thickness. Alternatively, an organic material whose optical characteristics can be adjusted may be applied and formed.

  The pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 4 is formed using, for example, an acrylic or urethane adhesive.

  When the transparent conductive film is used as the pointing device 100 as in the present embodiment, the wiring 5 is used for electrically connecting the transparent conductive film (pointing device 100) and an external electric circuit as necessary. Thus, it may be formed on the electrode layer 2, specifically, on the surface of the electrode layer 2 opposite to the transparent layer 1 by means such as printing.

(Manufacturing method of input device)
Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 1, the manufacturing method of the transparent conductive film which is the method of manufacturing the transparent conductive film A used for the pointing device 100 of this embodiment is demonstrated.

  The manufacturing method of the transparent conductive film of this embodiment is a method including the process of forming the electrode layer 2, and the process of forming the electrodeless layer 3. FIG. Depending on the case, the process of making the cross section of the transparent layer 1 a rectangle is included.

  The electrode layer 2 is formed using the method described above. At that time, a treatment such as partially applying a protective film to the transparent layer 1 is performed to form the electrode layer 2 on the surface of the transparent layer 1 on the side where the protective film is present. Thereafter, the protective film is removed, and a portion where the electrode layer 2 is formed and a portion where the electrode layer 2 is not formed are formed. Alternatively, the electrode layer 2 is formed on either surface of the transparent layer 1, and thereafter, the electrode layer 2 is subjected to a treatment such as partially attaching a protective film on the side opposite to the transparent layer 1. Thereafter, at least the conductive layer 2 </ b> C is removed from the electrode layer 2 by etching or the like. Thereafter, or after the electrodeless layer 3 is formed, the protective film partially attached to the electrode layer 2 is removed.

  The electrodeless layer 3 is formed by the method described above by attaching a protective film to the surface of the electrode layer 2 opposite to the transparent layer 1. After the electrodeless layer 3 is formed, the protective film attached to the electrode layer 2 is removed by an appropriate method.

  In order to make the cross section of the transparent layer 1 rectangular, a rectangular sheet is transferred to the transparent layer 1, or when a resurface layer of the transparent layer 1 is formed, a shape is given through a rectangular roll and then cured. Alternatively, it may be physically scraped or scraped with a laser or the like.

(Example)
Here, a configuration common to the first invention example using the transparent conductive film A and the pointing device 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the transparent conductive film A and the pointing device 100 include at least an electrode layer 2 and an electrodeless layer 3. The pointing device 100 includes a wiring 5. Moreover, the adhesion layer 4 may be included. It can be used for a capacitive touch pad.

  The transparent layer 1 is a transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film in which a hard coat is applied on both sides, and the thickness thereof is 188 μm.

  The electrode layer 2 is an ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film having a thickness of 20 nm formed on one surface of the transparent layer 1 and formed by a DC magnetron sputtering method. A wiring 5 was formed on the electrode layer 2. The wiring 5 is formed on the electrode layer 2, specifically on the surface of the electrode layer 2 opposite to the transparent layer 1 (upper surface in FIG. 1).

  A protective film was attached to the electrode layer 2 and the wiring 5. Although a general resist resin is suitable for the protective film, an adhesive tape was used this time. Further, a 15 nm thick niobium oxide film was formed as the electrodeless layer 3 by DC magnetron sputtering, and the protective film was removed.

(First comparative example)
Unlike the first invention example, the electrodeless layer 3 was not formed. Moreover, the method at the time of performing each evaluation test with respect to a touchpad is shown below.

A. Color measurement The color value with a D65 light source was measured using a spectrophotometer.

B. Visual observation The first invention example and the first comparative example were each visually observed to see if there was a difference in the appearance of the electrode layer 2 and the electrodeless layer 3.

I. First Invention Example The transmission L *, a *, b * and reflection L *, a *, b * of the electrode layer 2 other than the portion where the wiring 5 is formed are 94.7, −0.2, 2 .5, 40.4, -0.5, -5.0. The transmission L *, a *, b *, reflection L *, a *, b * of the electrodeless layer 3 are 94.6, −0.4, 3.8, 36.4, 0.8, −10, respectively. It was 0. Visually, it was difficult to distinguish between the electrode layer 2 and the electrodeless layer 3.

II. First Comparative Example Transmission L *, a *, b *, reflection L *, a *, b * of the transparent layer 1 are 96.4, −0.3, 1.3, 34.4, 0.1, respectively. It was -1.0. Visual observation made it easy to distinguish between the electrode layer 2 and the non-electrode layer 3.

  The conductive functional layer and the method for manufacturing the conductive functional layer of the present invention can be used as a pointing device, in particular, a capacitive touch pad and a method for manufacturing a capacitive touch pad.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Pointing device 10, 11 ... Transparent layer 20, 21- Electrode layer 20C1-20Cn, 21C1-21Cm ... Conductive layer 30, 31 ... Electrodeless layer 30C1-30Cp, 31C1-31Cq ... Non-electricity layer 4 ... Adhesion Layer 5 ... wiring A ... transparent electrode A
B ... Transparent electrode B

Claims (2)

At least one or more concave portions and at least one or more convex portions are provided on at least one surface, and the respective surfaces of the convex portions are on the same plane, and the side surfaces of the convex portions are perpendicular to the concave portions. Laminating a conductive layer on at least a part of the first transparent layer that stands,
Laminating a second transparent layer on the conductive layer;
A step of peeling a part of the conductive layer laminated on the first transparent layer;
The manufacturing method of the transparent conductive film containing this. Further, the first transparent layer has at least one concave portion and at least one convex portion on at least one surface, and each surface of the convex portion is on the same plane, The method for producing a transparent conductive film according to claim 1, wherein the side surface includes a step of processing so as to stand vertically with respect to the concave portion.

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