KR101114306B1 - Touch panel with both elevation of view trait and slim state - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A touch panel is provided to increase the visibility of a touch panel and to make a touch panel be slim when a substrate is applied to a resistive touch panel. CONSTITUTION: An Nb2O5 layer(22), an SiO2 layer(25), and an ITO(Indium Tin Oxide) layer(30) are laminated on one side of a substrate(10). The substrate has a chemical reinforcing layer(20) on one side of a touch panel. The chemical reinforcing layer is formed in KNO3 solution at 400 degrees.

Description

Touch panel with both elevation of view trait and slim state

The present invention relates to a touch panel using a substrate such as glass, and more particularly, to a touch panel having both visibility improvement and slimness to secure visibility and to be applicable to various products while meeting the trend of weight reduction/slimization. .

Conventionally, the touch panel is classified into a resistive film type, a capacitive type, an ultrasonic type, an elastic wave type, and an infrared type, and among them, the resistive film type and the capacitive type are predominant.

The resistive method is widely used in TVs, monitors, notebook PCs, car navigation systems, game devices, white goods, PDAs, electronic dictionaries, mobile phones, camcorders, etc. due to its high operational reliability and stability. However, since the conductive material is coated on a glass or film coated with a conductive material, the outdoor visibility is poor due to diffuse reflection caused by an air gap between the upper and lower plates, and the flexibility of the surface when using glass It lacks and hinders the spread of application fields. The capacitive method is a method of sensing and driving the static electricity of the human body, and has a strong durability, a short reaction time, and good permeability. Recently, the range of application from some industrial and casino game machines to mobile phones has been expanded. On the other hand, it does not work with a pen or with a gloved hand and has a relatively expensive disadvantage.

In any way, maintaining the quality and productivity suitable for the use of the product is recognized as an important factor in determining the marketability in the future, and there is a need to introduce glass (glass) due to diversification of applied products, but there are practical difficulties.

According to Korean Patent Publication No. 0681157, "A structure of a capacitive touch panel and a method of manufacturing the same," a glass substrate formed of a linear pattern, a shield pattern, and an overcoating film formed of silver paste; A transparent conductive film formed of ITO or ATO on the front surface of the glass substrate to accurately detect a touch position of a material touched on a touch panel; A transparent conductive film that shields noise by forming a rear portion of the glass substrate with ITO; A shield pattern formed of a silver paste on a rear surface of the transparent conductive film to attenuate noise; A linearity pattern formed of silver paste on the front surface of the transparent conductive film to correct linearity from distorted signals generated structurally in the touch panel, and securing a linearity by uniformly distributing the voltage generated on the touch panel; An overcoat film which is uniformly spin coated with an SiO ₂ -based coating solution on the top surface of the linear pattern and the surface of the transparent conductive film to protect the conductive coating layer of the touch panel and attenuate noise; A flexible and flat tail connected to the electrode for supplying power to the linearity pattern by soldering the terminal of the tail by soldering; It consists of 』.

According to the "Resistance film type touch panel" of Korean Patent Publication No. 908225, "The lower insulator layer, the lower transparent conductive oxide film layer formed in the touch part pattern on the upper surface of the lower insulator layer, and the lower transparent conductive oxide film layer from the lower A lower pad formed of a lower metal deposition coating layer formed in a connection pattern for drawing an electrical signal to the edge of the insulator layer; (Omitted) The connection pattern for drawing out the electrical signal proposes a double layer structure of the transparent conductive oxide layer and the metal deposition coating layer for all. This indicates that it is possible to manufacture with a lower cost material and a simple process than the process of applying silver paste as a connection pattern for drawing out from the ITO layer to the outside.

However, according to the above-mentioned prior arts, although it is possible to improve the mass production and durability to some extent, there were limitations in exerting high refractive index when applied to a resistive glass substrate, and thus there were closed ends difficult to apply to various products. There was a side that could not respond to the trend of slimming.

Accordingly, the present invention aims to provide a touch panel having both visibility improvement and slimming, which ensures visibility and secures visibility while adapting to the trend of weight reduction/slimization.

)층 및 산화규소층(SiO₂)과 산화인듐주석층(ITO; Indium Tin Oxide)을 차례로 형성하는 것을 특징으로 한다. In order to achieve this object, the present invention relates to a touch panel; A substrate mainly made of glass; And niobium oxide on one side of the substrate (

) Layer and a silicon oxide layer (SiO ₂ ) and an indium tin oxide layer (ITO).

According to the present invention, the glass substrate is selected from soda lime glass or Gorilla glass and is provided with a chemical strengthening layer, the chemical strengthening layer being immersed in a potassium nitrate solution at about 400 to 500°C for about 2 to 8 hours. It is characterized by being formed.

On the other hand, prior to this, the terms or words used in the present specification and claims should not be interpreted as being limited to the ordinary or lexical meaning, and the inventor has introduced the concept of terms to explain his or her invention in the best way. Based on the principle that it can be appropriately defined, it should be interpreted as meanings and concepts consistent with the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the configuration shown in the embodiments and drawings described in this specification is only one of the most preferred embodiments of the present invention, and does not represent all of the technical spirit of the present invention, and thus can replace them at the time of application. It should be understood that there may be equivalents and variations.

As described in the above configuration and operation, the stacked structure of the touch panel according to the present invention ensures visibility while adapting to the trend of light weight/slim in applying the substrate to the resistive touch panel, so that it can be applied to various products. There is one effect.

1 is a block diagram showing the main structure of the touch panel according to the present invention in a stacked state.
Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the structure of Fig. 1 in a sectional state;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

)층 및 산화규소층(SiO₂)과 산화인듐주석층(ITO; Indium Tin Oxide)을 증착에 의하여 형성하는 방식에 관련된다. 일예로, 저항막 방식의 경우 기판(10) 상에 산화규소층(SiO₂)과 산화인듐주석층(ITO)을 증착으로 형성한 본 발명의 구성에 이어서, 연결구 ? 도트 스페이서 ? 도선을 지닌 도전층을 접합한 다음 마지막으로 필름을 접합하는 공정을 택할 수 있다. 다른 예로, 기판(10) 상에 산화니오븀(

)층 및 산화규소층(SiO₂)과 산화인듐주석층(ITO)을 증착으로 형성한 상태에서 상기와 다른 적층 구조를 택할 수 있다. 어느 방식이든 시인성이 개선되면 다양한 제품으로의 응용성이 높아진다.The present invention relates to a touch panel, in particular niobium oxide (

) Layer and silicon oxide layer (SiO ₂ ) and indium tin oxide (ITO; Indium Tin Oxide). For example, in the case of the resistive film method, following the configuration of the present invention in which a silicon oxide layer (SiO ₂ ) and an indium tin oxide layer (ITO) are formed on the substrate 10 by vapor deposition, a connector? Dot spacer? The process of bonding the conductive layer having the conductive wires and finally bonding the film may be selected. As another example, niobium oxide on the substrate 10 (

) Layer and a silicon oxide layer (SiO ₂ ) and an indium tin oxide layer (ITO) in a state of being formed by vapor deposition may have a different stacking structure from the above. Either way, if the visibility improves, the applicability to various products increases.

Before exploring the schematic process sequence of the present invention, for convenience of description, a description will first be made with a focus on a cell glass substrate among glass substrates 10.

를 코팅하는 단계, 아르곤 플라즈마 형성에 의해 SiO₂를 코팅하는 단계, 직류전원 제어방식에 의해 ITO를 코팅하는 단계, 셀 글래스를 이온빔으로 표면 처리하여 ITO 박막의 안정화를 통한 저항 경시변화율을 감소하는 단계를 거친다.Looking at the schematic process sequence of the present invention, the preparation step of loading the cell glass (Cell Glass) substrate 10 before cleaning, the cleaning step of putting the cell glass into the washing machine, the step of loading the cell glass into the carrier, the cell glass Step to enter the vacuum chamber, by plasma formation

Coating step, coating SiO ₂ by argon plasma formation, coating ITO by DC power control method, surface treatment of cell glass with ion beam to reduce the rate of change of resistance over time through stabilization of the ITO thin film Goes through.

According to the present invention, a substrate 10 having glass as its main material is used, and the substrate 10 must improve physical properties after a predetermined pretreatment. Typically, the improvement of physical properties is selected from physical, thermal, and chemical methods.

In this case, the glass substrate 10 is selected from soda lime glass or gori glass, and includes a chemically strengthened layer 20. Soda-lime glass and Gorira glass are suitable because they have the properties required for display products, but they are not necessarily limited thereto, and substrates of various glass materials such as PC (polycarbonate) or PMMA (polymethacrylic acrylic) are applied. You may. Since cracks in glass are caused by fine cracks and frictional forces, it can be improved by heat treatment or surface strengthening by chemical treatment. In the case of the heat treatment method, stress improvement occurs temporarily at a temperature gradient above the melting point, and the glass should be a simple plane and have a thickness above a certain value. On the other hand, the chemically strengthened layer 20 by the chemical method can realize high strength regardless of the shape or thickness of the glass (FIGS. 1 and 2).

The chemical strengthening layer is characterized in that it is formed by immersion in a potassium nitrate solution at about 400 to 500°C for about 2 to 8 hours. Chemical strengthening is performed by ion exchange, and is performed at a temperature lower than the melting point of the glass. When the glass is immersed in a potassium nitrate solution at 400 to 500°C for 2-8 hours, Na ions on the glass surface and K ions on the solution exchange with each other, and strengthening occurs due to contraction due to electromagnetic force. In addition, the preferred temperature of the chemically strengthened layer 20 and the immersion time of the potassium nitrate solution vary depending on the function of the touch panel. For example, the temperature of the chemically strengthened layer 20 is set to 420° C. and the potassium nitrate solution is about 3 hours. It can be immersed, but the temperature should be 450℃ and immersed in potassium nitrate solution for 4~5 hours. It may be, this can be said to be the result of different treatment of the strength of the chemical strengthening layer 20 according to the characteristics of the touch panel. The substrate 10 having such a chemically strengthened layer 20 exhibits an intensity of about 8 times higher than that by heat treatment, and less deformation such as distortion during processing, and maintains color and light transmittance characteristics.

delete

)(22) 및 산화규소층(25)과 산화인듐주석층(30)을 차례로 증착하는데, 이러한 증착과정을 보다 상세하게 설명한다. Meanwhile, according to the present invention, a niobium oxide layer on one surface of the substrate 10 (

) 22 and the silicon oxide layer 25 and the indium tin oxide layer 30 are sequentially deposited, which will be described in more detail.

)(22) 및 산화규소층(25)과 산화인듐주석층(30)은 전술한 글래스의 기판(10)을 진공챔버(Vacuum chamber)에 수용하고 소정의 가스 분위기에서 증착(sputtering)을 통하여 형성된다.Niobium oxide layer (

) 22 and the silicon oxide layer 25 and the indium tin oxide layer 30 receive the above-described glass substrate 10 in a vacuum chamber and form it through sputtering in a predetermined gas atmosphere. do.

First, check the import and material quantity of cell glass material, and then load it in the cassette. The number of loads per row is approximately 62 (more or less), and the first and last spaces are empty to prevent mishandling. When loading of 60 sheets of 3 cleaning cassettes is completed, the overall appearance is checked. Move to the place where the cleaner is placed and put it on the shelf. Of course, before or immediately after this process, a cell glass having a chemically strengthened layer 20 formed through chemical strengthening must be used.

Next, the loaded cell glass material is put in a washing machine to perform a cleaning operation. At this time, it is appropriate to set the cleaning temperature to about 60°C and the cleaning time to about 45 minutes. These values can be adjusted according to other conditions of the cell glass material used.

Next, the cell glass material after the cleaning process is loaded into a carrier to enter the vacuum chamber. During loading, the quantity inputted to be kept within the coating effective range zone is limited.

Next, the cell glass material is introduced into the vacuum chamber. At this time, the ambient temperature of the vacuum chamber is set to about 250°C ± 50°C or about 340°C. Subsequently, plasma sputtering is performed using a magnetron sputtering method. Magnetron sputtering concentrates the plasma that can be generated between the target and the shield or the target and the substrate by the bias voltage (DC, RF) applied to the target near the target using a permanent magnet attached to the target. And the ions accelerated by the potential difference between the target surface and the plasma collide with the target surface to cause secondary electron emission and sputter at the target surface, and sputtered neutral atoms fly to the substrate to form a thin film. do.

코팅처리를 수행하여 산화니오븀층(

)(22)을 형성한다. 이때 코팅되는 박막두께는 40±10Å 정도를 유지하는 것이 바람직한데, 이러한 산화니오븀(

) 대신 산화티타늄(TIO₂)이나 지르코늄(ZrO₂) 등의 고 굴절물질을 사용하여 증착할 수도 있다.Next, by plasma

Niobium oxide layer by performing coating treatment (

) (22). At this time, it is desirable to maintain the thickness of the coated thin film at about 40±10 mm 2.

) May be deposited using a high refractive material such as titanium oxide (TIO ₂ ) or zirconium (ZrO ₂ ).

Next, a silicon oxide layer 25 is formed by performing an SiO ₂ coating treatment with argon (Ar) plasma. At this time, the thickness of the thin film to be coated is preferably maintained at about 250 MPa. In addition, instead of the silicon oxide layer 25, a low refractive material such as aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O 3) or silicon oxide (SiNx) may be used for deposition.

Meanwhile, in the method of coating SiO _2, it is preferable to use four cathodes as a control method of RF power. The number of cathodes and the positions to be arranged may vary depending on the structure of the vacuum chamber, and the cathodes optimized for the present invention are selected to maintain a constant equal spacing at positions facing the cell glass material. If the number of cathodes is small, thin film formation may be insufficient, and if too large, uniform control of thickness is difficult. Accordingly, the transmittance by coating can be improved to 90% or more. Subsequently, plasma treatment is performed to improve the film strength of SiO ₂ deposited at room temperature. Also, instead of the above-described SiO ₂ coating method, a method of depositing by dissolving magnesium chloride (MGF ₂ ) in an E-beam (electron beam) is possible, but it is considered that the SiO ₂ coating treatment method is more preferable.

Next, it is preferable to form the indium tin oxide layer 30 by coating ITO to the coated cell glass material of SiO _{2 with} a thickness of 120±50 Å by a DC power control method. In the case of ITO coating treatment, the uniformity of resistance of ITO film formation is maintained within 5% by pressure control of argon and oxygen gas. Such a control method can use a conventional device. A dedicated device for precisely controlling the conditions of the atmosphere is used.

Next, it is possible to achieve a reduction in the rate of change of resistance over time through stabilization of the ITO thin film by surface treatment with an ion beam.

On the other hand, the glass substrate 10, the temperature of the vacuum chamber is set to about 250 ℃ ± 50 to deposit the indium tin oxide layer (ITO; Indium Tin Oxide) (30) resistance is also 400 ~ 500 Ω can be used safely. It can be manufactured in the form. However, in the case of the glass substrate 10, if the indium tin oxide layer (ITO layer, 30) is deposited by setting the temperature of the vacuum chamber to about 340°C, which is generally performed, the resistance value may be reduced to about 80 to 300 MPa. In addition, there are no obstacles in stabilizing/crystallizing the materials of the indium tin oxide layer 30, and thus there is an advantage of being able to meet various needs of consumers.

After the touch panel of the cell glass material thus manufactured is detached from the carrier, an external appearance inspection and characteristic inspection are performed. The appearance inspection is to visually inspect the surface for scratches, foreign substances, contamination, pinholes, etc., and the characteristic inspection is to measure electrical resistance, transmittance, film thickness, heat resistance, and wear resistance.

Normally, if only the indium tin oxide layer 30 is laminated on the substrate 10 having a transmittance of about 91%, the transmittance decreases somewhat, but the niobium oxide layer 22 and the silicon oxide layer 25 and the indium tin oxide layer 30 are formed. When it is laminated, it recovers with a transmittance of about 91%, and has the usefulness of simplifying the manufacturing process and lowering the manufacturing cost.

The present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, such modifications or modifications will have to belong to the claims of the present invention.

10: substrate 20: chemical strengthening layer
22: niobium oxide layer 25: silicon oxide layer
30: indium oxide layer

Claims (3)

On the touch panel:
A substrate 10 mainly made of glass; And
A niobium oxide layer 22 and a silicon oxide layer 25 and an indium tin oxide layer 30 are sequentially deposited on one surface of the substrate 10,
The glass substrate 10 is selected from soda-lime glass or Gorira glass, and includes a chemical strengthening layer 20 on one surface of the substrate 10, wherein the chemical strengthening layer 20 has a potassium nitrate solution of about 400 to 500°C. A touch panel having both visibility improvement and slimming, which is formed by immersion in about 2 to 8 hours. delete delete

Images