KR20120130992A - Electrostatic capacity type touch screen panel and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A capacitance type touch screen panel and a manufacturing method are provided to remarkably reduce a size and an installation space of equipment when a touch screen panel factory is built, thereby reducing investment costs, installation space costs, and running costs of the equipment. CONSTITUTION: A substrate(100) comprises an electrode forming unit, a routing wire unit and a pad forming unit. First connection patterns(110) are formed in an electrode forming unit on the substrate. A first routing wire(112) and a second routing wire are formed on the same plane as the first connection pattern in a routing wire forming unit on the substrate. An insulating layer(120) is formed on the substrate on which the first connection pattern is formed, and exposes a part of the first connection patterns. Second electrode patterns are arranged in parallel with one direction on the insulating layer and are connected to second routing wires.

Description

Capacitive touch screen panel and its manufacturing method {ELECTROSTATIC CAPACITY TYPE TOUCH SCREEN PANEL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a touch screen panel of a capacitance type method and a manufacturing method thereof.

In recent years, display devices such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), electroluminescent displays, and plasma display panels have attracted attention because of their high response speed, low power consumption, and excellent color recall . Such display devices have been used in various electronic products such as televisions, computer monitors, notebook computers, mobile phones, display parts of refrigerators, personal digital assistants, and automated teller machines. In general, such display devices configure an interface with a user by using various input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a digitizer.

However, the use of separate input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse has a problem of causing user dissatisfaction due to inconvenience of taking up space and learning how to use. Thus, there is an increasing demand for an input device that is convenient, simple and can reduce malfunctions. In accordance with such a request, a touch screen panel has been proposed in which a user directly contacts a screen with a hand or a pen to input information.

The touch screen panel is simple, has little malfunction, can be input without using a separate input device, and can be operated quickly and easily through the contents displayed on the screen. .

The touch screen panel may be classified into an add-on type, an on-cell type, and an integrated type according to its structure. The top plate attaching type is a method of attaching the touch sensor to the top plate of the display device after separately manufacturing the display device and the touch sensor. The upper plate integrated type directly forms elements constituting the touch sensor on the surface of the upper glass substrate of the display device. The built-in type has a built-in touch sensor inside the display device to achieve a thin display device and enhance durability.

In recent years, research on a top plate integrated touch screen panel has been actively conducted to reduce the weight of the touch screen panel. In general, a process for manufacturing a top plate integrated touch screen panel uses a photolithography process (hereinafter, referred to as a photo process) of a thin film liquid crystal display device. However, when the photo process is used in the touch screen manufacturing process, since the production line for producing the liquid crystal display device is converted to the touch screen panel manufacturing line, there is a problem in that the production capacity of the liquid crystal display device is reduced.

For this reason, the establishment of a dedicated production plant for exclusively producing touch screen panels is being considered, but this also requires a lot of equipment space because photo equipment is very expensive and large in size, and thus, it is not a desirable alternative.

In addition, it is essential that the touch electrodes of the touch screen panel use a high resistance transparent conductive material such as ITO due to visibility problems. In particular, in the case of a capacitive touch screen panel, as the area of the touch screen panel increases, the resistance also increases due to the increase in the number of wires. In this situation, in order to solve the RC delay problem, the resistance of the wiring can be reduced by increasing the thickness of each wiring. However, in order to form the wirings, a metal layer for forming wirings must be deposited on the entire area of the substrate using a sputtering method. In this case, the substrate bends due to the weight of the metal layer deposited on the entire substrate. Therefore, the deposition thickness of the metal layer formed through the sputter can not be limited so as not to bend the substrate, which leads to a decrease in the wiring resistance, and eventually cannot solve the RC delay problem.

Therefore, there is a need for a new method of manufacturing a touch screen panel that can solve the problems caused by the prior art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a touch screen panel and a manufacturing method thereof that can reduce the cost required when a new factory dedicated touch screen panel.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a touch screen panel and a method of manufacturing the same that can reduce the RC delay when manufacturing a large touch screen panel with the increase in size of the display device.

In order to achieve the above object, the touch screen panel according to the present invention, a substrate having an electrode forming portion, a routing wiring portion, and a pad forming portion; A plurality of first connection patterns formed on an electrode forming portion on the substrate; A plurality of first routing lines and a plurality of second routing lines formed on the same plane as the first connection pattern in the routing line forming unit on the substrate; An insulating layer formed on the substrate on which the first connection pattern is formed to expose a portion of each of the plurality of first connection patterns; And a plurality of first electrode strings arranged in parallel in a first direction on the insulating layer and connected to the plurality of first routing lines, and in a second direction crossing the plurality of first electrode rows. And a plurality of second electrode patterns connected to the plurality of second routing lines, wherein the first electrode rows and the second electrode rows are in contact with each other by the insulating layer. Each of the plurality of first connection patterns is formed of the transparent conductive layer and connects the first electrode patterns adjacent to each other, and each of the plurality of first and second routing wires includes a transparent conductive layer and the transparent conductive layer. Characterized in that formed of a metal layer formed to wrap.

The touch screen panel is formed on a pad forming portion on the substrate, and includes a plurality of first pads respectively connected to the plurality of first routing wires, and a plurality of first pads respectively connected to the plurality of second routing wires. Further comprising two pads, each of the first and second pads may be configured to include a transparent conductive layer, and a metal layer formed to surround the transparent conductive layer.

The transparent conductive layer is formed of any one of ITO, IZO, and GZO, has a thickness of 0.04 µm to 0.14 µm, and the metal layer is formed of any one of Al, AlNd, Mo, MoTi, Cr, and has a thickness of 0.1 µm to 0.97 µm . It has a thickness , the insulating layer is formed of silicon nitride, characterized in that having a thickness range of 0.6㎛ ~ 4.0㎛.

The thickness of the metal layer of the first and second routing lines is characterized in that the thickness of the portion formed on the upper portion of the transparent conductive layer is thicker than the thickness of the portion formed on the side of the transparent conductive layer.

In addition, the method for manufacturing a touch screen panel according to the present invention includes sequentially stacking first and second conductive layers on a substrate, and then patterning the first and second conductive layers to form a plurality of first connection patterns, A first process of forming a first conductive pattern comprising a plurality of first routing lines and a plurality of second routing lines; An insulating layer is formed on an entire surface of the substrate on which the first conductive pattern is formed, and the insulating layer is patterned to expose a portion of each of the first connection patterns and a portion of each of the first and second routing lines. 2 process; And forming a third conductive layer on the substrate on which the insulating layer is formed, and patterning the second conductive layer to cross the plurality of first electrode rows arranged in parallel in a first direction. And a third process of forming a second conductive pattern including a plurality of second electrode lines arranged in parallel in a second direction, wherein each of the plurality of first and second routing lines is a transparent conductive layer, and A metal layer formed to surround the transparent conductive layer, wherein each of the plurality of first electrode rows includes a plurality of first electrode patterns separated from each other, and each of the plurality of first connection patterns is formed of the transparent conductive layer The first electrode patterns adjacent to each other may be connected to each other.

The first process further includes forming a plurality of first and second pads, sequentially depositing the first conductive layer of transparent conductive material and the second conductive layer of metal layer; Patterning the first and second conductive layers by a laser patterning process to form first preliminary connection patterns, first and second preliminary routing lines, and first and second preliminary pads; An electrolytic solution containing the first preliminary connection patterns, the first and second preliminary routing lines, and the substrate on which the first and second preliminary pads are formed; After immersing in a bath, a positive electrode is connected to the first and second pads and the first and second preliminary routing wires, and a negative electrode is connected to the electrolyte solution to supply an electric current. Depositing the metal ions included in the metal layer to grow the metal layer; And completely removing the metal layer of the first preliminary connection pattern by immersing the substrate in an etchant, and partially etching the metal layer of the first and second preliminary pads and the first and second preliminary routing lines. Forming first connection patterns, the plurality of first and second routing lines, and the first and second pads.

The growing of the metal layer may be performed until the metal layers of the first and second pads and the first and second preliminary routing wires have a thickness of 0.2 μm to 1.0 μm, and the supplied current is It is characterized by having a size of 0.5A ~ 10A.

The etching of the metal layer may be performed until the metal layers of the first and second pads and the first and second preliminary routing wires have a thickness of 0.1 μm to 0.97 μm, and the supplied current is It is characterized by having a size of 0.5A ~ 10A.

In the patterning process using the laser, the first and second conductive layers are patterned at one time using a KrF excimer laser, or the second conductive layer is first patterned using an ultraviolet (UV) laser, and then infrared (IR) And later patterning the first conductive layer using a laser.

According to the touch screen panel and the method of manufacturing the same according to an embodiment of the present invention, since the size and equipment installation space of the equipment can be drastically reduced when the factory for touch screen panels is newly established, equipment investment cost, equipment installation space cost, operation cost, etc. Many savings can be achieved in terms of:

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, since the metal layer does not need to be formed on the entire surface of the substrate, the warpage of the substrate does not occur even if the thickness of the metal layer is increased. Therefore, when the present invention is applied to a capacitive touch screen panel, the RC delay problem can be obtained by increasing the thickness of the metal layer.

1 is a plan view of a touch screen panel according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2A and 2B are cross-sectional views illustrating different embodiments taken along lines II ′ and II-II ′ of the touch screen panel illustrated in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a first example, and FIG. Cross section of the second example,
3A to 3D illustrate a process of forming a first conductive pattern of the touch screen panel shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3A is a plan view, FIGS. 3B to 3D are sectional views,
4A to 4D illustrate a process for forming a first conductive pattern of the touch screen panel shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4A illustrates an electroplating process for growing a metal layer, and FIG. 4B illustrates an electroplating process. 4C is a plan view showing a first conductive pattern obtained after etching the metal layer, FIG. 4D is a cross-sectional view showing a first conductive pattern obtained after etching the metal layer;
5A and 5B illustrate a process of forming an insulating layer having contact holes formed in the configuration of FIG. 4D. FIG. 5A is a plan view, and FIG. 5B is a line II ′ and II-II ′ of FIG. 5A. Profile taken along,
6A is a view illustrating a process of forming first and second electrode patterns of the touch screen panel illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 6A is a plan view, and FIG. 6B is a line II ′ and II-II ′ of FIG. 6A. Section taken along
7 is a table comparing the approximate required costs according to the conventional photo process and the process of the present invention,
8a to 8c are graphs showing the cost according to the conventional photo process and the process of the present invention, Figure 8a is a bar graph comparing the equipment investment cost, Figure 8b is a bar graph comparing the equipment installation space ratio, Figure 8c is a graph comparing operation costs.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals denote like elements throughout the specification.

First, a touch screen panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B. 1 is a plan view of a touch screen panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views taken along lines II ′ and II-II ′ of the touch screen panel illustrated in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2A. Is a cross-sectional view of the first example, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the second example.

1, 2A, and 2B, a touch screen panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes an electrode forming unit A, a routing wiring forming unit B, and a pad forming unit C.

The electrode forming portion A may have a plurality of first electrode strings 130 arranged side by side in a first direction (eg, X-axis direction) and a second direction (eg, intersecting with the first electrode strings 130). , A plurality of second electrode rows 135 arranged in the Y-axis direction). Each of the first electrode columns 130 may include first electrode patterns 131 formed of a triangle, a square, a rhombus, a polygon, and the like, and first connection patterns 110 connecting the first electrode patterns 131. It includes. Each of the second electrode columns 135 and the second electrode patterns 136 and the second electrode patterns 136 formed of a triangle, a square, a rhombus, a polygon, and the like similar to the first electrode patterns 131 may be formed. The second connection patterns 137 connect to each other.

First and second electrode patterns 131 and 136 constituting the first electrode string 130 and the second electrode string 135 of the electrode forming portion A, and the first and second connection patterns 110. And 137 are all formed of the same material, and are formed of a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), and gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO). Here, the first connection pattern 110 is formed to have a thickness of 0.04㎛ ~ 0.14㎛. The transparent conductive material such as ITO used as the material of the first connection pattern 110 has the advantage that the electrical conductivity increases as the thickness increases, but there is a phenomenon that the transmittance of light decreases. Therefore, it is necessary to properly adjust the thickness of the transparent conductive material in consideration of electrical conductivity and light transmittance. In the present invention, the thickness of the transparent conductive material is set in the range of 0.04 µm to 0.14 µm in consideration of both electrical characteristics and light transmittance. As such, when the thickness of the transparent conductive material is set, a characteristic that satisfies both the electrical conductivity and the light transmittance required by the display device can be obtained.

In the touch screen panel according to the embodiment of the present invention, the first connection patterns 110 are formed on a different layer from the first electrode patterns 131, and the neighboring first electrode patterns 131 are mutually different. On the other hand, the second connection patterns 137 are integrally formed without being separated from the second electrode patterns 136. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the first connection patterns 110 may be integrally formed with the first electrode patterns 131, and the second connection patterns 137 may include the second electrode. The second electrode patterns 136 may be formed to be connected to each other by being formed on a different layer from the patterns 136.

The routing line forming unit B is formed at an outer portion of the electrode forming unit A, and includes a plurality of first routing lines 112 connected to the plurality of first electrode lines 130, respectively, and a plurality of second lines. A plurality of second routing lines 114 are respectively connected to the electrode columns 135. Each of the first and second routing lines 112 and 114 includes a lower layer 112a made of a transparent conductive material such as ITO, IZO, and GZO, and the lower layer 112a so that the lower layers 112a and 114a are not exposed. And a double layer of the upper layer 112b ″ formed of a metal material such as Al, AlNd, Mo, MoTi, Cu, Cr. At this time, the first and second routing lines 112 and 114 are formed. Each of the upper layers 112b ") is thicker than the thickness of the portion formed on the side of the lower layer 112a.

The routing line forming unit B may also be configured to further include an insulating layer 120 formed thereon to protect the first and second routing lines 112 and 114. Since the structure of the second routing line 114 is the same as that of the first routing line 112, the lower layer and the upper layer of the second routing line 114 are not shown in the drawing.

Herein, the transparent conductive material such as ITO forming the lower layer 112a of the first and second routing lines 112 and 114 has a thickness of about 0.04 μm to about 0.14 μm, similarly to the first connection pattern 110. It is formed to have a metal material, such as Cu to form the upper layer (112b ") is determined to have a thickness of about 0.1㎛ ~ 0.97㎛.

The pad forming unit C includes a plurality of first pads 116 and a plurality of second routing wires respectively connected to the plurality of first electrode lines 130 through the plurality of first routing wires 112. A plurality of second pads 118 connected to the plurality of second electrode strings 135 through 114 are formed. Each of the first and second pads 116, 118 is formed of a transparent conductive material such as ITO, IZO, or GZO, so that the first layers 116a, 118a and the first layers 116a, 118a are not exposed. A second layer 116b ", 118b" formed to surround the first layers 116a and 118a, and formed of a metal material such as Al, AlNd, Mo, MoTi, Cu, Cr, and the second layer 116b 118b " and a triple layer of third layers 116c and 118c made of a transparent conductive material such as ITO, IZO and GZO.

Herein, a transparent conductive material such as ITO forming the first layers 116a and 118a of the first and second pads 116 and 118 may be formed under the lower layer (the first and second routing lines 112 and 114). As in the case of 112a), the metal material is formed to have a thickness of about 0.04 μm to about 0.14 μm, and the metal material such as Cu forming the second layers 116b ″ and 118b ″ is formed to have a thickness of about 0.1 μm to about 0.97 μm. .

In the above description of the embodiment, the first and second pads 116 and 118 are described as having a three-layer structure, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the first and second pads 116 and 118 may be formed only in a two-layer structure without forming third layers 116c and 118c, which are uppermost layers. However, when the first and second pads 116 and 118 have a three-layer structure, since the uppermost layer is formed of a transparent conductive material such as ITO having high hardness, a subsequent process of manufacturing the display device after forming the touch screen panel There is an advantage that can prevent scratches that can occur.

Meanwhile, in the touch screen panel according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first connection patterns 110, the first and second routing wires 112 and 114, and the first and second pads are disposed on the substrate 100. 116 and 118 are formed, and an insulating layer 120 is formed on the substrate 100 on which they are formed. As shown in FIG. 2A, the insulating layer 120 includes first and second contact holes 120a and 120b exposing portions of each of the first connection patterns 110 and the first routing lines 112. The fourth contact hole 120d (see FIG. 5) exposing a portion of the third contact hole 120c and the second routing lines 114 to expose a portion of the second contact hole 120c and the second layer of the first pad 116. And a fifth contact hole 120e exposing a portion of each of the second layer 118b ″ of the second pad 118.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2A, the first to fifth contact holes 120a and 120b may be formed on the entire surface of the substrate 100 on which the first connection patterns 110 and the first and second routing lines 112 and 114 are formed. Although the insulating layer 120 having the 120c, 120d, and 120e has been described as being formed, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the insulating layer 120 constitutes the first electrode string 130 so that the first and second electrode strings 130 and 135 do not contact each other in the electrode forming portion A as shown in FIG. 2B. It may be partially formed only at the intersection of the second connection pattern 137 constituting the first electrode pattern 131a and the second electrode string 135.

Silicon nitride (SiNx) is used as the material of the insulating layer 120, and is formed to have a thickness of 0.6 μm to 4 μm. When the thickness of the insulating layer 120 is less than 0.6 μm, the insulating layer 120 may be destroyed by the voltage applied to the first electrode string 130 and the second electrode string 135, and the insulating layer 120 This is because when the thickness exceeds 4 µm, the transmittance of light decreases and the formation of contact holes becomes difficult due to the characteristics of the silicon nitride film used as the material of the insulating layer, which takes a long time. Therefore, in consideration of stability of the insulating film, good light transmittance, and ease of processing, the thickness of the insulating film 120 is preferably in the range of 0.6 µm to 4 µm.

In addition, on the insulating layer 120 on which the first to fifth contact holes 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, and 120e are formed, a plurality of first electrode patterns 131 are formed, and a first direction (for example, A plurality of first electrode strings 130 arranged in the x-axis direction are formed, and are configured of the plurality of second electrode patterns 136 and cross a first direction (eg, y-axis). Direction) a plurality of second electrode rows 135 are formed.

Since the first electrode patterns 131 constituting the first electrode string 130 are formed separately from each other, they need to be connected to each other to form a touch sensing circuit. In the touch screen panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first electrode patterns 131 neighboring each other are exposed through the first and second contact holes 120a and 120b as illustrated in FIG. 2A. The first connection pattern 110 under the 120 is connected to each other. However, the first electrode patterns 131 neighboring each other may be connected to each other by the first connection pattern 110 exposed through the opening as shown in FIG. 2B.

Meanwhile, the first electrode patterns 131 positioned at the outermost portion of the electrode forming portion A are connected to the first routing wires 112 through the third contact hole 120c, respectively, and are disposed at the outermost position. The second electrode patterns 136 are respectively connected to the second routing lines 114 through the fourth contact hole 120d (see FIGS. 1 and 2A and 5). On the other hand, the first electrode patterns 131 positioned at the outermost part of the electrode forming part A are connected to the first routing lines 112 through the openings, respectively, and the second electrode patterns positioned at the outermost part. 136 may be respectively connected to the second routing lines 114 through the opening.

In addition, the first and second electrode pads 116 and 118 of the pad forming unit C may have first and second routing lines through the fifth contact holes 120e as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Fields 112 and 114, respectively.

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first and second electrode strings 130 and 135 and the second connection patterns 137 using ITO are formed on the uppermost layer of the touch screen panel, and the ITO has a high hardness. As a result, scratches do not occur in a later process for forming the display device on the other side of the substrate 100 of the touch screen panel, thereby obtaining an effect of obtaining a touch screen panel having good quality.

In addition, when the first and second routing lines 112 and 114 are formed of a single layer of a transparent conductive material such as ITO, IZO, or GZO, it has been necessary to increase the thickness to prevent an increase in the RC delay. In the present invention, since the upper layer 112b ″ may be formed of a metal material having a low specific resistance, the resistance may be lowered, thereby improving the RC delay phenomenon.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a touch screen panel according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 6B.

3A to 3D illustrate a first conductive pattern forming process of the touch screen panel illustrated in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3A is a plan view, and FIGS. 3B to 3D are lines II and II-II ′ of FIG. 3A. It is a cross section taken along.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3B, and 3D, a mother substrate SUB for manufacturing a touch screen panel TSP having an electrode forming portion A, a routing wiring forming portion B, and a pad forming portion C is illustrated. ), First connection patterns 110, first and second routing wires 112 and 114, first and second pads 116 and 118, and a plating pad PP A first conductive pattern group including a is formed.

Referring to the process of forming the first conductive pattern group in more detail, as shown in FIG. 3B, a touch screen panel including an electrode forming portion A, a routing wiring forming portion B, and a pad forming portion C is provided. Prepare a mother substrate (CUB) for the preparation. The first conductive layer TL1 made of a transparent conductive material such as ITO, IZO, or GZO is deposited to a thickness of about 0.04 μm to about 0.14 μm through the deposition process such as sputtering on the mother substrate SUB, and Al, A second conductive layer ML1 made of metal material such as AlNd, Mo, MoTi, Cu, Cr is formed to a thickness of about 0.03 μm to 0.1 μm. When the thickness of the metal material of the second conductive layer ML1 is less than 0.03 μm, current does not flow well. In the electroplating process described later, the thickness uniformity of the metal material is not good, and when the thickness is more than 0.1 μm, laser patterning is performed. This is because patterning by the process becomes difficult.

As shown in FIG. 3C, the first conductive layer TL1 and the second conductive layer ML1 are patterned by a patterning process using a laser, so that the electrode forming portion A of the touch screen panel TSP is 2 in the electrode forming portion A. FIG. The first preliminary connection patterns 110a and 110b having a layer structure are formed, and the first preliminary routing lines 112a and 112b and the second preliminary routing lines 114a and 114b having a two-layer structure are formed in the routing wiring forming unit B. In the pad forming unit C, first preliminary pads 116a and 116b and second preliminary pads 118a and 118b each having a two-layer structure are formed. In addition, the plating pad PP extending from the first preliminary pads 116a and 116b and the second preliminary pads 118a and 118b is formed in an outer region of the touch screen panel TSP.

In the laser patterning process, as shown in FIG. 3C, the photo mask PM and the optical system OS having an opening corresponding to the shape to be patterned are aligned on a substrate, and then the laser is opened through the opening of the photo mask PM. By irradiating a beam, the 1st conductive layer TL1 and the 2nd conductive layer ML1 are patterned. In the laser patterning process, a KrF excimer laser that outputs a beam of 248 nm at an energy density of 200 mJ / cm ² was used. By this laser patterning process, as shown in FIG. 3D, the first preliminary connection patterns 110a and 110b having the two-layer structure, the first preliminary routing wires 112a and 112b, and the second preliminary routing wires (not shown) The first preliminary pads 116a and 116b, the second preliminary pads 118a and 118b, and the plating pad PP may be simultaneously formed.

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the first and second conductive layers TL1 and ML1 are patterned at one time by using a KrF excimer laser, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the first conductive layer TL1 is deposited first, and the first conductive layer TL1 is patterned using an ultraviolet (UV) laser, and the second conductive layer is formed on the patterned first conductive layer TL1. It is also possible to deposit ML1 and to pattern the second conductive layer ML1 using an infrared laser.

Since the first and second routing wires 112 and 114 and the first and second pads 116 and 118 are formed in the same process, the first pad 116 extends from the first routing wire 112. The second pad 118 is formed in one piece extending from the second routing line 114. In addition, the first pad 116 and the second pad 118 are connected to the plating pad PP formed at an outer portion of the touch screen panel TSP.

In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the plating pad PP is formed in the process of forming the first conductive pattern, but the plating pad PP may not be formed if necessary.

Next, a process for increasing the thickness of the first and second preliminary routing lines and the metal layer that is the upper layer of the first and second preliminary pads will be described. In an embodiment of the present invention, the metal layer 112b of the first and second preliminary routing wires and the metal layers 116b and 118b of the first and second preliminary pads are grown by using an electroplating process method, and the etching method is performed to form the metal layer 112b. 1 The metal layer 110b formed on the connection pattern is removed. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4D.

4A to 4D illustrate a process for forming a first conductive pattern of the touch screen panel shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4A illustrates an electroplating process for growing a metal layer, and FIG. 4B illustrates an electroplating process. 4C is a plan view showing a first conductive pattern obtained after etching the metal layer, and FIG. 4D is a first conductive pattern taken along lines II ′ and II-II ′ of FIG. 4C. Section showing the

First, for the electroplating process, to grow on the upper layers 112b, 114b of the first preliminary routing lines and the second preliminary routing lines, and the upper layers 116b, 118b of the first and second preliminary pads. An electrolytic bath (EC) containing a plating electrolyte containing ions of a metal material is prepared.

Next, the first preliminary connection patterns 110a and 110b, the first preliminary routing lines 112a and 112b ', the second preliminary routing lines (not shown), and the first preliminary pads 116a and 116b'. The mother substrate SUB on which the second preliminary pads 118a and 118b 'and the plating pad are formed is immersed in the electrolytic bath EC. Then, the cathode of the power supply unit V is connected to the plating pad PP, the anode is immersed in the plating electrolyte of the electrolytic bath EC, and a current of about 0.5 A to about 10 A is sent to the plating pad PP. When the current is supplied to the plating pad PP, the metal ions included in the plating electrolyte form the upper layers of the first and second preliminary pads connected to the plating pad PP, and the metal layers 116b 'and 118b', The metal layers 112b ', 116b', and 118b 'having increased thicknesses may be deposited on the metal layers 112b forming the upper layers of the first and second preliminary routing lines. In an embodiment of the present invention, the metal layer is grown until the thickness becomes about 0.2 μm to about 1.0 μm. This is because when the thickness of the metal layer exceeds 1.0 μm, the thickness of the metal layer becomes too thick, which causes a problem of forming an insulating layer, which is a subsequent process, and when the thickness of the metal layer is less than 0.2 μm, it does not meet the standard specifications of the touch screen panel. .

The first preliminary connection patterns 110a and 110b are not connected to the first preliminary routing lines 112a and 112b 'and the second preliminary routing lines (not shown). The metal ions included in the plating electrolyte do not precipitate in the metal layer 110b of 110b, and the metal layers 112b 'of the first and second preliminary routing lines and the metal layers 116b' of the first and second preliminary pads, 118b ') will precipitate metal only.

According to the electroplating method, the thicknesses of the first and second routing lines 112 and 114 and the metal layers 112b ', 116b' and 118b 'of the first and second pads 116 and 118 can be formed thick. Therefore, it becomes possible to form a metal layer thicker than the metal layer formed through the conventional sputtering method. Therefore, according to the touch screen panel according to the embodiment of the present invention, by increasing the thickness of the metal layer of the first and second routing wires 112 and 114 and the first and second pads 116 and 118 without bending the substrate. The effect of solving the RC delay problem can be obtained.

Next, an etching process for removing the metal layer 110b of the first preliminary connection pattern will be described.

First preliminary connection patterns 110a and 110b 'having a metal layer of increased thickness, first preliminary routing wires 112a and 112b', second preliminary routing wires (not shown), and first preliminary pads 116a. , 116b '), and the entire mother substrate SUB on which the second preliminary pads 118a and 118b' and the plating pad PP are formed are immersed in an etchant to form a metal layer of the first preliminary connection pattern as shown in FIG. 4D. Remove 110b. In this process, the metal layers 112b 'of the first and second preliminary routing lines formed in the routing line forming unit B and the metal layers 116b' and 118b 'of the first and second preliminary pads formed in the pad forming unit C. ) Is also etched, and is about 0.2 μm to about thinner than the thickness of the metal layer 112b 'and the first and second preliminary pads 116b' and 118b 'of the first and second preliminary routing wires, as shown in FIG. 4D. Metal layers 112b ", 116b", and 118b "having a thickness of 0.97 mu m are obtained (the metal layer of the second routing wiring is omitted in the drawing). In addition, the first and second routing wirings 112 and 114, The thickness of each of the upper layers 112b ", 116b", and 118b "of the first and second pads 116 and 118 has a thickness of a portion formed on the upper surface of the lower layers 112a, 116a and 118a. It is formed thicker than the thickness of the portion formed on the side surfaces 116a and 118a.

Since the thicknesses of the metal layers 112b ", 116b", and 118b "finally obtained can be easily adjusted by the electroplating method without warping of the substrate, even if a part is etched by the etchant, the object of the present invention can be achieved without problems. have.

Subsequently, the insulating layer 120 is formed on the mother substrate SUB on which the first connection pattern 110, the first routing line and the second routing line 112 and 114, and the first and second pads 116 and 118 are formed. It will be described with respect to the step of forming a.

5A and 5B illustrate a process of forming an insulating layer having contact holes formed in the configuration of FIG. 4D. FIG. 5A is a plan view, and FIG. 5B is a line II ′ and II-II ′ of FIG. 5A. It is a cross section taken along. Since the first connection pattern 110, the first and second routing wires 112 and 114, and the first and second pads 116 and 118, which are indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 5A, are covered with the insulating layer 120, the first connection pattern 110 and the first and second routing wires 112 and 114 are substantially covered with the insulating layer 120. Although not shown in the plan view, in the present invention it is indicated by a dashed line for understanding.

5A and 5B, a first conductive pattern group including a first connection pattern 110, first and second routing wires 112 and 114, and first and second pads 116 and 118 may be formed. The insulating layer 120 is formed on the entire surface of the formed substrate 100 through a deposition method such as sputtering. As the material of the insulating layer 120, an inorganic insulating material such as silicon nitride (SiNx) is used. The thickness of the insulating layer 120 is preferably set in the range of 0.6 µm to 4.0 µm.

After the insulating layer 120 is formed, a photoresist pattern (not shown) is formed on a portion where the insulating layer 120 should exist using a photolithography process using a mask. The first to fifth contact holes 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d and 120e penetrating the insulating layer 120 are formed by a dry etching process using the photoresist pattern, and then the photoresist pattern is removed. Here, the first contact hole 120a may be a part of the first connection pattern 110, the second contact hole 120b may be another part of the first connection pattern 110, and the third contact hole 120c may be A portion of the first routing line 112, a fourth contact hole (not shown), a portion of the second routing line 114, and a fifth contact hole 120e, the first and second pads 116 and 118. It is formed to expose a part of each.

In the above description, the insulating layer 120 having the first to fifth contact holes 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, and 120e is formed. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the insulating layer 120 partially only crosses the first electrode pattern 131a constituting the first electrode string 130 to be described later and the second connection pattern 137 constituting the second electrode string 135. It may also be formed (see Fig. 2b).

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the cross-sectional shapes of the first to fifth contact holes 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, and 120e are rectangular as shown in FIG. 5A, but the present invention is not limited thereto. no. For example, the shape of the first to fifth contact holes 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, and 120e may include any other shape such as a circular, elliptical, polygonal, or irregular shape.

Next, a process of forming a second conductive pattern group including the first and second electrode patterns 131 and 136 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. 6A is a view illustrating a process of forming first and second electrode patterns of the touch screen panel illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 6A is a plan view, and FIG. 6B is a line II ′ and II-II ′ of FIG. 6A. It is a cross-sectional view taken along. 6A and 6B, the insulating layer 120 formed between the first conductive pattern group and the second conductive pattern group is omitted for clarity.

First, a third layer of a transparent conductive material such as ITO, IZO, or GZO may be deposited on the insulating layer 120 on which the first to fifth contact holes 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, and 120e are formed by sputtering or the like. The conductive layer is deposited. And a plurality of first electrode rows 130 arranged in parallel in a first direction (for example, x direction) by patterning the third conductive layer using the laser patterning process described with reference to FIG. 3C, and A second conductive pattern group including a plurality of second electrode strings 135 arranged in parallel in a second direction (for example, the y direction) that crosses one direction is formed. Here, each of the first electrode columns 130 may include a plurality of first electrode patterns 131, and each of the second electrode columns 135 may include a plurality of second electrode patterns 136. The second connection patterns 137 connect the second electrode patterns 136 adjacent to each other.

Each of the first and second electrode patterns 131 and 136 is formed of a triangle, a quadrangle, a rhombus, a polygon, or the like, but embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto and may include other arbitrary shapes. In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the first electrode patterns 131 formed on the insulating layer 120 are separated from each other, and the second electrode patterns 136 are connected by the second connection pattern 137. However, the conversely, the first electrode patterns are connected to each other by the connection pattern on the insulating layer, and the second electrode patterns may be formed separately. In this case, the second electrode patterns are configured to be electrically connected by another connection pattern formed under the insulating layer.

The plating pattern PP formed on the mother substrate SUB may be a metal layer and / or an upper layer of the first and second pads 116 and 118 of the first and second routing lines 112 and 114 of the present invention. Since the structure is necessary for growing the metal layer, it must be removed after the metal layer is grown. In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the plating pattern PP is simultaneously formed when the first connection pattern 110, the first and second routing wires 112 and 114, and the first and second pads 116 and 118 are formed. As described above, the plating pad PP is not necessarily required. For example, when the plating pad PP is not formed, the first connection pattern 110, the first and the first and second pads 116 and 118 are supplied directly from the power supply unit V (see FIG. 4A). The metal layers of the second routing lines 112 and 114 and the first and second pads 116 and 118 may be grown.

According to the method of manufacturing a touch screen panel according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the required area can be drastically reduced when a new touch screen factory is newly established, significant reductions in terms of equipment investment cost, equipment installation space, and operating cost are achieved. You can do it.

7 is a table comparing the costs in terms of equipment investment costs, equipment space costs for equipment installation, operating costs in the case of applying the conventional photo process and the laser patterning method of the present invention, Figures 8a, 8b and 8C is a bar graph comparing the conventional photo process and the process of the present invention with respect to equipment investment costs, equipment space costs, and running costs, respectively. 8A, 8B and 8C show that the cost of equipment investment is about 42.30%, about 26.10% for equipment space, and 72.01% for operating cost compared to 4 mask process. Therefore, when applying the present invention it can be seen that the costs associated with the installation and operation can be significantly reduced compared to the prior art.

In addition, according to the touch screen panel according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the thickness of the metal layer may be increased through the electroplating method, the RC delay problem may be solved by reducing the resistance.

The touch screen panel according to an embodiment of the present invention is a liquid crystal display (LCD), a field emission display (FED), a plasma display panel (PDP), an electroluminescent display ( It can be applied to a display device including an electroluminescence device (EL), an electrophoretic display device. In this case, the substrate of the touch screen panel according to the embodiments of the present invention may be used as the substrate of the display device.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification, but should be defined by the claims.

100: substrate 110: first connection pattern
112: first routing wiring 114: second routing wiring
116: first pad 118: second pad
120: insulating layer 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e: contact hole
130: first electrode string 131: first electrode pattern
135: second electrode string 136: second electrode pattern
137: second connection pattern A: electrode forming portion
B: routing wiring forming portion C: pad forming portion
PP: Plating Pad

Claims (12)

A substrate having an electrode forming portion, a routing wiring portion, and a pad forming portion;
A plurality of first connection patterns formed on an electrode forming portion on the substrate;
A plurality of first routing lines and a plurality of second routing lines formed on the same plane as the first connection pattern in the routing line forming unit on the substrate;
An insulating layer formed on the substrate on which the first connection pattern is formed to expose a portion of each of the plurality of first connection patterns; And
A plurality of first electrode rows connected in parallel to a first direction on the insulating layer and connected to the plurality of first routing lines and in a second direction crossing the plurality of first electrode rows are parallel to each other. A plurality of second electrode patterns arranged to be connected to the plurality of second routing lines,
The first electrode strings and the second electrode strings are in contact with each other by the insulating layer,
Each of the plurality of first connection patterns is formed of the transparent conductive layer and connects the first electrode patterns adjacent to each other.
Each of the plurality of first and second routing wires is formed of a transparent conductive layer and a metal layer formed to surround the transparent conductive layer.
The method of claim 1,
A plurality of first pads formed on a pad forming portion on the substrate and respectively connected to the plurality of first routing lines, and a plurality of second pads respectively connected to the plurality of second routing lines. Include,
Each of the first and second pads includes a transparent conductive layer and a metal layer formed to surround the transparent conductive layer.
The method of claim 2,
The transparent conductive layer is formed of any one of ITO, IZO, GZO, has a thickness of 0.04 ㎛ ~ 0.14 ㎛,
The metal layer is formed of any one of Al, AlNd, Mo, MoTi, Cr, and has a thickness range of 0.1 ㎛ ~ 0.997 ㎛,
The insulating layer is formed of silicon nitride, the touch screen panel, characterized in that it has a thickness range of 0.6㎛ ~ 4.0㎛.
The method of claim 1,
And a thickness of the metal layer of the first and second routing lines is greater than a thickness of the portion formed on the side of the transparent conductive layer.
After sequentially stacking first and second conductive layers on a substrate, the first and second conductive layers are patterned to form a plurality of first connection patterns, a plurality of first routing wires, and a plurality of second routing wires. Forming a first conductive pattern including the first conductive pattern;
An insulating layer is formed on an entire surface of the substrate on which the first conductive pattern is formed, and the insulating layer is patterned to expose a portion of each of the first connection patterns and a portion of each of the first and second routing lines. 2 process; And
After forming a third conductive layer on the substrate on which the insulating layer is formed, a plurality of first electrode rows arranged in parallel in a first direction by patterning the second conductive layer and crossing the first direction A third process of forming a second conductive pattern comprising a plurality of second electrode rows arranged in parallel in a second direction,
Each of the plurality of first and second routing lines is formed of a transparent conductive layer and a metal layer formed to surround the transparent conductive layer,
Each of the plurality of first electrode strings includes a plurality of first electrode patterns separated from each other.
Wherein each of the plurality of first connection patterns is formed of the transparent conductive layer and connects the first electrode patterns adjacent to each other.
The method of claim 5, wherein
The first process further comprises the step of forming a plurality of first and second pads.
The method according to claim 6,
The first step,
Sequentially depositing the first conductive layer of a transparent conductive material and the second conductive layer of a metal layer;
Patterning the first and second conductive layers by a laser patterning process to form first preliminary connection patterns, first and second preliminary routing lines, and first and second preliminary pads;
An electrolytic solution containing the first preliminary connection patterns, the first and second preliminary routing lines, and the substrate on which the first and second preliminary pads are formed; After immersing in a bath, a positive electrode is connected to the first and second pads and the first and second preliminary routing wires, and a negative electrode is connected to the electrolyte solution to supply an electric current. Depositing the metal ions included in the metal layer to grow the metal layer; And
The substrate is immersed in an etchant to completely remove the metal layer of the first preliminary connection pattern, and only a part of the metal layers of the first and second preliminary pads and the first and second preliminary routing lines are etched to form the plurality of first layers. 1. A method of manufacturing a touch screen panel comprising forming connection patterns, the plurality of first and second routing lines, and the first and second pads.
The method of claim 7, wherein
The growing of the metal layer is performed until the metal layers of the first and second pads and the first and second preliminary routing lines have a thickness of 0.2 μm to 1.0 μm,
The supplied current is a method of manufacturing a touch screen panel, characterized in that having a size of 0.5A ~ 10A.
The method of claim 7, wherein
The etching of the metal layer is performed until the metal layers of the first and second pads and the first and second preliminary routing lines have a thickness of 0.1 μm to 0.97 μm,
The supplied current is a method of manufacturing a touch screen panel, characterized in that having a size of 0.5A ~ 10A.
The method of claim 7, wherein
In the patterning process using the laser,
Pattern the first and second conductive layers at once using a KrF excimer laser, or
And patterning the second conductive layer first using an ultraviolet (UV) laser, and later patterning the first conductive layer using an infrared (IR) laser.
The method of claim 7, wherein
The transparent conductive layer is formed of any one of ITO, IZO, GZO, has a thickness of 0.04 ㎛ ~ 0.14 ㎛,
The metal layer is formed of any one of Al, AlNd, Mo, MoTi, Cr, and has a thickness of 0.1 ㎛ ~ 0.997 ㎛,
The insulating layer is formed of silicon nitride (SiNx), the method of manufacturing a touch screen panel, characterized in that it has a thickness range of 0.6㎛ ~ 4.0㎛.
The method of claim 5, wherein
The thickness of the metal layer of the first and second routing wirings is formed so that the thickness of the portion formed on the upper portion of the transparent conductive layer is thicker than the thickness of the portion formed on the side of the transparent conductive layer. Manufacturing method.

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