KR20130072402A - Fabrication method of electrode-pattern of touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for forming an electrode of a touch panel is provided to deposit a bridge electrode on the touch panel stably, by introducing a photolithography process with a photo mask comprising a transmittance control area. CONSTITUTION: A first pattern electrode (131) includes a pair of unit pattern electrodes separately arranged, by forming a separation area of constant width. A second pattern electrode (123) is arranged to be insulated with the first electrode pattern on the separation area. An insulating photosensitive material layer is formed on the first and the second pattern electrode, and forms an insulation pattern layer of inclined structure through exposure and development using a transmittance control area (Q) implemented by a slit pattern at a position corresponding to the separation area as a photo mask. Transmittance of the transmittance control area becomes higher as going far from the center of the separation area.

Description

Electrode Formation Method of Touch Panel {FABRICATION METHOD OF ELECTRODE-PATTERN OF TOUCH PANEL}

The present invention relates to a technique for improving the visibility and deposition of the insulator applied to the electrode structure of the capacitive touch panel.

2. Description of the Related Art In electronic devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), notebook computers, OA devices, medical devices, or car navigation systems, touch panels for providing input devices (pointing devices) It is widely used. A typical capacitive type touch panel is known as a resistive type, an electromagnetic induction type, an optical type, and the like.

Generally, the capacitive method is divided into analog method and digital method.

In the analog method, the sensor electrode is a sheet-shaped electrode and does not need a pattern in the sensing operation area, whereas the digital method requires a pattern of the electrode for sensing in the sensing operation area. In this digital approach, the capacitive touch panel employs a change in capacitance caused between the electrostatics of the human body and the transparent electrode to induce a grounded current at which the touch position can be ascertained. Various capacitive touch panel technologies have been developed to detect such human body, e.g., a finger or a stylus, where the touch panel is touched.

As an example, US Registration No. 6,970,160 discloses a lattice touch-sensing system for detecting a touch location on a touch-sensitive surface. The lattice-shaped touch sensing system may include two capacitive sensing layers separated by an insulating material, each layer consisting of substantially parallel conductive elements, and the two The conductive elements of the sensing layer are substantially orthogonal to each other. Each element can consist of a series of diamond shaped patches connected together by narrow conductive rectangular strips. Each conductive element of a given sensing layer is electrically connected to a lead line of a corresponding set of lead lines at one or both ends. A control circuit may also be included, the control circuit providing an excitation signal to both sets of conductive elements through the corresponding set of lead lines, and generating from the sensor elements when a touch occurs on the surface Receives a sensing signal, and determines the location of the touch based on the location of the affected bars in each layer.

Such a capacitive scheme is mostly made up of two capacitive sensing layers, the two capacitive sensing layers having a capacitive effect between the layers. And is formed with an insulating material. Such a configuration makes the structure of the panel very thick, resulting in a reduction in size. Moreover, conventional capacitive touch panels include substrates on both surfaces where two capacitive sensing layers are respectively formed. In this regard, through holes must be formed on the substrate to act as vias, and circuit layering must be employed to properly connect the conductor elements of the sensing layers. do. This makes the fabrication of capacitive touch panels difficult and complicated.

Therefore, in order to cope with such a problem, techniques for reducing two capacitive sensing layers to one are used.

FIG. 1 is a view showing an electrode pattern of a touch panel according to a related art, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an electrode pattern of a touch panel according to a related art. The conventional touch panel and electrode pattern will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

1 and 2, the second pattern electrode 120 is formed on the first axis Rx on the substrate 110, and the first pattern electrode is formed on the second axis Tx. Form 131. Such electrode patterns are shown in cross section in Fig.

In this case, etching, sputtering, or screen printing may be used as a method of forming the second pattern electrode 120 and the first pattern electrode 131, and the material of the transparent pattern may be used. In general, ITO (Iidium-Tin Oxide) is used.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2B, a photo resist (PR) layer is formed on the second pattern electrode 131, and then an insulating material is applied to the insulating material coating layer 40. To form.

Thereafter, the photoresist 10 is removed to form the insulating layer 50 as shown in FIG. 2C. The bridge electrode 90 is formed on the insulating layer 50 formed as described above, and the first pattern electrodes 131 spaced apart from each other are electrically connected to each other.

However, the electrode pattern of the conventional touch panel has a problem in that the bridge electrode connecting the first pattern electrodes 131 is visible to the naked eye of the user, but the width of the bridge electrode is formed to 10 μm, but there is a problem in conductivity. Accordingly, a bridge electrode was constructed using metal, but there was also a problem in the naked eye due to the difference in reflectance and color between the metal and the surrounding LCD.

3A and 3B are cross-sectional conceptual views illustrating a plane conceptual view and a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X 'of the region Y in FIG.

As shown, the insulating material coating layer 40 is a three-dimensional structure to form a rectangular cross-section like the structure of Figure 3b, the insulating material coating layer 40 to form a bridge electrode 90 thereon When the deposition is performed on the metal layer, the thickness T of the metal layer at the boundary (side) of the insulating material coating layer 40 and the bridge electrode 90 becomes thin. This structural problem causes a decrease in the electrical characteristics of the touch panel, and the efficiency of deposition is reduced, such as the corner portion is implemented in a rectangular shape.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to form a metal bridge electrode connecting the first electrode pattern separated from the sensing electrode pattern of the touch panel disposed to cross each other, the bridge electrode The bridge electrode is stably formed on the insulating pattern by introducing a photolithography process using a photomask having a transmittance control region including a slit pattern to implement the formed insulating pattern in a slanted structure using a photosensitive insulating material. It is to provide a manufacturing process and thus an electrode structure to be deposited.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention, the first pattern electrode including a pair of unit pattern electrodes formed by separating and forming a separation region of a constant width, and electrically insulated from the first electrode pattern in the separation region A photomask having a second pattern electrode disposed so as to be formed, an insulating photosensitive material layer formed on the first and second pattern electrodes, and having a transmittance control region implemented with a slit pattern at a position corresponding to the separation region; It is possible to provide a method for forming an electrode of a touch panel which is exposed and developed using the same to form an insulated pattern layer having an inclined structure.

In addition, exposing the transmittance adjusting region implemented by the slit pattern using a photomask may be formed by a process using a photomask formed so that the transmittance increases as the distance from the center of the separation region increases.

The transmittance control pattern may include a light blocking region formed at a center of the transmittance control region, and a semi-transmissive region in which the slit patterns are arranged at uniform or non-uniform intervals so that the transmittance increases as the distance from the light blocking region increases. Can be configured.

In addition, the insulating photosensitive material layer preferably uses a positive type.

The insulating pattern layer may be formed by patterning the insulating pattern layer to have a width equal to or greater than the width of the separation region.

In addition, the inclination of the insulating pattern layer may be formed in a stepped structure.

Further, after the insulating pattern layer is formed in the electrode forming method of the above-described touch panel, a process of forming a conductive bridge pattern connecting the pair of unit pattern electrodes by forming a metal layer on the insulating pattern layer is further performed. It is preferable to include.

In addition, the metal layer may be formed by depositing a metal material on the insulating pattern layer.

The photomask according to the present invention applied in the above-described process, the slit pattern included in the transmittance control region is implemented as a structure formed as a light shielding pattern using Cr or Cr oxide, or the slit pattern itself is Cr, Si, Mo, Ta, Ti, Al as a main element, at least two or more of the main element material or the main elements are mixed, or at least of C0x, Ox, Nx to the main element or composite material It is possible to provide an electrode forming method (subscript x is a natural number) of a touch panel embodied by a semi-transparent material to which one is added.

According to the present invention, a metal bridge electrode is formed to connect the separated first electrode pattern among the sensing electrode patterns of the touch panel disposed to cross each other, and the inclined structure using the photosensitive insulating material is formed on the insulating pattern on which the bridge electrode is formed. In order to implement, by introducing a photolithography process using a photomask having a transmittance control region including a slit pattern, there is an effect that the bridge electrode can be stably deposited on the insulating pattern.

In addition, the insulation pattern is implemented in an inclined structure having a step so that the visibility of the insulator is reduced when applied to the touch panel, and the bridge electrodes stacked on the insulation pattern can be deposited to have a stable thickness to improve the electric conduction characteristics. There is also an effect.

1 is a view showing an electrode pattern of a touch panel according to the prior art, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the electrode pattern of the touch panel according to the prior art.
3A and 3B are cross-sectional conceptual views illustrating a plane conceptual view and a XX 'cross section of the Y region of FIG. 1 viewed from above.
4 illustrates a manufacturing process of the electrode structure for a touch panel according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a structure of a transmittance control region of the photomask described with reference to FIG. 4.
6 and 7 illustrate the structure of a pattern electrode according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the configuration and operation according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same elements regardless of the reference numerals, and redundant description thereof will be omitted. Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

4 illustrates a manufacturing process of the electrode structure for a touch panel according to the present invention.

The process shown in FIG. 4 will be described by applying the same reference numerals to the same components for comparison with the conventional electrode forming process shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 4, the manufacturing process of the electrode structure for a touch panel according to the present invention includes a first pattern electrode including a pair of unit pattern electrodes that are separated and formed by forming a separation region having a predetermined width, and the separation region. Forming a second pattern electrode disposed to be electrically insulated from the first pattern electrode, and forming an insulating pattern layer connecting the separation regions, and patterning the outer surface of the insulating pattern layer to have an inclined structure. It features. Particularly, in the present invention, the configuration of the insulating pattern layer is patterned by applying photolithography using a photosensitive insulating material, but the inclination of the outer surface of the insulating pattern layer through the transmittance control unit implemented as a slit pattern on the photomask is provided. Shall be.

Specifically, first, (a) a first pattern electrode 131 and a second pattern electrode 123, which are sensing pattern electrodes used in the touch panel of FIG. 1, are formed on the transparent substrate 110. In this case, the first pattern electrode 131 forms a separation region as shown in FIG. 1 and is implemented as a pair of separated unit pattern electrodes, and the second pattern electrode 123 is formed in the separation region. The structure is disposed to intersect with the first pattern electrode. In this case, it is preferable that the second pattern electrode and the first pattern electrode are patterned in a structure that is electrically insulated from each other.

Thereafter, (b) a photosensitive insulating material layer 210 is formed on the transparent substrate 110 on which the first pattern electrode 131 and the second pattern electrode 123 are formed. In particular, the present invention is different from the conventional method of Figure 2 of the manufacturing process using the insulating material layer 210 having a photosensitive to the insulating material layer 210, through which the process can be simplified. The photosensitive insulating material layer 210 may be any one having a property such as a positive photoresist, a negative photoresist (Negative) generally used, and more broadly any resin having photoresist may be applied. Can be.

Subsequently, in the step (c), the insulating pattern layer 211 is formed on the photosensitive insulating material layer 120 by performing exposure and development through the photomask 300. In the illustrated structure, the insulating pattern layer 211 is more preferably formed so that the cross-sectional shape is inclined toward the outside from the center of the insulating pattern layer 211.

More preferably, as shown in FIG. 5, in applying the photomask 300, transmittance adjusting regions Q1 and Q2 having two or more semi-transmissive portions having different transmittances in portions corresponding to the above-described separation regions. Can be used. The transmittance control regions Q1 and Q2 have a transmittance of the transmittance so that the transmittance may fluctuate toward the outside of the center of the insulating pattern layer 211, that is, the upper portion corresponding to the center of the portion where the second pattern electrode 123 is disposed. It is formed by adjusting the width.

For example, the transmittance adjusting region Q illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 may have an upper region A corresponding to the center of the insulating pattern layer 211, that is, the center of the portion where the second pattern electrode 123 is disposed. Towards the outer side, the transmittance may be formed to be higher in the order of A> B> C> D, or vice versa, and the control of the transmittance may be performed by a plurality of slit patterns S1, S2, and S3 of the illustrated structure. , P1, P2, and P3) can be formed. The slit patterns are all formed at uniform intervals as shown in the figure, so that the transmittance may be adjusted to have a sequential inclination on the outer surface of the insulating pattern layer 211, or the interval may be optionally adjusted to adjust the transmittance. Alternatively, the interval between the slit pattern Q1 in the horizontal direction and the slit pattern Q2 in the vertical direction may be formed differently.

The slit pattern for implementing the transmittance control is implemented as a structure formed as a light shielding pattern using Cr or Cr oxide, or the slit pattern itself as Cr, Si, Mo, Ta, Ti, Al as the main element, It may be implemented as a main element material or a composite material in which at least two or more of the main elements are mixed, or a semi-permeable material in which at least one of C0 _x , O _x , and N _x is added to the main element or composite material (subscript x is a natural number).

Due to the transmittance control region Q, exposure and development may be performed on the outer surface of the photosensitive insulating material layer 120 according to the present invention in a structure in which an inclination is implemented as shown.

In this case, the insulating pattern layer 211 implemented in the inclined structure may be implemented in a structure having a gentle inclination, or may be implemented in a stepped structure in which a constant bend is formed stepwise as in the illustrated structure. In particular, it is preferable that the width Z of the insulating pattern layer 211 is formed to be equal to or greater than the width of the isolation region of the first pattern electrode. That is, the insulating pattern layer 211 preferably has a structure in which one end and a portion of the separated unit electrode of the first pattern electrode 131 overlap or contact each other.

Subsequently, in the step (d), after the insulating pattern layer 211 is formed, a conductive bridge is formed between the pair of unit pattern electrodes 131 by forming a metal layer on the insulating pattern layer by a process such as deposition. A process of forming the pattern 220 may be further added.

Therefore, the bridge electrode 220 connecting the unit pattern electrodes separated from the electrode structure implemented by the above-described process is implemented in a structure that is laminated on the surface of the insulating pattern layer 211 having the inclined structure, the inclined structure As a result, the visibility of the insulating pattern layer 211 is reduced, and since the inclination becomes inclined, the conductive bridge pattern 220 is deposited to a stable thickness so as not to impair the electrically conductive characteristics.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a structure of a transmittance control region of the photomask described with reference to FIG. 4.

As described in step (c) of FIG. 4, the photomask used in the present process includes transmittance adjusting regions Q1 and Q2 having two or more transflective portions having different transmittances at portions corresponding to the above-described separation regions. A structure can be used. The transmittance control regions Q1 and Q2 have a transmittance of the transmittance so that the transmittance may fluctuate toward the outside of the center of the insulating pattern layer 211, that is, the upper portion corresponding to the center of the portion where the second pattern electrode 123 is disposed. The width of the slit patterns S1, S2, S3, and P1 may be formed by adjusting the width, and particularly, the central region of the transmittance adjusting region may be implemented as a light shielding pattern in order to achieve 0% transmittance. , P2 and P3), and in particular, in such a photomask structure, one having a positive property of the photosensitive insulating material layer is preferably used.

6 and 7 illustrate a structure of a pattern electrode according to the present invention, which is compared with FIGS. 3A and 3B of the structure of a conventional pattern electrode as follows.

A first pattern electrode 131 including a pair of unit pattern electrodes which are separated and formed by forming a separation region having a predetermined width according to the present invention, and a first disposition region disposed in the separation region so as to be electrically insulated from the first pattern electrode. A two-pattern electrode 123, an insulating pattern layer 211 having an inclined structure formed on the separation region, and a conductive bridge pattern 220 formed on the insulating pattern layer to electrically connect the pair of unit pattern electrodes. It may be formed into a structure containing.

That is, in the structure of the electrode pattern for a touch panel according to the present invention, the structure of the insulating pattern layer 211 in which the conductive bridge pattern 220 is formed is formed to be inclined toward the outer corner with respect to the center of the insulating pattern layer. It is characterized in that the formation, through which the stable deposition of the conductive bridge pattern 220 and the visibility of the insulating pattern layer can be reduced. In this case, the inclination may be formed to form an acute angle with respect to the plane on which the first and second pattern electrodes are disposed. As described in the embodiment of the above-described manufacturing process, the insulating pattern layer is implemented as an insulating resin layer having a photosensitivity, it is preferable to form so as to have a width beyond the separation interval of the first pattern electrode.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the insulating pattern layer is formed at an intersection area where the separation region of the first pattern electrode and the second pattern electrode cross each other, and the second pattern electrode existing at the intersection area portion is formed. It is formed of a buried structure, the inclined structure may be implemented in a stepped structure having at least two bent patterns. In addition, the first pattern electrode 131 and the second pattern electrode 123 according to the present invention may have a mutually orthogonal arrangement structure, as described in the above-described process, the first and second pattern electrodes May be disposed on the same transparent substrate 110.

The transparent substrate 110 may be formed of a synthetic resin film, such as PET, PC, PE, or a glass substrate. Although the transparent substrate 110 may be separately mounted on a display such as an LCD or an organic LED, the transparent substrate 110 may be used in a transparent substrate or a film constituting a module of the LCD or the organic LED and may be integrally provided with the display module. Here, the transparency of the transparent substrate 110 will also include the case of including a slight opacity as long as it does not impair readability suitable for the use of the display to be applied.

In addition, the first and second pattern electrodes include indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), carbon nano tube (CNT), and silver nano-wire (Ag Nano wire). ), Conductive polymer, or graphene (Graphene) may be formed of any one.

In addition, the conductive bridge pattern may be formed of the same material as the first and second pattern electrodes, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and the conductive bridge pattern may include a conductive material, a conductive paste, a metal such as gold, silver, copper, aluminum, nickel, titanium, or the like. Alloys using metals may also be used.

In the foregoing detailed description of the present invention, specific examples have been described. However, various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. The technical spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the above-described embodiments of the present invention, but should be determined by the claims and equivalents thereof.

110: transparent substrate
120 and 123: second pattern electrode
130 and 131: first pattern electrode
210: insulating material layer
211: insulating pattern layer
300: photomask
Q: Transmittance Control Zone
S1 to S3, P1 to P3: Slit pattern

Claims (9)

A first pattern electrode including a pair of unit pattern electrodes which are separated and formed by forming a separation region having a predetermined width;
Forming a second pattern electrode disposed in the separation region to be electrically insulated from the first electrode pattern,
Forming an insulating photosensitive material layer on the first and second pattern electrodes,
Exposure and development using a photomask having a transmittance control region implemented as a slit pattern at a position corresponding to the separation region,
An electrode forming method of a touch panel for forming an insulated pattern layer of a sloped structure.
The method according to claim 1,
Exposure using a photomask with a transmittance control region implemented with a slit pattern,
The method of forming an electrode of a touch panel, which is a step of using a photomask formed so that the transmittance increases as the distance from the center of the separation region.
The method according to claim 2,
The transmittance control pattern,
A light blocking region formed at a center of the transmittance control region; and
A semi-transmissive region in which the slit patterns are arranged at uniform or non-uniform intervals so that the transmittance increases as the distance from the light blocking region increases;
Electrode forming method of a touch panel comprising a.
The method according to claim 2,
The insulating photosensitive material layer is a positive electrode (positive) type electrode forming method of the touch panel.
The method according to claim 2,
The insulating pattern layer,
And forming a pattern having a width wider than that of the separation region.
The method according to claim 5,
And an inclination of the insulating pattern layer is formed in a stepped structure.
The method of claim 6,
After forming the insulating pattern layer,
And forming a conductive bridge pattern connecting the pair of unit pattern electrodes by forming a metal layer on the insulating pattern layer.
The method of claim 6,
Formation of the metal layer,
And forming a metal material on the insulating pattern layer.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The photomask,
The slit pattern included in the transmittance control region is implemented as a structure formed as a light shielding pattern using Cr or Cr oxide, or the slit pattern itself is made of Cr, Si, Mo, Ta, Ti, Al as main elements, Electrode formation of a touch panel implemented as a main material or a composite material in which at least two or more of the main elements are mixed, or a semi-transparent material in which at least one of C0x, Ox, and Nx is added to the main element or composite material Method (subscript x is a natural number).

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