KR20140017276A - Manufacturing method of sensor panel with anti-reflection layer - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a manufacturing method of a sensor panel comprising: a step of patterning a first sensor electrode, a first bridge, and a second sensor electrode on a circuit board; a step of forming an insulation layer on the first bridge; a step of forming a second bridge on the insulation layer; and a step of forming an anti-reflection layer on the second bridge.

Description

Sensor panel manufacturing method including an anti-reflection layer {MANUFACTURING METHOD OF SENSOR PANEL WITH ANTI-REFLECTION LAYER}

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a sensor panel for a touch panel, and more particularly, to a method for manufacturing a sensor panel including an antireflection layer.

Recently, with the development of portable devices, smart phones, tablet computers, game consoles, learning aids, and cameras are widely used, and the input method of these devices has evolved from a mouse or a keyboard to a touch method. In particular, a sensor panel for a touch panel is widely used in that it is easy to operate and can be widely applied to various display devices.

The touch panel sensor panel basically includes a substrate, a metal wiring layer, and a sensor electrode layer, and outdoor sunlight or indoor lighting is reflected by the metal wiring layer or sensor electrode layer provided in the sensor panel, thereby reducing visibility.

On the other hand, as a method of improving the visibility by preventing reflection due to the external light as described above, there are largely AG coating (Anti-Glare coating) and AR coating (Anti-Reflection coating) method.

The AG coating (Anti-Glare coating) is to form the irregularities having roughness of several tens to hundreds of nanometers on the surface of the substrate to prevent diffuse reflection due to external light. Anti-reflection coating is to form a thin film of two or more layers with different refractive indices to prevent direct reflection due to external light. While the AG coating prevents diffuse reflection, the sharpness of the image due to the unevenness is deteriorated. Therefore, an AR coating capable of reducing the reflectance of the direct reflection in the absence of surface irregularities is required where a clear image is to be realized. Used.

In general, the base substrate used in the process is subjected to the anti-reflection treatment as described above, the anti-reflection treatment may be damaged or new components are added to the base substrate in the process using the same.

In such a case, antireflection treatment is separately required on the region where the antireflection treatment is damaged and the added component.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a sensor panel that can prevent reflection due to external light by forming an antireflection layer on a sensor panel for a touch panel.

The present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a simplified process in forming an anti-reflection layer on a sensor panel for a touch panel.

Patterning a first sensor electrode, a first bridge and a second sensor electrode on a substrate, forming an insulating layer on the first bridge, forming a second bridge on the insulating layer and the second It provides a sensor panel manufacturing method comprising the step of forming an anti-reflection layer on the bridge.

The forming of the insulating layer may include applying an insulating material to the substrate on which the first sensor electrode, the first bridge, and the second sensor electrode are patterned, and etching the insulating layer to form an insulating layer on the first bridge. Forming a pattern may be included.

The forming of the second bridge may include applying a second bridge forming material to the entire surface of the substrate on which the insulating layer is formed, and forming a second bridge by etching the second bridge forming material. Can be.

The forming of the second bridge may include disposing a fine metal mask (FMM) on the substrate on which the insulating layer is formed, and depositing or sputtering a material for forming the second bridge on the insulating layer. And forming a second bridge in the.

The forming of the anti-reflection layer may include disposing an FMM (Fine Metal Mask) on the substrate on which the second bridge is formed and depositing an anti-reflection layer forming material on the second bridge to form an anti-reflection layer. Or sputtering.

The forming of the antireflection layer may include forming a low refractive layer by using a material for forming a low refractive layer and forming a high refractive layer by using a material for forming a high refractive layer.

The forming of the low refractive layer and the forming of the high refractive layer may be repeated two to five times, respectively.

The material for forming the low refractive index layer is MgF ₂ , NaF and CaF ₂ It may include any one of.

The material for forming the high refractive index layer is CeF ₃ , Al ₂ O ₃ , ZrO _{2 ,} TiO ₂ And Nb ₂ O _x .

It provides a sensor panel manufacturing method that can improve the visibility by preventing reflection due to external light. In addition, the manufacturing process can be simplified by depositing using the same fine metal mask.

1 is a view illustrating a state in which a first sensor electrode and a second sensor electrode are patterned on a substrate.
2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which an insulating material is coated on the entire surface of the substrate.
3 is a diagram illustrating a step of etching the applied insulating material.
4 illustrates a state in which an insulating layer is formed by patterning the insulating material.
5 is a diagram illustrating a step of forming a second bridge on the insulating layer.
6 is a diagram illustrating a step of forming a low refractive layer on the second bridge.
7 is a diagram illustrating a step of forming a high refractive layer on the low refractive layer.

Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to specific drawings. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments or drawings described below. Various equivalents and modifications may be made from the embodiments described in the following description and the drawings.

The terminologies used herein are terms used to describe embodiments of the present invention, which may vary depending on the user, the intention of the operator, or the practice of the field to which the present invention belongs. Therefore, the definition of these terms should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

For reference, in order to facilitate understanding, each component and its shape or the like are briefly drawn or exaggerated in the above drawings. The same reference numerals denote the same elements in the drawings.

It will also be understood that where a layer or element is described as being on the " top " of another layer or element, it is to be understood that not only is the layer or element disposed in direct contact with the other layer or element, To the case where the third layer is disposed interposed between the first and second layers.

1 to 8 are diagrams sequentially illustrating a method of manufacturing a sensor panel according to the present invention.

1 is a view illustrating a state in which a first sensor electrode and a second sensor electrode are patterned on a substrate.

Referring to FIG. 1, a first sensor electrode 211 (not shown), a first bridge 212, and a second sensor electrode 221 are formed on a substrate 110.

The substrate 110 may be a glass substrate, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and may be formed of any one of a polymer film, a plastic, and a metal. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the substrate 110 is PET.

The first sensor electrode 211, the first bridge 212, and the second sensor electrode 221 are patterned on the same layer on the substrate 110.

The first sensor electrode 211, the first bridge 212, and the second sensor electrode 221 may be formed of a metal or a transparent material having conductivity. A transparent conductive oxide (TCO: Transparent Conductive Oxide) can be used as the transparent material having such conductivity.

As the transparent conductive oxide (TCO), indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (AZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), or the like can be used.

The first sensor electrode 211, the first bridge 212, and the second sensor electrode 221 may be formed of the same material or may be formed of different materials. In consideration of manufacturing convenience, the first sensor electrode 211, the first bridge 212, and the second sensor electrode 221 may be formed of the same material.

The first sensor electrode 211, the first bridge 212, and the second sensor electrode 221 may be formed by sputtering or depositing a transparent conductive oxide on the substrate 110. Or may be formed using a photolithography method using a mask.

2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which an insulating material is coated on the entire surface of the substrate.

The insulating material may be formed of an electrically insulating transparent material such as a transparent synthetic resin. As the insulating material, silicon-based SiO _X may be used.

The refractive index of the insulating material may vary depending on the material for forming the second bridge, which will be described later. When the second bridge forming material is a high refractive material (n: 1.6 or more), the refractive index of the insulating material may have a range of 1.3 or more and 1.5 or less, and the second bridge forming material is a low refractive material (n : 1.5 or less), the refractive index of the insulating material may have a range value of 1.6 or more and 2.5 or less.

The insulating material layer and the second bridge forming material layer may be formed of one low refractive index layer and a high refractive layer to prevent reflection.

3 is a view illustrating a state of etching the coated insulating material.

The insulating layer 300 may be formed on an area including all of the first bridges 212. Therefore, as a method for physically removing the insulating material present in the remaining areas except for the area including all of the first bridges 212, a photo lithograpy method of etching using a mask may be used. .

An area including all of the first bridges 212 is exposed on the substrate 110 on which the insulating material is entirely coated using a mask. The insulating layer 300 may be formed only in a region including all of the first bridges 212 through the development after the exposure.

4 illustrates a state in which an insulating layer is formed by patterning the insulating material.

The insulating layer 300 may be formed by overlapping an area including all of the first bridges 212 (not shown) and a portion of the first sensor electrode 211.

FIG. 5 illustrates a step of forming a second bridge 222 on the insulating layer 300.

The method of forming the second bridge 222 on the insulating layer 300 may use an evaporation method or a sputtering method.

The evaporation may be divided into a bottom-up deposition and a top-down deposition method according to the deposition direction by depositing an evaporant material under the evaporant in a vacuum chamber and depositing the evaporation material on a substrate disposed thereon.

The sputtering may be interpreted as various deposition techniques such as sputtering deposition, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and plasma deposition.

The deposition or sputtering method using a FMM (Fine Metal Mask) is a method in which a metal mask of a thin film is placed on a substrate in a vacuum chamber, and then vaporized by heating an evaporation material so that it can be deposited only in a desired area. This FMM deposition method can be mainly used for the deposition of low molecular materials, and may have a precision within the range of 20μm.

Referring to FIG. 5, after the substrate 110 on which the insulating layer 300 is formed is flipped and disposed in the vacuum chamber 500, the fine metal mask 600 is disposed on the substrate 110. The material for forming the second bridge 222 may be deposited or sputtered at.

The fine metal mask 600 may include a mask 610 region for preventing the second bridge 222 from being formed in a portion other than a desired region and an opening 620 region in which deposition is performed.

The second bridge 222 should have a width smaller than the width of the insulating layer 300 in order to prevent the second bridge 222 from conducting with the first sensor electrode 211, and the second sensor Since the electrode 221 is to be electrically conductive, it must be longer than the length of the insulating layer 300.

Therefore, the width of the opening 610 of the fine metal mask used in FIG. 5 should have a width smaller than the width of the insulating layer 300, and the length of the opening 610 is greater than the length of the insulating layer 300. It should be long.

The thickness of the fine metal mask may have a range value of 10 μm or more and 100 μm or less.

The distance between the fine metal mask and the substrate 110 may have a range value of 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less.

In addition, the material for forming the second bridge 222 may be used as an evaporant, and the evaporation material may be a metal or a transparent material having conductivity. Silver (Ag), gold (Au), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), aluminum (Al), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), etc. may be used as the metal, and as the transparent material having the above conductivity Transparent conductive oxide (TCO) may be used. As the transparent conductive oxide (TCO), ITO, IZO, AZO, ZnO, or the like may be used.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a step of forming a low refractive layer 410 on the second bridge 222.

Referring to FIG. 6, in the vacuum chamber 500, the substrate having the second bridge 222 and the fine metal mask 600 disposed on the substrate may include only an evaporant material. The low refractive index layer 410 may be formed using a deposition or sputtering method by replacing the forming material.

As the material for forming the low refractive layer 410, any one of MgF ₂ (n = 1.38), NaF (n = 1.33), SiO ₂ (n = 1.46), and CaF ₂ (n = 1.44) may be selectively used. . In addition, a material having a value within the range of the refractive index 1.3 or more and 1.5 or less may be used.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a step of forming a high refractive layer 420 on the low refractive layer 410.

Referring to FIG. 7, the substrate 110 having the low refractive index layer 410 formed in the vacuum chamber 500 and the fine metal mask 600 disposed on the substrate 110 may be evaporated. The high refractive index layer 410 may be formed using a deposition or sputtering method by replacing only a material with a material for forming the high refractive index layer 420.

The material for forming the high refractive layer 420 is CeF ₃ (n = 1.65), Al ₂ O ₃ (n = 1.76), ZrO ₂ (n = 2.10), TiO ₂ (n = 2.50) and Nb ₂ O _X (n = 2.3) can be optionally used. In addition, a material having a value in the range of refractive index 1.6 or more and 2.5 or less may be used.

The formation of the low refractive layer 410 and the high refractive layer 420 disclosed in FIGS. 7 to 8 may be repeated two or more times and five times or less.

As described above, the second bridge 222, the low refractive layer 410, and the high refractive layer 420 may be formed by using the same fine metal mask 600 and replacing only the evaporation material.

The manufacturing method of the sensor panel described above is merely exemplary, and the protection scope of the present invention may include various modifications and equivalents from those skilled in the art.

100: sensor panel 110: substrate
211: first sensor electrode 212: first bridge
221: second sensor electrode 222: second bridge
300: insulating layer 400: antireflection layer
410: low refractive material layer 420: high refractive material layer

Claims (9)

Patterning a first sensor electrode, a first bridge, and a second sensor electrode on a substrate;
Forming an insulating layer on the first bridge;
Forming a second bridge on the insulating layer; And
And forming an anti-reflection layer on the second bridge. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming of the insulating layer,
Applying an insulating material on the substrate on which the first sensor electrode, the first bridge, and the second sensor electrode are patterned; And
And etching the insulating layer to form an insulating layer pattern on the first bridge. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming of the second bridge comprises:
Applying a second bridge forming material on the entire surface of the substrate on which the insulating layer is formed; And
And etching the material for forming the second bridge to form a second bridge. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming of the second bridge comprises:
Disposing a fine metal mask (FMM) on the substrate on which the insulating layer is formed; And
And evaporating or sputtering a material for forming a second bridge to form a second bridge on the insulating layer. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming of the antireflective layer comprises:
Disposing a fine metal mask (FMM) on the substrate on which the second bridge is formed; And
And evaporating or sputtering a material for forming an anti-reflection layer to form an anti-reflection layer on the second bridge. The method of claim 5, wherein the forming of the anti-reflection layer is performed by:
Forming a low refractive layer by using a material for forming a low refractive layer; And
Forming a high refractive layer by using a material for forming a high refractive index layer; sensor panel manufacturing method comprising a. The method of claim 6, wherein the forming of the low refractive layer and the forming of the high refractive layer are performed twice to five times, respectively. The method of claim 6, wherein the material for forming the low refractive index layer is MgF ₂ , NaF and CaF ₂ Sensor panel manufacturing method, characterized in that the material containing any one. The method of claim 6, wherein the material for forming the high refractive index layer is CeF ₃ , Al ₂ O ₃ , ZrO _{2 ,} TiO ₂ And Nb ₂ O _{x The} sensor panel manufacturing method characterized in that the material comprising any one.

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