KR20150142473A - Conductive structure body and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to a conductive structure, and a manufacturing method thereof. According to an embodiment of the present application, the manufacturing method of the conductive structure comprises the following steps: forming a first oxide layer on a substrate; forming a metal layer on the first oxide layer; forming a second oxide layer on the metal layer; and irradiating a laser beam on the opposite surface of substrate having the first oxide layer.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a conductive structure,

The present application relates to a conductive structure and a method of manufacturing the same.

Generally, the touch screen panel can be classified as follows according to the signal detection method. That is, a resistive type in which a position depressed by a pressure in a state where a direct current voltage is applied is sensed through a change in a current or a voltage value, and a resistive type in which a capacitance coupling is used in a state in which an alternating voltage is applied There is a capacitive type and an electromagnetic type in which a selected position is sensed as a change in voltage while a magnetic field is applied.

Recently, as the need for a large area touch screen panel has increased, it has been necessary to develop a technology capable of realizing a large touch screen panel having excellent visibility while reducing electrode resistance.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0054369

There is a need in the art to develop a technique for improving the performance of the various types of touch screen panels.

In one embodiment of the present application,

Forming a first oxide layer on the substrate,

Forming a metal layer on the first oxide layer,

Forming a second oxide layer on the metal layer, and

Irradiating a laser beam on the opposite surface of the substrate on which the first oxide layer is formed,

The present invention also provides a method of manufacturing a conductive structure.

Further, another embodiment of the present application provides a conductive structure produced by the method for manufacturing the conductive structure.

Still another embodiment of the present application provides a touch screen panel comprising the conductive structure.

The conductive structure according to one embodiment of the present application can prevent the reflection by the conductive pattern without affecting the conductivity of the conductive pattern and improve the hiding property of the conductive pattern by improving the absorbance. The conductive structure according to one embodiment of the present application is characterized in that the first oxide layer, the metal layer, and the second oxide layer are formed and then the laser beam is irradiated on the substrate to adjust the grain size and porosity of the metal layer .

In addition, a touch screen panel having improved visibility and changing characteristics of an oxide-metal-oxide (OMO) structure can be developed using the conductive structure according to one embodiment of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 schematically shows a laminated structure of a conductive structure according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG.
2 schematically shows a method of manufacturing a conductive structure according to an embodiment of the present application.
DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS
100: substrate
200: First oxide layer
220: second oxide layer
300: metal layer

The present application will be described in more detail below.

In this specification, the term " display device " refers to a television, a computer monitor, or the like, and includes a display element for forming an image and a case for supporting the display element.

Examples of the display device include a plasma display panel (PDP), a liquid crystal display (LCD), an electrophoretic display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), and an OLED display . The display element may be provided with an RGB pixel pattern for image implementation and an additional optical filter.

Meanwhile, as the spread of smart phones, tablet PCs, IPTVs, and the like is accelerated in connection with display devices, there is a growing need for a touch function in which a human hand becomes a direct input device without a separate input device such as a keyboard or a remote control. In addition, there is a demand for a multi-touch function capable of not only a specific point recognition but also writing.

Most commercial touch screen panels (TSPs) are based on transparent conductive ITO thin films, but when applied to a large area touch screen panel, the relatively high sheet resistance of the ITO transparent electrode itself (at least 150 Ω / □, Nitto the speed of the touch recognition is slowed due to the RC delay caused by the ELECRYSTA manufactured by Denko Co., Ltd., and an additional compensation chip is required to overcome this problem.

The present inventors have studied a technique for replacing the transparent ITO thin film with a metal fine pattern. The present inventors have found that when a metal thin film having a high electrical conductivity is used as an electrode of a touch screen panel and a microelectrode pattern of a specific shape is to be realized, It has been found out that there is a problem that it is perceived by the eyes and that glare may occur due to high reflectance and haze value against external light. In addition, it has been found out that there are many cases where an expensive target value is involved in the manufacturing process or that the process is complicated in many cases.

In addition, when a metal fine line is used as a transparent electrode, the most problematic point is the reflection color. Because of the inherent luster of the metal, visibility problems such as sparkling due to external light sources can occur, so that additional layers can be formed on the metal surface to reduce reflectivity.

In this application, an OMO (Oxide-Metal-Oxide) structure is implemented to realize a low resistance and a high transmittance of a transparent electrode. In the case of the OMO structure, a metal layer is provided between two oxide layers, and the metal layer may be formed through a deposition process or the like. The optical and electrical properties of the final OMO structure may vary depending on the properties of the metal layer, such as the optimum thickness, roughness, grain uniformity, and porosity.

Thus, the optical and electrical properties of the OMO structure can vary depending on how the intermediate metal layer is controlled. However, due to the nature of the OMO structure, it is difficult to realize a uniform metal layer during the actual deposition process because the metal deposition is performed in the nanometer scale (several to 10 nm or so). In the limit of deposition mechanisms such as ALD, CVD and PVD, It is difficult to control the degree to a certain degree or less.

Accordingly, in the present application, the grain size and porosity of the metal layer controlled by the conventional general deposition process are controlled freely by laser beam irradiation to control and improve the characteristics of the final OMO structure.

A method of manufacturing a conductive structure according to an embodiment of the present application includes the steps of forming a first oxide layer on a substrate, forming a metal layer on the first oxide layer, forming a second oxide layer on the metal layer And irradiating a laser beam on the opposite surface of the substrate on which the first oxide layer is formed.

In the conventional deposition process in which the power of the metal layer and the process conditions are controlled, deposition of a thin metal layer is difficult to uniformly deposit during nucleation and thin film growth, and deposition can be performed only to a minimum porosity limit that can be provided for each material. Therefore, it has been studied to deposit O ₂ and N ₂ by adding reaction gas to control it.

However, in the present application, the porosity of the metal layer can be variously adjusted according to laser wavelength, power, number of times of irradiation, etc., by using a method of irradiating the laser beam, and the characteristics of the metal layer can also be changed. In addition, the long processing time required for the deposition of fine crystal grains can be controlled through the short-time laser processing after deposition of the OMO structure. In addition, ALD, CVD and the like can change the physical properties of the OMO during the continuous temperature elevation deposition, but the irradiation process of the laser beam according to the present application has no advantageous effect.

In the present application, the substrate is not particularly limited, and materials known in the art can be used. For example, glass, a plastic substrate, a plastic film, and the like can be used, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

In this application, the first oxide layer may be formed of at least one selected from the group consisting of Nb, Sb, Ba, Ga, Ge, Hf, In, La, Ma, Se, Si, Ta, Se, Ti, V, Y, Zn, And oxides of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Ti, Al, Au, Cu, Ag, Ni, Mo, Cr, Ce and Zr. In particular, the first oxide layer may include, but is not limited to, Nb oxide or Ce oxide.

The first oxide layer may contain at least one metal selected from the group consisting of gallium (Ga), aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta) (V) may be further included.

The thickness of the first oxide layer may be greater than 0 and less than or equal to 100 nm, but is not limited thereto.

The first oxide layer may be formed using methods known in the art. For example, evaporation, sputtering, wet coating, evaporation, electrolytic plating, electroless plating, or the like.

Further, the first oxide layer may be formed by a printing method. When the first oxide layer is formed by a printing method, an ink or paste containing the first oxide layer material described above may be used. In addition to the first oxide layer material described above, the paste may contain a binder resin, a solvent, Frit, and the like.

In the present application, the metal layer can be formed using a method known in the art. For example, evaporation, sputtering, wet coating, evaporation, electrolytic plating, electroless plating, or the like.

The metal layer may include at least one selected from the group consisting of copper, aluminum, silver, neodymium, molybdenum, nickel, and alloys thereof, but is not limited thereto. In particular, the metal layer preferably includes copper or silver, but is not limited thereto.

Further, the metal layer may be formed by a printing method. When the metal layer is formed by a printing method, an ink or a paste containing a metal may be used. In addition to the metal, the paste may further include a binder resin, a solvent, a glass frit, and the like.

The thickness of the metal layer is not particularly limited, but it is possible to exhibit more excellent effects in terms of the conductivity of the metal layer and the economical efficiency of the pattern formation process.

In this application, the second oxide layer may be formed of at least one selected from the group consisting of Nb, Sb, Ba, Ga, Ge, Hf, In, La, Ma, Se, Si, Ta, Se, Ti, V, Y, Zn, And oxides of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Ti, Al, Au, Cu, Ag, Ni, Mo, Cr, Ce and Zr.

The second oxide layer may contain at least one metal selected from the group consisting of gallium (Ga), aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta) (V) may be further included.

In particular, the second oxide layer may include at least one selected from the group consisting of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) and gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO) , But is not limited thereto.

The thickness of the second oxide layer may be greater than 0 and less than or equal to 100 nm, but is not limited thereto.

The second oxide layer may be formed using a deposition process or a printing process on the metal layer using the material for the second oxide layer.

In this application, the first oxide layer pattern, the metal layer pattern, and the second oxide layer pattern can be formed by performing a parallel laser patterning process on the first oxide layer, the metal layer, and the second oxide layer independently . That is, the first oxide layer pattern, the metal layer pattern, and the second oxide layer pattern may be formed by simultaneously performing parallel patterning of the first oxide layer, the metal layer, and the second oxide layer, The metal layer, and the second oxide layer may be individually subjected to a parallel laser patterning process to form the first oxide layer pattern, the metal layer pattern, and the second oxide layer pattern.

The line width of the metal layer pattern may be more than 0 but 50 탆 or less, more than 0 and 30 탆 or less, but is not limited thereto. The line width of the metal pattern may be more than 0 占 퐉 and not more than 10 占 퐉, more specifically not less than 0.1 占 퐉 and not more than 10 占 퐉, more specifically not less than 0.2 占 퐉 and not more than 8 占 퐉, Mu m or less.

The first oxide layer pattern or the second oxide layer pattern may have a pattern having the same shape as the metal layer pattern. It is not necessary that the scale of the first oxide layer or the second oxide layer pattern is completely equal to the metal layer pattern, and the line width of the first oxide layer or the second oxide layer pattern is narrower than the line width of the metal layer pattern And a broad case is included in the scope of the present application. Specifically, the line width of the first oxide layer or the second oxide layer pattern may be 80 to 120% of the line width of the metal layer pattern. Or, more specifically, the area of the first oxide layer pattern or the second oxide layer pattern may be 80 to 120% of the area of the metal layer pattern. More specifically, the shape of the first oxide layer pattern or the second oxide layer pattern is preferably a pattern shape having a line width equal to or larger than the line width of the metal layer pattern.

Further, another embodiment of the present application provides a conductive structure produced by the method for manufacturing the conductive structure.

An example of a conductive structure according to one embodiment of the present application is illustrated in FIG. The first oxide layer, the metal layer, and the second oxide layer are actually used for a fine transparent electrode such as a touch screen panel. In the case of the first oxide layer, the metal layer, and the second oxide layer, It can be in the form of a pattern, not a layer.

1, a first oxide layer 200 is provided on a substrate 100, a metal layer 300 is provided on the first oxide layer 200, and a second oxide Layer 220 is provided.

In one embodiment of the present application, the conductive structure may have a sheet resistance of 1 Ω / □ or more and 300 Ω / □ or less, specifically 1 Ω / □ or more and 100 Ω / □ or less, more specifically 1 Ω / □ Or more and 50 Ω / □ or less, and more specifically, 1 Ω / □ or more and 20 Ω / □ or less.

If the sheet resistance of the conductive structure is 1 Ω / □ or more and 300 Ω / □ or less, it is possible to replace the conventional ITO transparent electrode. In the case where the sheet resistance of the conductive structure is 1 Ω / □ or more and 100 Ω / □ or less, or 1 Ω / □ or more and 50 Ω / □ or less, especially 1 Ω / □ or more and 20 Ω / □ or less, Since the surface resistance is considerably low, the RC delay is shortened when the signal is applied, and the speed of the recognition of the touch can be remarkably improved. Thus, it is easy to apply the large-sized touch screen of 10 inches or more.

One embodiment of the present application provides a touch screen panel comprising the conductive structure. For example, in a capacitive touch screen panel, another conductive structure in one embodiment of the present application can be used as a touch sensitive electrode substrate.

The touch screen panel according to one embodiment of the present application may further include an additional structure in addition to the above-described conductive structure. In this case, the two structures may be arranged in the same direction, or the two structures may be arranged in directions opposite to each other. When two or more structures are included, an insulating layer may be provided therebetween. At this time, the insulating layer may be further given the function of the adhesive layer.

A touch screen panel according to one embodiment of the present application includes a lower substrate; An upper substrate; And an electrode layer provided on at least one side of a surface of the lower substrate contacting the upper substrate and a surface of the upper substrate contacting the lower substrate. The electrode layers can perform X-axis position detection and Y-axis position detection functions, respectively.

An electrode layer provided on a surface of the lower substrate and an upper substrate of the lower substrate; And one or both of the upper substrate and the electrode layer provided on the surface in contact with the lower substrate of the upper substrate may be a conductive structure according to one embodiment of the presently filed application.

When an electrode layer is formed on one surface of both the upper substrate and the lower substrate to form a two-layer electrode layer, an insulating layer or a spacer is interposed between the lower substrate and the upper substrate so as to maintain a constant interval between the electrode layers and prevent connection. . The insulating layer may include a pressure-sensitive adhesive or a UV or thermosetting resin. The touch screen panel may further include a ground portion connected to the pattern of the conductive layer in the conductive structure. For example, the ground portion may be formed at the edge portion of the surface of the substrate on which the pattern of the conductive layer is formed. In addition, at least one of an antireflection film, a polarizing film, and an inner fingerprint film may be provided on at least one side of the laminate including the conductive structure. But may further include other types of functional films other than the above-described functional films according to design specifications. The touch screen panel may be applied to a display device such as an OLED display panel, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT), and a plasma display panel (PDP).

Claims (14)

Forming a first oxide layer on the substrate,
Forming a metal layer on the first oxide layer,
Forming a second oxide layer on the metal layer, and
Irradiating a laser beam on the opposite surface of the substrate on which the first oxide layer is formed,
≪ / RTI > The method of claim 1, wherein the first oxide layer is formed of one selected from the group consisting of Nb, Sb, Ba, Ga, Ge, Hf, In, La, Ma, Se, Si, Ta, Se, Ti, V, Y, Zn, , And an oxide of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Ti, Al, Au, Cu, Ag, Ni, Mo, Cr, Ce and Zr. The method of claim 2, wherein the first oxide layer comprises one or more of gallium (Ga), aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta) ≪ / RTI > further comprising at least one metal selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon, and silicon. The method of claim 1, wherein the first oxide layer comprises Nb oxide or Ce oxide. The method according to claim 1, wherein the metal layer comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of copper, aluminum, silver, neodymium, molybdenum, nickel, and alloys thereof. The method of claim 1, wherein the second oxide layer is selected from the group consisting of Nb, Sb, Ba, Ga, Ge, Hf, In, La, Ma, Se, Si, Ta, Se, Ti, V, Y, Zn, , And an oxide of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Ti, Al, Au, Cu, Ag, Ni, Mo, Cr, Ce and Zr. [7] The method of claim 6, wherein the second oxide layer comprises at least one of gallium (Ga), aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta) ≪ / RTI > further comprising at least one metal selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon, and silicon. [2] The method of claim 1, wherein the second oxide layer comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) and gallium doped zinc oxide (GZO) Wherein the conductive structure is formed of a conductive material. The method of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the first oxide layer is greater than 0 and less than or equal to 100 nm. The method of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the metal layer is greater than 0 and less than or equal to 50 nm. The method of claim 1, wherein the second oxide layer has a thickness of more than 0 to 100 nm. A conductive structure produced by the method of manufacturing an electrically conductive structure according to any one of claims 1 to 11. 13. The conductive structure according to claim 12, wherein the sheet resistance of the conductive structure is not less than 1 [Omega] / square and not more than 300 [Omega] / square. A touch screen panel comprising the conductive structure of claim 12.

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