KR20160006893A - Method of manufacturing a touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a touch panel, which comprises the steps of: using a photoresist to form a photoresist layer on a transparent substrate; disposing a photomask on the photoresist layer, selectively exposing the photoresist layer to light and developing the same to form a mesh pattern having multiple intersection parts; performing dry earthing or plasma treatment to an interface between the transparent substrate and the photoresist layer, and the surface of the transparent substrate; depositing a metal; and removing the photoresist layer. According to the present invention, a dry film photoresist as well as a liquid photoresist can be used to utilize for an existing roll-to-roll process, thereby enabling mass production and reducing the manufacturing costs. In addition, a process for metal etching is omitted to simplify the overall process.

Description

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A TOUCH PANEL [0002]

The present invention relates to a touch panel manufacturing method.

As a computer using the technology develops, auxiliary devices of a computer are developed together. A personal computer, a portable transmission device, and other personal information processing devices use various input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse Perform text and graphics processing.

However, as the use of computers is gradually increasing due to the rapid progress of the information society, there is a problem that it is difficult to efficiently operate a product by using only a keyboard and a mouse which are currently playing an input device. Therefore, there is an increasing need for a device that is simple and less error-prone, and that allows anyone to easily input information.

In addition, the technology related to the input device is shifting beyond the level that satisfies the general functions, such as high reliability, durability, innovation, design and processing related technology, etc. In order to achieve this purpose, As a possible input device, a touch panel has been developed.

Such a touch panel can be used as a flat panel display device such as an electronic notebook, a liquid crystal display device (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), or an electro luminescence (EL) And is a tool used by a user to select desired information while viewing the image display apparatus.

Meanwhile, the types of touch panels include resistive type, capacitive type, electro-magnetic type, SAW type, surface acoustic wave type, and infrared Type). These various types of touch panels are employed in electronic products in consideration of problems of signal amplification, differences in resolution, difficulty in design and processing technology, optical characteristics, electrical characteristics, mechanical characteristics, environmental characteristics, input characteristics, durability and economical efficiency Currently, the most widely used methods are resistive touch panels and capacitive touch panels.

Such a touch panel usually forms a conductor line with ITO (Indium Tin Oxide). However, in the case of ITO, the electrical conductivity is good, but Indium, which is a raw material, is expensive as a rare earth element and has a disadvantage in that supply and demand are not smooth due to exhaustion within the next 10 years.

For this reason, studies have been actively made to form a conductor line using a metal. For example, Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2013-0008876 discloses a technique of depositing a metal on a transparent substrate, applying a photoresist, exposing and developing it to form a mesh pattern, and removing a metal etching and a photoresist Discloses a panel manufacturing method.

However, in such a conventional method, particularly, a pattern used in a conventional roll-to-roll process, that is, a dry film photoresist (DFR) When the mesh is patterned, the contact area between the lower thin film and the DFR is reduced due to the fine pattern after exposure and development, which causes pattern loss due to weakening of the adhesion of the DFR. Further, in the subsequent etching process, the metal is etched to further reduce the contact area between the DFR pattern and the underlying thin film, thereby accelerating the loss of the DFR pattern and causing a large amount of overetching failure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a touch panel manufacturing method capable of preventing the loss of a pattern formed in a photoresist layer, .

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a touch panel including: forming a photoresist layer on a transparent substrate; Disposing a photomask on the photoresist layer, selectively exposing and developing the photoresist layer to form a mesh pattern having a plurality of intersections; Etching the lower portion of the formed mesh pattern and treating the exposed surface of the transparent substrate; Depositing the metal to form a metal layer; And removing the photoresist layer.

The photoresist may be a liquid type photoresist or a dry film photoresist.

In addition, the mesh pattern may be formed at an obtuse angle.

In addition, the metal may be deposited by a stuffer method.

The metal may be copper, silver, aluminum, or a low-resistance alloy.

According to the method for manufacturing a touch panel according to the present invention, by forming the mesh pattern at a negative angle, the adhesion of the photoresist can be improved and the loss of the pattern can be prevented.

In addition, according to the present invention, a dry film photoresist applicable to a conventional Roll to Roll process can be used, thereby enabling mass production and cost reduction.

In addition, according to the present invention, the metal etching process can be omitted and the whole process can be simplified, and defects that can be caused by etching, that is, open or short due to under-etching can be reduced.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of forming a metal mesh according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of forming a metal mesh according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear, and the same reference numerals will be used throughout the specification to refer to the same or like parts. use.

The terms used in this specification are used to appropriately express the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and this 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 definitions of these terms should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

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

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are a cross-sectional view and a flowchart of a process of forming a metal mesh according to an embodiment of the present invention in the order of process.

First, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), a photoresist layer 120 is formed using a photoresist for the transparent substrate 110.

The transparent substrate 110 serves to provide a region where a metal mesh electrode is to be formed. At this time, the transparent substrate 110 must have a supporting force capable of supporting the metal mesh electrode and transparency that allows the user to recognize the image provided by the image display device. Considering such supporting force and transparency, the material of the transparent substrate is preferably selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyether sulfone (PS), biaxially oriented PS (biaxially orientated polystyrene) containing K resin, a polyolefin (PV) film, a polymethyl methacrylate ; BOPS), glass or tempered glass, but is not limited thereto.

As the method for forming the photoresist layer 120 on the transparent substrate 110, a dry film method or a liquid photoresist method can be applied. In the dry film process, a dry film is thermally bonded to one surface of a transparent substrate 110 using a laminator. In the liquid phase photoresist process, a liquid photoresist, which is sensitized by ultraviolet rays, is coated on a transparent substrate 110, . Currently known coating methods include a screen coating method, a dip coating method, a roll coating method, and an ED (Electro Deposition) method.

That is, in the method of manufacturing a touch panel according to the present invention, not only a liquid type photoresist but also a dry film resist (DFR) used in a roll-to-roll process can be applied as a photoresist for forming a photoresist layer have.

Next, as shown in Fig. 1 (c), a photomask is disposed on the photoresist layer, and the photoresist layer is selectively exposed and developed to form a mesh pattern having a plurality of intersections.

In this embodiment, a negative type photoresist is used to form a photoresist layer, and the present process will be described in more detail.

And a photomask having a predetermined pattern formed thereon, and the photomask is brought into close contact with or close to the top of the photoresist layer. Then, a light source is disposed at a position spaced apart from the photomask, and ultraviolet rays (UV) emitted from the light source are irradiated to the photoresist layer to selectively expose the photoresist layer. At this time, a pattern of a mesh structure is formed in the photomask to selectively transmit ultraviolet rays. The portion of the photoresist layer exposed to ultraviolet rays is cured by the polymerization reaction, and the other portions are not changed. Next, the photoresist layer is developed to expose the cured portion to ultraviolet light to remain on the transparent substrate, and the uncured portion is dissolved in the developer to be removed. When the uncured portion of the photoresist layer is selectively removed, a pattern of the mesh structure having a plurality of intersections is formed in the photoresist layer at a recessed angle.

The formation of a meshed pattern in the photoresist layer in this manner is an important technical feature of the present invention. That is, by forming the mesh pattern at a negative angle instead of a positive angle, the adhesion between the bottom thin film and the photoresist pattern is maintained even in a fine pattern of 10um or less, thereby solving the problem of loss of the pattern, The process can be continuously utilized.

In addition, by forming the depressions in this manner, the metal deposition step S250 is performed after the formation of the photoresist layer, thereby omitting the metal etching process. Thereby, it is possible to prevent defects such as open or short due to under-etching which may occur in the etching process.

Next, as shown in Fig. 1 (d), the lower portion of the formed mesh pattern is etched to treat the interface between the transparent substrate and the photoresist layer and the surface of the transparent substrate.

At this time, dry ashing or plasma surface treatment can be used. Dry ashing is a step of etching a part of a photoresist layer in a semiconductor process, and can be performed through a dry etching equipment for etching an inorganic thin film.

By etching the lower end of the photoresist pattern as described above, it is possible to prevent the connection between the actual pattern and the unnecessary portion, that is, the upper portion of the photoresist, during the metal deposition, and also to secure the penetration space of the strip solution to facilitate removal of the photoresist .

In addition, the organic material remaining on the surface of the transparent substrate is removed through this to increase the surface area, thereby improving the adhesion between the transparent substrate and the metal.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1 (e), the metal layer 130 is deposited. At this time, a plasma sputtering deposition method can be used for the metal layer. On the other hand, copper, silver, aluminum or other low resistance alloys can be used as the metal layer.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 1 (f), when the photoresist layer is removed by using a resist stripper solution and cleaned, an ultra-thin micro-metal mesh having a strong adhesion property on a transparent substrate can be realized.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, This is possible. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined by the equivalents of the claims, as well as the claims.

110: transparent substrate
120: photoresist
130: Metal

Claims (5)

Forming a photoresist layer on the transparent substrate;
Disposing a photomask on the photoresist layer, selectively exposing and developing the photoresist layer to form a mesh pattern having a plurality of intersections;
Etching the lower portion of the formed mesh pattern and treating the exposed surface of the transparent substrate;
Depositing a metal on the exposed surface of the transparent substrate to form a metal layer; And
Removing the photoresist layer;
The method comprising the steps of:
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the photoresist layer is formed by applying a liquid photoresist or laminating a dry film photoresist.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the mesh pattern is formed at an obtuse angle.
The method of claim 3,
Wherein the metal layer is deposited by a sputtering method.
5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the metal is copper, silver, aluminum, or a low-resistance alloy.

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