TW201310531A - Methods and devices for processing passivation layer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure generally relates to methods and devices for processing passivation layer of a touch panel. A method for processing the passivation layer comprises the following steps: forming a passivation layer on a substrate; setting a predetermined pattern through an orientation system; coating an etching agent on surface of the passivation layer based on the predetermined pattern through a coating device so as to form multiple patterns required in the passivation layer. The present disclosure adopts the method of single-step pattern formation and coats the etching agent on the passivation layer for forming the required pattern through a single step, wherein the method simplifies the process and reduces the production cost. The present disclosure sets the required pattern through a precise orientation system and eliminates the requirement of fabricating screen patterns everytime. When a patterns change, required patterns can be switched rapidly thereby reducing the production cost.

Description

Protective layer processing method and device thereof

The present invention relates to a surface processing technology, and more particularly to a protective layer processing method and apparatus thereof, and more particularly to a touch panel protective layer processing method and apparatus therefor.

In recent years, with the continuous development of touch technology, touch panels have been widely used in various electronic products such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), game console input interfaces, and computer touch screens. The touch panel is integrated with the display panel, and generally includes a transparent substrate and an electrode layer disposed thereon. The conductive edge electrode and the conductive line are formed on the electrode layer around the panel. The protective layer is laid on the electrode layer and the transparent substrate. The unevenness of the protective layer due to the thickness of the edge electrode and the conductive line is higher at the edge of the panel, causing an aesthetic defect. Moreover, the touch panel needs to be attached to the external circuit during use, and the protective layer on the edge electrode and the surrounding conductive line needs to be etched, so that the external circuit establishes electrical contact with the electrode layer under the protective layer on the panel.

There are two methods for removing the conductive edge electrode and the protective layer above the conductive line: photoetching lithography and screen printing. Photoetching lithography, or lithography, is a precision surface processing technique that combines pattern copying and chemical etching to etch a geometric pattern corresponding to a mask over a cerium oxide or metal film. Lithography is a complex process in which a specific portion of a surface film is removed through a series of production steps to form a pattern. As shown in FIG. 1 , the general production steps of photolithography include a process of cleaning, coating a photoresist layer, exposing, developing, drying, etching, and stripping, and the equipment requires large investment and high maintenance cost. A large amount of chemical is required, resulting in high production costs and long production hours. In particular, for large-sized touch panels, these problems are particularly severe and are likely to cause a drop in production yield.

Screen printing is one of the main printing methods for stencil printing. The screen layout generally includes two parts: a through hole and an entity. During printing, the etching paste is placed on a preset screen, and the etching paste is printed on the protective layer from the screen through-hole by the squeegee to form a pattern, as shown in FIG. The production of screen printing is relatively simple, the equipment cost is low, and the production cost is low. However, the screens used cannot be universal, different products require different patterns, and corresponding screens need to be designed for different patterns. When the desired pattern changes, the screen of the corresponding pattern needs to be replaced. In addition, for a medium-sized and large-sized touch panel, when the size of the printed protective layer is increased, the size of the screen used is also increased, and it is difficult to control the uniformity of the tension of the entire large-sized screen during printing. It is also difficult to ensure the consistency of the etch paste that is printed on the substrate.

In order to solve the above problems in the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a protective layer processing method for etching a touch panel protective layer, simplifying operation steps, and reducing cost.

The technical solution adopted by the invention is:

A protective layer processing method includes the following steps:

S1: forming a protective layer on the substrate;

S2: presetting a predetermined pattern through a positioning system; and

S3: applying an etchant in the predetermined pattern on the surface of the protective layer by a coating device to form a pattern required for the protective layer.

Wherein, step S3 further comprises the following steps:

S301: providing a coating device, which contains an etchant;

S302: The coating device applies an etchant on the protective layer according to the predetermined pattern to form an etchant-coated region that is consistent with a predetermined pattern.

After the etchant is applied on the surface of the protective layer, the protective layer processing method further includes a step S4: cleaning to remove the protective layer material and the etchant in the coated region.

The protective layer is made of cerium oxide. The etchant is a paste etchant, that is, an etch paste.

The etching paste is ammonium hydrogen fluoride and has a chemical formula of NH ₄ HF ₂ and is applied onto the protective layer via the coating device.

The coating device includes at least one syringe containing an etchant; a pressure device providing pressure to the syringe for extruding an etchant in the syringe; and a control unit for controlling the pressure device Working status and adjustment pressure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a protective layer processing apparatus which applies an etching paste to a surface of a protective layer for etching by a pressure coating method, and can accurately position and form a pattern to be etched, thereby simplifying the production steps.

The technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a protective layer processing device, comprising a coating device, providing an etchant applied to a surface of a protective layer; a positioning system, being connected to the coating device, and controlling the coating device in a predetermined pattern The speed of movement and the direction of movement are such that an etchant is applied to the surface of the protective layer to form a pattern required for the protective layer.

At least one syringe containing an etchant and applying an etchant to the surface of the protective layer in accordance with a predetermined pattern set by the positioning system to form a pattern required for the protective layer; a pressure device providing pressure to the syringe for use The etchant in the syringe is extruded; and the control unit controls the working state of the pressure device and adjusts the pressure.

The positioning system is a precision positioning system, and its positioning accuracy (offset) 20 μm, the positioning system comprises a displacement sensor, a controller, a driving motor, a robot arm and a camera, the displacement sensor is connected to the controller for sensing the position of the robot arm and positioning information of the robot arm Transmitting to the controller; the controller is connected to an external computer, and receives position information transmitted by the displacement sensor, and controls operation of the driving motor according to a predetermined pattern preset by a computer; The control signal of the controller drives the robot arm to perform a displacement action; the camera is connected and controlled by the controller for identifying an initial position of the protective layer. Wherein, the camera is a CCD camera. The robot arm is composed of a linear guide rail and a ball screw, and the movement of the robot arm is driven by a XYZ three-axis drive motor. The pressure device includes a high pressure device and a plurality of pressure switches.

The protective layer processing apparatus is further provided with a storage tank for storing an etchant, the syringe being provided with a feed port, and the feed port is in communication with the storage tank.

The invention adopts a single-step pattern forming method, and applies an etchant on the protective layer to form a desired pattern through a single step, which can simplify the steps and reduce the manufacturing cost. In addition, the present invention sets the required pattern by the precise positioning system, and does not need to be specially formed into a corresponding screen pattern, and can quickly switch the desired pattern when the pattern is changed, thereby reducing the production cost.

The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 3 , a touch panel 10 includes a substrate 11 , an electrode layer 12 , and a protective layer 13 overlying the electrode layer 12 . The electrode layer 12 has a patterned electrode structure (not shown), and the electrode layer 12 is connected to the outside through the conductive line 121 to correspond to the etched region 131 of the protective layer 13 above the conductive line 121. As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of touch panels 10 are distributed on the same workpiece 100. After the pattern processing of the protective layer 13 is completed, a single touch panel 10 is cut. At the time of production, the number of the touch panels 10 arranged on the same workpiece 100 is determined according to the size of the manufactured touch panel 10. At least two positioning marks 101 are disposed on the workpiece 100, and generally a "cross star" is disposed at a diagonal position of the workpiece 100.

As shown in FIG. 5, the processing method of the protective layer 13 includes the following steps:

S1: an electrode layer 12 is disposed on the substrate 11, the electrode layer 12 is made of a transparent conductive material, and a protective layer 13 is formed on the electrode layer 12, as shown in FIG.

S2: a predetermined pattern is preset through a precision positioning system 20 (shown in FIG. 6). The predetermined pattern shape is as shown in FIG. 4, and the etching area above the conductive line 121 of each touch panel 10 on the workpiece 100 is performed. 131 composition;

S3: An etchant is applied to the surface of the protective layer 13 in the predetermined pattern by a coating device 30 (shown in FIG. 7) to form a pattern required for the protective layer 13. In this embodiment, the following steps are taken:

S301: providing a coating device 30 (shown in Figure 7), containing an etching paste;

S302: The coating device 30 applies an etching paste on the protective layer 13 in a predetermined pattern to form an etchant coating region conforming to a predetermined pattern, that is, the coating region corresponds to the etching region 131 of the protective layer 13.

Wherein, the protective layer 13 is made of cerium oxide, and the etching paste is applied to the protective layer 13 via the coating device 30 by ammonium hydrogen fluoride (NH ₄ HF ₂ ), and a chemical reaction occurs, and the reaction chemistry The equation is:

SiO ₂ +6NH ₄ HF ₂ →H ₂ (SiF ₆ )+6NH ₄ F+2H ₂ O

After the etchant is applied on the surface of the protective layer 13, the protective layer processing method further includes the step S4: cleaning, removing the protective layer material and the etchant in the coating region, and after the chemical reaction is completed, the fluorination in the coating region of the etching paste is performed. Removal of materials such as ammonium.

The precision positioning system 20, as shown in FIG. 6, includes a controller 201, a drive motor 202, a CCD camera 203, a displacement sensor 204, and a robot arm 205. The displacement sensor 204 is connected to the controller 201 for sensing the position of the robot arm 205 and transmitting position information of the robot arm 205 to the controller 201; the controller 201 is connected to The external PC 200 receives the position information transmitted by the displacement sensor 204, and controls the operation of the driving motor 202 according to a predetermined pattern preset by the PC 200; the driving motor 202 receives the control of the controller 201. The signal drives the robot arm 205 to perform a displacement action; the CCD camera 203 is coupled to and controlled by the controller 201 to identify a positioning pattern on the workpiece 100 to determine a starting position of the protective layer 13. Accuracy (offset) of the precision positioning system 20 20μm.

The robot arm 205 is formed by a high-rigidity linear guide rail and a ball screw, and the movement of the robot arm 205 is driven by the XYZ three-axis direction driving motor 202. In the embodiment, the robot arm 205 adopts Class 100 or 1000 dust-free arm, the dust-free arm can be moved to the pattern position set by the PC 200.

A protective layer processing device, as shown in FIG. 7, combines the precision positioning system 20 and the coating device 30 for processing by the protective layer 13 of the touch panel 10 to remove a portion of the material on the surface to form a pattern. Wherein, the coating device 30 includes a plurality of syringes 301 and their associated injection heads 302. Each of the syringes 301 is filled with an etchant paste, and the number of the syringes 301 and the injection heads 302 depends on the number of the touch panels 10 on the workpiece 100. The precision positioning system 20 is connected to the syringe 301 and controls the movement speed and moving direction of the injector 301 and the injection head 302. The pressure device includes a high pressure device 303 and a plurality of pressure switches 304, and the high pressure device 303 passes through the pressure switch 304. Pressure is supplied to the syringe 301, and the etching paste in the syringe 301 is extruded from the injection head 302 under the pressure of the high pressure device 303; the control unit 305 is connected to the high pressure device 303 of the pressure device to control the high pressure. The operating state of the device 303 and the magnitude of the adjustment pressure.

Wherein, the pressure switch 304 can adopt a solenoid valve. The solenoid valve is coupled to the high pressure device 303 and controlled by the control of the control unit 305. The solenoid valve includes an electromagnetic coil and a valve, and an electromagnetic force is generated by the electromagnetic coil to drive the opening and closing action of the valve to perform fluid control. The coating device 30 is also provided with a storage bin 306 for storing the etching paste. The syringe 301 is provided with a feed port and is in communication with the storage tank 306.

The speed of movement of the syringe 301 and the injection head 302 is 300-450 mm/sec, the viscosity of the etching paste is 11-28 Pa*s, and the pressure range of the pressure device (in terms of pressure) is 4-7 Kgf/cm. ² (60-100psi). The movement speed of the syringe 301 and the injection head 302 is proportional to the pressure of the pressure device, and the greater the pressure, the greater the movement speed. Thereby, the consistency of the etching paste coating is ensured by the setting of the moving speed and the pressure.

At the time of production, the touch panels 10 of different sizes can be fabricated, and the plurality of touch panels 10 are often processed on the same workpiece 100 according to their sizes. At the time of processing, at least two positioning marks 101 are provided on the workpiece 100, and generally, a "cross star" is used as shown in FIG. 4, and is disposed at a diagonal position of both ends of the workpiece 100. The CCD camera 203 determines the initial position and the position of the pattern to be processed on the workpiece 100 by the positioning mark 101. The precision positioning system 20 first recognizes the positioning target 101 (ie, the cross star) image of the workpiece 100 by the CCD camera 203, and then moves the syringe 301 to the pattern position set by the PC 200 through the robot arm 205.

The precision positioning system 20 drives the syringe 301 to move by the robot arm 205, and the workpiece 100 to be etched is fixedly adsorbed on the operation platform of the precision positioning system 20 by the vacuum system. Of course, another manner may be that the precision positioning system 20 drives the workpiece 100 to move, and the syringe 301 equipped with the etching paste is fixed in position, and the etching paste is extruded at a certain speed and coated on the moving workpiece 100.

The coating device 30 in the protective layer processing apparatus of the present invention directly contacts the etching paste because the syringe 301, the injection head 302, the storage box 306, and the pipe connecting the storage box 306 and the syringe 301 are in contact with each other. The material has an anti-corrosion effect on the etching paste.

The present invention can apply an etchant in a predetermined pattern on the surface of the protective layer 13 by the precision positioning system 20, and the etchant has an etching effect on the protective layer 13 and forms a certain pattern. By selectively removing a portion of the target layer by using the coating device 30, it is not necessary to etch the protective layer 13 by the coating, exposing, developing, and removing steps, which simplifies the production steps, improves production efficiency, and reduces production costs. At the same time, the present invention can set and change the required pattern through the precision positioning system 20, without special preparation of the corresponding screen pattern, and can quickly switch the desired pattern when the pattern is changed, without replacing any device or component. ,reduce manufacturing cost.

The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalents, improvements, etc., which are made within the spirit and principles of the present invention, should be included in the present invention. Within the scope of protection.

10. . . Touch panel

11. . . Substrate

12. . . Electrode layer

13. . . The protective layer

121. . . Conductive line

131. . . Etched area

100. . . Machined parts

101. . . Positioning mark

20. . . Precision positioning system

200. . . PC

201. . . Controller

202. . . motor

203. . . CCD camera

204. . . Motion detector

205. . . Mechanical arm

30. . . Coating device

301. . . syringe

302. . . Injection head

303. . . High pressure device

304. . . Pressure Switch

305. . . control unit

306. . . Storage box

S1-S4, S301, S302. . . Steps of the protective layer processing method

1 is a flow chart of a conventional photoetching lithography;

2 is a schematic structural view of a conventional screen printing apparatus;

3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a touch panel;

4 is a schematic plan view showing the processing of the present invention applied to a touch panel;

Figure 5 is a flow chart of a method for processing a protective layer of the present invention;

Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of the precision positioning system of the present invention;

Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of a protective layer processing apparatus of the present invention.

S1-S4, S301, S302. . . Steps of the protective layer processing method

Claims (17)

A protective layer processing method, comprising: the following steps: S1: forming a protective layer on the substrate; S2: presetting a predetermined pattern through a positioning system, storing in the positioning system; and S3: passing the coating device The surface of the protective layer is coated with an etchant in the predetermined pattern to form a pattern required for the protective layer. The protective layer processing method according to claim 1, wherein: the positioning system is a precise positioning system, and the positioning accuracy thereof 20μm. The protective layer processing method according to claim 1, wherein the protective layer is made of cerium oxide. The protective layer processing method according to claim 1, wherein after the etchant is applied on the surface of the protective layer, the method further includes the step S4: cleaning to remove the protective layer material and the etchant in the predetermined pattern. The protective layer processing method according to claim 1, wherein the etchant is a paste etchant, that is, an etch paste. The protective layer processing method according to claim 5, wherein the etching paste is ammonium hydrogen fluoride (NH ₄ HF ₂ ). The protective layer processing method according to claim 1, wherein the coating device comprises: at least one syringe, wherein the syringe is filled with an etchant, and the moving speed and moving direction of the syringe are controlled by the positioning system a pressure device for supplying pressure to the syringe for extruding an etchant in the syringe; and a control unit for controlling the working state of the pressure device and adjusting the pressure. The protective layer processing method according to claim 7, wherein: the moving speed of the syringe is 300-450 mm/sec, the viscosity of the etchant is 11-28 Pa*s, and the pressure range of the pressure device. It is 4-7 Kgf/cm ² . The protective layer processing method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is provided with an electrode layer, and the protective layer is formed on the electrode layer. A protective layer processing apparatus, comprising: a coating device to apply an etchant on a surface of a protective layer; a positioning system that is in contact with the coating device and controls a moving speed and a moving direction of the coating device in a predetermined pattern, The pattern required to form the protective layer is formed by applying an etchant to the surface of the protective layer. The protective layer processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the coating device comprises at least one syringe, the etchant is contained in the syringe, and is coated on the surface of the protective layer according to a predetermined pattern set by the positioning system. An etchant to form a pattern required for the protective layer; a pressure device providing pressure to the injector for extruding an etchant in the syringe; and a control unit for controlling the operating state of the pressure device and adjusting the pressure. The protective layer processing apparatus of claim 11, wherein the syringe further comprises an injection head, and the etchant is extruded from the injection head by a pressure device. The protective layer processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the pressure device comprises a high pressure device and a plurality of pressure switches. The protective layer processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the pressure of the high pressure device ranges from 4 to 7 kgf/cm ² . The protective layer processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the coating device is further provided with a storage tank for storing an etchant, the syringe is provided with a feed port, the feed port and the storage port The boxes are connected. The protective layer processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein: the positioning system comprises a displacement sensor, a controller, a driving motor, a robot arm and a camera, and the displacement sensor is connected to the controller for sensing Measuring a position of the robot arm and transmitting position information of the robot arm to the controller; the controller is connected to an external computer, and receives position information transmitted by the displacement sensor, and is set according to a pattern in the computer a predetermined pattern to control operation of the drive motor; the drive motor receives a control signal of the controller to drive the robot arm to perform a displacement action; the camera is coupled and controlled by the controller for Determine the starting position of the protective layer. The protective layer processing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the mechanical arm is constituted by a linear guide and a ball screw, and the movement of the mechanical arm is driven by a driving motor of an X-Y-Z three-axis direction.