TW201802647A - Touch panel and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A manufacturing method of a touch panel includes following steps. A transparent conductive layer is formed on a first substrate. A first patterned protective layer is formed on the transparent conductive layer. A metal layer is formed on the first patterned protective layer and the transparent conductive layer. A second patterned protective layer is formed on the metal layer, wherein the first patterned protective layer includes an overlapping portion which overlaps a portion of the second patterned protective layer. A patterning process is performed to remove the metal layer uncovered by the second patterned protective layer, and remove the transparent conductive layer uncovered by the first patterned protective layer and/or the second patterned protective layer, so as to form touch sensing electrodes, a bottom conductive line and a top conductive line. Then, the first patterned protective layer uncovered by the metal layer and the second patterned protective layer are removed, and the overlapping portion of the first patterned protective layer is remained.

Description

Touch panel and its making method

The present invention relates to a touch panel and a method of fabricating the same, and more particularly to a touch panel that simultaneously etches a transparent conductive layer and a metal layer to form a touch sensing electrode and a trace, respectively, and a method of fabricating the same.

Since the touch panel has the characteristics of human-computer interaction, it has gradually replaced the keyboard and is widely used in the input interface of an electronic device. In recent years, touch sensing technology has rapidly developed, and many consumer electronic products such as mobile phones, GPS navigator systems, tablet PCs, and laptop PCs have Product launches combined with touch functionality. The technology development of touch panels is very diverse, and the more common technologies include resistive, capacitive, and optical. In a conventional touch panel, the touch sensing electrodes disposed in the visible area and the traces disposed in the surrounding area are each formed separately, and the method of forming the method may include exposure lithography, etching, and the like. In other words, in order to form the touch sensing electrodes and the traces in the touch panel, at least two etching processes are required, so that the number of processes cannot be effectively reduced, and the manufacturing cost cannot be reduced.

One of the main purposes of the present invention is to provide a touch panel and a method for fabricating the same, which can simultaneously form a touch sensing electrode and a trace by separately etching a transparent conductive layer and a metal layer, thereby reducing the number of processes and reducing the number of processes. The cost of manufacturing.

To achieve the above objective, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for fabricating a touch panel, including the following steps. A transparent conductive layer is formed on a surface of the first substrate. A first patterned protective layer is formed on the transparent conductive layer, and the first patterned protective layer is used to define a plurality of touch sensing electrodes on the transparent conductive layer. Forming a metal layer on the first patterned protective layer and the transparent conductive layer. Forming a second patterned protective layer on the metal layer, wherein the second patterned protective layer is used to define an upper wire on the metal layer, wherein the first patterned protective layer comprises an overlapping portion, the overlapping portion and a portion of the first The second patterned protective layer is overlapped, and another portion of the second patterned protective layer that is not overlapped with the first patterned protective layer is used to define a lower wire on the transparent conductive layer. Performing a patterning process to remove the metal layer not covered by the second patterned protective layer and removing the transparent conductive layer not covered by the first patterned protective layer or/and the second patterned protective layer to leave The lower transparent conductive layer forms the touch sensing electrode and the lower wire while leaving the remaining metal layer to form the upper wire. The second patterned protective layer and the first patterned protective layer not covered by the metal layer are removed, and the overlap of the first patterned protective layer is left.

To achieve the above objective, an embodiment of the present invention provides a touch panel including a first substrate, a patterned transparent conductive layer, a patterned metal layer, and a protective layer. The first substrate defines a viewing zone and a surrounding zone is located on at least one side of the viewing zone. The patterned transparent conductive layer is disposed on a surface of the first substrate, and the patterned transparent conductive layer includes a plurality of touch sensing electrodes and a lower wire. The touch sensing electrodes are disposed at least in the visible area of the first substrate, the lower wires are disposed in the surrounding area of the first substrate, and the lower wires are correspondingly connected to one of the touch sensing electrodes. The patterned metal layer is disposed on the patterned transparent conductive layer in the surrounding area, wherein the patterned metal layer includes an upper wire, and the upper wire includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall, wherein the first sidewall and the corresponding lower wire One of the third side walls is substantially aligned. The protective layer is disposed between one portion of the upper wire and the corresponding patterned transparent conductive layer, and another portion of the upper wire is in direct contact with the corresponding lower wire.

The touch panel of the present invention and the method for fabricating the same are described below, and the components of the touch panel of the present invention and the manufacturing method thereof are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The effect.

Please refer to Figures 1 to 7. 1 is a flow chart showing steps of a method for fabricating a touch panel of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 7 are schematic views showing a method for fabricating a touch panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention. For the convenience of description, the drawings of the present invention are only for the purpose of understanding the present invention, and the detailed proportions thereof can be adjusted according to the design requirements. The manufacturing method of the touch panel of the first embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps. First, as shown in FIG. 2, a first substrate 100 is provided, and the first substrate 100 defines a visible area R1 and a surrounding area R2 is located in the visible area. At least one side of R1 forms a transparent conductive layer 102 on the surface of the first substrate 100, and step S10 shown in Fig. 1 is performed. The first substrate 100 of this embodiment may include a glass substrate, a plastic substrate, a glass film, a plastic film, a light-transmitting cover plate, a substrate of a display, or other suitable material or/and a function of the substrate. The material of the transparent conductive layer 102 may include a transparent conductive metal oxide such as indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO) or aluminum zinc oxide (AZO) or other suitable. The transparent conductive material 102 may be formed of a fine metal nanowire, a mesh metal layer or other non-transparent conductive material, and is not limited to the transparent conductive material. Next, as shown in FIG. 3, step S12 shown in FIG. 1 is performed to form a first patterned protective layer 104 on the transparent conductive layer 102. In detail, the first patterned protective layer 104 can form a photoresist layer (not shown) on the first substrate 100, and then pattern the photoresist layer, such as a yellow photolithography and development process. The first patterned protective layer 104 is formed, but the invention is not limited thereto. Thereby, the first patterned protective layer 104 can have a pattern of subsequent touch sensing electrodes to be formed. In other words, the first patterned protective layer 104 is used to define a plurality of patterns of touch sensing electrodes on the transparent conductive layer 102. For example, the first patterned protective layer 104 can be used to pattern transparent after etching, for example. The conductive layer 102 is used as a mask to form the patterned transparent conductive layer 102 to form the touch sensing electrode. Therefore, the first patterned protective layer 104 may include a plurality of electrode patterns 104a, which are mainly disposed in the visible region R1. However, the partial electrode pattern 104a may extend to the peripheral region R2. Although the material of the first patterned protective layer 104 of the present embodiment is exemplified by a photoresist material, it is not limited thereto, and may be any other material having high etching selectivity for the etching process of the transparent conductive layer 102 or the like. Anti-etching material.

As shown in FIG. 4, a step S14 shown in FIG. 1 is performed to form a metal layer 106 on the first patterned protective layer 104 and the transparent conductive layer 102. The metal layer 106 can be formed entirely on the first substrate 100. The first patterned protective layer 104 and the transparent conductive layer 102 are covered. Next, as shown in FIG. 5, step S16 shown in FIG. 1 is performed to form a second patterned protective layer 108 on the metal layer 106. The method of forming the second patterned protective layer 108 in this embodiment may be similar to the method of forming the first patterned protective layer 104 described above, but is not limited thereto. The second patterned protective layer 108 includes a pattern for defining traces on the metal layer 106 to serve as a mask in a subsequent process of patterning the metal layer 106, such as etching, to protect the metal layer 106 used to form the traces. 5 is an example of forming two traces in the peripheral region R2. Therefore, the second patterned protective layer 108 may include two trace patterns 108a, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be designed according to actual needs. One to a plurality of trace patterns 108a are formed in the peripheral region R2. The material of the second patterned protective layer 108 of the present embodiment may be a photoresist material, but not limited thereto, for example, any other material having high etching selectivity for the etching process of the metal layer 106 and the transparent conductive layer 102. . It should be noted that the first patterned protective layer 104 and the second patterned protective layer 108 partially overlap, as shown in FIG. 5 , wherein the first patterned protective layer 104 includes at least one overlapping portion 110 , and the overlapping portion 110 and A portion of the second patterned protective layer 108 overlaps. In addition, another portion of the second patterned protective layer 108 does not overlap the first patterned protective layer 104, which is used to define a pattern of traces on the transparent conductive layer 102.

As shown in FIG. 6, step S18 shown in FIG. 1 is performed, followed by a patterning process (for example, an etching process) to remove the metal layer 106 not covered by the second patterned protective layer 108 and remove the metal layer 106. The transparent conductive layer 102 covered by the first patterned protective layer 104 or/and the second patterned protective layer 108 to form the patterned transparent conductive layer 134 and the patterned metal layer 136, wherein the patterned transparent conductive layer 134 is left. The touch sensing electrode 112, the first lower wire 114 and the second lower wire 118 are formed, and the patterned metal layer 136 is left to form the first upper wire 116 and the second upper wire 120. The first upper wire 116 may include a first sidewall 124 and a second sidewall 126. The first lower wire 114 may include a third sidewall 128. If the patterning process of the embodiment is an etching process, the metal layer 106 and the transparent conductive layer 102 may be etched by the same etchant, but not limited thereto. In other variant embodiments, different etchants may also be used for the metal layer 106 and the transparent conductive layer 102 for etching. It is worth mentioning that, because the overlapping portion 110 of the first patterned protective layer 104 is disposed, when the transparent conductive layer 134 is patterned, no disconnection occurs between the touch sensing electrode 112 and the first lower wire 114. The phenomenon is to avoid an open circuit between the touch sensing electrode 112 and the first lower wire 114.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, step S20 shown in FIG. 1 is performed to remove the second patterned protective layer 108 and the first patterned protective layer 104 not covered by the patterned metal layer 136, and the remaining portion The protective layer 104' is the overlapping portion 110. It is to be noted that, in the manufacturing method of the touch panel of the embodiment, the overlapping portion 110 left by the first patterned protective layer 104 is located at a portion of the first upper conductive line 116 and the corresponding transparent conductive layer 102 (ie, corresponding Between the touch sensing electrodes 112), another portion of the first upper wire 116 is in direct contact connection with the corresponding first lower wire 114, and the interconnected first upper wire 116 and the first lower wire 114 form a walk. Line 122A. Similarly, the second upper wire 120 and the second lower wire 118 at least partially overlap to form the wire 122B, and the wires 122A, 122B are electrically isolated. On the other hand, since the etching process of the embodiment etches the metal layer 106 and the transparent conductive layer 102 together, after the etching is completed, the first sidewall 124 of the first upper wire 116 and the corresponding first lower wire 114 are formed. The third sidewall 128 is substantially aligned, and the second sidewall 126 of the first upper conductor 116 is substantially aligned with the fourth sidewall 130 of the overlap 110. As can be seen from the above, the touch sensing electrode 112 and the traces 122A and 122B connected thereto can be formed through an etching process. Therefore, the number of processes can be reduced, thereby reducing the cost of manufacturing. The touch panel 10 as shown in FIG. 7 can be obtained by the above-described manufacturing method. In addition, in the manufacturing method of the embodiment, a decorative layer (not shown) may be further formed to overlap at least the traces 122A, 122B.

In summary, the manufacturing method of the touch panel of the present invention mainly includes the steps shown in FIG. 1 :

Step S10: forming a transparent conductive layer on the surface of a first substrate;

Step S12: forming a first patterned protective layer on the transparent conductive layer, wherein the first patterned protective layer is used to define a plurality of touch sensing electrodes on the transparent conductive layer;

Step S14: forming a metal layer on the first patterned protective layer and the transparent conductive layer;

Step S16: forming a second patterned protective layer on the metal layer, wherein the second patterned protective layer is used to define at least one upper wire on the metal layer, wherein the first patterned protective layer comprises an overlapping portion and an overlapping portion a second patterned protective layer overlapping another portion of the second patterned protective layer and not overlapping the first patterned protective layer is used to define at least a lower wire on the transparent conductive layer;

Step S18: performing a patterning process to remove the metal layer not covered by the second patterned protective layer and removing the transparent conductive layer not covered by the first patterned protective layer or/and the second patterned protective layer. So that the remaining transparent conductive layer forms the touch sensing electrode and the lower wire while the remaining metal layer forms the upper wire;

Step S20: removing the second patterned protective layer and the first patterned protective layer not covered by the metal layer, and leaving the overlapping portion of the first patterned protective layer.

Please refer to Figure 8 and refer to Figure 7. 8 is a schematic plan view of a touch panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' of FIG. 8. It can be seen from the above that the present invention provides a touch panel fabricated according to the foregoing method, and the first embodiment of the touch panel structure of the present invention is described below. As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 , the touch panel 10 of the present embodiment includes a first substrate 100 , a patterned transparent conductive layer 134 disposed on the first substrate 100 , a patterned metal layer 136 , and a protective layer 104 . '(i.e., the overlapping portion 110 of the first patterned protective layer 104 in the fabrication method of the present embodiment). The first substrate 100 defines a visible area R1 and a surrounding area R2 on at least one side of the visible area R1. In the present embodiment, the viewable area R1 is surrounded by the surrounding area R2. The patterned transparent conductive layer 134 includes a plurality of touch sensing electrodes 112, which are disposed at least in the visible area R1 of the first substrate 100, and a portion of the touch sensing electrodes 112 of the embodiment extends to the surrounding area R2, but Not limited to this. In addition, the shape of the touch sensing electrode 112 of the present embodiment is a triangle, but not limited thereto, and the shape of the touch sensing electrode 112 may also be other suitable patterns, such as a diamond shape or a rectangle. The patterned transparent conductive layer 134 further includes at least a lower wire disposed in the peripheral region R2 of the first substrate 100, such as the first lower wire 114 and the second lower wire 118 shown in FIG. Taking the first lower wire 114 as an example, since the first lower wire 114 and the touch sensing electrode 112 are both formed by the patterned transparent conductive layer 134, the first lower wire 114 and the corresponding touch sensing The electrode 112 is in direct contact connection at the peripheral zone R2. The patterned metal layer 136 is disposed on the patterned transparent conductive layer 134 in the peripheral region R2, wherein the patterned metal layer 136 includes at least one upper wire, such as a first upper wire 116 corresponding to the first lower wire 114 and corresponding to The second upper wire 120 of the second lower wire 118. The first upper wire 116 includes a first sidewall 124 and a second sidewall 126, wherein the first sidewall 124 is substantially aligned with the third sidewall 128 of the corresponding first lower conductor 114. Moreover, the protective layer 104 ′ is in the manufacturing method of the embodiment, after the step of removing the second patterned protective layer 108 and the first patterned protective layer 104 , the patterned metal layer 136 is covered. The overlapping portion 110 of the first patterned protective layer 104. The protective layer 104' is disposed between a portion of the first upper conductive line 116 and the corresponding patterned transparent conductive layer 134 (ie, the corresponding touch sensing electrode 112), and the other portion of the first upper conductive line 116 corresponds to the first The lower wires 114 overlap and are in direct contact connection, and the second sidewall 126 of the first upper wire 116 is substantially aligned with the fourth sidewall 130 of the protective layer 104'. Therefore, the first upper wire 116 and the first lower wire 114 of the upper and lower contact connections form a wire 122A electrically connected to the corresponding touch sensing electrode 112. Similarly, the touch panel 10 can further include a trace 122B in the peripheral region R2, which can be formed by the second upper lead 120 and the second lower lead 118, and the trace 122B can also be connected to the corresponding touch sensing electrode 112. , but not limited to this. In other variant embodiments, the touch panel 10 can have more stripes as needed. In addition, the touch panel 10 may further include a decorative layer disposed in the surrounding area R2 and overlapping at least the patterned metal layer 136. The touch panel 10 of the present embodiment can be a self-capacitive touch panel, but is not limited thereto. In other variations, the touch panel can also be a mutual-capacitive touch panel.

The different embodiments of the present invention are described below, and the following description is mainly for the sake of simplification of the description of the embodiments, and the details are not repeated. In addition, the same elements in the embodiments of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals to facilitate the comparison between the embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 9, a cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to a first variation of the first embodiment of the present invention is shown, and a cross section thereof corresponds to a line A-A' in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9 , the difference between the embodiment and the first embodiment is that the touch panel 10A further includes a decorative layer 138 disposed in the peripheral region R2 and disposed on the first substrate 100 and the patterned metal layer 136. There is a partial overlap with the patterned metal layer 136 and shielding the patterned metal layer 136, such as the first upper wire 116 and the second upper wire 120, so that the user does not see the patterned metal layer 136 from the touch surface. The decorative layer 138 is composed of a light-resistant material, which is defined as a material through which light is lost through the interface, for shielding elements or light that are not to be seen in the electronic device, such as a patterned metal layer. 136. The material of the decorative layer 138 may include ceramics, organic materials, a mixture of organic materials and inorganic materials, or an organic-inorganic hybrid compound, which may be a single layer structure or a multilayer stack structure. For example, the decorative layer 138 may be made of a photosensitive resin (for example, a colored photoresist) or a non-photosensitive resin (for example, an ink). In addition, the first substrate 100 of the modified embodiment may be a glass substrate, which is used as a cover of the touch panel 10A, but is not limited thereto.

Referring to FIG. 10, a cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to a second modified embodiment of the first embodiment of the present invention is shown, and a cross section thereof corresponds to a line A-A' in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the difference between the embodiment and the first embodiment is that the touch panel 10B can further include a second substrate 200. The second substrate 200 can be, for example, a cover of the touch panel 10B. Including a hard cover such as a cover glass or a plastic cover, or a flexible cover such as a thin glass, a plastic cover or a plastic diaphragm, or a cover formed of other suitable materials. . In addition, the touch panel 10B may include a decorative layer 138 disposed on the surface of the second substrate 200 and located in the surrounding area R2, and disposed on the second substrate 200 and the patterned metal layer 136 (eg, the first upper wires 116 and the second Between the upper wires 120), the patterned metal layer 136 partially overlaps. In addition, the touch panel 10B can include an adhesive layer 140 disposed between the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 for bonding the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200. The adhesive layer 140 can be, for example, an optical adhesive (Optical Clear Adhesive) or the like, but is not limited thereto. In other words, the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 may be respectively formed into a desired structure, for example, the structure described in the first embodiment is formed on the first substrate 100 and the decorative layer 138 is formed on the second substrate 200. The second substrate 200 is bonded to the surface of the first substrate 100 via the adhesive layer 140, so that the first substrate 100 is located between the patterned metal layer 136 and the decorative layer 138 to form the touch panel 10B of the modified embodiment. , but not limited to this. In addition, in other modified embodiments, the second substrate 200 may be bonded to the other surface of the first substrate 100 via the adhesive layer 140 (the adhesive layer 140 is located between the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200), so that the patterned metal The layer 136 is located between the first substrate 100 and the decorative layer 138, that is, the first upper wire 116 and the second upper wire 120 are located between the first substrate 100 and the decorative layer 138, and the decorative layer 138 partially overlaps the first upper wire. 116 and the second upper wire 120.

Please refer to Figure 11 and Figure 12. 11 is a top plan view of a touch panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a touch panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 12 is a view along FIG. A section of the A-A' line. The difference between the embodiment and the first embodiment is that the touch panel 20 further includes a second substrate 200. The first substrate 100 includes a set of touch sensing electrodes 112 and corresponding traces 122A, 122B, and a second The substrate 200 includes another set of touch sensing electrodes 212 and corresponding traces 222 (shown only in FIG. 11 ). The touch sensing electrodes 112 and the touch sensing electrodes 212 can be respectively disposed on the first substrate 100 . The traces 122A and 122B corresponding to the touch sensing electrodes 112 and the traces 222 corresponding to the touch sensing electrodes 212 are respectively disposed on the first substrate 100 and the second The surrounding area R2 of the substrate 200. In addition, the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 may respectively be formed by a method similar to that described in the first embodiment, but are not limited thereto. The touch sensing electrodes 112 and 212 of the present embodiment are elongated electrodes, each extending in different directions and staggered, but not limited thereto. In addition, for example, the first substrate 100 may be a plastic film, and the second substrate 200 may be a glass substrate to serve as a cover glass for the touch panel 20 at the same time. In other words, the second substrate 200 can serve as a cover for the touch panel 20, but is not limited thereto. In addition, the touch sensing electrodes 112 are disposed on the first surface 142 of the first substrate 100, and the touch sensing electrodes 212 are disposed on the second surface 144 of the second substrate 200, wherein the second surface 144 is facing The first substrate 100. The first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 of the present embodiment may be adhered by the adhesive layer 140 in such a manner that the first surface 142 of the first substrate 100 is close to the second surface 144 of the second substrate 200. In addition, in other modified embodiments, the second substrate 200 may be adhered to the other surface of the first substrate 100 via the adhesive layer 140 (the adhesive layer 140 is disposed between the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200), so that the first The substrate 100 is located between the second substrate 200 and the touch sensing electrode 112 , that is, the first substrate 100 is located between the second substrate 200 and the first and second upper wires 116 , 120 . The touch panel 20 of the present embodiment can be a self-contained or a mutual-capacitive touch panel, but is not limited thereto. In addition, the touch panel 20 may further include a decorative layer 138, for example, disposed on the second surface 144 of the second substrate 200 and in the surrounding area R2, and at least partially overlap the traces 122A, 122B, and 222, but not limit. The decorative layer 138 can also be disposed at other suitable places in the surrounding area R2 as needed to shield components or light in the touch panel 20 that are not to be seen.

Referring to FIG. 13, a cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to a first variation of the second embodiment of the present invention is shown, and a cross section thereof corresponds to a line A-A' in FIG. As shown in FIG. 13 , the touch sensing electrodes 112 of the present embodiment are disposed on the first surface 142 of the first substrate 100 , and the touch sensing electrodes 212 are disposed on the second surface 144 of the second substrate 200 . The second surface 144 is opposite to the surface of the first substrate 100, and the second substrate 200 has a third surface 146 opposite to the second surface 144 facing the first substrate 100. A surface 142. The difference between the embodiment of the present embodiment and the second embodiment is that the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 can be adjacent to the third surface 146 of the second substrate 200 by the first surface 142 of the first substrate 100 by the adhesive layer 1401. Paste. On the other hand, the touch panel 20A of the modified embodiment may further include a cover 148, and the cover 148 is adhered to the second surface 144 of the second substrate 200 by the adhesive layer 1402. In addition, the materials of the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 of the modified embodiment are all diaphragms, but are not limited thereto. For example, in other variant embodiments, the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 may also be glass substrates, or the material of one of the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 is a diaphragm, and the other is The material is glass. It is also to be noted that the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 may respectively be formed by a method similar to that described in the first embodiment, and are not limited thereto. In addition, the touch panel 20A may further include a decorative layer 138 disposed on the surface of the cover plate 148 facing the second substrate 200. The decorative layer 138 is located in the surrounding area R2 and at least partially overlaps the traces 122A, 122B, and 222. But not limited to this. The decorative layer 138 can also be disposed at other suitable places in the surrounding area R2 as needed to shield components or light in the touch panel 20A that are not to be seen.

In summary, according to the touch panel of the present invention and the manufacturing method thereof, the present invention forms a first patterned protective layer on the transparent conductive layer to define a pattern of the touch sensing electrodes, which has not been patterned transparently. a conductive layer, a metal layer is formed on the first patterned protective layer, and a second patterned protective layer is formed on the metal layer to define a trace pattern, and then the first patterned protective layer and the second patterned protective layer are used as The mask removes the exposed transparent conductive layer and the metal layer to form the touch sensing electrodes and the traces, respectively, thereby reducing the number of processes and reducing the manufacturing cost. The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all changes and modifications made to the scope of the present invention should be within the scope of the present invention.

10, 10A, 10B, 20, 20A‧‧‧ touch panel
100‧‧‧First substrate
200‧‧‧second substrate
102‧‧‧Transparent conductive layer
104‧‧‧First patterned protective layer
104a‧‧‧electrode pattern
104'‧‧‧Protective layer
106‧‧‧metal layer
108‧‧‧Second patterned protective layer
108a‧‧‧Line pattern
110‧‧‧ overlap
112, 212‧‧‧ touch sensing electrodes
114‧‧‧First lower wire
116‧‧‧First upper wire
118‧‧‧Second lower wire
120‧‧‧Second upper wire
122A, 122B, 222‧‧‧ Trace
124‧‧‧First side wall
126‧‧‧ second side wall
128‧‧‧ third side wall
130‧‧‧fourth sidewall
134‧‧‧ patterned transparent conductive layer
136‧‧‧ patterned metal layer
138‧‧‧Decorative layer
140, 1401, 1402‧‧‧ adhesive layer
142‧‧‧ first surface
144‧‧‧ second surface
146‧‧‧ third surface
148‧‧‧ cover
R1‧‧ visible area
R2‧‧‧ surrounding area
S10, S12, S14, S16, S18, S20‧‧ steps

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the steps of a method for manufacturing a touch panel of the present invention. 2 to 7 are schematic views showing a manufacturing method of the touch panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a schematic top plan view of a touch panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a touch panel according to a first variation of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a touch panel of a second modified embodiment of the first embodiment of the present invention. 11 is a top plan view of a touch panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a touch panel of a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a touch panel according to a first variation of the second embodiment of the present invention.

S10, S12, S14, S16, S18, S20‧‧ steps

Claims (21)

A method for fabricating a touch panel, comprising: forming a transparent conductive layer on a surface of a first substrate; forming a first patterned protective layer on the transparent conductive layer, wherein the first patterned protective layer is used to a plurality of touch sensing electrodes are defined on the transparent conductive layer; a metal layer is formed on the first patterned protective layer and the transparent conductive layer; and a second patterned protective layer is formed on the metal layer. The second patterned protective layer is configured to define an upper conductive line on the metal layer, wherein the first patterned protective layer comprises an overlapping portion, and the overlapping portion overlaps with a portion of the second patterned protective layer, and The second patterned protective layer of the other portion of the first patterned protective layer is overlapped to define a lower wire on the transparent conductive layer; performing a patterning process to remove the second patterned The metal layer covered by the protective layer and the transparent conductive layer not covered by the first patterned protective layer or/and the second patterned protective layer are removed to form the transparent conductive layer to form the touch Sensing electricity And the lower wire, and leaving the metal layer to form the upper wire; and removing the second patterned protective layer and the first patterned protective layer not covered by the metal layer, and leaving the first The overlapping portion of the protective layer is patterned. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein the overlapping portion of the first patterned protective layer is located between a portion of the upper wire and the corresponding transparent conductive layer, and another portion of the upper wire corresponds to the lower portion The wires are in direct contact. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein the upper wire comprises a first side wall and a second side wall, the first side wall being substantially aligned with a third side wall of the corresponding lower wire. The manufacturing method of claim 3, wherein the second sidewall of the upper wire is substantially aligned with a fourth sidewall of the overlapping portion. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein the upper wire and the lower wire form at least one trace. The manufacturing method of claim 1, further comprising forming a decorative layer on the first substrate, wherein the decorative layer is disposed between the upper wire and the first substrate, and the decorative layer partially overlaps the upper wire . The manufacturing method of claim 1, further comprising: providing a second substrate having a decorative layer disposed on the surface thereof; and bonding the first substrate and the second substrate with an adhesive layer, wherein the adhesive layer is disposed on the first substrate Between a substrate and the second substrate, the first substrate is disposed between the upper wire and the decorative layer, and the decorative layer partially overlaps the upper wire. The manufacturing method of claim 1, further comprising: providing a second substrate having a decorative layer disposed on the surface thereof; and bonding the first substrate and the second substrate with an adhesive layer, wherein the adhesive layer is disposed on the first substrate Between a substrate and the second substrate, the upper wire is disposed between the first substrate and the decorative layer, and the decorative layer partially overlaps the upper wire. The manufacturing method of claim 1, further comprising: providing a second substrate having a decorative layer and a plurality of touch sensing electrodes disposed on the surface; and bonding the first substrate and the second substrate by using an adhesive layer, The touch sensing electrodes on the surface of the first substrate and the touch sensing electrodes on the surface of the second substrate are disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the decorative layer and the The upper wires partially overlap. The manufacturing method of claim 1, further comprising: providing a second substrate having a decorative layer and a plurality of touch sensing electrodes disposed on the surface; and bonding the first substrate and the second substrate by using an adhesive layer, The first substrate is disposed between the upper wire and the second substrate, and the decorative layer partially overlaps the upper wire. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing a second substrate and a cover, wherein the second substrate surface is provided with a plurality of touch sensing electrodes, the cover surface is provided with a decorative layer; Adhesively bonding the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein the second substrate is disposed on the touch sensing electrodes on the surface of the first substrate and the touch sensing electrodes on the surface of the second substrate And bonding the second substrate and the cover with another adhesive layer, wherein the decorative layer is disposed between the second substrate and the cover, and the decorative layer partially overlaps the upper wire. A touch panel includes: a first substrate defining a visible area and a surrounding area on at least one side of the visible area; a patterned transparent conductive layer disposed on a surface of the first substrate, the patterned transparent The conductive layer includes: a plurality of touch sensing electrodes disposed at least in the visible area of the first substrate; and a lower wire disposed in the surrounding area of the first substrate, the lower wire is correspondingly connected to the One of the touch sensing electrodes; a patterned metal layer disposed on the patterned transparent conductive layer in the surrounding region, wherein the patterned metal layer includes an upper wire, the upper wire includes a first a sidewall and a second sidewall, wherein the first sidewall is substantially aligned with a third sidewall of the corresponding lower conductor; and a protective layer disposed on a portion of the upper conductor and the corresponding patterned transparent conductive layer And another portion of the upper wire is in direct contact with the corresponding lower wire. The touch panel of claim 12, wherein the second sidewall of the upper wire is substantially aligned with a fourth sidewall of the protective layer. The touch panel of claim 12, comprising at least one trace formed by overlapping the upper wire and the lower wire. The touch display device of claim 12, further comprising a decorative layer disposed in the surrounding area of the first substrate. The touch display device of claim 15, wherein the decorative layer is disposed between the patterned metal layer and the first substrate, and the decorative layer partially overlaps the patterned metal layer. The touch display device of claim 12, further comprising: a second substrate having a decorative layer disposed on the surface thereof; and an adhesive layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein the first The substrate is disposed between the upper wire and the decorative layer, and the decorative layer partially overlaps the upper wire. The touch display device of claim 12, further comprising: a second substrate having a decorative layer disposed on the surface thereof; and an adhesive layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein the upper wire And disposed between the first substrate and the decorative layer, and the decorative layer partially overlaps the upper wire. The touch display device of claim 12, further comprising: a second substrate having a decorative layer and a plurality of touch sensing electrodes disposed on the surface; and an adhesive layer disposed on the first substrate and the second The touch sensing electrodes on the surface of the first substrate and the touch sensing electrodes on the surface of the second substrate are disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the The decorative layer partially overlaps the upper wire. The touch display device of claim 12, further comprising: a second substrate having a decorative layer and a plurality of touch sensing electrodes disposed on the surface; and an adhesive layer disposed on the first substrate and the second Between the substrates, the first substrate is disposed between the upper wire and the second substrate, and the decorative layer partially overlaps the upper wire. The touch display device of claim 12, further comprising: a second substrate, the surface of which is provided with a plurality of touch sensing electrodes, wherein the upper wire is located between the first substrate and the second substrate; a cover layer having a decorative layer disposed on the surface thereof, wherein the decorative layer is located between the cover plate and the second substrate; and a second adhesive layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate and the cover plate and Between the second substrates.