TW201939519A - Metal grid - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a metal grid. In the metal grid, both a main grid and a virtual grid adopt continuous and closed grid structures; the virtual grid must contain at least one virtual section, and different from a known breakpoint, the virtual section adopts an entity structure made of an insulating material, so that no hollowed breakpoint structure exists in the virtual grid; the metal gridformed by the continuous and closed main grid and the continuous and closed virtual grid can effectively reduce the molar effect, so that the problem of poor visibility due to existence of the breakpoint is improved.

Description

Metal grid

The invention relates to a grid structure, and in particular to a metal grid, which replaces the hollow breakpoint structure with a virtual section of a solid, so as to provide a metal grid with good visibility and reduce the molar effect. The effect on the display effect.

It is known that the commonly used touch conductive material is indium tin oxide (ITO), but as the screen size increases, the resistance value of indium tin oxide (ITO) will increase to a situation where it is difficult to apply. Based on the consideration of mass productivity, metal mesh and nano silver wire are the main development technologies.

The common metal mesh material is silver or copper. Since the metal has better conductivity than ITO, the surface resistance value can be as low as 10 ohms or less. Although the metal is not a transparent material like ITO itself, it is a hollow metal mesh. The light transmittance provided by the grid can be better than the ITO film. Common structures are grid-like, scattered filaments, etc. In addition to the improvement of light transmittance, the metal grid is more flexible, so it becomes One of the best options to replace ITO.

However, due to the above-mentioned structural characteristics, when light passes through the metal grid, reflections caused by metal materials, Moiré Effect, etc. become the main missing of the metal grid. For example, the current single If the line width is too wide, the phenomenon of reflection is prone to occur. Therefore, blacking treatment must be performed on the surface of the metal grid. However, the blackened metal grid easily makes the display image dim. Therefore, the single line width of a general metal grid is controlled to about 4 micrometers (μm) to effectively reduce reflections and not affect display quality as much as possible. In order to reduce the molar effect, it is necessary to pattern the metal grid. To achieve a certain effect, in addition to the arrangement of the metal grid itself (such as: rhombus, square, honeycomb and irregular shape), the patterning can also form hollow areas (such as: breakpoints) on the metal grid. . As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional metal grid 90 has a square grid structure, which includes a plurality of main grids 901 and a plurality of virtual grids 902, and each virtual grid 902 is provided with At least one breakpoint C (cutting), this breakpoint C is a hollowed out section, but if the process is not good, it is easy to cause a short circuit at breakpoint C, and it is also easy to produce parasitic capacitance in a specific area In addition, the hollow breakpoint C usually has a length of 1.5-15 μm, so when the light passes through the breakpoint, there will also be a serious molar effect.

In addition, since the material of the metal grid is metal, it is unavoidable that under the environment of storage or processing, a certain degree of chemical reaction will occur on the surface of the metal, such as oxidation reaction, or under special circumstances. It is more likely that it will reduce the conductivity of the metal grid because it reacts with acidic and alkaline substances.

Based on this, the present invention discloses a metal grid, which adopts a continuous and closed grid structure, which can effectively solve the problems of metal passivation, parasitic capacitance, molar effect and the like generated in the conventional metal grid, so as to provide Visible metal grid.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a metal grid, which comprises a plurality of continuous and closed main grids and a plurality of continuous and closed virtual grids, and the virtual grid includes at least one virtual section. The metal grid system of the invention is completely continuous and closed, so as to improve the molar effect of the conventional metal grid and also improve the problem of visibility.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a metal grid, which includes a main section composed of a conductive material and a virtual section composed of an insulating material. The insulating material may be a completely non-conductive material or a material having passivation. Surface material, to achieve the purpose of electrical disconnection.

Another object of the present invention is to connect the virtual section to the main section to form a virtual grid, or form a virtual grid entirely from the virtual section, and the setting position, number and length of the virtual section are based on the metal mesh. The visibility effect of the grid is used to design. The main problem to be avoided is the Moore effect of the metal grid.

To achieve the above object, the metal grid system of the present invention includes at least one main channel and at least one virtual channel disposed adjacent to the main channel. The main channel has a plurality of main grids, and each main grid system is continuous and closed. The main grid is composed of a plurality of main sections, and the main section is composed of at least one conductive material. The virtual channel has a plurality of virtual grids. Each virtual grid system is continuous and closed. The virtual grid is composed of a plurality of sections. The virtual section is composed of at least one insulating material; wherein the insulating material may be a completely non-conductive material or a surface passivated material, especially a surface passivated metal material, wherein the surface passivated metal material The preparation method can be a chemical reaction, or an electrochemical reaction, or both a chemical reaction and an electrochemical reaction, and the chemical reaction can be, for example, an oxidation reaction, an acidification reaction, an alkalinization reaction, etc., an electrochemical reaction It includes electroplating, electrolysis, etc. In addition, the metal materials can be selected according to different designs. Or will be present in the disclosed invention, a conductive material, and the resistance value of the insulating material is greater than ¹⁰⁹ Ohm-based, light transmittance of the optical system is less than 10%; thickness virtual line segment as the main section 80 to a thickness of 120 %.

In addition, the main section further includes a plurality of first main sections and a plurality of second main sections. The first main section is arranged at intervals along the first direction, and the second main section is at intervals along the second direction. The first main section and the second main section are arranged alternately with each other. The first direction and the second direction may be perpendicular to each other.

With the metal grid disclosed by the present invention, since the main grid and the virtual grid are both continuous and closed structures, it can effectively solve the problem of electrical short circuit caused by the breakpoint design in the conventional technology. The insulating material is used to make a virtual segment, so the electrical breaking characteristics of the breakpoint can still be maintained, so it can help reduce the effect of the Moore effect, and then improve the lack of poor visibility.

The technical means adopted by the present invention and the structure thereof are described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. The features and functions thereof are as follows, and they are fully understood.

First, please refer to FIG. 2, which is an embodiment of the metal grid disclosed in the present invention. The metal grid MM in this embodiment includes at least one main channel 10 and at least one virtual channel 20. In the main channel 10, there are a plurality of main grids 10G. Each main grid 10G is continuous and closed. Structure, and the main grid 10G includes a plurality of main sections 10L, and the virtual channel 20 has a plurality of virtual grids 20G. Similar to the main grid 10G, each virtual grid 20G is also continuous and closed. However, the virtual grid 20G includes a plurality of virtual sections 20L, and in this description, the main section 10L and the virtual section 20L are displayed with lines of different thicknesses. However, the thickness of this line is not the main one. The actual size ratio of the segment 10L to the virtual segment 20L, that is, the thickness of the lines is for identification purposes only and is not intended to limit the scope of this patent claim.

Taking the implementation of Figure 2 as an example, the main grid 10G and the virtual grid 20G are described by taking the rhombus as an example, and the four sides of the main grid 10G are composed of the main section 10L, but not connected with the virtual section. The sections 20L are connected, and the four sides of the virtual grid 20G are respectively composed of a main section 10L and a virtual section 20L. In Figure 3, another embodiment of the metal grid MM is disclosed. In this embodiment, the main grid 10 and the virtual grid 20 are included, and the main grid 10G and the virtual grid 20G are still diamond-shaped. For example, the main grid 10G also includes only the main section 10L. The difference is that two edges in the virtual grid 20G are formed by the main section 10L connecting two virtual sections 20L, and the other two edges Some are composed of a main section 10L connected to a virtual section 20L. The above-mentioned parameters such as the position, number, and length of the virtual section 20L must be designed according to the actual optical conditions. At the same time, the display parameters of the collaborative panel need to be calculated together. The display parameters of the panel can be, for example, but not limited to It is a black matrix, a pixel pitch, etc.

Continuing in FIG. 4, another embodiment of the metal mesh MM is disclosed, which includes a main channel 10 and a virtual channel 20 ′. Unlike FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in FIG. 2 and FIG. The virtual grid 20G shown in FIG. 3 includes a main section 10L and a virtual section 20L. However, the virtual grid 20G ′ in this embodiment is entirely composed of the virtual section 20L. In Fig. 5, another type of metal grid MM is shown, which includes the main channel 10 and two virtual channels 20 and 20 ', that is, the metal grid MM in this embodiment includes the main grid. 10G and two different virtual grids 20G, 20G '. One of the virtual grids 20G is a continuous and closed structure composed of the main section 10L and the virtual section 20L, and the other is a complete virtual grid 20G'. A continuous and closed structure composed of a virtual section 20L.

Please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6. The disclosed metal grid MM system includes the main channel 10 and the virtual channel 20, and the main section 10L of the main grid 10G includes a group of first The main section 10La and the second main section 10Lb of a group are arranged at intervals along the first direction, and the second main section 10Lb is arranged at intervals along the second direction, where The first direction and the second direction are staggered perpendicularly to each other, so that the first main section 10La and the second main section 10Lb are vertically staggered to form a square structure, and similar to the main grid 10G, the virtual The grid 20G is also in the shape of a square, but a virtual segment 20L is connected to the four sides of the virtual grid 20G as the main section 10L, and an example is described as an example.

The conductive material constituting the main section 10L is silver, copper, gold, aluminum, tungsten, brass, iron, tin or platinum. Moreover, in a specific application, the first main section 10La and the second main section 10Lb in the main section 10L may use the same or different conductive materials. The insulating material constituting the virtual section 20L is not conductive. For example, the insulating material may be a completely non-conductive material or a surface passivation material. The material may be a metal material or other conductive material For example, insulating materials can be used to chemically, electrochemically, or a combination of the above reactions to surface treat conductive materials. Common chemical reactions are oxidation, acidification, alkalization, etc ... The electrochemical reaction includes electroplating, electrolysis, etc. to directly passivate the conductive material of the main section 10L, so that the surface of the conductive material no longer has conductivity, so the present invention can directly conduct the surface of the conductive material. Treatment, and in a specific area of the conductive material is modified to be insulating. Based on this, when the insulating material is a conductive material after surface passivation treatment, it can be silver, copper, gold, aluminum, Tungsten, brass, iron, tin or platinum, of course, the insulating material can also be any other non-conductive material directly, however, regardless of whether the insulating material is A material after the surface passivation or electrical properties of completely non-conductive material, an insulating material constituting the virtual section 20L must have characteristic resistance value of greater than ¹⁰⁹ ohms, the optical characteristics of the optical transmittance less than 10% limits.

Finally, in the design of the structure, the thickness b of the virtual section 20L is not less than 80% of the thickness a of the main section 10L and not more than 120% of the thickness a of the main section 10L, as shown in FIG. 7.

Compared with the conventional technology, the metal grid system disclosed in the present invention can directly use the conductive material of the main section after the surface passivation treatment as an electrically insulated virtual section, so as to realize a completely continuous and closed virtual network. Grid structure, while still having disconnection points with electrical insulation, so it can effectively avoid the problem that the conventional metal grid cannot be completely electrically insulated in the virtual section due to the abnormal breakpoint process. Reduce the Moore effect caused by the hollow breakpoint structure, thereby improving the visibility provided by the metal grid. In addition, when the metal grid is applied in the conductive layer of the panel, the metal grid system can be arranged in the non-display area of the panel to reduce the adverse optical effects such as reflection and moiré of the metal grid on the display quality. influences.

In view of the above, a metal grid disclosed in the present invention, wherein the main grid and the virtual grid are continuous and closed grid structures, and since the virtual grid must include at least one virtual channel, the conventional grid The difference is that the virtual section of the present invention is a solid structure composed of insulating materials, so it may be entirely composed of virtual channels in the virtual grid, or the main section is connected to the virtual section without There will be a hollow breakpoint structure. Therefore, the continuous and closed metal grid composed of the main grid and the virtual grid disclosed in the present invention can effectively reduce the molar effect and improve the visibility caused by the existence of the breakpoint. Sexual problems.

The foregoing are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. Therefore, all equal changes or modifications made according to the features and spirit described in the scope of the application of the present invention shall be included in the scope of patent application of the present invention.

90‧‧‧ metal grid

901‧‧‧ main grid

902‧‧‧Virtual grid

C‧‧‧ breakpoint

MM‧‧‧Metal grid

10‧‧‧ main channel

10G‧‧‧Main grid

10L‧‧‧Main Section

10La‧‧‧The first major section

10Lb‧‧‧Second Major Section

20, 20’‧‧‧ Virtual Channel

20G, 20G’‧‧‧ virtual grid

20L‧‧‧Virtual Section

a, b‧‧‧ thickness

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional metal grid structure. FIG. 2 is one embodiment of the metal grid disclosed in the present invention. FIG. 3 is another embodiment of the metal grid disclosed in the present invention. FIG. 4 is another embodiment of the metal grid disclosed in the present invention. FIG. 5 is another embodiment of the metal grid disclosed in the present invention. FIG. 6 is another embodiment of the metal grid disclosed in the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the thickness difference between the main section and the virtual section in the metal grid disclosed in the present invention.

Claims (15)

A metal grid includes: at least one main channel, which has a plurality of main grids, each of which is continuous and closed, and is composed of a plurality of main sections, the main sections being at least one conductive Made of materials; and at least one virtual channel, which is arranged adjacent to the main channel and has a plurality of virtual grids, each of which is continuous and closed, and includes at least one virtual section, the virtual section Made of at least one insulating material. The metal grid according to claim 1, wherein the conductive material is silver, copper, gold, aluminum, tungsten, brass, iron, tin or platinum. The metal grid according to claim 1, wherein the insulating material is a non-conductive material or a surface passivated material. The metal grid according to claim 3, wherein the preparation method of the surface passivation material is selected from a chemical reaction, an electrochemical reaction, and a combination of the above reactions. . The metal grid according to claim 3, wherein the surface passivation material may be the conductive material that has undergone surface passivation. The metal grid according to claim 4, wherein the chemical reaction preparation method of the surface passivated material is selected from the group consisting of an oxidation reaction, an acidification reaction, an alkalinization reaction, and a combination of the above methods. The metal grid according to claim 1, wherein the resistance value of the insulating material is greater than 10 ⁹ ohms. The metal grid according to claim 1, wherein the optical transmittance of the insulating material is less than 10%. The metal grid according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the virtual section is 80% to 120% of the thickness of the main section. The metal grid according to claim 1, wherein all the virtual grids in the virtual channel are completely composed of the virtual section. The metal grid according to claim 1, wherein all the virtual grids in the virtual channel are composed of the main section and the virtual section connected to each other, and each of the virtual grids includes at least one of the virtual grids. Virtual section. The metal grid according to claim 1, wherein a part of the virtual grid in the virtual channel is completely composed of the virtual section, and a part of the virtual grid is composed of the main section and the virtual section. And each virtual grid includes at least one virtual segment. The metal grid according to claim 1, wherein the main sections further include: a plurality of first main sections arranged at intervals along a first direction; and a plurality of second main sections along a first section. The two directions are arranged at intervals, and the first main sections and the second main sections are arranged alternately with each other. The metal grid according to claim 13, wherein the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other. The metal grid according to claim 13, wherein the first main section and the second main section are respectively composed of a first conductive material and a second conductive material.