TWM498916U - Touch module of monolithic type touch panel - Google Patents

Description

Monolithic touch panel touch module

This creation is related to the touch module, especially related to the touch module of the One-Glass Solution (OGS) touch panel.

With the advancement of technology and the demand for human-computer interaction, touch panels have been widely used in various electronic products, such as smart phones, satellite navigation systems, tablet computers, personal digital assistants and notebook computers.

The touch module of the OGS (One-Glass Solution) touch panel basically comprises a stack structure disposed on a substrate (for example, a glass protective cover), the stack structure is mainly lithographically etched. The method is patterned layer by layer to include at least a lateral electrode layer (ie, a conductive circuit layer electrically connected in a lateral direction), an insulating layer (eg, a dielectric layer), and a longitudinal electrode layer (ie, electrically conductively connected in a longitudinal direction) The circuit layer, and optionally the overcoat, forms an inductive structure that accurately calculates the touch position by the change in current generated by the contact of an external conductor (eg, a finger).

In the assembly structure of the touch module, a decorative layer is usually provided, and the decorative layer is used to shield the metal traces disposed around the panel to achieve the overall product aesthetic effect. In the conventional process, the decorative layer can be ink printed or photoresist coated under the protective cover of the touch panel. In order to facilitate the formation of a decorative layer that is more colorful or shaded, it generally has a considerable thickness (for example, 5 micrometers). The above), and this considerable thickness has a bad influence on the fabrication of the stack structure of the subsequent touch modules.

Specifically, please refer to the cross-sectional views of the first (A) to the first (E) and the second (A) to (D) top views, which illustrate a conventional touch module. The manufacturing process and the resulting structure. As described above, in the conventional process, the decorative layer 120 is generally applied to one side of the protective cover 110 of the touch panel by ink printing, and thus has a relatively thick thickness (for example, 5 micrometers or more); The decorative layer 120 has a film thickness that is too high. Therefore, when the insulating layer 140 is formed of a coating material on the conductive wiring layer 130 above the decorative layer, the coating material of the insulating layer on the decorative layer slope region 122 is subjected to its own The characteristics of the beach flow and the influence of gravity slip, thereby causing the insulating layer to have a relatively thin thickness above the decorative layer slope 122 and above the conductive circuit layer 130, as shown in the first figure (A) and the second figure (A). And (B).

The structure formed by the above is subjected to the etching process of the chemical agent C (for example, the photoresist stripper) in the subsequent patterning process of the touch module, as shown in the first figure (B), above the conductive circuit layer 130. The thinner insulating layer 140 is damaged and peeled off, thereby exposing the conductive wiring layer 130 (as shown in the first (C) and second (C)). In such a case, the conductive structure 150 subsequently formed on the insulating layer may contact the exposed underlying conductive circuit layer 130 (as shown in the first (D) and second (D) figures), thereby causing the conductive structure. The electrical abnormality also causes the touch module 100 (shown in the first figure (E)) to be formed after the other formed insulating layer (also referred to as "protective layer") 160 is formed on the formed structure. Overall yield is reduced.

Therefore, there is a need for an improved touch module stack structure to improve the process yield of a touch panel having a high film thickness decorative layer and reduce the production cost.

In view of the foregoing description, the present invention proposes a touch module, which can avoid the occurrence of electrical anomalies of the conductive structure caused by the peeling of the insulating layer in the process, thereby improving the process yield and reducing the production cost.

One of the ideas of this creation is to propose a touch module of a single-chip touch panel. The touch module comprises: a glass substrate; a decorative layer on the glass substrate; a first conductive circuit layer on the decorative layer and comprising at least one first wire structure; an insulating layer, It is located on the first conductive circuit layer; a barrier layer is located on a portion of the insulating layer and includes at least one blocking structure, the at least one blocking structure corresponding to the at least one first wire structure; a second conductive line a layer on the insulating layer and the barrier layer and comprising at least one second wire structure; and a protective layer on the second conductive circuit layer.

Based on the concept of the present creation, the viscosity of the insulating layer is less than 10 cp.

Based on the concept of the present invention, the material of the barrier layer is selected from indium tin oxide (ITO) or cerium oxide (SiO ₂ ).

Based on the inventive concept, wherein the at least one barrier structure is located within a range of 500 microns from one of the boundaries of the decorative layer.

Based on the concept of the present creation, the decorative layer is a colored decorative layer.

The features, embodiments, and advantages of the foregoing concepts and other concepts of the present invention are further understood by the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings.

100,200‧‧‧ touch module

110, 210‧‧‧ substrate

120, 220‧‧‧ decorative layer

122, 222‧‧‧ decorative layer slope

130, 230‧‧‧ Conductive circuit layer

140, 240‧‧‧ insulation

150, 250‧‧‧ conductive layer

160, 260‧ ‧ protective layer

280‧‧‧Block

C‧‧‧Chemicals

The first (A) to the first (E) cross-sectional views illustrate the partial structures formed in various stages of the conventional touch panel manufacturing method of the single-chip touch panel.

The second (A) to (D) are top plan views illustrating the partial structure formed in various stages of the conventional touch panel manufacturing method of the single-chip touch panel.

The third (A) to (F) are schematic cross-sectional views of the monolithic touch panel of the present invention formed in various stages of the touch module manufacturing method according to the specific embodiment of the present invention. The local structure of the touch module.

The fourth (A) to the fourth (E) are top plan views, which illustrate the monolithic touch panel of the present invention formed in each stage of the touch module manufacturing method according to the specific embodiment of the present invention. The local structure of the touch module.

To facilitate an understanding of the technical features, the contents and advantages of the present invention, and the technical advantages thereof, a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following description and the accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of illustration and description, and are not necessarily the true proportion and precise arrangement of the present invention; therefore, the proportions of the drawings should not be The relationship is configured to interpret and limit the scope of the creation of the creation in actual practice. The scope of this creation is defined by the scope of the patent application.

As described above, the touch module of the conventional single-chip touch panel has a problem that the final structure is electrically abnormal due to the excessive thickness of the insulating layer above the decorative layer. This problem is caused by the film thickness of the decorative layer being too high. The insulating layer is caused to fall off at the slope of the decorative layer by the influence of the characteristics of the beach current and the gravity, so that the thickness of the insulating layer at the place is insufficient to resist the erosion of the chemical agent in the subsequent process, and thus peeling off. In order to solve this problem, the present invention proposes an improved touch module for a single-chip touch panel, which is described in detail as follows: third (A) to third (F) and fourth (A) to fourth Figure (E) The schematic diagram of the monolithic touch panel touch module formed in each stage of the touch module manufacturing method is described in the schematic view and the top view.

Referring to the third (A) and the fourth (A) and (B), the touch module of the single-chip touch panel is mainly formed on a substrate 210 (for example, The substrate 210 is formed with a decorative layer 220 prior to forming the main touch module stack structure. In the present embodiment, the decorative layer 220 is formed by ink printing and thus has a relatively thick thickness (for example, greater than 5 microns), and the decorative layer 220 can be printed with ink of various colors as needed. It should be noted that the decorative layer 220 may also be formed by coating at least one layer to several layers of photoresist.

A conductive circuit layer 230 is formed on the decorative layer 220, and the conductive circuit layer 230 is patterned to form a conductive structure that is disposed according to actual needs. More specifically, the conductive circuit layer 230 includes various conductive structures, such as a touch sensing electrode (Electrode), a conductive track (Trace) or a bonding pad. In general, the conductive layer 230 is coated with an insulating layer 240 to form a flat surface for subsequent formation and to protect the formed underlying stack during subsequent processing. However, since the thickness of the decorative layer 220 is high, it is unavoidable that the insulating layer 240 slides down at the side of the decorative layer 222, resulting in the occurrence of thickness reduction of the insulating layer.

Referring to the third (B) and fourth (C), according to the present embodiment, a barrier layer is formed over the insulating layer 240, and the barrier layer is patterned to correspond to the position of the conductive layer 230. A plurality of blocking structures 280. In other words, in the present embodiment, in the position where each of the insulating layers is relatively thin (i.e., the position of the conductive structure below), A barrier structure 280 is formed to protect the insulating layer 240 in a subsequent process, so that the insulating layer 240 is not affected by chemicals. In the present embodiment, S represents the range of the slope 222 of the decorative layer 220, in other words, S represents the distance between the edge of the conductive structure of the conductive wiring layer 230 and the edge of the decorative layer 220 below it, and S also represents The distance between the edge of the barrier structure 280 and the edge of the decorative layer 220; that is, the barrier structure 280 is located within a distance S from the boundary of the decorative layer 220, where S is 500 microns. Alternatively, in other embodiments of the present writing, S can be 300 microns.

With the arrangement of the barrier structure 280 of the present invention, the barrier structure 280 is resistant to the chemical agent C (for example, photoresist stripping) in the subsequent processes of the stacked structure as shown in the third (C) and fourth (D) drawings. The erosion of the underlying insulating layer 240 remains intact without peeling off, thereby protecting the underlying stacked structure (especially the conductive wiring layer 230) from exposure due to the influence of chemicals. Therefore, when the second conductive wiring layer 250 is continuously formed (as shown in FIG. 3(E) and FIG. 4(E)), the conductive wiring layer 250 can be formed normally without being in contact with the underlying conductive wiring layer 230. Electrical anomalies caused by contact. In addition, the touch module 200 of the present embodiment further includes a protective layer 260 that provides a flat surface for subsequent assembly and application of the touch module 200, as shown in FIG.

According to this inventive embodiment, the barrier layer may alternatively be formed of indium tin oxide (ITO) or cerium oxide (SiO ₂ ) depending on the chemical selected for use in subsequent processes. For example, if the chemical agent used in the subsequent process is (but is not limited to) aluminate, potassium hydroxide (KOH), and a photoresist stripper such as BM-73 or TOK106, ITO can be used as the material of the barrier layer. In addition, if the chemical used in the subsequent process is (but not limited to) aqua regia, oxalic acid, acid, potassium hydroxide (KOH), and photoresist strippers such as BM-73 and TOK106, cerium oxide may be used as the The material of the creation barrier. It should be noted that the person skilled in the art of the prior art knows that as long as there is a material that blocks the attack of chemical agents, it can be used as a material for the barrier layer.

In addition, it should be further noted that, in the present drawing, only a specific embodiment in which a barrier structure is disposed at a position where each insulating layer is relatively thin (that is, a position where a conductive structure is below) is illustrated, but blocking The setting position of the structure is not limited to this. For example, the barrier structure may also be disposed on the slope 222 of the decorative layer 220 to prevent the insulating layer 240 from being peeled off due to the uneven thickness of the insulating layer 240 formed above the slope 222 during subsequent processes.

In the present embodiment, due to the function of the barrier layer, when a decorative layer having a high film thickness exists in the touch module, even if the coating material of the insulating layer is affected by the characteristics of the beach current and gravity, The thickness of the layered slope and the underlying conductive structure is reduced, and the insulating layer coating material can still be protected by the barrier layer during the process, so that it can remain intact and is not eroded by chemical agents (such as photoresist strippers) in subsequent processes. And peeling off. Therefore, the short circuit between the conductive structure under the touch module and the upper conductive structure can be avoided, thereby causing abnormal electrical anomalies, and the process yield of the touch module is improved.

In the present embodiment, since the barrier layer is used to protect the stack structure underneath, the material of the decorative layer and the coating material of the insulating layer are more elastic. For example, by using the ink printing method, the color ink material can be selected as the decorative layer of the touch module to increase the aesthetic appearance change; in addition, the selection of the coating material of the insulating layer is not limited to the beach flow size. For example, a high beaching coating material having a viscosity of less than 10 cp can be selected to be coated to form an insulating layer.

Due to the new structural design of the creation, the thick decorative layer can be prevented from affecting the formation of the subsequent stacked structure in the single-chip glass touch panel process, and the upper and lower conductive structures can be prevented from being caused by the peeling of the insulating layer coating material therebetween. Sexual anomalies improve the process yield of OGS touch modules with high film thickness decorative layers. It is a novel, progressive and industrially practical and competitive creation. Deep development value.

It is important to note that all features disclosed in this specification may be combined with other methods or structures, and each of the features disclosed in this specification may be selectively replaced with identical, equal or similar features of interest. Therefore, all of the features disclosed in the description of the present specification are only one example of equal or similar features, except for the particularly salient features.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and refinements can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

200‧‧‧ touch module

210‧‧‧Substrate

220‧‧‧Decorative layer

222‧‧‧decorative layer slope

230‧‧‧ Conductive circuit layer

240‧‧‧Insulation

250‧‧‧ Conductive circuit layer

260‧‧‧protection layer

280‧‧‧Block

Claims (11)

A touch module of a monolithic touch panel, comprising: a glass substrate; a decorative layer on the glass substrate; a first conductive circuit layer on the decorative layer and including at least one first a wire structure; an insulating layer on the first conductive circuit layer; a barrier layer on the portion of the insulating layer and including at least one blocking structure, the at least one blocking structure and the at least one first wire structure Corresponding; and a second conductive circuit layer on the insulating layer and the barrier layer and comprising at least one second wire structure. The touch module of claim 1, further comprising a protective layer on the second conductive circuit layer. The touch module of claim 1, wherein the insulating layer has a viscosity of less than 10 cp. The touch module of claim 1, wherein the material of the barrier layer is selected from the group consisting of indium tin oxide (ITO) or cerium oxide (SiO ₂ ). The touch module of claim 1, wherein a minimum distance between an edge of the at least one blocking structure and an edge of the at least one first wire structure is defined as S. The touch module of claim 5, wherein the S system is less than 500 microns. The touch module of claim 5, wherein the S system is less than 300 microns. The touch module of claim 1, wherein the at least one blocking structure is located within a range of 500 microns from a boundary of the decorative layer. The touch module of claim 1, wherein the at least one blocking structure is located A range within 300 microns from the boundary of one of the decorative layers. The touch module of claim 1, wherein the decorative layer is a colored decorative layer. A touch module of a monolithic touch panel, comprising: a glass substrate; a decorative layer on the glass substrate; a first conductive circuit layer on the decorative layer and including at least one first a wire structure; an insulating layer on the first conductive circuit layer; a barrier layer on a portion of the insulating layer and including at least one blocking structure, the at least one blocking structure being located at least with the first Corresponding to the position of the wire structure; a second conductive circuit layer on the insulating layer and the barrier layer, and comprising at least one second wire structure; and a protective layer on the second conductive circuit layer; The boundary between one of the at least one barrier structure and one of the boundaries of the decorative layer is less than 500 microns.