TWM607109U - Touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch panel includes a substrate, a periphery trace, and a touch sensing electrode. The substrate has a visible area and a periphery area, and has a bending region and a non-bending region. The periphery trace is disposed on the periphery area of the substrate. The touch sensing electrode is disposed on the visible area of the substrate, and has a first portion disposed on the bending region and a second portion disposed on the non-bending region. The touch sensing electrode is electrically connected to the periphery trace, and has a mesh-like pattern interlaced by a plurality of thin lines. The periphery trace and the touch sensing electrode each includes a plurality of conductive nanostructures and a film layer added onto the conductive nanostructures, and an interface between the conductive nanostructures and the film layer in the periphery trace and the second portion of the touch sensing electrode substantially has a covering structure.

Description

Touch panel

The content of this disclosure is about touch panels.

In recent years, since transparent conductors can simultaneously allow light to penetrate and provide appropriate conductivity, they are often used in many display or touch-related devices. Generally speaking, the transparent conductor may be a film made of various metal oxides, such as indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), cadmium tin oxide (CTO), or aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) films. However, these metal oxide films cannot meet the flexibility requirements of display devices. Therefore, a variety of flexible transparent conductors have been developed, such as transparent conductors made of nano-level materials.

However, there are still many problems that need to be solved in the process technology of the above-mentioned nano-level materials. For example, when using nanowires to make touch electrodes, the touch electrodes and the leads made of metal in the peripheral area must be overlapped, and the overlap area will cause the size of the peripheral area to be unable to be reduced, which will lead to the failure of the peripheral area. The width is too large to meet the narrow bezel requirements of the display. To cite another example, touch electrodes made of nanowires are often used to consider optical effects, etc., so that the resistive capacitive loading (RC The loading) is larger, which is not conducive to general application.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the touch panel includes a substrate, peripheral leads, and touch sensing electrodes. The substrate has a display area and a peripheral area, and has a folding area and a non-folding area. The peripheral leads are arranged in the peripheral area of the substrate. The touch sensing electrode is arranged in the display area of the substrate and has a first part in the folding area and a second part in the non-folding area. The touch sensing electrode is electrically connected to the peripheral leads, and has a grid pattern formed by interlacing a plurality of thin lines. The peripheral lead and the touch sensing electrode each include a plurality of conductive nanostructures and a film layer added to the conductive nanostructure, and the interface between the conductive nanostructure and the film in the second part of the peripheral lead and the touch sensing electrode is essentially It has a covering structure.

In some embodiments, the coating structure includes a plating layer, and the plating layer completely covers the interface between the conductive nanostructure and the film layer.

In some embodiments, a film layer is filled between adjacent conductive nanostructures, and the film layer does not have a separate covering structure.

In some embodiments, the conductive nanostructure may include a metal nanowire, and the coating structure completely covers the interface between the metal nanowire and the film layer, and forms a uniform coating on the interface between the metal nanowire and the film layer Floor.

In some embodiments, the covering structure is a layered structure made of a conductive material, an island-shaped protrusion structure, a dot-shaped protrusion structure, or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the conductive material includes alloys of silver, gold, copper, nickel, platinum, iridium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, or combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, the covering structure is a single-layer structure made of a single metal material or alloy material, or a two-layer or multi-layer structure made of two or more metal materials or alloys.

In some embodiments, the cladding structure is an electroless copper plating layer, an electroplating copper layer, an electroless copper-nickel plating layer, an electroless copper-silver plating layer, or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the conductive nanostructure and the film layer are located in the first thin line.

In some embodiments, the conductive nanostructure, the film layer, and the coating structure are located in the first thin line of the second part of the first touch sensing electrode.

In some embodiments, there is a boundary between the folded area and the non-folded area, and the line width of the first thin line across the boundary gradually increases from being far from the boundary to close to the boundary.

In some embodiments, the first thin line crossing the boundary has a first part far away from the boundary and a second part close to the boundary. The line width of the first part is between 1 μm and 5 μm, and the line width of the second part is between Between 5 microns and 30 microns.

In some embodiments, there is a boundary between the display area and the peripheral area in the folding area, and the line width of the first thin line immediately adjacent to the boundary gradually increases from being far from the boundary to close to the boundary.

In some embodiments, the first thin line immediately adjacent to the boundary has a first part far away from the boundary and a second part close to the boundary. The line width of the first part is between 1 μm and 5 μm, and the line width of the second part is between Between 5 microns and 30 microns.

In some embodiments, the substrate has an opposite first surface and On the second surface, the first touch sensing electrode is disposed on the first surface of the substrate, and the touch panel further includes a second touch sensing electrode disposed on the second surface of the substrate and the display area, wherein the second touch sensing electrode has A grid-like pattern formed by staggering a plurality of second thin lines.

In some embodiments, the second touch sensing electrode has a first part located in the folding area and a second part located in the non-folding area, and the second touch sensing electrode includes a conductive nanostructure and a film layer applied to the conductive nanostructure , And the interface between the conductive nanostructure and the film layer in the second part of the second touch sensing electrode substantially has a coating structure.

In some embodiments, the grid-like pattern formed by staggering the first thin lines and the grid-like pattern formed by staggering the second thin lines do not completely overlap.

According to other embodiments of the present disclosure, the device includes the aforementioned touch panel.

In some embodiments, the device may include a display, a portable phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a car device, a notebook computer, or a polarizer.

According to the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure, since in the touch panel of the present disclosure, the peripheral leads located in the peripheral area and the touch sensing electrodes located in the display area are formed by modified metal nanowires, it is effective Reduce the surface resistance of the touch panel to increase the conductivity of the touch panel, and reduce the resistive capacitive loading (RC loading) of the touch panel. Furthermore, since the covering structure does not exist in the folding area, the bendability of the touch panel can be maintained well. On the other hand, because the touch sensing electrode in the display area has a The wrong grid-like pattern can prevent the modified metal nanowires from affecting the light transmittance of the display area, so that the display area of the touch panel has good optical characteristics. In addition, because in the manufacturing process of the touch panel, the peripheral leads and the touch sensing electrode can be manufactured in the same manufacturing process through the steps of deposition and patterning, so the step of lap and the need for lap can be omitted The occupied space further reduces the width of the peripheral area of the touch panel to meet the narrow frame requirements of the display.

100, 100a, 100b, 100c: touch panel

110: substrate

120: Metal nanowire layer

122: Metal Nanowire

130: Membrane

140: Cover structure

150: peripheral lead

170: Touch sensing electrode

172: The first touch sensing electrode

174: second touch sensing electrode

180: non-conductive area

190: protective layer

220: composite structure

PA: Surrounding area

VA: Display area

BR: folding area

NR: non-folding area

L: thin line

L1: Part One

L2: Part Two

W1, W11, W12, W2: line width

X1, X2: line spacing

B1, B2: boundary

D1: First direction

D2: second direction

R1, R2: area

2B-2B, 5B-5B: line segment

In order to make the above and other objectives, features, advantages and embodiments of the present disclosure more comprehensible, the description of the accompanying drawings is as follows: Figures 1A to 1C show the metal nanometers according to some embodiments of the present disclosure The cross-sectional schematic diagram of the method of wire modification in different steps; FIG. 2A is a schematic top view of a touch panel according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 2B is a schematic view of FIG. 2A according to some embodiments of the present disclosure The cross-sectional schematic diagram of the panel taken along the line 2B-2B; FIG. 2C is a partial enlarged schematic diagram of the area R1 of the touch panel in FIG. 2A according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 2D is a schematic view of some embodiments according to the present disclosure Fig. 2A is a partial enlarged schematic view of the area R2 of the touch panel; Figs. 3A to 3D show schematic cross-sectional views of different steps in the manufacturing method of the touch panel according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Fig. 4 shows The present disclosure discloses cross-sections of touch panels in other embodiments Schematic diagram; Figure 5A shows a schematic top view of a touch panel according to other embodiments of the present disclosure; and Figure 5B shows a cut along the line 5B-5B of the touch panel of Figure 5A according to some embodiments of the present disclosure Schematic cross-section.

Hereinafter, a plurality of implementation manners of the present disclosure will be disclosed in diagrams. For the sake of clarity, many practical details will be described in the following description. However, it should be understood that these practical details should not be used to limit this disclosure. That is to say, in some implementations of this disclosure, these practical details are unnecessary, and therefore should not be used to limit this disclosure. In addition, in order to simplify the drawings, some conventionally used structures and elements will be shown in a simple schematic manner in the drawings. In addition, for the convenience of readers, the size of each element in the drawings is not drawn according to actual scale.

In addition, relative terms such as "lower" or "bottom" and "upper" or "top" can be used herein to describe the relationship between one element and another element, as shown in the figure. It should be understood that relative terms are intended to include different orientations of the device other than those shown in the figures. For example, if the device in one figure is turned over, elements described as being on the "lower" side of other elements will be oriented on the "upper" side of other elements. Therefore, the exemplary term "lower" may include an orientation of "lower" and "upper", depending on the specific orientation of the drawing. Similarly, if the device in one figure is turned over, elements described as "below" or "below" other elements will be oriented as "above" other elements square". Thus, the exemplary terms "below" or "below" can include an orientation of above and below.

In addition, with regard to the "about", "approximately" or "approximately" used in this article, the error or range of the index value is generally within 20%, preferably within 10%, more preferably It is within 5%. If there is no clear explanation in the text, the values mentioned are regarded as approximate values, that is, they have the error or range indicated by "about", "approximately" or "approximately".

It should be understood that the "conductive nanostructure" used in this article generally refers to a layer or film composed of a nanostructure, the sheet resistance of which may be less than about 500 ohms/square, preferably Less than about 200 ohms/square, and more preferably less than about 100 ohms/square; and the above-mentioned "nanostructure" generally refers to a structure with nanometer size, such as having at least one directional dimension (such as wire diameter, length, The width or thickness) is a nano-level linear structure, columnar structure, sheet structure, grid structure, tubular structure, or a combination thereof.

The present disclosure provides a method for modifying a conductive nanostructure (such as a metal nanowire), and a touch panel and a device manufactured by using the modified conductive nanostructure. For the sake of clarity and convenience, in this article, the modification method of conductive nanostructures will be described first, and metal nanowires will be taken as an example.

1A to 1C are schematic cross-sectional diagrams of different steps of a metal nanowire modification method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Please refer to FIG. 1A. First, a substrate 110 is provided, and a metal nanowire 122 is coated on the surface of the substrate 110 to form a metal nanowire layer 120. The metal nanowire layer 120 may be, for example, but not limited to, a silver nanowire layer, a gold nanowire layer, or a copper nanowire layer. In some embodiments, the dispersion or slurry containing the metal nanowire 122 can be coated on the substrate 110, and cured/dried, so that the metal nanowire 122 is attached to the surface of the substrate 110 and then formed into The metal nanowire layer 120 is disposed on the substrate 110. After the above curing/drying step, the solvent and other substances in the dispersion or slurry will volatilize, and the metal nanowire 122 can be randomly distributed on the surface of the substrate 110; or preferably, the metal nanowire 122 can be solidified. The metal nanowire layer 120 is formed on the surface of the substrate 110 without falling off, and the metal nanowires 122 in the metal nanowire layer 120 can contact each other to provide a continuous current path, thereby forming a conductive network (conductive network), that is, the metal nanowires 122 are in contact with each other at the crossing (overlapping) position to form a path for transferring electrons. Taking silver nanowires as an example, one silver nanowire and another silver nanowire will be in direct contact at the intersection, so a low-resistance path for electrons can be formed. In some embodiments, the sheet resistance when an area or a configuration of greater than about ¹⁰⁸ ohms / square can be identified as electrically insulating, preferably greater than about ¹⁰⁴ ohms / square to about 3000 ohms / square, About 1000 ohms/square, about 350 ohms/square, or about 100 ohms/square. In some embodiments, the sheet resistance of the silver nanowire layer formed by the silver nanowire is less than about 100 ohms/square.

Please refer to FIG. 1B. Next, a film layer 130 is provided to cover the metal nanowire 122 and the degree of curing of the film layer 130 is controlled. In some embodiments, a suitable polymer can be coated on the metal nanowire 122 so that the polymer with a fluid state/property can penetrate into the metal nanowire 122 A filler is formed in between, so that the metal nanowire 122 is embedded in the film layer 130 to form a composite structure 220. On the other hand, the polymer coating or curing conditions can be controlled (for example, temperature and/or photo-curing parameters) to make the polymer appear in a pre-cured or incompletely cured state, or to further make the film layer 130 have different degrees of curing. For example, the degree of curing of the film layer 130 in the lower region (that is, the region close to the substrate 110) can be adjusted to be greater than the degree of curing of the film 130 in the upper region (that is, the region away from the substrate 110), and the upper region exhibits the aforementioned preset Cured or incompletely cured state. In other words, in this step, the polymer is coated with an additional film layer 130 on the metal nanowire 122, and the metal nanowire 122 is embedded in the film layer 130 in a pre-cured or incompletely cured state to form Composite structure 220.

In some embodiments, the film layer 130 may include an insulating material, for example. For example, the insulating material can be a non-conductive resin or other organic materials, such as but not limited to polyacrylate, epoxy resin, polyurethane, polysiloxane, polysiloxane, poly(silicon-acrylic) , Polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl butyral, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), poly(styrene sulfonic acid) ) Or ceramic materials. In some embodiments, the film layer 130 may be formed by spin coating, spray coating, printing, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the thickness of the film layer 130 can be between about 20 nanometers to about 10 microns, about 50 nanometers to about 200 nanometers, or about 30 to about 100 nanometers, for example, the film layer The thickness of 130 may be, for example, about 90 nanometers or about 100 nanometers. It should be understood that, in order to express the content of this disclosure concisely and clearly, Figure 1B simply draws the metal nanowire layer 120 and the film layer 130 as an integral structural layer, but The present disclosure is not limited to this, and the metal nanowire layer 120 and the film layer 130 may also constitute other types of structural layers (for example, a structure stacked one above the other).

In some embodiments, the method of controlling the degree of curing of the polymer may be to use curing conditions of different energy to make the film layer 130 reach a pre-cured or incompletely cured state. The degree of curing of the film layer can be judged by the change in the bonding of the film layer during curing, that is, the degree of curing of the film layer can be defined as the ratio of the bond strength of the film layer to the bond strength of the fully cured film layer ( In this embodiment, it is expressed as a percentage). For example, for the film material of a commercial product, originally it is necessary to use about 500mJ of light energy in a low-oxygen environment for about 4 minutes to achieve complete curing, but this embodiment uses about 500mJ of light energy in a low-oxygen environment. After irradiating for about 2 minutes, the bond strength measured by infrared spectroscopy is about 95% of the bond strength of the fully cured film, which represents the curing degree of the film at about 95% of the total cured amount. Therefore, it is also defined that the film layer obtained under this curing condition is a cured state of about 95% of the total curing amount.

In some embodiments, the film layer 130 can be controlled to have different curing states at different depths (ie, thicknesses). Specifically, gas can be introduced during the curing of the film layer 130, so that the gas concentration at the top and the bottom of the film layer 130 is different, and the curing reaction on the top of the film layer 130 causes the phenomenon of gas blocking curing, resulting in the film layer 130 The first layer area and the second layer area with different curing degrees. For example, the second layer area may be located at the bottom of the film layer 130 and be an area with a higher degree of curing, and the first layer area may be located on the top of the film layer 130 and be an area with a lower degree of curing. In some embodiments, the concentration of the gas (such as oxygen) introduced during curing can be controlled And/or the curing energy provided to make the film layer 130 have different curing states at different depths. In some embodiments, the gas concentration can be, for example, about 20%, about 10%, about 3%, or less than about 1%, and the curing energy can be selected according to the material of the film 130, for example, between about 250 mJ to about Ultraviolet light energy between 1000mJ. In some embodiments, the greater the gas concentration, the more significant the oxygen blocking and curing phenomenon that occurs on the top of the film layer 130, and the greater the thickness of the first layer region and the greater the thickness of the second layer region. small. For example, the concentration of the introduced gas corresponding to the thickness of the first layer region from large to small is about 20%, about 10%, about 3%, and less than about 1% in order. In some embodiments, when the oxygen concentration is about 20% and the curing energy is about 500mJ, the curing degree of the first layer area is about 60%, and its thickness is about 23.4 nanometers (that is, the About 12% of the total thickness of the layer 130); and the curing degree of the second layer region is between about 99% to about 100%, and its thickness is about 168.1 nanometers (that is, about 88%). In some embodiments, when the oxygen concentration is about 20% and the curing energy is about 1000mJ, the thickness of the first layer region is about 8.8nm (that is, about 5% of the total thickness of the film layer 130). ); And the thickness of the second layer region is about 195.9 nanometers (that is, about 95% of the total thickness of the film layer 130).

It is worth noting that the present disclosure focuses on the film 130 applied to the metal nanowire 122, and controls the curing degree or curing depth of the film 130 to make the coating structure 140 (not shown in Figure 1B, Please refer to Figure 1C for the specific structure.) It can grow along the surface of the metal nanowire 122 to be formed at the interface between the metal nanowire 122 and the film 130 (this part will be described below) Detailed description in the text). In the aforementioned coating step of the dispersion or slurry containing the metal nanowire 122, the dispersion or slurry may also contain polymers and similar compositions, but this is not the focus of this disclosure. In some embodiments, the degree of curing of the film layer 130 can be controlled at about 0%, about 30%, about 60%, about 75%, about 95%, about 98%, about 0% to about 95%, about 0%. To about 98%, about 95% to about 98%, about 60% to about 98%, or about 60% to about 75%. As mentioned above, the “pre-cured or incompletely cured” referred to in this disclosure can be defined as the bond strength of the film layer is different from the bond strength of the fully cured film layer, that is, the ratio of the two is not 100%. It falls within the scope of this disclosure.

Please refer to FIG. 1C. Then, a modification step is performed to form a metal nanowire layer 120 including a plurality of modified metal nanowires 122. In detail, after the modification, at least a part of the initial metal nanowire 122 will be modified to form an overlying structure 140 on the surface thereof, thereby forming a modified metal nanowire 122. It should be understood that in Figures 1B and 1C, different dots are used to represent the metal nanowire 122 before and after the modification, and the following figures will be used directly as shown in Figures 1B and 1C. The dots represent the metal nanowire 122 before and after modification. In some embodiments, the covering structure 140 may be formed by electroless plating/electrolysis, and the covering structure 140 may be, for example, a layered structure including a conductive material, an island-shaped protrusion structure, a dot-shaped protrusion structure, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the conductive material may include silver, gold, platinum, nickel, copper, iridium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, alloys including the foregoing materials, or alloys not including the foregoing materials. In some embodiments, the coverage rate of the coating structure 140 can account for the total surface of the metal nanowire 122 About 80% or more of the product, about 90% to about 95%, about 90% to about 99%, or about 90% to about 100%. It should be understood that when the covering rate of the covering structure 140 is 100%, it means that the surface of the initial metal nanowire 122 is not exposed at all. In some embodiments, the covering structure 140 may be a single layer structure made of a single conductive material, such as an electroless copper plating layer, an electroless copper layer, or an electroless copper-nickel alloy plating layer; or the covering structure 140 may also be made of For a two-layer or multi-layer structure made of two or more conductive materials, for example, an electroless copper plating layer is formed first, and then an electroless silver plating layer is formed.

In some embodiments, an electroless copper plating solution (including copper ion solution, chelating agent, alkali agent, reducing agent buffer, stabilizer, etc.) can be prepared, and the metal nanowire 122 and the film layer 130 can be immersed in the electroless copper plating solution in. The electroless copper plating solution can penetrate into the pre-cured or incompletely cured film layer 130, and use the capillary phenomenon to contact the surface of the metal nanowire 122. At the same time, the metal nanowire 122 can be used as a catalytic point or a nucleation point to facilitate copper. After precipitation, an electroless copper plating layer is deposited on the metal nanowire 122 to form the cladding structure 140. The covering structure 140 generally grows according to the initial shape of the metal nanowire 122 and forms a structure covering the metal nanowire 122 as the modification time increases. In contrast, there will be no copper precipitation in the composite structure 220 where there is no metal nanowire 122. That is to say, after good control, the coating structure 140 is formed on the metal nanowire 122 and the film layer 130. On the interface, the film layer 130 does not have a cladding structure 130 that does not touch the surface of the metal nanowire 122 but exists alone. Therefore, after the modification step, the metal nanowire 122 in the conductive network will be covered by the covering structure 140, and the covering structure 140 will be located on the metal nanowire 122 and the film 130 The formed interface. In other words, there is a covering structure 140 between the metal nanowire 122 and the film layer 130. The covering structure 140 and the metal nanowire 122 covered by it can be regarded as a whole, and the gap between the whole is still occupied by the material of the film layer 130.

In some embodiments, the film layer 130 and the electroless plating solution/electrolyte solution may be made of mutually matched materials. For example, a polymer that is not alkali-resistant may be used to make the film layer 130, and the electroless plating solution may be an alkaline solution. Therefore, in this step, in addition to using the to-be-cured or incompletely cured state of the aforementioned film layer 130, an electroless plating solution can also be used to attack (similar to etching) the pre-cured or incompletely cured film layer 130 to facilitate the aforementioned modification. step.

The principle of the modification step is explained below, but it is not used to limit the disclosure. In the initial stage when the metal nanowire 122 and the film layer 130 are immersed in the electroless plating solution/electrolytic solution, the solution will first attack the pre-cured or incompletely cured film layer 130. When the solution contacts the metal nanowire 122, the metal ions (such as The copper ion will start to grow with the metal nanowire 122 (such as silver nanowire) as a seed crystal, and grow as the aforementioned coating structure 140 on the surface of the metal nanowire 122 as the immersion time increases. On the other hand, the film layer 130 can be used as a control layer or a limiting layer in the above reaction process to limit the growth reaction of the coating structure 140 at the interface between the metal nanowire 122 and the film layer 130, so that the coating structure 140 It can grow in a controlled and uniform manner. In this way, the modified metal nanowire 122 of the present disclosure can have better consistency when sensing/transmitting signals.

In some embodiments, a curing step may be followed to complete curing of the film layer 130 using light, heat or other methods. Modified in the foregoing In the step, the covering structure 140 is formed on the surface of each metal nanowire 122, and covers the entire surface of each metal nanowire 122 and grows outward. In some embodiments, a highly conductive material may be used to make the covering structure 140, for example, copper is used as the material of the covering structure 140 to cover the surface of the silver nanowire, and the covering structure 140 is located on the silver nanowire and the film. The interface between layers 130. It is worth noting that although the conductivity of the silver metal material is higher than that of the copper metal material, the overall conductivity of the silver nanowire layer is lower due to factors such as the size of the silver nanowire and the contact state. (But the resistance is still low enough to transmit electrical signals), and after the modification step, the conductivity of the silver nanowire covered with the covering structure 140 (that is, the modified metal nanowire 122) will be higher than that of the unmodified silver nanowire. Quality nano silver wire. In other words, the modified metal nanowire layer 120 can form a low-resistance conductive layer, and compared to the unmodified metal nanowire layer 120, the surface of the modified metal nanowire layer 120 The resistance can be reduced by about 100 times to about 10,000 times. The above-mentioned conductive layer can be used to produce electrode structures with various uses, such as conductive substrates in the flexible field, wireless charging coils or antenna structures. Specifically, the electrode structure may include at least a metal nanowire 122 and a film 130 additionally coated on the metal nanowire 122, and at least a part or all of the surface of the metal nanowire 122 (ie, the metal nanowire 122 and the The interface corresponding to the film layer 130 has a covering structure 140 (ie, covering layer). By introducing the cladding layer, the conductivity of the metal nanowire layer 120 can be improved. In some embodiments, since the copper metal material grows along the surface of the metal nanowire 122 (that is, the interface between the metal nanowire 122 and the film layer 130), after plating, the copper observed The shape will be quite similar to the initial shape of the metal nanowire 122 (e.g. linear Structure), and the copper will grow uniformly to form an outer layer structure of similar size (for example, thickness).

The aforementioned method of the present disclosure can be applied to manufacture a touch panel, such as but not limited to a touch panel used with a display. More specifically, please refer to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. FIG. 2A shows a schematic top view of the touch panel 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and FIG. 2B shows a schematic diagram of some embodiments according to the present disclosure. A schematic cross-sectional view of the touch panel 100 in FIG. 2A taken along the line 2B-2B. In some embodiments, the touch panel 100 may include a substrate 110, peripheral leads 150 and touch sensing electrodes 170. The substrate 110 is configured to carry the peripheral leads 150 and the touch sensing electrodes 170, and may be, for example, a rigid transparent substrate or a flexible transparent substrate. In some embodiments, the material of the substrate 110 includes, but is not limited to, glass, acrylic, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polystyrene, polycarbonate, cycloolefin polymer, cycloolefin copolymer, polyterephthalic acid Transparent materials such as ethylene glycol ester, polyethylene naphthalate, colorless polyimide, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the surface of the substrate 110 may be subjected to a pre-treatment step, such as a surface modification process or an additional coating of an adhesive layer or a resin layer on the surface of the substrate 110 to improve the gap between the substrate 110 and the metal nanowire 122 The adhesion.

In some embodiments, if defined according to visibility, the substrate 110 may have a display area VA and a peripheral area PA, and the peripheral area PA is disposed on the side of the display area VA, where the display area VA is visible by the user The peripheral area PA refers to an area that cannot be seen by the user, and the boundary B2 is located at the junction of the display area VA and the peripheral area PA. Lift For example, the peripheral area PA may be arranged in a frame area around the display area VA (that is, covering the right, left, upper, and lower sides). For another example, the peripheral area PA may also be an L-shaped area provided on the left and lower sides of the display area VA. In some embodiments, if defined according to bendability, the substrate 110 has a folded area BR and a non-folded area NR, and the non-folded area NR can sandwich the folded area BR between them (for example, the upper and lower sides will fold The area BR is sandwiched therebetween), wherein the boundary B1 is located at the junction of the folded area BR and the non-folded area NR. The definition of the folding area BR here can be, for example, when the touch panel 100 is integrated into a flexible device, it corresponds to the bendable area defined by the design of the flexible device. In general, the area of the folded region BR is smaller than the area of the non-folded region NR. In some embodiments, the peripheral area PA and the display area VA each have a partial area that overlaps the folding area BR, and each has a partial area that overlaps the non-folding area NR.

In some embodiments, the touch sensing electrode 170 is approximately located in the display area VA, a part of the touch sensing electrode 170 is located in the folding area BR, and the other part of the touch sensing electrode 170 is located in the non-folding area NR. In some embodiments, the touch sensing electrodes 170 are arranged in a non-interlaced manner. For example, the touch sensing electrodes 170 may be elongated electrodes extending along the first direction D1, and a plurality of elongated electrodes may be arranged along the The second direction D2 is arranged equidistantly, wherein the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 are perpendicular to each other. However, the shape and arrangement of the touch sensing electrode 170 are not limited to this, and in other embodiments, the touch sensing electrode 170 may also have other appropriate shapes and arrangements. In some embodiments, the same strip electrode can span the folded region BR and the non-folded region NR (for example, Figure 2A The uppermost elongated electrode in the middle), completely located in the folded zone BR (e.g. the elongated electrode in the middle in Figure 2A) or completely located in the non-folded zone NR (e.g. the lowest elongated electrode in Figure 2A) Strip electrode). In some embodiments, the touch sensing electrode 170 adopts a single-layer configuration, and the touch panel 100 can obtain the touch position by detecting the change in the capacitance of each touch sensing electrode 170.

In some embodiments, the peripheral lead 150 is approximately located in the peripheral area PA, and the peripheral lead 150 and the touch sensing electrode 170 are in contact with each other approximately at the junction (boundary B2) of the display area VA and the peripheral area PA to be electrically connected to each other. An electron transfer path is formed across the display area VA and the peripheral area PA. In some embodiments, the peripheral lead 150 may be connected to an external controller for touch control or other signal transmission.

In some embodiments, the peripheral leads 150 and the touch sensing electrodes 170 located in the non-folding area NR are composed of modified metal nanowires 122 (herein referred to as "modified metal nanowires 122 "Including the metal nanowire 122 and the covering structure 140 covering the surface). In detail, the peripheral lead 150 and the touch sensing electrode 170 located in the non-folding area NR each include a metal nanowire 122 and a film 130 applied to the metal nanowire 122, and each metal nanowire 122 is connected to The interface of the film layer 130 substantially has a covering structure 140. Specifically, the aforementioned modified metal nanowire 122 and the film 130 applied to the modified metal nanowire 122 are patterned to form peripheral leads 150 and touch sensing electrodes located in the non-folding region NR 170. By forming the covering structure 140 at the interface between the metal nanowire 122 and the film layer 130, a modified The metal nanowire 122 is used to make the peripheral leads 150 of the touch panel 100 and the touch sensing electrodes 170 located in the non-folding area NR using the modified metal nanowire 122, which can effectively reduce the damage of the touch panel 100. The surface resistance improves the conductivity of the touch panel 100 and effectively reduces the resistive capacitive loading (RC loading) of the touch panel 100. In some embodiments, the resistive-capacitive load value of the touch sensing electrode 170 made of the modified metal nanowire 122 is compared with that of the unmodified metal nanowire 122 (that is, without coating). The resistive-capacitive load value of the touch sensing electrode 170 made of the metal nanowire 122) on the surface of the structure 140 is reduced by about 10% to about 50%.

In some embodiments, the touch sensing electrode 170 located in the folding area BR is composed of unmodified metal nanowire 122. In more detail, the touch sensing electrode 170 located in the folded region BR includes an initial metal nanowire 122 and a film 130 applied to the metal nanowire 122. Specifically, the unmodified metal nanowire 122 and the film 130 applied to the unmodified metal nanowire 122 are patterned to form the touch sensing electrode 170 in the folded region BR. It is worth noting that, because the unmodified metal nanowire 122 (such as silver nanowire) can have a better performance than the modified metal nanowire 122 (such as silver nanowire covered with copper metal material). Good bendability, so by using unmodified metal nanowire 122 to fabricate the touch sensing electrode 170 in the folding area BR, the touch panel 100 can maintain good bendability. On the other hand, although the touch sensing electrode 170 made of the modified metal nanowire 122 has a lower value than the touch sensing electrode 170 made of the unmodified metal nanowire 122 RC However, the touch sensing electrode 170 made of modified or unmodified metal nanowire 122 can have sufficient conductivity to transmit touch sensing signals.

In some embodiments, the touch sensing electrode 170 has a grid pattern formed by a plurality of thin lines L interlaced. In detail, in the non-folded area NR, the modified metal nanowire 122 and the film layer 130 applied to the modified metal nanowire 122 are patterned to form a staggered plurality of thin lines L The grid-like pattern formed is the electrode pattern of the touch sensing electrode 170; and in the folded area BR, the unmodified metal nanowire 122 and the unmodified metal nanowire The film layer 130 of the line 122 is patterned to form a grid-like pattern formed by interlacing a plurality of thin lines L, and the formed grid-like pattern is the electrode pattern of the touch sensing electrode 170. In other words, the modified metal nanowire 122 and the film 130 applied to the modified metal nanowire 122 exist in each thin line L of the touch sensing electrode 170 in the non-folded area NR; and The unmodified metal nanowire 122 and the film 130 applied to the unmodified metal nanowire 122 are present in each thin line L of the touch sensing electrode 170 in the folded region BR. When the same touch sensing electrode 170 crosses the boundary B1 of the folded region BR and the non-folded region NR, the thin line L that crosses the boundary B1 can have both the unmodified metal nanowire 122 and the modified metal nanowire Line 122. In more detail, when a metal nanowire 122 in the same thin line L crosses the boundary B1 between the folded region BR and the non-folded region NR, the metal nanowire 122 that crosses the boundary B1 may be partially Modification, that is, a part of the metal nanowire 122 can be covered with a covering structure 140 (that is, it is modified), and the other part is not covered with the covering structure 140 (that is, it is not modified).

It is worth noting that, since the modified metal nanowire 122 has the covering structure 140, it has a lower light transmittance (that is, the wavelength is about 400 nm to about 400 nm) than that of the unmodified metal nanowire 122. 700nm visible light transmittance) and high haze, and by patterning the touch sensing electrode 170 to form a grid pattern formed by a plurality of thin lines L interlaced, the modified metal nanometer can be avoided The line 122 affects the light transmittance and haze of the touch sensing electrode 170, so that the display area VA of the touch panel 100 can maintain good optical characteristics. Specifically, the touch sensing electrode 170 with a grid pattern of the present disclosure can make the display area VA of the touch panel 100 have a light transmittance greater than about 88%, which meets the needs of users. On the other hand, the touch sensing electrode 170 with a grid pattern of the present disclosure can make the display area VA of the touch panel 100 have a haze less than about 3.0, and preferably less than about 2.5, about 2.0, or about 1.5. .

In some embodiments, the line width W1 of each thin line L is between about 1 μm and about 30 μm, so as to provide a better light transmittance of the touch sensing electrode 170 and provide convenience for patterning. In detail, when the line width W1 of each thin line L is greater than about 30 microns, the touch sensing electrode 170 may have poor light transmittance, thereby affecting the optical characteristics of the display area VA of the touch panel 100; When the line width W1 of each thin line L is less than about 1 micrometer, the difficulty of patterning may be increased, which may cause inconvenience in the manufacturing process. In some embodiments, the distance X1 between adjacent thin lines L (ie, the line distance X1) is between about 1 micron and about 10 microns In order to provide the touch sensing electrode 170 with better light transmittance and conductivity. In detail, when the line distance X1 is greater than about 10 microns, the arrangement of the grid-like patterns may be too sparse, resulting in insufficient electron transfer paths, and thus the surface resistance of the touch sensing electrode 170 is too large and the conductivity is too low; When the line pitch X1 is less than about 1 micron, the grid-like patterns may be arranged too tightly, resulting in too low light transmittance of the touch sensing electrode 170, which in turn affects the optical characteristics of the display area VA of the touch panel 100 . In some embodiments, the thin lines L may be arranged in an equidistant manner, that is, each grid may have the same size (for example, length and width). In some embodiments, the shape of each grid can be, for example, a rectangle, a square, a diamond, or other suitable shapes. With the above arrangement, the touch sensing electrode 170 of the present disclosure has not only good light transmittance but also good conductivity. Specifically, the surface resistance of the touch sensing electrode 170 with a grid pattern made of the modified metal nanowire 122 in the non-folded region NR is from about 8 ohms/square to about 42 ohms/ The surface resistance of the touch sensing electrode 170 with a grid pattern made of unmodified metal nanowires 122 in the folded region BR can be further reduced by about 20% to about 30%.

In some embodiments, the thin line L that crosses the boundary B1 of the folded region BR and the non-folded region NR in the touch sensing electrode 170 may have an uneven line width W1. In detail, please refer to FIG. 2C, which illustrates a partial enlarged schematic view of the area R1 of the touch panel 100 in FIG. 2A according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2C, the thin line L that straddles the boundary B1 of the folded region BR and the non-folded region NR has a first line farther from the boundary B1 A part L1 and a second part L2 closer to the boundary B1, wherein the first part L1 is connected to the second part L2, and the line width W11 of the first part L1 is smaller than the line width W12 of the second part L2. In more detail, the line width W11 of the first part L1 is between 1 μm and 5 μm, and the line width W12 of the second part L2 is between 5 μm and 30 μm. Since the folding area BR is provided with an unmodified metal nanowire 122, and the non-folding area NR is provided with a modified metal resistant rice wire 122, the design of the uneven line width W1 of the thin line L can avoid the line (thin line). L) An open circuit occurs between the folded area BR and the non-folded area NR after multiple bendings, and at the same time, it is ensured that the display area VA has good optical characteristics (such as high light transmittance). In some embodiments, the line width W1 of the thin line L across the boundary B1 gradually increases and then gradually decreases at a fixed amplitude, that is, a linear gradual design is adopted. In more detail, the line width W1 of the thin line L across the boundary B1 increases from being far away from the boundary B1 to being close to the boundary B1 in the folded region BR, and decreases from being close to the boundary B1 to being far away from the boundary B1 in the non-folding region NR. The thin line L that crosses the boundary B1 has the largest line width W1 at the contact boundary B1. Since the line width W1 of the thin line L decreases (increases) by a fixed amplitude, it is possible to prevent the line from being disconnected due to the sudden decrease (sudden increase) of the line width W1. On the other hand, the thin line L that does not cross the boundary B1 may have a fixed line width W1 (as shown in FIG. 2A).

Please return to FIG. 2A first. In some embodiments, the thin line L in the touch sensing electrode 170 adjacent to the boundary B2 between the display area VA and the peripheral area PA may also have an uneven line width W1. For details, please refer to Figure 2D, which shows the touch of Figure 2A according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. A partial enlarged schematic diagram of the area R2 of the control panel 100. As shown in FIG. 2D, in the folding area BR, the thin line L immediately adjacent to the boundary B2 between the display area VA and the peripheral area PA has a first portion L1 farther from the boundary B2 and a second portion L2 closer to the boundary B2. A part L1 is connected to the second part L2, and the line width W11 of the first part L1 is smaller than the line width W12 of the second part L2. In more detail, the line width W11 of the first part L1 is between 1 μm and 5 μm, and the line width W12 of the second part L2 is between 5 μm and 30 μm. Since the display area VA located in the folding area BR is provided with an unmodified metal nanowire 122, and the peripheral area PA located in the folding area BR is provided with a modified metal resistant rice wire 122, through the uneven line width of the thin line L The design of W1 can prevent the circuit of the folding area BR from breaking between the display area VA and the peripheral area PA after multiple bends, and at the same time ensure that the display area VA has good optical characteristics (such as high light transmittance). In some embodiments, the line width W1 of the thin line L adjacent to the boundary B2 is gradually increased at a fixed amplitude, that is, a linear gradual design is adopted. In more detail, the line width W1 of the thin line L immediately adjacent to the boundary B2 increases in the display area VA from being far from the boundary B2 to close to the boundary B2, and extends to the boundary B2 to connect the peripheral circuit 150, so that the thin line L is in contact with the boundary B2 The location (that is, the location connecting the peripheral circuit 150) has the largest line width W1. Since the line width W1 of the thin line L decreases (increases) by a fixed amplitude, it is possible to prevent the line from being disconnected due to the sudden decrease (sudden increase) of the line width W1. On the other hand, the thin line L not adjacent to the boundary B2 may have a fixed line width W1.

Please go back to Figure 2A and Figure 2B, the line width W2 of the peripheral lead 150 is between about 8 microns and about 10 microns, so that the peripheral lead 150 has good conductivity and provides convenience for patterning. In detail, when the line width W2 of the peripheral lead 150 is less than about 8 μm, the sheet resistance of the peripheral lead 150 may be too large and the conductivity may be too low, and the difficulty of patterning may be increased, thereby causing inconvenience in the manufacturing process. In some embodiments, the line width W2 of the peripheral lead 150 may be designed to be the same as the line width W1 of a portion of the thin line L (the thin line L not adjacent to the boundary B1, B2) in the touch sensing electrode 170. In some embodiments, the distance X2 (ie, the line pitch X2) between adjacent peripheral leads 150 is between about 5 microns and about 20 microns, or preferably between 3 microns and about 20 microns, Therefore, the touch panel 100 of the present disclosure can reduce the frame size (such as the width of the peripheral area PA) by about 20% or more compared with the traditional touch panel, thereby achieving the narrow frame requirement of the display. Specifically, the width of the peripheral area PA of the touch panel 100 of the present disclosure may be less than about 2 mm. With the above arrangement, the peripheral lead 150 of the present disclosure has good conductivity. Specifically, the peripheral lead 150 of the present disclosure can make the surface resistance of the peripheral area PA of the touch panel 100 range from about 0.10 ohm/square to about 0.13 ohm/square, which is compared with that of unmodified metal. The surface resistance of the peripheral area PA of the touch panel formed by the rice noodle 122 is reduced by about 20% to about 50%.

Please refer to FIGS. 3A to 3D first, which illustrate cross-sectional schematic diagrams at different steps of the manufacturing method of the touch panel 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and the cross-sectional position is the same as that in FIG. 2B. The manufacturing method of the touch panel 100 includes step S10 to step S16, and step S10 to step S16 can be performed sequentially. In step S10, a peripheral area PA and a display area VA as well as a folding area BR and a non-folding area defined in advance are provided. The substrate 110 in the area NR, and an unmodified metal nanowire 122 is disposed on the substrate 110 to form a metal nanowire in the peripheral area PA and the display area VA (including the area in the folded area BR and the non-folded area NR)层120。 Layer 120. In step S12, the film layer 130 is disposed on the unmodified metal nanowire 122, so that the film layer 130 covers the unmodified metal nanowire 122, and the film layer 130 is in a pre-cured or incompletely cured state. In step S14, a patterning step is performed to form a patterned metal nanowire layer 120, wherein the metal nanowire layer 120 located in the peripheral area PA is patterned to form peripheral leads 150, and located in the display area VA (including The metal nanowire layer 120 located in the folded area BR and the non-folded area NR) is patterned to form the touch sensing electrode 170. In step S16, a modification step is performed to mold the cladding structure 140 on a part of the metal nanowire 122, so that the peripheral leads 150 located in the peripheral area PA and the touch sensing electrodes 170 located in the non-folding area NR are formed by The modified metal nanowire 122 is composed of metal nanowires 122, and the touch sensing electrode 170 located in the folding area BR is composed of unmodified metal nanowire 122. In the following, the above steps will be described in more detail.

Please refer to Figure 3A first, a metal nanowire layer 120 (such as a silver nanowire layer, a gold nanowire layer, or a copper nanowire layer) containing at least a metal nanowire 122 is applied to the peripheral area of the substrate 110 PA and display area VA (including areas located in folding area BR and non-folding area NR). In some embodiments, the dispersion or slurry with the metal nanowire 122 may be formed on the substrate 110 by coating, and cured/dried to make the metal nanowire 122 adhere to the surface of the substrate 110 , And then molded into the substrate 110 on the metal nanowire layer 120. After the above curing/drying step, the solvent and other substances in the dispersion or slurry will volatilize, and the metal nanowire 122 can be randomly distributed on the surface of the substrate 110; or preferably, the metal nanowire 122 can be solidified. The metal nanowire layer 120 is formed on the surface of the substrate 110 without falling off, and the metal nanowires 122 in the metal nanowire layer 120 can contact each other to provide a continuous current path, thereby forming a conductive network . In other words, the metal nanowires 122 contact each other at the crossing position to form a path for transferring electrons. Taking silver nanowires as an example, one silver nanowire and another silver nanowire will form a direct contact at the crossing position (that is, the silver-silver contact interface), so low-resistance electron transfer can be formed The subsequent modification steps will not affect or change the low-resistance structure of the “silver-silver contact” mentioned above, and will coat the surface of the metal nanowire 122 with a high-conductivity cladding structure 140, so Can improve the electrical characteristics of the end product.

In some embodiments, the dispersion or slurry includes a solvent, so that the metal nanowire 122 is uniformly dispersed therein. Specifically, the solvent is, for example, water, alcohols, ketones, ethers, hydrocarbons, aromatic solvents (benzene, toluene, xylene, etc.), or any combination of the above. In some embodiments, the dispersion may further include additives, surfactants, and/or binders, so as to improve the compatibility between the metal nanowire 122 and the solvent and the stability of the metal nanowire 122 in the solvent. Specifically, the additives, surfactants and/or binders can be, for example, carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, hypromellose, fluorosurfactants, sulfosuccinate sulfonates, Sulfate, phosphate, disulfonate or a combination thereof. The dispersion or slurry containing the metal nanowire 122 can be formed on the surface of the substrate 110 in any manner, such as but not limited to Used in screen printing, nozzle coating or roller coating processes. In some embodiments, in some embodiments, a roll to roll process may be used to coat the dispersion or slurry including the metal nanowire 122 on the surface of the continuously supplied substrate 110.

It should be understood that the "metallic nanowire" used in this article is a collective noun, which refers to a collection of metal wires that include multiple metal elements, metal alloys or metal compounds (including metal oxides), and which contain The number of metal nanowires does not affect the scope of protection claimed in this disclosure. In some embodiments, the cross-sectional size (such as the diameter of the cross-section) of a single metal nanowire can be less than 500 nm, preferably less than 100 nm, and more preferably less than 50 nm. In some embodiments, the metal nanowire has a large aspect ratio (ie, length: diameter of the cross section). Specifically, the aspect ratio of the metal nanowire can be between 10 and 100,000. In more detail, the aspect ratio of the metal nanowire can be greater than 10, preferably greater than 50, and more preferably greater than 100. In addition, other terms such as silk, fiber, or tube also have the above-mentioned cross-sectional dimensions and aspect ratios, which are also covered by this disclosure.

In some embodiments, the metal nanowire 122 may be further subjected to post-processing to improve the contact characteristics of the metal nanowire 122 at the intersection (for example, increase the contact area), thereby increasing its conductivity. The post-treatment may include, but is not limited to, heating, plasma, corona discharge, ultraviolet light, ozone, or pressure, for example. Specifically, after curing/drying to form the metal nanowire layer 120, a roller may be used to apply pressure thereon. In some embodiments, one or more rollers may be used to apply pressure to the metal nanowire layer 120 force. In some embodiments, the applied pressure may be between about 50 psi and about 3400 psi, preferably between about 100 psi and about 1000 psi, between about 200 psi and about 800 psi, or between about 300 psi and about 500 psi. . In some embodiments, the metal nanowire 122 may be subjected to the post-processing of the heating and pressurizing steps at the same time. For example, a pressure of about 10psi to about 500psi (or preferably a pressure of about 40psi to about 100psi) can be applied through the roller, and the roller can be heated to about 70°C to about 200°C (or preferably about 100°C) at the same time. To about 175°C) to increase the conductivity of the metal nanowire 122. In some embodiments, the metal nanowire 122 may be exposed to a reducing agent for post-treatment. For example, the metal nanowire 122 composed of silver nanowires may preferably be exposed to a silver reducing agent for post-treatment. In some embodiments, the silver reducing agent may include a borohydride such as sodium borohydride, a boron nitrogen compound such as dimethylaminoborane, or a gas reducing agent such as hydrogen. In some embodiments, the exposure time may be between about 10 seconds and about 30 minutes, preferably between about 1 minute and about 10 minutes. Through the above-mentioned post-processing steps, the contact strength or area of the metal nanowire 122 at the intersection can be strengthened, thereby ensuring that the contact surface of the metal nanowire 122 at the intersection is not affected by the modification treatment.

Next, referring to FIG. 3B, the film layer 130 is disposed on the unmodified metal nanowire 122 so that the film layer 130 covers the unmodified metal nanowire 122. In some embodiments, the polymer in the film layer 130 after coating can penetrate between the metal nanowires 122 to form a filler, and the metal nanowire 122 is embedded in the film layer 130 to form a composite structure 220. In other words, the unmodified metal nanowire 122 will be embedded in the film 130 to form Composite structure 220. In some embodiments, the film layer 130 may include an insulating material, such as a non-conductive resin or other organic materials. In some embodiments, the film layer 130 may be formed by spin coating, spraying, printing, or the like. In some embodiments, the thickness of the film layer 130 may be between about 20 nanometers to about 10 micrometers, about 50 nanometers to about 200 nanometers, or about 30 to about 100 nanometers. In order to effectively perform the subsequent modification steps, the polymer (ie, the film layer 130) will be in a pre-cured or incompletely cured state. For details, please refer to the foregoing description.

Subsequently, referring to FIG. 3C, a patterning step is performed, so that the composite structure 220 located in the peripheral area PA and the display area VA can be patterned to form a conductive structure located in the peripheral area PA and the display area VA. In some embodiments, the patterned composite structure 220 fabricated in the peripheral area PA can form the peripheral leads 150, and the patterned composite structure 220 fabricated in the display area VA can form the touch sensing electrode 170, and The peripheral lead 150 and the touch sensing electrode 170 can be electrically connected to each other for signal transmission between the peripheral area PA and the display area VA. In other words, the peripheral leads 150 and the touch sensing electrodes 170 can be formed by patterning the composite structure 220 of the same layer. In some embodiments, the composite structure 220 located in the display area VA may be patterned into a grid-like pattern with a plurality of thin lines L interlaced, so that the display area VA has good light transmittance. After the patterning step, the peripheral lead 150 and the touch sensing electrode 170 may at least include a metal nanowire layer 120 formed of an unmodified metal nanowire 122.

In some embodiments, the composite structure layer 220 may be patterned by etching. In some embodiments, the composite structure 220 located in the peripheral area PA and the display area VA can be etched at the same time, and an etching mask (such as photoresist) can be used to fabricate the peripheral area PA and the display area VA at one time in the same process A composite structure 220 with a pattern is produced. In some embodiments, when the metal nanowire layer 120 in the composite structure 220 is a silver nanowire layer, the etching solution may select a component that can etch silver. For example, the main component of the etching solution may be H ₃ PO ₄ (ratio It is about 55% to about 70%) and HNO ₃ (the ratio is about 5% to about 15%) to remove the silver metal material in the same process. In other embodiments, the main component of the etching solution may be ferric chloride/nitric acid or phosphoric acid/hydrogen peroxide.

Next, referring to Figure 3D, perform a modification step to form a metal nanowire layer 120 composed of a plurality of modified metal nanowires 122 in the peripheral area PA and the display area VA located in the non-folding area NR . The modification step may use photoresist, peelable glue or a similar material layer to cover the display area VA in the folding area BR to shield the metal nanowire layer 120 in the display area VA of the folding area BR, so that the modification step is only for The metal nanowire layer 120 in the peripheral area PA and the non-folded area NR is performed. In detail, after the modification step, at least a part of the metal nanowire 122 in the metal nanowire layer 120 in the peripheral area PA and the non-folding area NR is modified to form a covering structure 140 on the surface thereof, and then The modified metal nanowire 122 is formed. In some embodiments, the coating structure 140 can be formed by electroless plating, that is, the electroless plating solution can be used to penetrate into the pre-cured or incompletely cured film layer 130, so that the reactive metal ions in the electroless plating solution can be borrowed Precipitating on the surface of the metal nanowire 122 by oxidation-reduction reaction to form a coating structure 140. The covering structure 140 may be a layered structure made of conductive materials, an island-like protrusion structure, a dot-like protrusion structure, or a combination thereof; or the covering structure 140 may be a single-layer or multi-layer structure made of a single material or multiple materials ; Or the covering structure 140 may be a single-layer or multi-layer structure made of alloyed materials.

It is worth noting that since the modification step is performed along the surface of the metal nanowire 122, the shape of the covering structure 140 will grow substantially in accordance with the shape of the metal nanowire 122. In the modification step, the growth conditions of the coating structure 140 (such as the electroless plating time and/or the chemical plating solution component concentration) can be controlled so that the coating structure 140 does not grow excessively, but only coats the metal nanowire 122 s surface. In addition, as mentioned above, the pre-cured or incompletely cured film 130 can also play a role of limiting and controlling. In this way, the covering structure 140 formed through the modification step will not separate/grow in the film layer 130 without contacting the metal nanowire 122, and will be formed on the surface of the metal nanowire 122 and Between the film layers 130. In some embodiments, the film layer 130 is still filled between adjacent metal nanowires 122. On the other hand, the coating structure 140 formed by electroless plating/electrolytic plating has a high density, which is comparable to the size of the fine line L of the peripheral leads 150 and the touch sensing electrode 170 (for example, a line width of about 10 microns). The defect size of the covering structure 140 is about 0.01 to about 0.001 times the size of the thin line L of the peripheral lead 150 and the touch sensing electrode 170. Therefore, even if the covering structure 140 is defective, the peripheral lead 150 and the touch sensing electrode will not be caused 170 A disconnection problem occurred. In some embodiments, a curing step may be further included after the modification step, so that the pre-cured or incompletely cured film layer 130 is completely cured. State.

After the above steps, the touch panel 100 as shown in FIG. 2A can be formed. In general, the peripheral lead 150 located in the peripheral area PA may at least include the metal nanowire layer 120 formed by the modified metal nanowire 122, and the touch sensing electrode 170 located in the non-folding area NR may also at least The metal nanowire layer 120 includes the metal nanowire layer 120 formed by the modified metal nanowire 122, that is, the peripheral lead 150 and the metal nanowire 122 in the touch sensing electrode 170 located in the non-folding area NR are all covered with a film The covering structure 140, wherein the covering structure 140 can have the same or similar structural appearance as the metal nanowire 122, and a film layer 130 is filled between adjacent metal nanowires 122.

Please go back to Figure 2A and Figure 2B. In some embodiments, there may be a non-conductive area 180 between adjacent peripheral leads 150 in the peripheral area PA and between adjacent touch sensing electrodes 170 in the display area VA to electrically block adjacent ones. The peripheral lead 150 and the adjacent touch sensing electrode 170. In some embodiments, the non-conductive area 180 may be substantially a gap. In some embodiments, the above-mentioned etching method may be used to form the gaps between the peripheral leads 150 and between the touch sensing electrodes 170.

In some embodiments, the touch panel may further include a protective layer. Specifically, please refer to FIG. 4, which shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the touch panel 100a according to other embodiments of the present disclosure, and the cross-sectional position is the same as that of FIG. 2B. The touch panel 100a includes a protective layer 190, and the material of the protective layer 190 can refer to the material of the film layer 130 described above. in In some embodiments, the protective layer 190 covers the touch panel 100 entirely, that is, the protective layer 190 covers the peripheral leads 150 and the touch sensing electrodes 170. The protective layer 190 can further be filled in the non-conductive area 180 between adjacent peripheral leads 150 to electrically isolate the adjacent peripheral leads 150; or the protective layer 190 can be filled between adjacent touch sensing electrodes 170 The non-conductive area 180 between the adjacent touch sensing electrodes 170 is electrically isolated.

FIG. 5A is a schematic top view of a touch panel 100b according to other embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 5B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the touch panel 100b in FIG. 5A according to some embodiments of the present disclosure taken along the line 5B-5B. Please refer to FIGS. 5A and 5B at the same time. The touch panel 100b is a double-sided single-layer touch panel 100b, and for clarity and convenience of description, in the embodiments of FIGS. 5A and 5B, The first touch sensing electrode 172 and the second touch sensing electrode 174 are used to illustrate the configuration of the touch sensing electrode. The first touch sensing electrode 172 is disposed on the first surface (for example, the upper surface) of the substrate 110, and the second touch sensing electrode 174 is disposed on the second surface (for example, the lower surface) of the substrate 110, so that the first touch sensing The electrode 172 and the second touch sensing electrode 174 are electrically insulated from each other. In some embodiments, the first touch sensing electrode 172 is a plurality of elongated electrodes extending along the second direction D2, and the plurality of elongated electrodes may be arranged equidistantly along the first direction D1, and the second The touch sensing electrode 174 is a plurality of elongated electrodes extending along the first direction D1, and the plurality of elongated electrodes can be arranged equidistantly along the second direction D2, where the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 are mutually vertical. In other words, the first touch sensing electrode 172 and the second touch sensing electrode The extension directions of the poles 174 are different and mutually staggered. The first touch sensing electrode 172 and the second touch sensing electrode 174 can respectively transmit control signals and receive touch sensing signals. In this way, the touch position can be obtained by detecting a signal change (such as a capacitance change) between the first touch sensing electrode 172 and the second touch sensing electrode 174.

In some embodiments, the first touch sensing electrode 172 and the second touch sensing electrode 174 each have a grid-like pattern formed by interlacing a plurality of thin lines L, and each includes a modified metal nanowire 122 The formed metal nanowire layer 120. As mentioned above, the modified and unmodified metal nanowires 122 and the film layer 130 applied to the modified and unmodified metal nanowires 122 are patterned to form a plurality of thin lines L interlaced The grid-like pattern formed is the electrode pattern of the first touch sensing electrode 172 and the second touch sensing electrode 174. In some embodiments, the thin lines L in the first touch sensing electrode 172 and the thin lines L in the second touch sensing electrode 174 do not completely overlap each other. Specifically, when viewed from the top view angle (ie, the viewing angle in Figure 5A), the intersection of the two thin lines L in the second touch sensing electrode 174 can be located in the first touch sensing electrode 172 by the thin line L. The exact center of the grid formed; and oppositely, the intersection of the two thin lines L in the first touch sensing electrode 172 can also be located at the exact center of the grid formed by the thin lines L in the second touch sensing electrode 174 . However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the fine lines L in the first touch sensing electrode 172 and the fine lines L in the second touch sensing electrode 174 can also completely overlap. The first touch sensing electrode 172 is electrically connected to its corresponding peripheral lead 150, and the second touch sensing electrode 174 is also The corresponding peripheral lead 150 is electrically connected. As in the foregoing embodiments, the peripheral lead 150, the first touch sensing electrode 172 in the non-folding area NR, and the second touch sensing electrode 174 in the non-folding area NR all include modified metal nanowires 122 and The film layer 130; and the first touch sensing electrode 172 located in the folding area BR and the second touch sensing electrode 174 located in the folding area BR both include the unmodified metal nanowire 122 and the film layer 130. In other words, the peripheral leads 150, the first touch sensing electrode 172 located in the non-folding area NR, and the second touch sensing electrode 174 located in the non-folding area NR can all be formed by forming the covering structure 140 on the metal nanometer according to the aforementioned method. The surface of the line 122. On the other hand, the line width W1 and line spacing X1 of the respective thin lines L in the first touch sensing electrode 172 and the second touch sensing electrode 174 and the line width W2 and line spacing X2 of the peripheral lead 150 can refer to the previous description. I won't repeat them here.

The manufacturing method of the double-sided single-layer touch panel 100b shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B includes step S30 to step S36. In step S30, a substrate 110 having a predefined peripheral area PA and a display area VA, a folding area BR and a non-folding area NR is provided, and unmodified metal nanowires 122 are arranged on two opposite surfaces of the substrate 110 to A metal nanowire layer 120 is respectively formed on the peripheral area PA and the display area VA (including the area located in the folded area BR and the non-folded area NR) on the two opposite surfaces of the substrate 110. In step S32, the film layer 130 is disposed on the unmodified metal nanowire 122, so that the film layer 130 covers the unmodified metal nanowire 122 on opposite surfaces of the substrate 110, and the film layer 130 is pre-cured Or incompletely cured state. In step S34, a step of double-sided patterning is performed to form a A patterned metal nanowire layer 120, in which the metal nanowire layer 120 located in the peripheral area PA of the two opposite surfaces of the substrate 110 is patterned to form peripheral leads 150, and the display area VA located on the two opposite surfaces of the substrate 110 The metal nanowire layer 120 (including areas located in the folded region BR and the non-folded region NR) is patterned to form the touch sensing electrode 170. In step S36, a double-sided modification step is performed to mold the cladding structure 140 on the metal nanowire 122 on the opposite two surfaces of the substrate 110 so as to be located at the periphery of the peripheral area PA on the opposite two surfaces of the substrate 110 The lead 150 and the touch sensing electrode 170 in the non-folding area NR are made of modified metal nanowire 122, and the touch sensing electrode 170 in the folding area BR is made of the metal nanowire 122 before modification. Constituted. It should be understood that the manufacturing method of the double-sided single-layer touch panel 100b can refer to the manufacturing method of the single-sided touch panel 100 described above, and will not be repeated here.

The metal nanowire modification method disclosed in the present disclosure can also be applied to fabricating sensing electrodes that do not need to consider light transmittance, such as but not limited to touch panels of notebook computers, antenna structures, and wireless charging coils. In some embodiments, the sensing electrode can be connected to a trace, and then connected to an external circuit to transmit a signal. In some embodiments, the traces can be equivalent to the peripheral leads described in the foregoing, and are also formed of modified metal nanowires.

The touch panel of the present disclosure can be assembled with other electronic devices, such as a display with touch function. For example, the substrate can be bonded to a display element (such as a liquid crystal display element or an organic light-emitting diode display element), and optical glue or other adhesives can be used between the two to bond, and the touch sensing electrode is also The optical glue can be used for bonding with the outer cover layer (such as protective glass). this The disclosed touch panel and antenna can be applied to electronic devices such as portable phones, tablet computers and notebook computers, and can also be applied to flexible products. The touch panel of the disclosure can also be applied to a polarizer. The electrode disclosed in the present disclosure can be applied to wearable devices (such as watches, glasses, smart clothes, smart shoes, etc.) and automotive devices (such as dashboards, driving recorders, car rearview mirrors and windows, etc.).

According to the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure, in the touch panel of the present disclosure, the peripheral leads located in the peripheral area and the touch sensing electrodes located in the display area are formed by modified metal nanowires, which is effective The surface resistance of the touch panel is reduced to improve the conductivity of the touch panel, and the resistance-capacitive load value of the touch panel can be reduced. Furthermore, since the covering structure does not exist in the display area located in the folding area, the bendability of the touch panel can be maintained well. On the other hand, since the touch sensing electrode in the display area has a grid-like pattern formed by interlacing multiple thin lines, it can prevent the modified metal nanowires from affecting the light transmittance of the display area, thereby making the touch The display area of the panel has good optical characteristics. In addition, since in the manufacturing process of the touch panel, the peripheral leads and the touch sensing electrode can be manufactured through the steps of deposition and patterning in the same manufacturing process, so the lap step and lap tolerance can be omitted. In turn, the width of the peripheral area of the touch panel is reduced to meet the narrow bezel requirement of the display.

Although this disclosure has been disclosed in the above implementation manner, it is not intended to limit this disclosure. Anyone who is familiar with this technique can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is protected The scope shall be subject to those defined in the attached patent scope.

100: Touch panel

110: substrate

150: peripheral lead

170: Touch sensing electrode

PA: Surrounding area

VA: Display area

BR: folding area

NR: non-folding area

L: thin line

D1: First direction

D2: second direction

R1, R2: area

B1, B2: boundary

2B-2B: Line segment

Claims (17)

A touch panel includes: a substrate with a display area and a peripheral area, and has a folding area and a non-folding area; a peripheral lead set in the peripheral area of the substrate; and a first touch sensing electrode , Disposed in the display area of the substrate, and having a first portion located in the folding area and a second portion located in the non-folding area, wherein the first touch sensing electrode is electrically connected to the peripheral lead, and has a plurality of A grid-like pattern formed by interlacing first thin lines, wherein the peripheral lead and the first touch sensing electrode each include a plurality of conductive nanostructures and a film layer applied to each of the conductive nanostructures, and An interface between each of the conductive nanostructures and the film layer in the peripheral lead and the second portion of the first touch sensing electrode substantially has a coating structure. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the coating structure includes a plating layer, and the plating layer completely covers the interface between each of the conductive nanostructures and the film layer. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the film layer is filled between the adjacent conductive nanostructures, and the film layer does not have the coating structure alone. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein each Some conductive nanostructures include a metal nanowire, and the covering structure completely covers an interface between the metal nanowire and the film layer, and forms a uniform surface at the interface between the metal nanowire and the film layer. A covering layer. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the covering structure is a layered structure made of a conductive material, an island-shaped protrusion structure, a dot-shaped protrusion structure, or a combination thereof. The touch panel according to claim 5, wherein the conductive material includes silver, gold, copper, nickel, platinum, iridium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, or alloys of combinations thereof. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the covering structure is a single-layer structure made of a single metal material or alloy material, or a two-layer or two-layer structure made of two or more metal materials or alloys. Multi-layer structure. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the cladding structure is an electroless copper plating layer, an electroplating copper layer, an electroless copper-nickel plating layer, an electroless copper-silver plating layer, or a combination thereof. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein each of the conductive nanostructures and the film layer are located in each of the first thin lines. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein each of the conductive nanostructures, the film layer, and the covering structure are located on each of the first thin lines of the second part of the first touch sensing electrode in. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein there is a boundary between the folded area and the non-folded area, and the line width of each of the first thin lines across the boundary gradually changes from being far from the boundary to close to the boundary To increase. The touch panel according to claim 11, wherein each of the first thin lines across the boundary has a first portion far from the boundary and a second portion close to the boundary, and the line width of the first portion is between The line width of the second part is between 5 μm and 30 μm. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein there is a boundary between the display area and the peripheral area in the folding area, and the line width of each of the first thin lines adjacent to the boundary is moved away from the boundary It gradually increases to approach the boundary. The touch panel according to claim 13, wherein each of the first thin lines immediately adjacent to the border has a first part far from the border and a second part close to the border, and the line width of the first part is between Between 1 μm and 5 μm, and the line width of the second part is between 5 μm and Between 30 microns. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other, the first touch sensing electrode is disposed on the first surface of the substrate, and the touch panel is more It includes: a second touch sensing electrode disposed on the second surface of the substrate and the display area, wherein the second touch sensing electrode has a grid pattern formed by interlacing a plurality of second thin lines. The touch panel according to claim 15, wherein the second touch sensing electrode has a first portion located in the folding area and a second portion located in the non-folding area, and the second touch sensing electrode includes the conductive Nanostructures and the film layer applied to each of the conductive nanostructures, and an interface between each of the conductive nanostructures in the second part of the second touch sensing electrode and the film is substantially It has the covering structure on it. The touch panel according to claim 15, wherein the grid-like pattern formed by interlacing the first thin lines and the grid-like pattern formed by interlacing the second thin lines do not completely overlap.

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