WO2012047014A2

WO2012047014A2 - Electrostatic capacity-type touch panel device and method for manufacturing same

Info

Publication number: WO2012047014A2
Application number: PCT/KR2011/007366
Authority: WO
Inventors: 경충현; 안희철; 임우빈
Original assignee: 네오뷰코오롱 주식회사
Priority date: 2010-10-05
Filing date: 2011-10-05
Publication date: 2012-04-12
Also published as: WO2012047014A3

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electrostatic capacity-type touch panel device and a method for manufacturing same, and more specifically, to a method for manufacturing comprising: a step for preparing a transparent substrate; a step for evaporating a first conductive transparent film having a fixed thickness on one surface of the substrate; a step for evaporating a metal film having a fixed thickness on the top portion of the first conductive transparent film; a step for forming an electrode wiring by exposing or etching the metal film; a step for forming a first sensing pattern and a second sensing pattern by exposing or etching the first conductive transparent film; a step for forming an insulation film on a part of the top portion of the first sensing pattern or the second sensing pattern; a step for evaporating a second conductive transparent film on the top portion of the insulation film, the first sensing pattern, and the second sensing pattern; and a step for forming a third sensing pattern and a fourth sensing pattern by exposing or etching the second conductive transparent film, and to a touch panel device manufactured thereby.

Description

Capacitive touch panel device and manufacturing method thereof

The present invention relates to a capacitive touch panel device and a method of manufacturing the same, and more specifically, by forming an insulating film locally, the transmittance of the panel device can be improved, and the sensing pattern is formed on the upper and lower sides. The present invention relates to a touch panel device having excellent stability and improved durability and a method of manufacturing the same.

In general, a touch screen is an input device that can be easily used by anyone, men and women, by interactively and intuitively manipulating various multiplayers such as a computer and a mobile phone by simply touching a button displayed on a display with a finger.

Such a touch screen is a resistive method, a capacitive method, an infrared method, an ultrasonic method, and the like, and the resistive method is generally used in the current method, and the capacitive method is used to minimize the thickness thereof. .

On the other hand, the capacitive touch screen has an indium tin oxide (ITO) structure having a conductive floodlight plate, an electrode portion formed of silver (Ag) powder on the edge of the ITO, and an insulation of a lower portion of the electrode It is generally composed of an insulating coating.

The ITO is composed of an ITO film made of a light-transmissive resin, and an ITO coating layer having a conductive material coated thereon.

In the conventional capacitive touch screen as described above, when the upper surface of the ITO is touched by a finger, each electrode provided at four sides according to a change in capacitance through the finger detects the touch position, thereby detecting the touch position. will be.

However, the following problems occur in the manufacturing process of the conventional capacitive touch screen panel.

Hereinafter, the problems of the conventional touch panel device will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

First, FIG. 1 is a plan view 100 of a conventional capacitive touch panel device, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the touch panel device 100 of FIG. 1 cut along the direction AA ′.

Referring to FIG. 1, in the conventional capacitive touch panel device 100, the X-axis sensing pattern 110 and the Y-axis sensing pattern 120 are formed of one layer formed on the substrate 160.

At this time, the Y-axis detection pattern 120 is connected to each other in the longitudinal direction, and in the case of the X-axis detection pattern 110, they are spaced apart from each other and do not contact with the Y-axis detection pattern 120, the X In order to connect the axis sensing patterns 110, a separate contact hole 140 and a bridge 130 pattern for connecting the contact holes 140 to each other were necessary.

Therefore, in the case of the conventional capacitive touch panel device 100, since the separate contact hole 140 and the bridge 130 must be provided, the manufacturing process is complicated and the production cost of the panel increases accordingly. there was.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, in the conventional capacitive touch panel device 100, an insulating film 150 is formed on both the upper surface of the X-axis sensing pattern 110 and the inside of the bridge 130. .

Therefore, in the case of the conventional capacitive touch panel device 100 having the insulating film 150 formed as a whole, the transmittance is lowered due to the insulating film 150, and as a result, the overall resolution of the display device is deteriorated. .

In order to solve this to some extent, there was an effort to form only a portion of the insulating film 150 only under the bridge 130.

However, in general, the bridge 130 is made of the same material as the

sensing patterns

110 and 120. As described above, when the insulating film 150 is provided only in a couple, the same material may not be used. It was.

This is because in a photolithography process, the same materials are etched together.

Therefore, when the insulating film 150 is to be provided in only one portion, the bridge 130 and the

sensing patterns

110 and 120 are made of different materials, and the bridge 130 is also visually identified. It acted as a problem of reducing the overall transmittance of the panel 100.

Invented to solve the above problems of the present invention,

First, it is an object of the present invention to provide a touch panel device having improved transmittance and a method of manufacturing the same by locally forming an insulating film only in a necessary portion.

In addition, the sensing pattern is provided in two layers, so that the sensing sensitivity is improved to ensure operational stability, and a passivation layer is provided to further improve the durability of the touch panel device and its manufacturing method. It is done.

In addition, it is another object of the present invention to provide a touch panel device and a method of manufacturing the same, which require simple contact holes and bridges, and thus simplify the manufacturing process and reduce production costs.

On the other hand, the objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, other objects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a capacitive touch panel device, including preparing a transparent substrate, depositing a first conductive transparent film having a predetermined thickness on one surface of the substrate, and forming an upper portion of the first conductive transparent film. Depositing a metal film having a predetermined thickness on the substrate, exposing or etching the metal film to form electrode wiring, and exposing or etching the first conductive transparent film to form a first sensing pattern and a second sensing pattern; Forming an insulating film on a portion of the first sensing pattern or the second sensing pattern, depositing a second conductive transparent film on the insulating film, the first and second sensing patterns, and exposing or etching the second conductive transparent film. Forming a third sensing pattern and a fourth sensing pattern.

Preferably, the transparent substrate uses any one selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyimide (PI), acryl (Acryl), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), and glass.

Preferably, the transparent substrate is in the form of a film.

Preferably, the first and second conductive transparent films may include indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), AZO (Al-dopedZnO), carbon nanotubes (CNT), and conductive polymers (PEDOT; poly). (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)), silver (Ag) and copper (Cu) is made of any one selected from the group consisting of a transparent ink, the first and second conductive transparent film is 15nm thick using a sputter (sputter) Is deposited.

Preferably, the metal film is copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), silver (Ag), gold (Au), and molybdenum (Mo) / aluminum (Al). / Molybdenum (Mo) is made of any one selected from the group consisting of a multilayer film, the metal film is deposited to a thickness of 300nm using a sputter (sputter).

Preferably, the first sensing pattern overlaps the fourth sensing pattern, and the second sensing pattern is formed to overlap the third sensing pattern.

Preferably, the first sensing pattern is composed of a plurality of triangular or rectangular sensing pads, each sensing pad is connected in a lateral direction, and the second sensing pattern is a plurality of triangular or square sensing pads spaced apart from each other. The first sensing pattern is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the sensing pad connection portion of the first sensing pattern.

Preferably, the third sensing pattern includes a plurality of triangular or rectangular sensing pads, each sensing pad is connected in a longitudinal direction, and the fourth sensing pattern is a plurality of triangular or rectangular sensing pads spaced apart from each other. The second sensing pattern is arranged to be orthogonal to the sensing pad connection portion of the third sensing pattern.

Preferably, the insulating film is formed to 3㎛ or less.

Preferably, a passivation layer is further provided on the upper surfaces of the third and fourth sensing patterns.

The present invention has the following excellent effects.

First, the touch panel device and the method of manufacturing the same according to the present invention can maintain a high transmittance by locally forming the insulating film only in the necessary portion.

In addition, since the sensing pattern is provided in two layers, the sensing sensitivity is improved, and thus operational stability is secured, and a passivation layer is provided to further improve durability.

In addition, there is no need to form a separate contact hole and bridge, the manufacturing process is simple, there is an excellent effect that the production cost is reduced.

1 is a plan view of a conventional capacitive touch panel device.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the touch panel device of FIG. 1 taken along the line AA ′. FIG.

3 is an overall manufacturing process of the capacitive touch panel device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 illustrates an electrode wiring, a first sensing pattern, and a second sensing pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 illustrates a third sensing pattern and a fourth sensing pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 illustrates a state in which first to fourth sensing patterns overlap with each other according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the overlapping sensing pattern illustrated in FIG. 6 taken along the direction B-B '.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the overlapping sensing pattern illustrated in FIG. 6 taken in the direction of CC ′.

The terms used in the present invention are selected as general terms that are widely used at present, but in certain cases, the term is arbitrarily selected by the applicant. In this case, the meanings described or used in the specific contents for carrying out the invention are not simply names. Considering this, the meaning should be grasped.

Hereinafter, with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the technical configuration of the present invention.

First, Figure 3 is an overall manufacturing process of the capacitive touch panel device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a method of manufacturing a capacitive touch panel device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include preparing a transparent substrate (S100), in which case the substrate used is an insulating substrate made of a transparent material. It is not greatly restricted in kind.

However, in one embodiment of the present invention, the transparent substrate may use any one selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyimide (PI), acryl (Acryl), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), and glass. However, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a glass substrate in the form of a film was prepared.

Next, a step of depositing a first conductive transparent film having a predetermined thickness on one surface of the transparent substrate (S200), the deposition method of the first conductive transparent film is PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition), CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition), PECVD (Plasma) Sputtering process such as Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition, Screen Printing, Gravure, Gravure Offset or Direct Printing, Coating (Intjet), etc. E) process, wet or dry plating process can be used.

However, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a sputter was used and deposited at 15 nm.

However, the deposition thickness is not necessarily limited to 15 nm, of course, can be variously adjusted according to the use state.

In addition, although the first conductive transparent film may use various materials, in an embodiment of the present invention, indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), AZO (Al-dopedZnO), and carbon nanotubes ( CNT), a conductive polymer (PEDOT; poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)), silver (Ag) and copper (Cu) transparent ink may be used.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first conductive transparent film uses indium tin oxide (ITO).

Next, in the step (S300) of depositing a metal film having a predetermined thickness on the deposited first conductive transparent film, the metal film is the same as the deposition method of the first conductive transparent film described above.

The metal film may be deposited using metals of various materials, but in one embodiment of the present invention, copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), and silver Deposition was carried out using any one of (Ag), gold (Au), and molybdenum (Mo) / aluminum (Al) / molybdenum (Mo) multilayer film.

However, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, but deposited to a thickness of 300nm using chromium (Cr), but is not necessarily limited to this may be deposited to a variety of thickness as necessary.

Next, an electrode wiring is formed by exposing or etching the deposited metal film (S400), and the electrode wiring is connected to first and second sensing patterns, which will be described later.

On the other hand, the method of forming the electrode wiring can be formed through a variety of methods, in one embodiment of the present invention used a general photolithography (Photolithography).

Thereafter, the first conductive transparent film is exposed or etched to form a first sensing pattern and a second sensing pattern (S500).

The first and second sensing patterns serve to sense a touched part of the touch panel device of the capacitance type and to determine a touched position.

In this case, the first and second sensing patterns may be patterned in various forms, but in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first sensing pattern is composed of a plurality of triangular or rectangular sensing pads, and each sensing pad is horizontal. Connected in the direction.

The second sensing pattern includes a plurality of triangular or rectangular sensing pads spaced apart from each other, and is arranged to form orthogonal to the sensing pad connection portion of the first sensing pattern between the first sensing patterns.

The method of forming the first and second winding patterns may be formed through various methods. In one embodiment of the present invention, general photolithography is used.

Meanwhile, a detailed shape and arrangement state of the first and second sensing patterns will be described later with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Next, forming an insulating film on a portion of the first sensing pattern or the second sensing pattern (S600), the insulating film is preferably made of a transparent material to increase the transmittance of the touch panel device.

In addition, in one embodiment of the present invention, the insulating film is not limited in kind as long as it is a material capable of ensuring insulation of a transparent material.

In addition, in the case of the insulating film, the thickness to be formed is not significantly limited, but in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the thickness is formed to be 3 μm or less, which is intended to reduce the overall thickness of the touch panel device to reduce the thickness of the panel device. .

On the other hand, as described above, the insulating film according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the portion of the first sensing pattern or the second sensing pattern, that is, is formed locally, through the touch panel device as before There is an advantage that the transmittance of the panel element can be greatly improved rather than forming the insulating film.

In this regard, a specific position where the insulating film is formed will be described later with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Next, in operation S700 of depositing a second conductive transparent film on the entire surface of the insulating film and the first and second sensing patterns, the deposition method, material, thickness, etc. of the second conductive transparent film may be described in detail. Since the same as the transparent film, a detailed description thereof will be omitted below.

Finally, the third and fourth sensing patterns are formed by exposing or etching the second conductive transparent layer (S800), and the method of forming the third and fourth sensing patterns is formed using various methods. However, in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the general photolithography is used in the same manner as the first and second sensing patterns.

Meanwhile, the third sensing pattern and the fourth sensing pattern may be patterned in various shapes. However, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the third sensing pattern includes a plurality of triangular or rectangular sensing pads. The sensing pads are connected in the longitudinal direction.

The fourth sensing pattern includes a plurality of triangular or rectangular sensing pads spaced apart from each other, and is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the sensing pad connection portion of the third sensing pattern between the third sensing patterns.

In the case of the first to fourth sensing patterns, the first sensing pattern overlaps the fourth sensing pattern, and the second sensing pattern overlaps the third sensing pattern.

That is, the first sensing pattern connected in the lateral direction and the fourth sensing pattern overlapping the first sensing pattern serve to determine the position in the horizontal axis direction when the panel element is touched, and the first sensing pattern connected in the longitudinal direction. The second sensing pattern overlapping the third sensing pattern and the third sensing pattern serves to determine the position in the longitudinal direction when the touch is performed, and as a result, the touch position of the touch panel device is determined through the first to fourth sensing patterns. You can decide.

On the other hand, the insulating film described above is locally formed only at the intersection of the first sensing pattern and the third sensing pattern, and as a result, there is no need to form an insulating film on the entire surface of the panel element as in the prior art, thereby improving transmittance of the panel element. Can be improved.

Meanwhile, a passivation layer may be further provided on the upper surfaces of the third and fourth sensing patterns S900 to protect the panel device, thereby improving durability of the panel device.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the capacitive touch panel device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an electrode wiring, a first sensing pattern, and a second sensing pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a third sensing pattern and a fourth sensing pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention. To show.

Referring to FIG. 4, the electrode wirings 220 formed by the metal film are formed on the periphery of the first sensing pattern 230a and the second sensing pattern 230b, respectively, and the first sensing pattern 230a is provided. ) May consist of a plurality of triangular or rectangular sensing pads, each sensing pad being connected in a lateral direction.

The second sensing pattern 230b includes a plurality of triangular or rectangular sensing pads spaced apart from each other, and forms an orthogonal shape with a sensing pad connection portion of the first sensing pattern 230a between the first sensing patterns. Are arranged.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 5 illustrating a third sensing pattern 240b and a fourth sensing pattern 240a according to an embodiment of the present invention, the third sensing pattern 240b is the second sensing pattern 230b. The third sensing pattern 240b is connected to each other in the longitudinal direction, unlike the second sensing pattern 230b.

The fourth sensing pattern 240a has the same position and the same shape as the first sensing pattern 230a, but the first sensing pattern 230a is different from each other.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 6, in which the first to fourth sensing patterns overlap each other, as described above, the third and fourth sensing patterns may be formed on the first and

second sensing patterns

230a and 230b. 240a and 240b overlap.

More specifically, the fourth sensing pattern 240a overlaps the upper portion of the first sensing pattern 230a, and the third sensing pattern 240b overlaps the upper portion of the second sensing pattern 230b. .

Although the fourth sensing patterns 240a are spaced apart from each other, the fourth sensing patterns 240a are also connected in the lateral direction by overlapping the first sensing patterns 230a connected in the lateral direction.

In addition, the second sensing patterns 230b are spaced apart from each other, but overlap with the third sensing patterns 240b connected in the longitudinal direction, so that the second sensing patterns 230b are also connected to each other in the longitudinal direction.

On the other hand, the first to fourth sensing patterns overlap each other at the connecting portion of the first sensing pattern 230a and the connecting portion of the third sensing pattern 240b, the capacitive touch panel device according to the present invention In order to prevent this, an insulating film 250 is formed locally at the connection portion.

This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

First, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view cut along the overlapping sensing pattern shown in FIG. 6 in the B-B 'direction, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view cut in the C-C' direction.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the insulating layer 250 according to an embodiment of the present invention has only an intersection point between the first sensing pattern 230a connected in the lateral direction and the third sensing pattern 240b connected in the longitudinal direction. It can be seen that it is formed locally.

As a result, the present invention does not need to form the insulating film 250 in the entire panel device, unlike the prior art, thereby maximizing the transmittance of the panel device. In addition, a contact hole and a bridge, which are essential components of the prior art, may be provided. Since the manufacturing process is simple, economical, and each sensing pattern performs the role of the bridge and the sensor at the same time, the sensing sensitivity is excellent.

In addition, by having a separate passivation layer (not shown) will have an excellent effect to improve the durability of the panel element.

As described above, the present invention has been illustrated and described with reference to preferred embodiments, but is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and is provided to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Various changes and modifications are possible by this.

The present invention can be used as a touch panel device of a touch screen provided in a computer or a mobile phone, in particular, a capacitive touch panel device, improves the transmittance and durability of the touch panel device and excellent in operation stability, It is possible to provide a touch panel device that can simplify the manufacturing process and reduce the production cost.

Claims

In the method of manufacturing a capacitive touch panel device,

Preparing a transparent substrate;

Depositing a first conductive transparent film having a predetermined thickness on one surface of the substrate;

Depositing a metal film having a predetermined thickness on the first conductive transparent film;

Exposing or etching the metal film to form electrode wiring;

Exposing or etching the first conductive transparent film to form a first sensing pattern and a second sensing pattern;

Forming an insulating film on a portion of the first sensing pattern or the second sensing pattern;

Depositing a second conductive transparent film on the insulating film, the first and second sensing patterns; And

And exposing or etching the second conductive transparent layer to form a third sensing pattern and a fourth sensing pattern.
The method of claim 1,

The transparent substrate may be any one selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyimide (PI), acrylic (acryl), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), and glass (glass). Manufacturing method.
The method of claim 2,

The transparent substrate is a method of manufacturing a capacitive touch panel device, characterized in that consisting of a film (film).
The method of claim 1,

The first and second conductive transparent films may include indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), AZO (Al-dopedZnO), carbon nanotubes (CNT), conductive polymers (PEDOT; poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene)), silver (Ag) and copper (Cu) A method for manufacturing a capacitive touch panel device, characterized in that made of any one selected from the group consisting of transparent ink.
The method of claim 4, wherein

The first and second conductive transparent film is a method of manufacturing a capacitive touch panel device, characterized in that deposited by a thickness of 15nm using a sputter (sputter).
The method of claim 1,

The metal film is copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), silver (Ag), gold (Au) and molybdenum (Mo) / aluminum (Al) / molybdenum ( Mo) A method of manufacturing a capacitive touch panel device, characterized in that it is made of any one selected from the group consisting of a multilayer film.
The method of claim 6,

The metal film is a method of manufacturing a capacitive touch panel device, characterized in that to deposit a 300nm thickness using a sputter (sputter).
The method of claim 1,

The first sensing pattern overlaps the fourth sensing pattern, and the second sensing pattern is formed to overlap the third sensing pattern.
The method of claim 8,

The first sensing pattern comprises a plurality of triangular or rectangular sensing pads, each sensing pad is connected in a lateral direction.
The method of claim 9,

The second sensing pattern is composed of a plurality of triangular or rectangular sensing pads spaced apart from each other, and the capacitance is characterized in that arranged between the first sensing pattern to form orthogonal to the sensing pad connection portion of the first sensing pattern Method for manufacturing a touch panel device.
The method of claim 8,

The third sensing pattern is composed of a plurality of triangular or rectangular sensing pad, each sensing pad is a manufacturing method of the capacitive touch panel device, characterized in that connected in the longitudinal direction.
The method of claim 11,

The fourth sensing pattern includes a plurality of triangular or rectangular sensing pads spaced apart from each other, and the capacitive capacitor is arranged to form orthogonal to the sensing pad connection portion of the third sensing pattern between the third sensing patterns. Method of manufacturing a touch panel device.
The method of claim 1,

The insulating film is a method of manufacturing a capacitive touch panel device, characterized in that formed in 3㎛ or less.
The method of claim 1,

A passivation layer is further provided on upper surfaces of the third and fourth sensing patterns.
The capacitive touch panel device manufactured by any one of claims 1 to 14.