WO2012144643A1

WO2012144643A1 - Transparent conductive element, input device, electronic apparatus, and manufacturing method for transparent conductive element

Info

Publication number: WO2012144643A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/060802
Authority: WO
Inventors: 水野　幹久; 秀俊高橋
Original assignee: ソニー株式会社
Priority date: 2011-04-19
Filing date: 2012-04-16
Publication date: 2012-10-26
Also published as: JP2014130383A

Abstract

In the present invention, transparent electrode pattern portions and transparent insulating pattern portions each have at least a conductive material portion and are such that the conductive material portions are formed to be of mutually different patterns. For example, the transparent electrode pattern portions and the transparent insulating pattern portions are each provided with conductive material portions and non-conductive portions such that the patterns of the conductive material portions (conductive portions) and the non-conductive portions (hole portions) of the transparent electrode pattern portions, and the patterns of the conductive material portions (island portions) and the non-conductive portions (gap portions) of the transparent insulating pattern portions, are formed to be of mutually different random patterns.

Description

Transparent conductive element, input device, electronic device, and method for manufacturing transparent conductive element

The present technology relates to a transparent conductive element, a manufacturing method thereof, an input device using the same, and an electronic apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to an electrode pattern of a transparent conductive element.

A transparent conductive film obtained by laminating a transparent thin film with low resistance on a substrate made of a transparent plastic film is widely used for applications utilizing the conductivity. For example, there are applications in the electric and electronic fields such as flat panel displays such as liquid crystal displays and organic electroluminescence (EL) displays, and transparent electrodes of resistive touch panels.
In particular, in recent years, an increasing number of cases in which capacitive touch panels are mounted on mobile devices such as mobile phones and portable music terminals. In such a capacitive touch panel, a transparent conductive film in which a patterned transparent conductive layer is formed on the substrate surface is used.
However, when a conventional transparent conductive film is used, the difference in optical characteristics between the portion having the transparent conductive layer and the removed portion is large. For this reason, patterning is emphasized, and when a transparent conductive film is disposed on the front surface of a display device such as a liquid crystal display, there is a problem that the transparent conductive film itself is easily visible and the appearance of the display device deteriorates.
Therefore, a laminated film in which dielectric layers with different refractive indexes are laminated is provided between the transparent conductive thin film layer and the base film, and the transparent conductive film is not visually recognized using the optical interference of these laminated films. Techniques for improving the performance have been proposed (for example,

Patent Documents

1 and 2 above).

JP 2010-23282 A JP 2010-27294 A

However, in the above-described technique, the optical adjustment function of the laminated film depends on the wavelength, and thus it is difficult to sufficiently improve the non-visibility of the transparent conductive film. For this reason, in recent years, as a technique for improving the invisibility of the transparent conductive film, a technique replacing the above-described laminated film is desired.
Further, in order to realize an input device with stable response speed and position detection accuracy as a capacitive touch panel or the like, the resistance value of the transparent conductive layer must also be considered.
The present technology provides a transparent conductive element excellent in non-visibility and suitable for reducing the resistance value of a transparent conductive layer, a manufacturing method thereof, an information input device and an electronic apparatus using the transparent conductive element.

The transparent conductive element of the present technology includes a base material, and a transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion formed by alternately spreading in a predetermined direction on the surface of the base material, and the transparent electrode pattern Each of the part and the transparent insulating pattern part has at least a conductive material part, and the conductive material parts are formed in different patterns.
For example, in the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion, the conductive material portion and the nonconductive portion are formed in different random patterns.
In that case, for example, the transparent electrode pattern portion is formed randomly in the formation surface of the conductive material portion with the plurality of nonconductive portions spaced apart from each other, and the transparent insulating pattern portion is formed of the nonconductive portion. In the plane, the conductive material portions are spaced apart and randomly formed, and in the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion, a pattern formed by a boundary between the conductive material portion and the non-conductive portion is formed. The random patterns are different from each other.
An input device of the present technology includes a first transparent conductive element having a transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion formed by alternately spreading on a surface of a base material in a predetermined direction, and the above-mentioned surface of the base material surface. A transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion formed by alternately spreading in a direction orthogonal to a predetermined direction, and overlapped with the first transparent conductive element as viewed from the input surface direction And a second transparent conductive element arranged in a positional relationship. The transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion in the first and second transparent conductive elements each have at least a conductive material portion, and the conductive material portions are formed in different patterns.
For example, in the first and second transparent conductive elements, the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion have the conductive material portion and the non-conductive portion formed in different random patterns. The device includes a display device, a first transparent conductive element, and a second transparent conductive element. Here, the 1st transparent conductive element has the transparent electrode pattern part and transparent insulating pattern part which were formed by laying alternately toward the predetermined direction in the display surface of a display apparatus. On the other hand, the second transparent conductive element has a transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion formed by alternately spreading in the direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction on the display surface of the display device. Yes. Further, the first and second transparent conductive elements are arranged in a positional relationship where they are overlapped when viewed from the input surface direction. The transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion in the first and second transparent conductive elements each have at least a conductive material portion, and the conductive material portions are formed in different patterns.
The production method of the present technology is a production of a transparent conductive element including a base material, and transparent electrode pattern portions and transparent insulating pattern portions formed by alternately spreading in a predetermined direction on the surface of the base material. Is the method. And the process of producing | generating the 1st random pattern used for the said transparent electrode pattern part, The process of producing | generating the 2nd random pattern used for the said transparent insulation pattern part on the production | generation conditions different from the said 1st random pattern, Forming a conductive material portion in the transparent electrode pattern portion and a conductive material portion in the transparent insulating pattern portion on the base material based on the first and second random patterns.
In the present technology described above, the transparent conductive element includes a transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion. With this transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion, the formation pattern of the conductive material portion and the non-conductive portion is changed. By making it a different pattern, the invisibility between the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion is improved while avoiding an increase in the resistance value of the conductive material portion that becomes the conductive portion forming the actual electrode. For example, non-visibility can be improved by making each a random pattern, but by making a different random pattern, the transparent electrode pattern portion can improve the coverage of the conductive material portion, and transparent insulation It is possible to reduce the difference between the coverage of the conductive material portion of the pattern portion and the coverage of the conductive material portion of the transparent electrode pattern portion. That is, it is possible to simultaneously realize a reduction in the resistance value of the transparent electrode pattern portion and an improvement in invisibility between the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion.

According to the present technology, there is an effect that it is possible to realize a transparent conductive element and an information input device which are excellent in invisibility and are suitable for reducing the resistance value of the transparent conductive layer. Further, by using this transparent conductive element, there is an effect that it is possible to realize an electronic device capable of high-definition display.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the structure of the input device according to the embodiment of the present technology.
2A to 2C are explanatory diagrams of the first transparent conductive element according to the first embodiment.
3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams of the structure of the random pattern portion of the first transparent conductive element according to the first embodiment.
4A to 4C are explanatory diagrams of the second transparent conductive element according to the first embodiment.
5A to 5C are explanatory diagrams of the pattern of the conductive portion and the comparative example.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of sheet resistance with respect to the coverage of the conductive portion.
7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams of the overlapping region of the first and second transparent conductive elements in the first embodiment.
8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams of the first and second transparent conductive elements according to the second embodiment.
9A and 9B are explanatory diagrams of overlapping regions of the first and second transparent conductive elements in the second embodiment.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a pattern combination according to the second embodiment.
11A and 11B are flowcharts of manufacturing methods I and II of the transparent conductive element of the embodiment.
12A to 12D are explanatory diagrams of the manufacturing method I according to the embodiment.
13A and 13B are explanatory diagrams of the manufacturing method II of the embodiment.
14A and 14B are explanatory diagrams of the manufacturing method II of the embodiment.
FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a random pattern forming process according to the embodiment.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart of random pattern formation processing according to the embodiment.
FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a random pattern forming process according to the embodiment.
FIG. 18 is a flowchart of random pattern formation processing according to the embodiment.
FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of circle coordinates in random pattern formation according to the embodiment.
FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of a random pattern forming process according to the embodiment.
21A and 21B are explanatory diagrams of random weighting according to the embodiment.
22A to 22C are explanatory diagrams of mesh pattern formation according to the embodiment.
23A to 23C are explanatory diagrams of a transparent conductive element using metal nanowires according to the embodiment.
FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram of a position detection marker according to the embodiment.
25A to 25C are explanatory diagrams of the silver wiring region of the embodiment.
26A to 26E are explanatory diagrams of various structural examples of the input device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 27 is a perspective view illustrating a television (electronic device) including a display unit.
28A and 28B are perspective views illustrating a digital camera (electronic device) including a display unit.
FIG. 29 is a perspective view illustrating a notebook personal computer (electronic device) including a display unit.
FIG. 30 is a perspective view illustrating a video camera (electronic device) including a display unit.
FIG. 31 is a perspective view of a mobile terminal device (electronic device) including a display unit.
FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram of an evaluation result of the example.
FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram of an evaluation result of the example.
FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram of an evaluation result of the example.
FIG. 35A and FIG. 35B are explanatory diagrams of a random pattern according to the embodiment.
FIG. 36 is an explanatory diagram of a random pattern according to the embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in the following order.
<1. Example of input device structure>
<2. Transparent Conductive Element of First Embodiment: Linear Pattern Electrode>
<3. Transparent Conductive Element of Second Embodiment: Diamond Pattern Electrode>
<4. Manufacturing Method I>
<5. Production Method II>
<6. Method for forming random pattern>
<7. Transparent conductive element using metal nanowire>
<8. Position detection marker>
<9. Silver wiring area>
<10. Modification of input device structure>
<11. Example of electronic device structure>
<1. Example of input device structure>
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a configuration of an input device according to an embodiment of the present technology.
As shown in FIG. 1, the input device 10 is provided on the display surface of the display device 4. The input device 10 is bonded to the display surface of the display device 4 by, for example, a bonding layer 5.
The input device 10 is a so-called projected capacitive touch panel, and includes a first transparent conductive element 1 and a second transparent conductive element 2 provided on the surface of the transparent conductive element 1. . For example, the transparent conductive element 1 forms an X electrode, and the transparent conductive element 2 forms a Y electrode.
The transparent conductive element 1 and the transparent conductive element 2 are bonded together via a bonding layer 6.
Moreover, you may make it further provide the optical layers 3, such as an antireflection film, on the surface of the transparent conductive element 2 through the bonding layer 7 as needed. The optical layer 3 may be a ceramic coat (overcoat) such as SiO2.
As will be described in detail later, the transparent conductive element 1 is formed by forming a transparent conductive layer 12 on the surface of the substrate 11 (in this example, the bonding layer 5 side). The transparent conductive element 2 is formed by forming a transparent conductive layer 22 on the surface of the base material 21 (in this case, the bonding layer 6 side).
As an example of the electronic apparatus of the present technology, there is a display device 4 including the input device 10 on a display surface. Although this display device 4 is not particularly limited, for example, a liquid crystal display, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, a plasma display (PDP), an electroluminescence (EL) display, Various display devices such as a surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED) may be used.
<2. Transparent Conductive Element of First Embodiment: Linear Pattern Electrode>
The transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2 according to the first embodiment will be described.
First, the transparent conductive element 1 for forming the X electrode will be described with reference to FIGS.
2A is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of the transparent conductive element 1, FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line aa shown in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2C is an enlarged view of the region C1 shown in FIG. 2A. FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the transparent conductive element 1 includes a substrate 11 having a surface and a transparent conductive layer 12 formed on the surface.
The transparent conductive layer 12 includes a transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and a transparent insulating pattern portion 14.
The transparent electrode pattern portion 13 is an X electrode pattern portion that extends in the X-axis direction.
The transparent insulating pattern portion 14 is a so-called dummy electrode pattern portion, extends in the X-axis direction, and is interposed between the transparent electrode pattern portions 13 to insulate between the adjacent transparent electrode pattern portions 13. It is a pattern part.
These transparent electrode pattern portions 13 and transparent insulating pattern portions 14 are alternately laid on the surface of the substrate 11 in the Y-axis direction.
2A to 2C, a region R1 indicates a formation region of the transparent electrode pattern portion 13, and a region R2 indicates a formation region of the transparent insulating pattern portion 14.
The shapes of the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 are preferably selected as appropriate according to the screen shape, the drive circuit, etc. For example, a straight line shape or a plurality of rhombus shapes (diamond shape) are linearly connected However, it is not particularly limited to these shapes. In the first embodiment, the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 are linear patterns. An example of a diamond-shaped pattern will be described later as a second embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 2C, the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 is a transparent conductive layer formed by randomly separating a plurality of hole portions 13a, and a conductive portion 13b is interposed between adjacent hole portions 13a. Yes.
The conductive portion 13b is a conductive material portion in which a conductive material is coated on the surface of the substrate 11, and the hole portion 13a is a portion that is not covered with the conductive material, that is, a nonconductive portion.
Therefore, in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13, a plurality of non-conductive portions (hole portions 13a) are formed at random in the formation surface of the conductive material portion (conductive portion 13b).
On the other hand, the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 is a transparent conductive layer composed of a plurality of island portions 14a that are randomly formed apart from each other, and a gap portion 14b as an insulating portion is interposed between adjacent island portions 14a. .
The island portion 14a is a conductive material portion in which the surface of the base material 11 is coated with a conductive material, and the gap portion 14b is a portion that is not covered with the conductive material, that is, a non-conductive portion.
Accordingly, the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 is formed at random in the formation surface of the non-conductive portion (gap portion 14b) with the conductive material portion (island portion 14a) spaced apart.
In the present embodiment, the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 are formed in different random patterns. Specifically, the patterns formed by the boundary between the conductive material part and the non-conductive part are different random patterns.
Different random patterns are formed by arranging conductive material portions and non-conductive portions based on random patterns generated under different generation conditions.
That is, a random pattern for the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 is formed, and the hole portion 13a and the conductive portion 13b are formed based on the random pattern. Further, a random pattern for the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 is formed, and an island portion 14a and a gap portion 14b are formed based on the random pattern.
In the gap portion 14b of the transparent insulating pattern portion 14, it is preferable that the conductive material is completely removed. However, if the gap portion 14b is within a range that functions as an insulating portion, a part of the conductive material is island-shaped. Or may remain in the form of a thin film.
Moreover, it is preferable that the hole part 13a and the island part 14a have a random structure without periodicity. When the hole 13a and the island 14a are formed by a periodic structure of micron order or less, interference light is generated by itself, or when the input device 10 is placed on the display surface of the display device 4 and visually observed, This is because moire tends to occur.
FIG. 3A is an enlarged plan view showing the vicinity of the boundary line between the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line bb shown in FIG. 3A.
As shown in FIG. 3B, the conductive portion 13b and the island portion 14a become a portion coated with the conductive material on the base material 11, and the hole portion 13a and the gap portion 14b are removed of the conductive material and the surface of the base material is exposed. It is a part to do.
As can be seen from FIG. 3A, the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 are formed with conductive material portions and non-conductive portions in different random patterns, and on the boundary line L1, there are simply two types of random The pattern is cut and pasted as it is. For this reason, the boundary line between the conductive material portion and the non-conductive portion in the vicinity of the boundary line L1 becomes irregular, and the visual recognition of the boundary line L1 can be suppressed.
FIG. 4 shows the transparent conductive element 2 forming the Y electrode.
4A is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of the transparent conductive element 2, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line cc shown in FIG. 4A. FIG. 4C is an enlarged plan view showing a region C2 shown in FIG. 4A.
As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the transparent conductive element 2 includes a base material 21 having a surface and a transparent conductive layer 22 formed on the surface.
The transparent conductive layer 22 includes a transparent electrode pattern portion 23 and a transparent insulating pattern portion 24.
The transparent electrode pattern portion 23 is a Y electrode pattern portion that extends in the Y-axis direction.
The transparent insulating pattern portion 24 is a so-called dummy electrode pattern portion, extends in the Y-axis direction, is interposed between the transparent electrode pattern portions 23, and insulates the adjacent transparent electrode pattern portions 23 from each other. It is a pattern part.
These transparent electrode pattern portions 23 and transparent insulating pattern portions 24 are alternately laid on the surface of the substrate 21 in the X-axis direction. The transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 included in the transparent conductive element 1 described above and the transparent electrode pattern portion 23 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 24 included in the transparent conductive element 2 are, for example, in a relationship orthogonal to each other. is there.
4A to 4C, a region R1 indicates a formation region of the transparent electrode pattern portion 23, and a region R2 indicates a formation region of the transparent insulating pattern portion 24.
As shown in FIG. 4C, the transparent electrode pattern portion 23 is a transparent conductive layer formed by randomly separating a plurality of hole portions 23a, and a conductive portion 23b is interposed between adjacent hole portions 23a. Yes.
Therefore, in the transparent electrode pattern portion 23, a plurality of non-conductive portions (hole portions 23a) are formed at random in the formation surface of the conductive material portion (conductive portion 23b).
On the other hand, the transparent insulating pattern portion 24 is a transparent conductive layer composed of a plurality of island portions 24a that are randomly spaced apart, and a gap portion 24b as an insulating portion is interposed between adjacent island portions 24a. Yes.
Therefore, the transparent insulating pattern portion 24 is formed at random in the formation surface of the non-conductive portion (gap portion 24b) with the conductive material portion (island portion 24a) spaced apart.
And the transparent electrode pattern part 23 and the transparent insulation pattern part 24 are formed in the mutually different random pattern similarly to the transparent conductive element 1 of the X electrode mentioned above. Specifically, the patterns formed by the boundary between the conductive material portion and the non-conductive portion are different random patterns.
On the boundary line L2 between the transparent electrode pattern portion 23 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 24, two types of random patterns are cut and pasted as they are.
As a material of the

base materials

11 and 21 in the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2 described above, for example, glass or plastic can be used.
As glass, for example, known glass can be used. Specific examples of the known glass include soda lime glass, lead glass, hard glass, quartz glass, and liquid crystal glass.
As the plastic, for example, a known polymer material can be used. Specific examples of known polymer materials include triacetyl cellulose (TAC), polyester (TPEE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyimide (PI), polyamide (PA), and aramid. , Polyethylene (P), polyacrylate, polyether sulfone, polysulfone, polypropylene (PP), diacetyl cellulose, polyvinyl chloride, acrylic resin (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), epoxy resin, urea resin, urethane resin, melamine resin , Cyclic olefin polymer (COP), norbornene-based thermoplastic resin, and the like.
The thickness of the glass substrate is preferably 20 μm to 10 mm, but is not particularly limited to this range. The thickness of the plastic substrate is preferably 20 μm to 500 μm, but is not particularly limited to this range.
Examples of the conductive material for forming the transparent

conductive layers

12 and 22 include indium tin oxide (ITO), zinc oxide, indium oxide, antimony-added tin oxide, fluorine-added tin oxide, aluminum-added zinc oxide, gallium-added zinc oxide, Metal oxide such as silicon-doped zinc oxide, zinc oxide-tin oxide, indium oxide-tin oxide, zinc oxide-indium oxide-magnesium oxide, or copper, silver, gold, platinum, palladium, nickel, tin, cobalt , Rhodium, iridium, iron, ruthenium, osmium, manganese, molybdenum, tungsten, niobium, tantel, titanium, bismuth, antimony, lead, and other metals, or alloys thereof.
As a conductive material for forming the transparent

conductive layers

12 and 22, a composite material in which carbon nanotubes are dispersed in a binder material may be used. Substituted or unsubstituted polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, and one or two (co) polymer conductive polymers selected from these may be used. Two or more of these may be used in combination.
The configuration using metal nanowires as the conductive material will be described in detail later.
As a method for forming the transparent

conductive layers

12 and 22, for example, a PVD method such as a sputtering method, a vacuum deposition method, or an ion plating method, a CVD method, a coating method, a printing method, or the like can be used. The thickness of the transparent

conductive layers

12 and 22 is a surface resistance of 1000Ω / □ (ohm / square) or less in a state before patterning (a state where the transparent

conductive layers

12 and 22 are formed on the entire surfaces of the base materials 11 and 21). It is preferable to select as appropriate.
The conductive material coating of the transparent

electrode pattern portions

13 and 23 and the transparent

insulating pattern portions

14 and 24 in the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2 having the above structure will be described. In the following description, the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 mainly on the X electrode side will be described, but the same applies to the transparent electrode pattern portion 23 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 24 on the Y electrode side. is there.
FIG. 5A shows a state in which a conductive material is formed on the entire surface of the transparent electrode pattern portion 13. That is, the hole 13a is not provided and the entire surface is a conductive portion 13b. Therefore, the coverage of the conductive material basket (conductive portion 13b) with respect to the lower substrate 11 (not shown) is 100%. Electrode width = W.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, consider forming the holes 13a in a random pattern. In this case, it is assumed that the coverage of the conductive portion 13b is 50%. Then, in the case of FIG. 5B, the average electrode width is W × 0.5.
Therefore, when the film thickness of the conductive material is the same, the electrical resistance of the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 in FIG. 5B is twice that in the case of the coverage rate of 100% in FIG. 5A.
If the electrical resistance of the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 is large, there is a possibility that the response speed and the position detection accuracy will be lowered when used for a capacitive touch panel.
Of course, even if the hole 13a is formed as shown in FIG. 5B, the electrical resistance can be made equivalent to that shown in FIG. 5A if the thickness of the conductive material is doubled. However, in that case, problems such as an increase in material cost and a decrease in production line speed occur, which is not preferable.
On the other hand, providing the hole 13a has the meaning of improving the invisibility between the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14.
For example, FIG. 5C shows a random pattern in which dots of various diameters are randomly arranged, and based on this, the hole 13a of the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the island portion 14a of the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 are formed. is there. In FIG. 5C, one random pattern is used in common by the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14, and is inverted at the boundary line L1. That is, the dot portion in the random pattern is the hole portion 13a (non-conductive portion) in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the island portion 14a (conductive material portion) in the transparent insulating pattern portion 14.
Thus, by introducing a random pattern into the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14, it is possible to improve the invisibility so that the electrode line becomes invisible.
Here, the problem of the previous resistance value occurs.
When a random pattern is introduced into the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 as shown in FIG. 5C, the electrical resistance is increased.
In order to improve the resistance deterioration (resistance value increase) of the transparent electrode pattern portion 13, it is desired to increase the conductive material coverage of the transparent electrode pattern portion 13. That is, it is desired to reduce the area ratio of the hole 13a and increase the area ratio of the conductive portion 13b.
However, in such a case, if a common random pattern is used in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14, the area ratio of the island portion 14a is reduced on the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 side, and the area of the gap portion 14b is reduced. The proportion increases.
As a result, in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13, the conductive portion 13 b that is a conductive material coating portion is conspicuous, and in the transparent insulating pattern portion 14, the gap portion 14 b that is not covered with the conductive material is conspicuous. That is, the difference in coverage of the conductive material between the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 becomes large, and the invisibility is hindered.
FIG. 6 shows the change in sheet resistance with respect to the coverage of the conductive portion 13b. In FIG. 6, when a conductive material having a certain electrode width and a certain thickness is used and the coverage of the conductive portion 13b is 100%, the sheet resistance is 135Ω / □, 100Ω / □, 75Ω / □, 50Ω / □. The change in sheet resistance when the coverage is lowered is shown.
As illustrated, the sheet resistance increases as the coverage of the conductive portion 13b decreases. For example, when a touch panel is used for a medium-sized display such as a notebook-type or tablet-type personal computer, the standard is about 150Ω / □ or less. Then, in the case of the conductive portion 13b having a sheet resistance of 100Ω / □ when the coverage is 100%, the electrode width and the film thickness, the coverage of the conductive portion 13b is 67% or more (roughly from the figure). It is understood that it is preferable to set it to about 65% or more.
That is, by providing the holes 13a and the islands 14a in a random pattern, it is advantageous for non-visibility, but in order to improve the non-visibility, the area ratio of the holes 13a in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13, It is preferable that the area ratio of the island part 14a in the transparent insulating pattern part 14 is substantially equal. For this purpose, a random pattern is formed so that the coverage of the conductive material as shown in FIG. 5B is 50%, and one random pattern is formed by the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 as shown in FIG. 5C. It is preferable to cover the conductive material by inverting the pattern at the boundary line L1.
However, in that case, the coverage of the conductive portion 13b in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 is about 50%, and the sheet resistance is increased.
In view of this, if the coverage of the conductive portion 13b in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 is, for example, about 65% or more, the sheet resistance can be suppressed, but this time the area ratio of the gap portion 14b in the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 is reduced. This increases the non-visibility.
As described above, when a common random pattern is folded and used in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14, the electrode resistance and the invisibility are in a trade-off relationship.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, different patterns are used in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14.
Examples of different patterns are as follows.
First, it is conceivable that the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 is a solid coating pattern in which the coverage of the conductive material is 100%, and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 is a random pattern. In the solid coating pattern, the entire transparent electrode pattern portion 13 is the conductive portion 13b, and the hole portion 13a does not exist. In the transparent insulating pattern portion 14, island portions 14a and gap portions 14b are randomly arranged. That is, the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 are an example in which each of the conductive material portions is formed in a different pattern while having at least the conductive material portion.
Furthermore, the transparent electrode pattern part 13 and the transparent insulating pattern part 14 have an example in which the conductive material part and the non-conductive part are formed in different random patterns. For example, the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 is randomly formed with a plurality of hole portions 13a (non-conductive portions) separated from each other within the conductive material portion formation surface, and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 is within the non-conductive portion formation surface. Thus, the conductive material portion (island portion 14a) is formed at a distance from each other at random. In the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14, the patterns formed by the boundary between the conductive material portion and the non-conductive portion are different random patterns.
In the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2C and 4C, the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 are formed by using different random patterns as described above.
A different random pattern is a pattern generated under different random pattern generation conditions (radius range, graphic drawing conditions in a generated circle, weighting of random numbers described later, etc.).
And by using a different random pattern, the resistance value reduction of the transparent electrode pattern part 13 and non-visibility can be made compatible.
For example, in the case of forming the conductive portion 13b having the sheet resistance of 100Ω / □ in FIG. 6 in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the conductive portion 13b having the electrode width and film thickness, the coverage of the conductive portion 13b is approximately 65. Since it may be about% or more, a random pattern in which the area ratio of the holes 13a is 35% or less may be used.
At this time, the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 may use a random pattern in which the area ratio of the gap portion 14b is not so different from the area ratio of the hole portion 13a. Thereby, non-visibility can be maintained.
For example, when the coverage of the conductive material portion (conductive portion 13b) in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 is 65% or more and 100 or less, the coverage of the conductive material portion (gap portion 14b) in the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 is also 65% or more and 100. It should be less than. Such a state can be realized by using different random patterns.
Further, in order to make it invisible, it is also necessary to consider a state in which both the transparent conductive element 1 (X electrode) and the transparent conductive element 2 (Y electrode) are overlapped.
First, the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2 constituting the input device 10 of the present embodiment have a transparent electrode pattern portion 13 (23) and a transparent insulating pattern portion 14 (24), respectively, having a conductive material portion and a non-conductive portion. They are formed with different random patterns.
FIG. 7A shows the state of FIG. 1, that is, the state where the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2 are stacked, and FIG. 7B shows a partial enlarged view.
In this case, the area AR1 is an area where the transparent

electrode pattern portions

13 and 23 overlap.
The area AR2 is an area where the transparent

insulating pattern portions

14 and 24 overlap.
The area AR3 is an area where the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 24 overlap or the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 and the transparent electrode pattern portion 23 overlap.
When viewed from the input surface side where the user performs a touch operation, all of the portions where the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2 overlap (input surface formation portions) are classified into these regions AR1, AR2, and AR3.
When considering the non-visibility from the user's sight, it is necessary to prevent these areas AR1, AR2, and AR3 from being visually recognized.
In conclusion, in the present embodiment, in a state where the transparent conductive element 1 and the transparent conductive element 2 are overlapped, in all the regions AR1, AR2, AR3 viewed from the input surface direction, the transparent conductive element 1 The difference of the addition value between the coverage of the conductive material portion and the coverage of the conductive material portion in the transparent conductive element 2 is set to be 0 or more and 60 or less. Furthermore, the difference between the addition values is preferably 0 or more and 30 or less.
For example, the coverage of the conductive material portions (conductive portions 13b and 23b) in the transparent

electrode pattern portions

13 and 23 is set to 80%.
Further, the coverage of the conductive material portions (

island portions

14a, 24a) in the transparent

insulating pattern portions

14, 24 is set to 50%.
Then, the added value of the coverage of the conductive material portion of the transparent conductive element 1 and the coverage of the conductive material portion of the transparent conductive element 2 in the regions AR1, AR2, AR3 is as follows.
Area AR1: 80 + 80 = 160
Area AR2: 50 + 50 = 100
Area AR3: 80 + 50 = 130
In this case, the added value is the largest in the area AR1 and the smallest in the area AR2, but the difference between the added values is 60.
If the difference between the addition values is 60 or less, it can be said that the non-visibility is good.
The reason for using the added value as an index is to consider non-visibility according to the user's vision. For example, the actual diameter of the hole 13a and the island 14a is, for example, 10 μm to 100 μm, or 100 μm to 500 μm, depending on the parameter setting at the time of random pattern generation. It is a minute hole. There is almost no case where the user can visually recognize each of the hole 13a and the island 14a on the transparent electrode.
When considered in macro view in accordance with the user's vision, when the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2 are overlapped, the coverage of the conductive material portion in the transparent conductive element 1 and the transparent conductive element 2 The sum of the coverage of the conductive material portion is regarded as the average coverage of the region. That is, if the difference between the added values is large, the distinction between the areas AR1, AR2, and AR3 is easily visually recognized by the user.
As a result of visibility examination, the inventors have found that non-visibility can be maintained when the difference between the addition values is 0 or more and 60 or less in all regions viewed from the input surface direction.
Of course, reducing the difference between the addition values is more suitable for non-visibility.
For example, in the above example, if the addition value in the area AR2 is increased, the difference between the addition values in each area can be further reduced.
Therefore, the coverage of the conductive material portions (

island portions

14a, 24a) in the transparent

insulating pattern portions

14, 24 is set to 65%.
Then, the added value of the coverage of the conductive material portion of the transparent conductive element 1 and the coverage of the conductive material portion of the transparent conductive element 2 in the regions AR1, AR2, AR3 is as follows.
Area AR1: 80 + 80 = 160
Area AR2: 65 + 65 = 130
Area AR3: 80 + 65 = 145
In this case, the difference between the added values is 30, which is more preferable in terms of non-visibility.
However, increasing the coverage of the conductive material portions (

islands

14a and 24a) in the transparent

insulating pattern portions

14 and 24, for example, in the case of print formation described later, the amount of the conductive material used is increased accordingly, and the material cost is increased. Get higher.
In view of the material cost and the resistance value of the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 within a range where the difference of the added values between the regions does not exceed 60, the conductive material portion (island portion 14a, The coverage of 24a) may be set.
In the above embodiment, first, different random patterns are used for the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 (23) and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 (24).
By using different random patterns, the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 (23) and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 (24) can increase the degree of freedom in setting the coverage of the conductive material portion.
As a result, the resistance value in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 (23) is set to an appropriate value (for example, 150Ω or less), and the conductive material portion on the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 (24) side is considered in view of invisibility and material cost. Coverage can be set.
As described above, it is possible to realize the non-visualization of the electrode configuration in the entire region viewed from the input surface side while realizing the reduction of the resistance value in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 (23).
As a result, it is possible to realize a high-performance input device 10 that is hardly visible.
The coverage of the conductive material portion in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 (23) and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 (24) is preferably 65% or more and less than 100.
Further, in order to make the transparent conductive layer pattern invisible, the difference in the added value of the coverage ratio of the conductive material is set to 0 or more and 60 or less in any region when the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2 are overlapped. For better non-visualization, the difference between the added values is set to 0 or more and 30 or more.
As described in the description of FIGS. 3A and 4C, two types of random patterns are present on the boundary line L1 (L2) between the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 (23) and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 (24). It is in the state of being cut and pasted as it is (pattern cutting). This is preferable in that a boundary line with a random shape that is difficult to be visually recognized is formed.
In addition, a plurality of hole portions 13a (23a) are formed at random in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 (23), and a plurality of island portions 14a (24a) are separated from the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 (24). Therefore, the generation of moire can be suppressed.
The transparent electrode pattern portion 13 may have a coverage of the hole 13a of 0%, that is, a coverage of the conductive portion 13b of 100%.
Moreover, you may form the transparent electrode pattern part 13 with the mix of 2 or more types of area | regions from which the coverage of a hole part differs.
There are various random patterns. In the above example, the hole 13a and the island 14a have a circular shape, but an elliptical shape, a shape obtained by cutting a part of the circular shape, a shape obtained by cutting a part of the elliptical shape, a polygonal shape, and a corner are taken. Polygon shape, indefinite shape, etc. may be sufficient.
Furthermore, those types of shapes may be used. From the viewpoint of easy generation of a random pattern, a circular shape is preferable.
Moreover, you may make it employ | adopt a different shape as a shape of the hole 13a and the island part 14a.
The elliptical shape includes not only a perfect ellipse defined mathematically but also an ellipse (for example, an ellipse, an egg shape, etc.) with some distortion. The circle includes not only a perfect circle (perfect circle) defined mathematically but also a circle with some distortion. Polygons are not only full polygons defined mathematically, but also polygons with distortion on the sides, polygons with rounded corners, and distortions on the sides and corners. Also included are rounded polygons. Examples of the strain applied to the side include a curved shape such as a convex shape or a concave shape.
Moreover, you may use the random mesh pattern which is illustrated to FIG. 10 and FIG. 36 mentioned later as a random pattern for the transparent electrode pattern part 13 and the transparent insulating pattern part 14. FIG.
The plurality of hole portions 13a are preferably formed apart from each other, but a part of the plurality of hole portions 13a is brought into contact with each other as long as the non-visibility and the conductivity are not deteriorated. Alternatively, they may be overlapped. In addition, it is preferable to form all of the plurality of islands 14a apart from each other, but if the range does not cause a decrease in invisibility and a decrease in insulation, a part of the plurality of islands 14a are brought into contact with each other. Or you may make it overlap.
<3. Transparent Conductive Element of Second Embodiment: Diamond Pattern Electrode>
As a second embodiment of the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2, a case having a diamond-like pattern electrode will be described.
8A and 8B show electrode patterns in the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2.
As shown in FIG. 8A, also in this case, in the transparent conductive element 1, the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 are formed on the transparent conductive layer 12. And the transparent electrode pattern part 13 is made into the shape where the site | part of a diamond shape (substantially rhombus shape) continues in the X-axis direction.
The transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 are alternately laid on the surface of the base material 11 in the Y-axis direction.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, the transparent conductive element 2 has a transparent conductive layer 22 having a transparent electrode pattern portion 23 and a transparent insulating pattern portion 24 formed thereon. And the transparent electrode pattern part 23 is made into the shape where the site | part of a diamond shape (substantially rhombus shape) continues in the Y-axis direction.
The transparent electrode pattern portions 23 and the transparent insulating pattern portions 24 are alternately laid on the surface of the base material 21 in the X-axis direction.
Even in the second embodiment as described above, the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 (23) and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 (24) may be formed by using different random patterns to form the conductive material portion. This is the same as in the first embodiment. Specifically, in this respect, examples similar to the examples described in the first embodiment can be considered.
Here, in particular, a description will be given of a specific example in which the visibility when the X electrode and the Y electrode overlap and the transparent

electrode pattern portions

13 and 23 are formed by a plurality of regions having different coverage ratios of the conductive material portions.
First, FIG. 9A shows the case where the transparent

electrode pattern portions

13 and 23 are in a diamond shape in a state where the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2 are overlapped like FIG. 7A, and FIG. Yes. Here, the transparent conductive element 2 side is indicated by a broken line.
As in the case described with reference to FIG. 7, the area AR <b> 1 is an area where the transparent

electrode pattern portions

13 and 23 overlap, and the area AR <b> 2 is an area where the transparent

insulating pattern portions

14 and 24 overlap. The area AR3 is an area where the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 24 overlap, or the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 and the transparent electrode pattern portion 23 overlap.
Also in this case, when viewed from the input surface side where the user performs a touch operation, all of the portions where the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2 overlap (input surface forming portions) are classified into these regions AR1, AR2, and AR3. When considering the invisibility of the user's vision, it is required that these areas AR1, AR2, AR3 cannot be visually recognized.
As shown in FIG. 9B, when the electrode pattern shape is different, the shapes and ranges of the regions AR1, AR2, AR3 are also different. In this case as well, for example, the conductive material portions (conductive portions 13b, The coverage of 23b) is 80%, and the coverage of the conductive material portions (

islands

14a, 24a) in the transparent

insulating pattern portions

14, 24 is 50%. If the difference between the coverage of the conductive material portion of the transparent conductive element 1 and the coverage of the conductive material portion of the transparent conductive element 2 in the regions AR1, AR2, AR3 is 60 or less, non-visibility Is good. Furthermore, when the difference between the added values is 30 or less, the non-visibility is extremely good.
In particular, in the case of this diamond-shaped pattern, it is effective to mix two or more types of regions having different coverage ratios of the conductive material portion in the transparent electrode pattern portion 13.
As shown in FIG. 10, the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 having a diamond-shaped pattern is divided into a region A and a region B. A portion corresponding to the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 is defined as a region C.
The width of the area A is WA and the length is LA.
The width WB of the region B is WB = (area of the region B) / LB. LB is the length of the region B.
When the shape of the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 can be distinguished into two or more regions as in the case of a diamond shape, the coverage of the hole portion 13a is set in a region where the L (x) / W (x) value is larger. It is preferable to set the value smaller (= the coverage of the conductive portion 13b is larger).
This is because in the region where the L (x) / W (x) value is larger, the original resistance value in that region is larger, and the impact of the resistance increase accompanying the increase in the coverage of the hole 13a is greater.
In the case of FIG. 10, the region A has a larger L (x) / W (x) value than the region B, and the resistance value is large in the first place.
Therefore, as illustrated, in the region B, for example, the coverage of the conductive portion 13b is 79% (the hole 13a is 21%), and in the region A, the coverage of the conductive portion 13b is 100% (the hole 13a is 0%). It is possible to do. This coverage is only an example.
Further, for the region C, that is, the transparent insulating pattern portion 14, the coverage of the conductive material portion (island portion 14a) is set so as to meet the above-described condition of the added value difference of the coverage when the X and Y electrodes are overlapped. You only have to set it. Further, as shown in the drawing, a random mesh pattern may be used instead of a random dot pattern.
As in this example, by partially controlling the coverage of the conductive material portion, when the electrode is printed and formed, the amount of the conductive material used can be suppressed (= material cost can be suppressed).
In order to make the pattern invisible, the difference in coverage of the conductive material in the regions A to C is preferably 0% or more and 30% or less.
<4. Manufacturing Method I>
Then, the example of the manufacturing method of the transparent conductive element 1 like the said 1st, 2nd embodiment is demonstrated. In addition, since the manufacturing method of the transparent conductive element 2 is the same as that of the transparent conductive element 1, description is abbreviate | omitted.
First, a process using etching as manufacturing method I will be described with reference to FIGS. 11A and 12.
As shown in FIG. 11A, in step F101, a random pattern used for the transparent electrode pattern unit 13 is generated.
In step F102, a random pattern used for the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 is generated. The random pattern for the transparent electrode pattern part and the random pattern for the transparent insulating pattern part are such that the pattern generation conditions (radius range, graphic drawing condition in the generated circle, random number weighting described later, etc.) are different from each other. Set to and generate.
These steps F101 and F102 may be reversed or performed in parallel. Further, it may be executed away from the actual production line. In FIG. 11A, for convenience of explanation, a single flowchart is shown. In any case, two types of patterns (random patterns) are prepared as a result of steps F101 and F102 at the time of entering the manufacturing line after step F103. It is good.
As step F103, the transparent conductive layer 12 is formed.
In this step, the transparent conductive layer 12 is formed on the surface of the substrate 11 as shown in FIG. 12A. When the transparent conductive layer 12 is formed, the base material 11 may be heated. As a method of forming the transparent conductive layer 12, for example, a CVD method (Chemical Vapor Deposition): a technique for depositing a thin film from a gas phase using a chemical reaction, such as thermal CVD, plasma CVD, or photo-CVD. In addition, PVD methods (Physical Vapor Deposition) such as vacuum deposition, plasma-assisted deposition, sputtering, ion plating, etc .: A technology that forms a thin film by agglomerating materials that have been physically vaporized in a vacuum on a substrate. ) Can be used.
Next, the transparent conductive layer 12 is annealed as necessary. Thereby, the transparent conductive layer 12 becomes, for example, a mixed state of amorphous and polycrystalline or a polycrystalline state, and the conductivity of the transparent conductive layer 12 is improved.
As Step F104, a resist layer is formed.
As shown in FIG. 12B, on the surface of the transparent conductive layer 12, a resist layer 41 having openings 33 at portions corresponding to the above-described hole portions 13a and the gap portions 14b is patterned by a lithography technique.
The resist layer 41 corresponding to the hole portion 13a is formed based on the random pattern for the transparent electrode pattern portion formed in step F101. Further, the resist layer 41 corresponding to the gap portion 14b is formed based on the random pattern for the transparent insulating pattern portion formed in step F102.
As a material of the resist layer 41, for example, either an organic resist or an inorganic resist may be used. As the organic resist, for example, a novolac resist or a chemically amplified resist can be used. Moreover, as an inorganic type resist, the metal compound which consists of 1 type, or 2 or more types of transition metals can be used, for example.
Development is performed as step F105.
As shown in FIG. 12C, the transparent conductive layer 12 is etched using the resist layer 41 in which the plurality of openings 33 are formed as an etching mask.
Thereby, the hole 13a and the conductive portion 13b are formed in the transparent conductive layer 12 in the region R1, and the island portion 14a and the gap portion 14b are formed in the transparent conductive layer 12 in the region R2. As the etching, for example, both dry etching and wet etching can be used. From the viewpoint of simple equipment, it is preferable to use wet etching.
In step F106, the resist layer is peeled off.
As shown in FIG. 12D, the resist layer 41 formed on the transparent conductive layer 12 is removed by ashing or the like.
As a result, the intended transparent conductive element 1 is obtained.
<5. Production Method II>
Next, a manufacturing method II of the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2 using a printing method will be described with reference to FIGS. 11B, 13, and 14.
As shown in FIG. 11B, in step F201, a random pattern used for the transparent electrode pattern unit 13 is generated.
In step F202, a random pattern used for the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 is generated. The random pattern for the transparent electrode pattern part and the random pattern for the transparent insulating pattern part are such that the pattern generation conditions (radius range, graphic drawing condition in the generated circle, random number weighting described later, etc.) are different from each other. Set to and generate.
The points related to steps F201 and F202 are the same as steps F101 and F102 of FIG. 11A.
In step F203, a master is formed.
FIG. 13A is a perspective view showing an example of the shape of the master. FIG. 13B is an enlarged plan view illustrating a part of the region R1 and the region R2 illustrated in FIG. 13A. The master 100 is, for example, a roll master having a cylindrical surface as a transfer surface, and regions R1 and R2 are alternately laid on the cylindrical surface.
In the region R1, a plurality of concave holes 113a are formed apart from each other, and the holes 113a are separated from each other by convex parts 113b. The hole portion 113a is for forming the hole portion 13a of the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 by printing, and the convex portion 113b is for forming the conductive portion 13b of the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 by printing.
In this case, the arrangement of the hole 113a and the convex 113b is based on the random pattern generated in step F201.
In the region R2, a plurality of island portions 114a having a convex shape are formed apart from each other, and the island portions 114a are separated from each other by a recess 114b. The island portion 114a is for forming the island portion 14a of the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 by printing, and the concave portion 114b is for forming the gap portion 14b of the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 by printing.
In this case, the arrangement of the islands 114a and the recesses 114b is based on the random pattern generated in step F202.
In step F204, the conductive ink is printed using the master 100 described above.
First, as shown in FIG. 14A, conductive ink is applied to the transfer surface of the master 100, and the applied conductive ink is printed on the surface of the substrate 11.
As the printing method, for example, screen printing, waterless flat printing, flexographic printing, gravure printing, gravure offset printing, reverse offset printing, and the like can be used.
Next, drying or baking is performed in step F205.
As shown in FIG. 14B, the conductive ink printed on the surface of the substrate 11 is heated and dried and / or baked as necessary.
Thus, the intended transparent conductive element 1 can be obtained.
<6. Method for forming random pattern>
As described above, in the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2 of the present embodiment, the conductive material portion is formed based on the random patterns that are different between the transparent

electrode pattern portions

13 and 23 and the transparent

insulating pattern portions

14 and 24.
Here, an example of a method of forming a random pattern itself that is the basis for forming such a conductive material portion will be described. As an example, a method of generating a random pattern for forming the circular holes 13a and 23a and the

islands

14a and 24a will be described, but the shape of the random pattern is not limited to this.
First, when arranging the circle by changing the radius of the circle at random within the set range, the center coordinates of the circle are calculated and arranged so that the adjacent circle is always in contact with each other. Generated random pattern. In this case, the following (1) and (2) algorithms can obtain a random pattern with a small amount of calculation and a uniform random arrangement with high density.
(1) Arrange the circles with “radius random within a certain range” on the X axis so as to touch each other. The necessary parameters are shown below. Xmax: X coordinate maximum value of a region for generating a circle Yw: Setting of the maximum value of Y coordinate that can be taken by the center of the circle when placing the circle on the X axis Rmin: Minimum radius of the circle to be generated Rmax: Circle to be generated Maximum radius Rnd: a random value Pn obtained in a range of 0.0 to 1.0: a circle defined by an X coordinate value xn, a Y coordinate value yn, and a radius rn
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating the algorithm (1). As shown in this figure, the Y coordinate value is randomly determined in the range of 0.0 to approximately Rmin on the X axis, and the circle whose radius is determined randomly in the range of Rmin to Rmax Arrangement so as to touch the circle is repeated, and one row of circles is randomly arranged on the X axis.
The algorithm (1) will be described below using the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, in step S1, necessary parameters are set in the above (1). Next, in step S2, the circle P0 (x0, y0, r0) is set as follows.
x0 = 0.0
y0 = 0.0
r0 = Rmin + (Rmax−Rmin) × Rnd
By using the random number value Rnd as a coefficient, the radius of the circle P0 is set at random.
Thereafter, in step S2 ′, n = 1 is set.
Next, in step S3, the circle Pn (xn, yn, rn) is determined by the following equation.
rn = Rmin + (Rmax−Rmin) × Rnd
yn = Yw × Rnd
xn = xn-1 + (rn-rn-1) * cos (asin (yn-yn-1) / (rn-rn-1))
The radius of the circle Pn is also set at random by using the random number value Rnd as a coefficient. The center Y coordinate value yn is also set at random within the range of Yw.
Next, in step S4, it is determined whether or not Xn> Xmax. If it is determined in step S4 that Xn> Xmax, the process ends. If it is determined in step S4 that Xn> Xmax is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, the circle Pn (xn, yn, rn) is stored. Next, in step S6, the value of n is incremented, and the process proceeds to step S3. That is, the next circle Pn (xn, yn, rn) is determined.
(2) “Random radius circle” is determined, stacked in order from the bottom so as to touch two existing circles and not overlap other circles. The necessary parameters are shown below. Ymax: Y coordinate maximum value of a region for generating a circle Rmin: Minimum radius of a generated circle Rmax: Maximum radius of a generated circle Rfill: Minimum radius Rnd for setting a circle in order to increase the filling rate Rnd: 0 A random value Pn obtained in the range of 0.0 to 1.0: a circle defined by an X coordinate value xn, a Y coordinate value yn, and a radius rn
FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating the algorithm (2). As shown in this figure, based on the circles arranged in a line on the X axis determined in (1) (shown by broken lines), a circle with a random radius in the range from Rmin to Rmax is determined, and the Y coordinate is Arrange the circles so that they touch the other circles from the smallest. Moreover, Rfill smaller than Rmin is set, and the filling rate is improved by filling the gap only when a gap that cannot be filled with the determined circle is formed. If a circle smaller than Rmin is not used, Rfill = Rmin is set.
The algorithm (2) will be described below using the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, in step S11, necessary parameters are set in (2) described above.
Next, in step S12, a circle Pi having the smallest Y coordinate value yi is obtained from the circles P0 to Pn generated in (1).
Next, in step S13, it is determined whether yi <Ymax. If it is determined in step S13 that yi <Ymax is not satisfied (No), the process ends. That is, it is determined that the stacking of the circles up to the Y coordinate maximum value has been completed, and the processing ends. If it is determined in step S13 that yi <Ymax (Yes), the process proceeds to step S14 and subsequent steps, and processing for adding circles is performed.
The radius rk of the circle Pk added in step S14 is set to rk = Rmin + (Rmax−Rmin) × Rnd. By using the random number value Rnd as a coefficient, the radius rk of the circle Pk is set at random. Next, in step S15, a circle Pj having a minimum Y coordinate value yi is obtained in the vicinity of the circle Pi, excluding the circle Pi.
Next, in step S16, it is determined whether or not a minimum circle Pi exists. If it is determined in step S16 that the minimum circle Pi does not exist, Pi is invalidated in step S17. If it is determined in step S16 that the minimum circle Pi exists, in step S18, it is determined whether or not there is a circle Pk having a radius rk in contact with the circle Pi and the circle Pj.
FIG. 19 shows how to obtain the coordinates when arranging so that a circle with an arbitrary radius is in contact with two circles in contact with each other in step S18.
That is, according to the equation shown in the figure, cos θi is obtained using the coordinates (xi, yi) and radius ri of the circle Pi, the coordinates (xj, yj) and radius rj of the circle Pj, and the radius rk of the circle Pk to be added, The coordinates (xk, yk) of the circle Pk to be added are calculated using θi.
Next, in step S19, it is determined whether or not there is a circle Pk having a radius rk in contact with the circle Pi and the circle Pj. If it is determined in step S19 that the circle Pk does not exist, the combination of the circle Pi and the circle Pj is excluded in step S20. If it is determined in step S19 that the circle Pk exists, it is determined in step S21 whether or not there is a circle overlapping the circle Pk from the circle P0 to the circle Pn. If it is determined in step S21 that there are no overlapping circles, the circle Pk (xk, yk, rk) is stored in step S24. Next, the value of n is incremented in step S25, Pn = Pk is set in step S26, the value of k is further incremented in step S27, and the process proceeds to step S12.
If it is determined in step S21 that overlapping circles exist, it is determined in step S22 whether or not overlapping can be avoided by reducing the radius rk of the circle Pk within a range equal to or greater than Rfill. If it is determined in step S22 that the overlap cannot be avoided, the combination of the circle Pi and the circle Pj is excluded in step S20. If it is determined in step S22 that the overlap can be avoided, the radius rk is set to the maximum value that can avoid the overlap in step S23. Next, in step S24, the circle Pk (xk, yk, rk) is stored. Next, the value of n is incremented in step S25, Pn = Pk is set in step S26, and the value of k is incremented in step S27, and the process proceeds to step S12.
By the above processing, for example, circles are randomly arranged on a plane as shown in FIG.
By reducing each circle from such a random circle pattern, a random pattern corresponding to the arrangement of the holes 13a and the islands 14a can be formed. For example, for several circles on the upper right in FIG. 20, a circle T reduced at a certain reduction rate is indicated by a wavy line. By reducing the size of all the circles in this way, a random pattern corresponding to the hole 13a and the island 14a that are separated from each other can be obtained.
Of course, not only simply reducing the circle, but also by drawing a figure smaller than the circle in the generated circle, it is possible to form a pattern having an isolated shape. Examples of shapes of figures drawn in a circle are assumed to be circles, ellipses, polygons, polygons with rounded corners, indeterminate shapes, etc., and thereby random patterns that form holes 13a and islands 14a other than circles. Can be generated.
The random pattern used for the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the random pattern used for the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 are basically generated by the above method. In this example, the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 use different random patterns. However, the generation conditions are different when generating each random pattern.
As the different generation conditions, the above parameter setting is first assumed. For example, by setting different values for Rmin, Rmax, and Rfill, the radius ranges of random circles generated as shown in FIG. 20 are different.
Further, the reduction rate from the state shown in FIG. 20 to the circle T (or another figure arranged in the circle) may be different.
Moreover, you may make it the figure arrange | positioned at random differ. For example, one is a circle and the other is a square. One may be a random dot pattern, and the other may be a random mesh pattern.
Furthermore, although a random value obtained in the range of 0.0 to 1.0 is used as the random value Rnd, it is also conceivable to assign different weights thereto.
Of course, these may be combined.
Since these generation conditions are different, the random pattern used for the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 and the random pattern used for the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 are different from each other, thereby realizing a desired coverage of the conductive material portion.
The weighting of random numbers will be described.
The radius of the circle generated as shown in FIG.
Circle radius = minimum radius Rmin + (maximum radius Rmax−minimum radius Rmin) × random number value Rnd.
The random value Rnd is a random number obtained in the range of 0.0 to 1.0.
By assigning this random number to a calculation formula in which the calculation result is in the range of 0 to 1, weight distribution can be weighted.
For example, random value [Rnd] ³ By doing so, the distribution of small circle radii can be increased.
Random value [Rnd] ^1/3 By doing so, the distribution of large circle radii can be increased, and the filling rate of circles (dots) can be increased.
In FIG. 21A, y = x ^1/3 , Y = x ³ As shown, the random numbers after weighting are shown.
FIG. 21B shows the frequency of the diameter of the circle (dot) when the random number is weighted in this way.
This is a case where a circular random pattern is generated under the following conditions as the generated random pattern.
-Radius range: 35-56μm
-Radius reduction value: 10 μm
In FIG. 21B, when the line NW is not weighted, the line AW is y = x ^1/3 The frequency distribution when the above weighting is performed is shown by a 1 μm diameter pitch.
It can be seen that it is possible to increase the dot filling rate by increasing the frequency of occurrence of large diameter circles by weighting random numbers.
Conversely, it is possible to increase the frequency of small diameters and reduce the dot filling rate. However, if the frequency of the arbitrary diameter is increased too much, the randomness decreases, and moire or diffracted light may be generated. In the frequency distribution with a 1 μm diameter pitch, the frequency of the arbitrary diameter is preferably 35% or less.
By the way, the generation of a random pattern such as a dot shape or a polygonal shape in a circle has been described so far, but generation of a random mesh pattern as shown in FIG. 22A will also be described.
When generating a random mesh pattern, for example, a random circle arrangement pattern as shown in FIG.
In FIG. 22B, a mesh pattern is formed by drawing lines at random angles with respect to this random circle pattern.
That is, using the center coordinates of each circle as they are, a straight line passing through the center of each circle is drawn. At this time, by randomly determining the rotation angle of each straight line in the range of 0 to 180 degrees, a line having a random inclination is formed as shown in the figure.
By doing so, a random mesh pattern can be generated.
Further, the method of FIG. 22C may be used.
Also in the case of FIG. 22C, a random circle arrangement pattern generated as shown in FIG. 20 is used. In this case, a line segment connecting the center coordinates of adjacent circles is subtracted from the center coordinates of each circle. That is, the centers of neighboring circles are connected. By doing so, a random mesh pattern can be generated.
22B and 22C, two different types of random patterns can be generated by changing parameter settings or changing the weighting of random values.
In addition, it is possible to easily form random patterns having different coverage ratios of the conductive material portions by changing the thickness of the straight lines formed at random.
<7. Transparent conductive element using metal nanowire>
When the transparent conductive layer 12 is formed of metal nanowires, if the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 is subjected to random pattern processing, the metal nanowire coating area is reduced, thereby reducing the reflection L value of the conductive portion.
As a result, the black display on the screen of the conductive material portion sinks further, and the display characteristics (contrast) of the display are improved as compared with the case where a linear pattern or a diamond pattern is used. Further, by combining a predetermined surface treatment, the reflection L value can be kept lower in both the conductive material portion and the non-conductive portion, and the contrast is further improved.
A transparent conductive film using metal nanowires as a conductive material can be formed using a coating process instead of sputtering like a transparent conductive film using ITO. Since the coating process does not require a vacuum environment unlike sputtering, it can be expected to reduce manufacturing costs. Moreover, the transparent conductive film using the metal nanowire has been attracting attention as a next-generation transparent conductive film that does not use indium which is a rare metal.
FIG. 23A shows a structural example of a transparent conductive element using metal nanowires. A transparent conductive film 81 using metal nanowires is formed on the substrate 80. In the transparent conductive film 81, in addition to the metal nanowires, surface treatment dyes, dispersants, binders and the like are also used.
The base material 80 is, for example, a transparent inorganic base material or plastic base material. As the shape of the substrate, for example, a transparent film, sheet, substrate or the like can be used. Examples of the material of the inorganic base material include quartz, sapphire, and glass. As a material for the plastic substrate, for example, a known polymer material can be used. Specific examples of known polymer materials include triacetyl cellulose (TAC), polyester (TPEE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyimide (PI), polyamide (PA), and aramid. , Polyethylene (PE), polyacrylate, polyether sulfone, polysulfone, polypropylene (PP), diacetyl cellulose, polyvinyl chloride, acrylic resin (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), epoxy resin, urea resin, urethane resin, melamine resin And cycloolefin polymer (COP). The thickness of the plastic substrate is preferably 38 to 500 μm from the viewpoint of productivity, but is not particularly limited to this range.
The constituent element of the metal nanowire is composed of one or more selected from Ag, Au, Ni, Cu, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ir, Ru, Os, Fe, Co, and Sn.
The average minor axis diameter of the nanowire is preferably larger than 1 nm and not larger than 500 nm, and the average major axis length is preferably larger than 1 μm and not larger than 1000 μm.
When the average minor axis diameter is smaller than 1 nm, the conductivity of the wire is deteriorated and it is difficult to function as a conductive film after coating.
Further, when the average minor axis diameter is larger than 500 nm, the total light transmittance is deteriorated. When the average major axis length is shorter than 1 μm, the wires are not easily connected to each other and do not function as a conductive film after application.
In addition, when the average major axis length is longer than 1000 μm, the total light transmittance is deteriorated. Alternatively, the dispersibility of nanowires when formed into a paint tends to deteriorate.
In order to improve the dispersibility of the metal nanowires in the paint, the metal nanowires may be surface-treated with an amino group-containing compound such as PVP or polyethyleneimine.
It is preferable to make the addition amount so that the conductivity is not deteriorated when the coating is formed. In addition, sulfo group (including sulfonate), sulfonyl group, sulfonamide group, carboxylic acid group (including carboxylate), amide group, phosphate group (including phosphate and phosphate ester), phosphino group, silanol group A compound having a functional group such as an epoxy group, an isocyanate group, a cyano group, a vinyl group, a thiol group, or a carbinol group that can be adsorbed to a metal may be used as a dispersant.
As the solvent, a solvent in which metal nanowires are dispersed is used. For example, water, alcohol (methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, i-propanol, n-butanol, i-butanol, sec-butanol, tert-butanol, etc.), anone (cyclohexanone, cyclopentanone), amide (DMF), At least one selected from sulfide (DMSO) or the like is used. In order to suppress drying unevenness and cracks on the coated surface, a high boiling point solvent can be further added to control the evaporation rate of the solvent. For example, butyl cellosolve, diacetone alcohol, butyl triglycol, propylene glycol monomethyl ether, propylene glycol monoethyl ether, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether, ethylene glycol monopropyl ether, ethylene glycol monoisopropyl ether, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, Diethylene glycol monomethyl ether Diethylene glycol diethyl ether, dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether, tripropylene glycol monomethyl ether, propylene glycol monobutyl ether, propylene glycol isopropyl ether, dipropylene glycol isopropyl ether, tripropylene glycol Propyl ether, methyl glycol. These solvents may be used alone or in combination.
Applicable binder materials can be widely selected from known transparent natural polymer resins or synthetic polymer resins.
For example, a transparent thermoplastic resin (for example, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, polymethyl methacrylate, nitrocellulose, chlorinated polyethylene, chlorinated polypropylene, vinylidene fluoride, ethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose), A transparent curable resin (for example, a melamine acrylate, urethane acrylate, isocyanate, epoxy resin, polyimide resin, silicon resin such as acrylic-modified silicate) that can be cured by heat, light, electron beam, or radiation can be used.
Furthermore, examples of the additive include a surfactant, a viscosity modifier, a dispersant, a curing accelerating catalyst, a plasticizer, a stabilizer such as an antioxidant and an antisulfurizing agent, and the like.
Further, in order to improve durability, an overcoat layer 82 may be separately provided after the metal nanowire is applied as shown in FIG. 23B.
For the overcoat layer 82, hydrolysis / dehydration condensate such as polyacrylic, polyamide, polyester, cellulose or metal alkoxide can be used. Further, it is desirable that the thickness of the overcoat layer 82 is a thickness that does not significantly deteriorate the optical characteristics.
In order to improve adhesion, an anchor layer 83 may be separately provided on the substrate 80 before applying the metal nanowires as shown in FIG. 23C.
The anchor layer 83 may be hydrolyzed / dehydrated condensate such as polyacrylic, polyamide, polyester, cellulose, or metal alkoxide. It is desirable that the anchor layer 83 has a thickness that does not significantly deteriorate the optical characteristics.
Both the overcoat layer and the anchor layer may be used in combination.
The transparent conductive film 81 using metal nanowires is manufactured through the following steps.
(Step 1) Disperse metal nanowires in a solvent.
As a dispersion method, stirring, ultrasonic dispersion, bead dispersion, kneading, homogenizer treatment, or the like can be preferably applied. The compounding amount of the nanowire is 0.01 to 10 parts by weight when the weight of the coating is 100 parts by weight. When the amount is less than 0.01 part by weight, a sufficient basis weight cannot be obtained when a film is formed by coating. On the other hand, when larger than 10 weight part, it exists in the tendency for the dispersibility of nanowire to deteriorate.
In order to improve the dispersibility of the metal nanowire, an amino group-containing compound such as PVP or polyethyleneimine may be added as a dispersant to the metal nanowire dispersion. When adding a dispersing agent, it is preferable to make it the addition amount of the grade that electroconductivity does not deteriorate when it forms a coating film. In addition, sulfo group (including sulfonate), sulfonyl group, sulfonamide group, carboxylic acid group (including carboxylate), amide group, phosphate group (including phosphate and phosphate ester), phosphino group, silanol group A compound having a functional group such as an epoxy group, an isocyanate group, a cyano group, a vinyl group, a thiol group, or a carbinol group that can be adsorbed to a metal may be used as a dispersant.
In order to improve applicability, adhesion and durability to the substrate 80, a binder, an additive, or the like may be mixed.
(Step 2) A transparent conductive film made of metal nanowires on a substrate is prepared.
Although there is no particular limitation on this method, a wet film-forming method is preferable in consideration of physical properties, convenience, production costs, and the like, and examples of known methods include coating, spraying, and printing. The coating method is not particularly limited, and a known coating method can be used. Known coating methods include, for example, micro gravure coating method, wire bar coating method, direct gravure coating method, die coating method, dip method, spray coating method, reverse roll coating method, curtain coating method, comma coating method, knife coating method. And spin coating method.
Examples of the printing method include letterpress, offset, gravure, intaglio, rubber plate, screen, and ink jet printing.
(Step 3) After coating, the solvent is dried.
Either natural drying or heat drying may be used. Further, when the binder is cured, it is cured by UV or heat. Further, in order to reduce the sheet resistance value, a pressurizing process using a calendar may be performed.
The basis weight (g / m 2) of the metal nanowires in the metal nanowire layer in FIG. 23A is preferably 0.001 g to 1 g. When it is less than 0.001 g, metal nanowires are not sufficiently present in the coating film, and the performance as a transparent conductive film is deteriorated. When the basis weight is large, the sheet resistance value is lowered. However, when the weight is larger than 1 g, the total light transmittance is deteriorated because the metal nanowires are excessively present in the coating film.
<8. Position detection marker>
A position detection marker for improving the efficiency of the manufacturing process of the input device 10 of the present embodiment will be described.
In the input device 10 of the present embodiment, the invisibility of the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2 is improved. Correspondingly, it becomes difficult to align the silver wiring in the printing formation process, the X electrode and Y electrode bonding process, and the like.
Therefore, it is preferable to form a position detection marker having a size of about 1 to 30 mmφ on the base material. This is because if this marker is detected by an optical method or the like, a silver wiring can be formed at a predetermined position on the substrate and a bonding step can be performed.
FIG. 24 shows a state where a large number of transparent conductive layers 12 are formed on the sheet of the base material 11 before cutting.
A position detection marker MP is formed at a predetermined position on the sheet.
For example, the position detection marker MP is preferably arranged outside the region where the pattern of the transparent conductive layer 12 is formed.
Since the position detection marker MP is not required after the input device 10 (touch panel) is assembled, if the position detection marker MP is disposed at the above position, the position detection marker MP can be easily removed after the touch panel is assembled.
However, the position detection marker MP is not necessarily outside the pattern of the transparent conductive layer 12. You may form in the part hidden in a frame in the input device 10, ie, the peripheral part of the transparent conductive layer 12, etc.
<9. Silver wiring area>
In the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2, the island part 14a does not have to be disposed in a region where silver wiring is formed (a part of the transparent insulating pattern part).
FIG. 25A shows the transparent conductive element 1, FIG. 25B shows a part thereof enlarged, and the area AR10 is an area where the silver wiring 18 is formed.
In FIG. 25C, a part of the area AR10 is enlarged as an island part 14a is arranged in the area AR10.
When the island part 14a is arranged in the area AR10 where the silver wiring is formed as shown in FIG. 25C, when the interval between the silver wirings is narrow, the adjacent silver wirings 18 are separated from each other as shown by the broken line PST. There is a risk of short-circuiting by the island 14a.
The area AR10 is an area hidden by the frame of the input device 10 (touch panel) and does not affect the non-visibility effect.
Therefore, it is not necessary to arrange a random pattern in such a silver wiring area AR10, or in an area hidden by a frame regardless of the presence or absence of silver wiring.
<10. Modification of input device structure>
Here, a modified example of the structure of the transparent

conductive elements

1 and 2 in the input device 10 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 26A, the transparent conductive layer 12 may be formed on one surface of the substrate 21 of the transparent conductive element 2, and the transparent conductive layer 22 may be formed on the other surface.
In this case, in the input device 10 shown in FIG. 1, the formation of the base material 11 can be omitted.
As shown in FIG. 26B, a hard coat layer 61 may be formed on at least one of the two surfaces of the transparent conductive element 1.
Thereby, when using a plastic base material for the base material 11, the damage of the base material 11 in a process, chemical-resistance provision, and precipitation of low molecular weight substances, such as an oligomer, can be suppressed. As the hard coat material, it is preferable to use an ionizing radiation curable resin that is cured by light or electron beam, or a thermosetting resin that is cured by heat, and a photosensitive resin that is cured by ultraviolet rays is most preferable. As such a photosensitive resin, for example, acrylate resins such as urethane acrylate, epoxy acrylate, polyester acrylate, polyol acrylate, polyether acrylate, and melamine acrylate can be used. For example, a urethane acrylate resin is obtained by reacting a polyester polyol with an isocyanate monomer or a prepolymer, and reacting the resulting product with an acrylate or methacrylate monomer having a hydroxyl group. The thickness of the hard coat layer 61 is preferably 1 μm to 20 μm, but is not particularly limited to this range.
The hard coat layer 61 is formed by applying a hard coat paint to the substrate 11. The coating method is not particularly limited, and a known coating method can be used. Known coating methods include, for example, micro gravure coating method, wire bar coating method, direct gravure coating method, die coating method, dip method, spray coating method, reverse roll coating method, curtain coating method, comma coating method, knife coating. Method, spin coating method and the like. The hard coat paint contains, for example, a resin raw material such as a bifunctional or higher functional monomer and / or oligomer, a photopolymerization initiator, and a solvent. The solvent is volatilized by drying the hard coat paint applied on the substrate 11. Thereafter, the hard coat paint dried on the substrate 11 is cured, for example, by irradiation with ionizing radiation or heating.
Note that, similarly to the transparent conductive element 1 described above, the hard coat layer 61 may be formed on at least one of the two surfaces of the transparent conductive element 2.
As shown in FIG. 26C, it is preferable to interpose the optical adjustment layer 62 between the base material 11 and the transparent conductive layer 12 of the transparent conductive element 1. Thereby, the invisibility of the pattern shape of the transparent electrode pattern part 13 can be assisted.
The optical adjustment layer 62 is composed of, for example, a laminate of two or more layers having different refractive indexes, and the transparent conductive layer 12 is formed on the low refractive index layer side. More specifically, as the optical adjustment layer 62, for example, a conventionally known optical adjustment layer can be used. As such an optical adjustment layer, for example, those described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2008-98169, 2010-15861, 2010-23282, and 2010-27294 are used. be able to. Note that, similarly to the transparent conductive element 1 described above, the optical adjustment layer 62 may be interposed between the base 21 and the transparent conductive layer 22 of the transparent conductive element 2.
As shown in FIG. 26D, it is preferable to provide a close adhesion auxiliary layer 63 as a base layer of the transparent conductive layer 12 of the transparent conductive element 1. Thereby, the adhesiveness of the transparent conductive layer 12 with respect to the base material 11 can be improved.
Examples of the material of the adhesion auxiliary layer 63 include polyacrylic resins, polyamide resins, polyamideimide resins, polyester resins, and hydrolysis / dehydration condensation products such as metal element chlorides, peroxides, and alkoxides. Etc. can be used.
Instead of using the adhesion auxiliary layer 63, a discharge treatment in which a surface on which the transparent conductive layer 12 is provided is irradiated with glow discharge or corona discharge may be used. Moreover, you may use the chemical treatment method processed with the acid or alkali on the surface in which the transparent conductive layer 12 is provided.
Moreover, after providing the transparent conductive layer 12, you may make it improve contact | adherence by a calendar process. In the transparent conductive element 2, the adhesion auxiliary layer 63 may be provided in the same manner as the transparent conductive element 1. Moreover, you may make it perform the process for the above-mentioned adhesive improvement.
As shown in FIG. 26E, it is preferable to form a shield layer 64 on the transparent conductive element 1. For example, a film provided with the shield layer 64 may be bonded to the first transparent conductive element 1 via a transparent adhesive layer. In addition, when the X electrode pattern and the Y electrode pattern are formed on the same surface side of the single substrate 11, the shield layer 64 may be directly formed on the opposite side.
As the material of the shield layer 64, the same material as that of the transparent conductive layer 12 can be used. As a method for forming the shield layer 64, a method similar to that for the transparent conductive layer 12 can be used. However, the shield layer 64 is used in a state where it is formed on the entire surface of the substrate 11 without patterning.
By forming the shield layer 64 on the transparent conductive element 1, noise caused by electromagnetic waves emitted from the display device 4 can be reduced, and the position detection accuracy of the input device 10 can be improved. Note that, similarly to the transparent conductive element 1, the shield layer 64 may be formed on the transparent conductive element 2.
<11. Example of electronic device structure>
27 to 31 show an example of an electronic apparatus in which a display device provided with the input device of the present embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1 on a display surface is applied to a display unit. Hereinafter, application examples of the electronic apparatus of the present technology will be described.
FIG. 27 is a perspective view illustrating a television to which the present technology is applied. The television 200 according to this application example includes a display unit 201 including a front panel 202, a filter glass 203, and the like, and the display device described above is applied as the display unit 201.
FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a digital camera to which the present technology is applied. FIG. 28A is a perspective view seen from the front side, and FIG. 28B is a perspective view seen from the back side. A digital camera 210 according to this application example includes a light emitting unit 211 for flash, a display unit 212, a menu switch 213, a shutter button 214, and the like, and the display device described above is applied as the display unit 212.
FIG. 29 is a perspective view illustrating a notebook personal computer to which the present technology is applied. The notebook personal computer 220 according to this application example includes a keyboard 222 that is operated when a character or the like is input, a display unit 223 that displays an image, and the like on the main body 221, and the display device described above as the display unit 223. Apply.
FIG. 30 is a perspective view illustrating a video camera to which the present technology is applied. The video camera 230 according to this application example includes a main body 231, a subject shooting lens 232 on the side facing forward, a start / stop switch 233 at the time of shooting, a display unit 234, and the like. Apply the described display device.
FIG. 31 is a perspective view illustrating a mobile terminal device to which the present technology is applied. The mobile terminal device 240 according to this application example includes a display unit 241 provided in the center of the front panel, a sensor 242 provided in the periphery thereof, a speaker 243, and an operation switch 244, and the display device described above as the display unit 241 Apply.
In each electronic device according to the present embodiment described above, the display device including the input device according to the present embodiment on the display surface is used for the display unit. The apparatus is not obstructed and a high-definition display can be performed.

As in Examples 1 to 30 below, two transparent conductive elements (X electrode and Y electrode) having a transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion were produced, and the two produced transparent conductive elements were A laminated body (X electrode + Y electrode) was produced. About each produced transparent conductive element and these laminated bodies, the non-visibility of a transparent electrode pattern part, a moire, interference light, and glare were evaluated. The parameters and evaluation results of each example are shown together in FIGS.
In addition, the non-visibility of the transparent electrode pattern portion, the moire / interference light, and the glare were evaluated as follows. First, it was bonded on a 3.5 inch diagonal liquid crystal display via an adhesive sheet so that the surface of the transparent conductive element or the laminate of the transparent conductive layer in the laminate was opposed to the screen. Next, an AR film was bonded to the transparent conductive element or the substrate side of these laminates via an adhesive sheet. Thereafter, the liquid crystal display was displayed in black or green, and the display surface was visually observed to evaluate non-visibility, moire / interference light, and glare. The evaluation criteria for each item are as follows.
− Invisibility −
◎: The pattern cannot be seen at all from any angle ○: The pattern is very difficult to see, but can be seen depending on the angle ×: Visible − Moire / interference light −
◎: Moire and interference light are not felt when observed from any angle ○: Moire and interference light are not observed when observed from the front, but moiré and interference light are felt slightly when observed from the front ×: Observed from the front Moiré and interference light can be felt-Glitter-
◎: No glare observed from any angle ○: No glare observed from the front, but slight glare observed from the diagonal ×: Glare observed from the front <Example # 1 to # 12: ITO layer>
A PET film having a thickness of 125 μm was used as a base material, and a transparent conductive layer made of ITO was formed on the base material by a sputtering method to obtain a transparent conductive film. The sheet resistance of this transparent conductive film was 150Ω / □.
Next, a resist layer was formed on the transparent conductive layer made of ITO, and the resist layer was exposed using a Cr photomask on which a random pattern was formed. At this time, a circular random pattern was adopted as the random pattern of the Cr photomask.
Next, the resist layer was developed to form a resist pattern. ITO was wet etched using the resist pattern as a mask, and then the resist layer was removed by ashing. The resist pattern used here was based on the parameters of each example shown in FIG.
Here, an example of the transparent conductive element in the present embodiment is shown in FIG. As an example of a transparent conductive element employing a circular random pattern, FIG. 35A shows an X electrode transparent conductive element, and FIG. 35B shows a Y electrode transparent conductive element.
As described above, based on the parameters of the respective embodiments shown in FIG. 32, the two transparent conductive elements having the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion on which different random patterns are formed, that is, the transparent conductivity of the X electrode The transparent conductive element of the conductive element and the Y electrode was produced. A laminate (X electrode + Y electrode) in which the two transparent conductive elements thus produced were overlapped so that the respective transparent electrode pattern portions were crossed was produced. Further, FIG. 32 also shows the evaluation results of the non-visibility of the transparent electrode pattern portion, moire / interference light, and glare.
From the evaluation results shown in FIG. 32, good invisibility can be obtained even if the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion are formed by different random patterns from each other for both the transparent conductive element and the laminate. Was confirmed. In particular, it was confirmed that very good non-visibility was obtained when the difference in coverage by the conductive material was 30% or less. Further, it was confirmed that the moire / interference light and the glare were extremely good.
<Examples # 13 to # 30: Silver (Ag) nanowire layer>
Using a PET film having a thickness of 125 μm as a base material, a transparent conductive layer composed of a silver (Ag) nanowire layer was formed on the base material by a coating method to obtain a transparent conductive film. The sheet resistance of this transparent conductive film was 100Ω / □. Thereafter, the same procedure as in Examples # 1 to # 12 was performed based on the parameters of the examples shown in FIGS.
However, in the transparent insulating pattern portions in Examples # 19 and # 20, a random mesh pattern was adopted as a random pattern of the Cr photomask. In the transparent electrode pattern portions in Examples # 14, # 19, and # 20, a random pattern was not provided, and a solid coating pattern with a conductive material coverage of 100% was used.
Here, an example of a transparent conductive element employing a random mesh pattern is shown in FIG. In the transparent conductive element shown in FIG. 36, the transparent electrode pattern portion 13 is a solid coating pattern with a conductive material coverage of 100%, and the transparent insulating pattern portion 14 is a random mesh pattern.
As described above, based on the parameters of the respective embodiments shown in FIGS. 33 and 34, two transparent conductive elements having a transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion on which different random patterns are formed, that is, the X electrode A transparent conductive element and a transparent conductive element of a Y electrode were produced. A laminate (X electrode + Y electrode) in which the two transparent conductive elements thus produced were overlapped so that the respective transparent electrode pattern portions were crossed was produced. Further, FIGS. 33 and 34 also show the evaluation results of the non-visibility of the transparent electrode pattern portion, moire / interference light, and glare.
From the evaluation results shown in FIGS. 33 and 34, the same effects as in Examples # 1 to 12 were confirmed even when a silver nanowire layer was used as the transparent conductive layer. That is, for both the transparent conductive element and the laminate, it was confirmed that good invisibility could be obtained even when the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion were formed by different random patterns. In particular, when the coverage difference due to the conductive material is 60% or less, good non-visibility is obtained. Furthermore, when the coverage difference due to the conductive material is 30% or less, extremely good non-visibility is obtained. It was confirmed that Further, it was confirmed that the moire / interference light and the glare were extremely good.
Furthermore, in the case of the transparent conductive film which consists of a silver nanowire layer, when the transparent electrode pattern part was subjected to random pattern processing, the coverage of the conductive material was lowered and the area covered by the silver nanowire layer was reduced. Therefore, irregular reflection of external light on the surface of the silver nanowire is suppressed, and the value of the reflection L value of the conductive portion in the transparent electrode pattern portion is small. Thereby, in the structure which has arrange | positioned the transparent electrode element on the display surface of a display apparatus, for example, in comparison with Example # 14 (coverage 100%) whose transparent electrode pattern part is a solid coating pattern, a transparent electrode pattern part When the transparent conductive element of Example # 13 (coverage: 79.2%) subjected to random pattern processing was used, the effect of sinking the black display on the display screen was observed.
As a result, in a display device provided with a touch panel on a display screen by using a transparent conductive film made of a silver nanowire layer and using a transparent conductive element subjected to random pattern processing as a touch panel, display characteristics The effect of improving was confirmed.
As an additional example, the colored compound is selectively adsorbed on the surface of the silver nanowire by immersing a transparent conductive film made of a silver nanowire layer subjected to random pattern treatment in a solution in which the colored compound is dissolved. Processing was performed. By this process, it was confirmed that the reflection L value becomes smaller in both the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion.
As a result, using a transparent conductive film in which a colored compound is adsorbed on metal nanowires and using a transparent conductive element subjected to random pattern processing as a touch panel, a display panel is provided while providing a touch panel on the surface. It was confirmed that the display characteristics can be maintained.
Although the embodiments and examples of the present technology have been specifically described above, the present technology is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made.
For example, the configurations, methods, steps, shapes, materials, numerical values, and the like given in the above-described embodiments are merely examples, and different configurations, methods, steps, shapes, materials, numerical values, and the like are used as necessary. May be.
Further, the configurations, methods, steps, shapes, materials, numerical values, and the like of the above-described embodiments can be combined with each other without departing from the gist of the present technology.
In the above-described embodiment, the substrate surface may be exposed in a region where the conductive material formed by patterning does not exist, or an intermediate layer (for example, hard coat) formed on the substrate surface. Layer, optical adjustment layer, adhesion auxiliary layer) may be exposed. When the transparent conductive layer is formed of a conductive material and a binder material, the binder material may remain.
In the above-described embodiment, both the X electrode pattern portion and the Y electrode pattern portion may be formed on one of the first surface and the second surface of a single substrate. In this case, it is preferable to employ a configuration in which one of the X electrode pattern portion and the Y electrode pattern portion is electrically connected via a relay electrode at the intersection of the two. As the configuration of the X electrode pattern portion and the Y electrode pattern portion using such a relay electrode, for example, a conventionally known configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-310550 can be employed.
In addition, this technique can also take the following structures.
(1)
A substrate;
On the surface of the base material, transparent electrode pattern portions and transparent insulating pattern portions formed by alternately spreading in a predetermined direction,
With
The transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion each have at least a conductive material portion, and the conductive material portions are formed in different patterns.
(2)
The transparent conductive element according to (1), wherein the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion are formed such that the conductive material portion and the nonconductive portion are different from each other in a random pattern.
(3)
The transparent electrode pattern portion is randomly formed with a plurality of nonconductive portions spaced apart from each other within the formation surface of the conductive material portion,
The transparent insulating pattern portion is formed randomly in the formation surface of the non-conductive portion with the conductive material portion being spaced apart,
The transparent electrode according to (1) or (2), wherein the transparent electrode pattern part and the transparent insulating pattern part have different random patterns formed by the boundary between the conductive material part and the non-conductive part. Conductive element.
(4)
The transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion are arranged in different random patterns by arranging the conductive material portion and the non-conductive portion based on random patterns generated under different generation conditions. (1) The transparent conductive element according to any one of (3).
(5)
The transparent conductive element according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the transparent electrode pattern portion is formed of a plurality of regions having different coverage ratios of the conductive material portion.
(6)
A first transparent conductive element having a transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion formed by alternately spreading on the surface of the substrate in a predetermined direction;
A transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion formed by alternately spreading on the surface of the base material in a direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction, and the first transparent conductivity as viewed from the input surface direction; A second transparent conductive element disposed in a positional relationship superimposed with the element;
With
In the first and second transparent conductive elements, the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion each have at least a conductive material portion, and the conductive material portions are formed in different patterns.
(7)
In the first and second transparent conductive elements, the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion are formed such that the conductive material portion and the nonconductive portion are different from each other in a random pattern. Input device.
(8)
The coverage ratio of the conductive material portion of the first transparent conductive element in all regions viewed from the input surface direction in a state where the first transparent conductive element and the second transparent conductive element are overlapped with each other. The input device according to (6) or (7), wherein a difference in addition value from the coverage of the conductive material portion in the second transparent conductive element is 0 or more and 60 or less.
(9)
The coverage of the conductive material portion of the first transparent conductive element in all regions viewed from the input surface direction in a state where the first transparent conductive element and the second transparent conductive element are overlapped with each other. The input device according to (6) or (7), wherein a difference in addition value from the coverage of the conductive material portion in the second transparent conductive element is 0 or more and 30 or less.
(10)
A display device;
On the display surface of the display device, a first transparent conductive element having a transparent electrode pattern part and a transparent insulating pattern part formed by alternately spreading in a predetermined direction;
The display surface of the display device includes a transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion formed by alternately spreading in a direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction, and the first surface as viewed from the input surface direction. A second transparent conductive element disposed in a positional relationship superimposed on the transparent conductive element of
With
In the first and second transparent conductive elements, the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion each have at least a conductive material portion, and the conductive material portions are formed in different patterns.
(11)
As a method for producing a transparent conductive element comprising a base material and a transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion formed by alternately laying in a predetermined direction on the surface of the base material,
Generating a first random pattern used for the transparent electrode pattern portion;
Generating a second random pattern to be used for the transparent insulating pattern part under a generation condition different from the first random pattern;
Forming a conductive material part in the transparent electrode pattern part and a conductive material part in the transparent insulating pattern part on the substrate based on the first and second random patterns;
A method for producing a transparent conductive element comprising:

1, 2, Transparent conductive element, 3 Optical layer, 4 Display device, 10 Input device, 11, 21 Base material, 12, 22 Transparent conductive layer, 13, 23 Transparent electrode pattern part, 14, 24 Transparent insulation pattern part, 13a , 23a hole part, 13b, 23b conductive part, 14a, 24a island part, 14b, 24b gap part

Claims

A substrate;
On the surface of the base material, transparent electrode pattern portions and transparent insulating pattern portions formed by alternately spreading in a predetermined direction,
With
The transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion each have at least a conductive material portion, and the conductive material portions are formed in different patterns.
The transparent conductive element according to claim 1, wherein the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion are formed such that the conductive material portion and the nonconductive portion are different from each other in a random pattern.
The transparent electrode pattern portion is randomly formed with a plurality of nonconductive portions spaced apart from each other within the formation surface of the conductive material portion,
The transparent insulating pattern portion is formed randomly in the formation surface of the non-conductive portion with the conductive material portion being spaced apart,
2. The transparent conductive element according to claim 1, wherein the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion have different random patterns formed by boundaries between the conductive material portion and the non-conductive portion. .
The transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion are arranged in different random patterns by arranging the conductive material portion and the non-conductive portion based on random patterns generated under different generation conditions. The transparent conductive element according to claim 2.
The transparent conductive element according to claim 1, wherein the transparent electrode pattern portion is formed of a plurality of regions having different coverage ratios of the conductive material portion.
A first transparent conductive element having a transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion formed by alternately spreading on the surface of the substrate in a predetermined direction;
A transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion formed by alternately spreading on the surface of the base material in a direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction, and the first transparent conductivity as viewed from the input surface direction; A second transparent conductive element disposed in a positional relationship superimposed with the element;
With
In the first and second transparent conductive elements, the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion each have at least a conductive material portion, and the conductive material portions are formed in different patterns.
The said transparent electrode pattern part and the said transparent insulation pattern part in the said 1st, 2nd transparent conductive element are the said conductive material part and a nonelectroconductive part are formed in the random pattern from which it mutually differs. Input device.
The coverage of the conductive material portion of the first transparent conductive element in all regions viewed from the input surface direction in a state where the first transparent conductive element and the second transparent conductive element are overlapped with each other. The input device according to claim 6, wherein a difference in addition value from the coverage of the conductive material portion in the second transparent conductive element is 0 or more and 60 or less.
The coverage of the conductive material portion of the first transparent conductive element in all regions viewed from the input surface direction in a state where the first transparent conductive element and the second transparent conductive element are overlapped with each other. The input device according to claim 6, wherein a difference in addition value from the coverage of the conductive material portion in the second transparent conductive element is 0 or more and 30 or less.
A display device;
On the display surface of the display device, a first transparent conductive element having a transparent electrode pattern part and a transparent insulating pattern part formed by alternately spreading in a predetermined direction;
The display surface of the display device includes a transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion formed by alternately spreading in a direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction, and the first surface as viewed from the input surface direction. A second transparent conductive element disposed in a positional relationship superimposed on the transparent conductive element of
With
In the first and second transparent conductive elements, the transparent electrode pattern portion and the transparent insulating pattern portion each have at least a conductive material portion, and the conductive material portions are formed in different patterns.
As a method for producing a transparent conductive element comprising a base material and a transparent electrode pattern portion and a transparent insulating pattern portion formed by alternately laying in a predetermined direction on the surface of the base material,
Generating a first random pattern used for the transparent electrode pattern portion;
Generating a second random pattern to be used for the transparent insulating pattern part under a generation condition different from the first random pattern;
Forming a conductive material part in the transparent electrode pattern part and a conductive material part in the transparent insulating pattern part on the substrate based on the first and second random patterns;
The manufacturing method of the transparent conductive element containing this.