WO2014079285A1

WO2014079285A1 - Single glass touch pad and manufacturing method thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2014079285A1
Application number: PCT/CN2013/084964
Authority: WO
Inventors: 林清山; 陈猷仁
Original assignee: 宸鸿科技(厦门)有限公司
Priority date: 2012-11-22
Filing date: 2013-10-10
Publication date: 2014-05-30
Also published as: TW201421320A; CN103838407B; CN103838407A; TWM455213U; TWI591520B

Abstract

The present invention provides a single glass touch pad, comprising: a cover; a bearing layer, a patterned conductive layer being formed on the bearing layer and comprising a sensing electrode; a signal conductor, electrically connected to the sensing electrode, the signal conductor converging in at least one junction area, the junction area being located on at least one outer side of the sensing electrode, the thickness of the bearing layer in the junction area being greater than the thickness of the bearing layer in a non-junction area; and joining glue, disposed between the cover and the bearing layer, and used for joining the cover and the bearing layer. The present invention also provides a method for forming a single glass touch pad. Using the single glass touch pad of the present invention can alleviate the problem in the manufacturing process that the touch structure in the edge area of the bearing layer is likely to fall or be damaged, thereby increasing the yield of the single glass touch pad.

Description

Monolithic glass touch panel and manufacturing method thereof

技术领域 Technical field

The present invention relates to touch technology, and in particular to a monolithic glass touch panel and a method of fabricating the same.

背景技术 Background technique

In recent years, with the popularity of mobile devices such as smart phones and tablet computers with touch functions, it is becoming more and more important to reduce the production cost of touch panels and make thinner touch panels, and monolithic glass touch panels. It is one of the structures that can meet this requirement.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a conventional technique for fabricating a monolithic glass touch panel is described, which first forms a release layer on the carrier substrate 10 (release). The layer 12 has a larger support carrier 14 formed thereon, and after the touch structure 16 is completed on the support carrier, the edge is cut along the edges C and C' of the release layer 12, and the release layer 12 is utilized. The adhesion of the carrier substrate 10 is not good, and the carrier substrate 10 is separated from the release layer 12, the support carrier 14, the touch structure 16 and the like, and a glass cover (not shown) is attached to obtain a single piece. Glass trackpad. However, in the process of separating the carrier substrate 10, since the thickness of the release layer 12 and the support carrier 14 itself is relatively thin and the touch structure 16 is mainly distributed in the central region of the support carrier 14, the touch of the edge region of the support carrier 14 is separated. The structure is prone to falling off or damaged, which in turn affects the yield of the touchpad. If the thick release layer 12 and the support carrier 14 are used, the light transmittance of the overall touch panel is affected, which in turn affects the display effect of the touch display device using the touch panel. In view of this, the present invention provides a manufacturing method that can effectively solve this problem.

发明内容 Summary of the invention

The present invention provides a monolithic glass touch panel comprising: a cover plate; a carrier layer having a patterned conductive layer including a sensing electrode; a signal conductor electrically connected to the carrier layer Sensing electrode, wherein the signal wire is concentrated to at least one bonding region, and the bonding region is located on at least one outer side of the sensing electrode, wherein a thickness of the carrier layer of the bonding region is greater than a thickness of the carrier layer of the non-bonding region; A bonding glue is disposed between the cover plate and the carrier layer for engaging the cover plate and the carrier layer.

The present invention further provides a method for fabricating a monolithic glass touch panel, comprising: S1: providing a substrate; S2: forming a carrier layer on the substrate, wherein the thickness of the carrier layer preset to the bonding region is greater than the non-bonding region a thickness of the carrier layer; S3: forming a patterned conductive layer on the carrier layer; S4: forming a signal wire electrically connected to the sensing electrode, and the signal wire is concentrated to at least one bonding region, the bonding region is located The sensing electrode has at least one outer side; S5: attaching a cover plate to the patterned conductive layer, and removing the substrate from the carrying layer.

By adopting the manufacturing method of the monolithic glass touch panel of the present invention, the stress applied to the bearing layer of the joint region can be buffered when the substrate is removed, thereby reducing the possibility of the circuit board falling off or being damaged in the joint region. In addition, since the thickness of the non-joining area bearing layer is not thickened, and the bonding area is not the touch area of the main body, the touch panel is not applied to the touch display device. Affects the light transmittance of the main touch panel.

附图说明 DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional method of fabricating a single-piece glass trackpad.

2A-2D are a series of cross-sectional views illustrating the flow of a method of fabricating a monolithic glass trackpad of the present invention in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

3A-3B illustrate a patterned conductive layer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

4A-4B are cross-sectional views showing a single-piece glass track panel of the present invention in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

5A-5C are partial schematic views of another embodiment of a sensing electrode of a monolithic glass trackpad in accordance with the present invention.

具体实施方式 detailed description

The present invention provides several embodiments for illustrating the technical features of the present invention, and the contents of the embodiments and the drawings are only for illustrative purposes. It is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Non-essential elements may be omitted from the drawings, and different features may not be drawn to scale and are for illustrative purposes only. The present disclosure may have overlapping element symbols in different embodiments and does not represent an association between different embodiments or drawings. In addition, an element formed "above", "above", "below" or "below" another element may include an embodiment in which two elements are in direct contact, or may include other additional elements interposed between the two elements. An embodiment. The various components may be displayed at any different scale to make the illustration clear and concise.

Please refer to FIGS. 2A-2D for a series of cross-sectional views according to an embodiment of the present invention for explaining the flow of the method for fabricating the monolithic glass touch panel of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2A, first, a substrate 410 is provided, and a plastic layer 422 is formed on the substrate 410. The substrate 410 serves as a mechanical support for the structure formed in the subsequent step, and may be a transparent or opaque substrate such as a glass substrate, but the material thereof is not limited thereto. The plastic layer 422 has a release ability, which may include polyimide (PI), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin (ABS), polyparaphenylene Ethylene formate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene (PE), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), or a combination thereof . The plastic layer 422 may be a single layer or a multi-layer structure, or may be a stacked structure composed of a material having a release property of the lower layer and a material having no release property of the upper layer. In this step, the plastic layer 422 is made to have a first thickness H1 at the land M of the predetermined bonding circuit board, the second thickness H2 is outside the land M (non-joining area), and the first thickness H1 is greater than the second thickness H2. The first thickness H1 can be between about 0.5 microns and 15 microns, and the second thickness H2 can be between about 0.5 microns and about 10 microns. This step can be carried out by printing, lithography, and spraying.

Subsequently, a buffer layer 424 is formed on the plastic layer 422, and the buffer layer 424 and the plastic layer 422 together form a carrier layer 420 on the substrate 410. In another embodiment, the carrier layer 420 can include only the plastic layer 422, ie, the buffer layer 424 is not formed. The buffer layer 424 can be formed of any transparent material. In an embodiment, the buffer layer 424 is made of silicon oxide and can be chemically deposited (Chemical). Vapor Deposition, CVD) or other suitable method. In another embodiment, the buffer layer 424 can employ an adhesion promoter (Adhesion) containing functional groups of two different characteristics. Promoter), more specifically, The adhesion promoter comprises a functional group of an organophilic material and a functional group of a hydrophilic material, wherein the functional group of the organophilic material may be an amine group, a hydroxyl group, an epoxy group or the like, and the functional group of the parent material may be a hydrogenthio group, An adhesion promoter having an amino group, a hydroxyl group, a phosphate group or the like and a functional group having both of these properties has a good adhesion to an inorganic substance or an organic substance, thereby ensuring that the buffer layer 424 can be adapted to different plastic layer materials.

The buffer layer 424 can have a thickness of between about 10 angstroms and about 3,000 angstroms. The buffer layer 424 has a higher hardness relative to the plastic layer 422. The carrier layer 420 composed of the higher hardness buffer layer 424 and the ductile plastic layer 422 can simultaneously have good release ability and superior load carrying capacity. To improve the reliability of other components subsequently formed on the carrier layer 420. Further, by making the plastic layer 422 and the buffer layer 424 a composite film layer, A carrier layer 420 having both good mechanical strength and release ability can be obtained. Since the thickness of the carrier layer 420 of the bonding region M is only thickened, the thickness of the carrier layer 420 of the non-bonding region is not thickened, and the bonding region M is not the touch region of the main body, so the touch panel is subsequently applied to the touch display device. It does not affect the light transmission of the main touch panel.

Next, the step of FIG. 2B is performed, a conductive layer 430 is formed on the carrier layer 420, and the conductive layer 430 is patterned to form the sensing electrode 432. The conductive layer 430 is a see-through conductive material, and may include indium tin oxide, aluminum zinc oxide, zinc oxide, tin oxide germanium, tin dioxide, indium oxide, nano silver, carbon nanotubes, or a combination thereof. It is formed using physical or chemical vapor deposition, printing, evaporation, spraying or other suitable methods. The patterning step described above can be carried out by any suitable method, such as a lithography and etching step. In other embodiments, the patterned conductive layer 430 can also be directly formed by screen printing, spraying, or the like. Please also refer to FIG. 3A. FIG. 3A illustrates a patterned conductive layer 430 that can be used in FIG. 2B. The sensing electrode 432 can be formed on the carrier layer 420 by this patterning process step. In this embodiment, the sensing electrode 432 includes a plurality of strip electrodes, but other touch structures may also be used.

Referring to FIG. 2C and FIG. 3B simultaneously, after the sensing electrode 432 is formed, a signal wire is formed. The signal wires 440 are electrically connected to the sensing electrodes 432 and are concentrated to at least one of the bonding regions M, and the bonding regions M are located on at least one outer side of the sensing electrodes 432. It should be noted that the position and number of the joint regions M can be adjusted according to the specific electrode structure, and are not limited to the positions and the numbers shown. The signal conductor 440 is used to transmit the signal generated by the sensing electrode 432 to an external circuit. The material of the signal conductor 440 may include copper, aluminum, silver, gold, molybdenum aluminum molybdenum alloy, indium tin oxide (ITO), or a combination thereof.

A bonding step is then performed to electrically connect the circuit board 470 to the sensing electrode 432. One end of the circuit board 470 can be connected to the signal wire 440 of the bonding area M by the conductive adhesive 460, and then electrically connected to the sensing electrode 432 by the signal wire 440, and a control chip (not shown) can be connected to the other end. And thereby controlling the wafer to be electrically connected to an external circuit (not shown), such as a printed circuit board. In this embodiment, the circuit board 470 can be a flexible printed circuit board (Flexible Printed Circuits, FPC), conductive adhesive 460 can use anisotropic conductive adhesive (Anisotropic Conductive Film, ACF). The signal generated by the sensing electrode 432 can be transmitted to the external circuit through the circuit board 470, and the coordinate of the touch position can be obtained after the IC operation and the system interpretation. The sensing electrode 432, the signal wire 440, and the circuit board 470 formed on the carrier layer 420 constitute a touch structure of the main body.

Subsequently, the bonding glue 450 is attached from above the sensing electrode 432. Since the bonding region M is formed with the conductive paste 460 and the circuit board 470, the bonding region M is relatively uneven with respect to other regions, so that the bonding yield is improved and the bubble is generated in the bonding region M when the bonding adhesive 450 is attached. The joint area is opened, that is, the joint area M is not covered by the bonding glue 450. Bonding adhesive 450 can be selected from materials with good light transmittance, such as solid optical adhesive (Solid) Optical Clear Adhesive) or Liquid Optical Clear Adhesive). The bonding paste 450 may include a transparent synthetic resin such as Acrylic. The bonding glue 450 can be attached to the sensing electrode 432 by using a hot pressing process of heating and pressing. After the hot pressing is completed, the bonding glue 450 is fixed on the sensing electrode 432, so that the overall strength of the touch structure can be further improved. . In one embodiment, a step of laminating the bonding glue 450 may be performed to separate the plurality of touch structures formed on the same large-sized substrate, and the cutting step may be performed by cutter wheel cutting or laser cutting. the way. In another embodiment, the bonding glue 450 may be attached first, and then the circuit board 470 is bonded.

Finally, in the step of FIG. 2D, the cover 480 is attached over the touch structure, and the substrate 410 in FIG. 2C is removed from the carrier layer 420 (release). The cover 480 is used to protect the touch structure, and may include a transparent material such as glass. In this embodiment, before the cover 480 is attached, the light shielding layer 490 may be formed on the edge of the cover 480. More specifically, the light shielding layer 490 is located on the side of the cover 480 that is engaged with the touch structure. In another embodiment, the light shielding layer 490 can be located on the other side opposite the joint surface. The light shielding layer 490 is used to shield the signal wires 440 to ensure that the single-chip glass touch panel is not seen by the user during use, which affects the visual appearance. The material of the light shielding layer 490 may be a colored ink or a colored photoresist. The method of releasing the substrate 410 from the carrier layer 420 may be solution immersion, heat treatment, cold treatment, external force detachment or a combination thereof. More specifically, when the solution is immersed in the solution, the solution may be water, alcohol, propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PGMEA) solution, polyvinylidene fluoride (NMP) solution, etc.; heat treatment and cold treatment are used to heat the substrate 410 or Cooling, using the different thermal expansion rates of the carrier layer 420 and the substrate 410, generates stress and facilitates release. Moreover, the order in which the cover plate is attached and the substrate is removed is adjustable, and is not limited to the above sequence.

Referring to FIG. 2D and FIG. 3B, the monolithic glass touch panel 400 formed through the above process includes: a cover 480; a carrying layer 420, The carrier layer 420 is formed with a patterned conductive layer, including a sensing electrode 432, a signal wire 440 electrically connected to the sensing electrode, and the signal wire 440 is concentrated to at least one bonding region M, and the bonding region M At least one outer side of the sensing electrode 432, wherein the thickness of the bearing layer of the bonding area M is greater than the thickness of the bearing layer of the non-bonding area; the circuit board 470, the signal wire 440 electrically connected to the bonding area M; and the bonding glue 450 The cover 480 and the carrier layer 420 are disposed to engage the cover 480 and the carrier layer 420. The carrier layer 420 includes a plastic layer 422 and a buffer layer 424. The plastic layer 422 has a first thickness H1 at the land M, and a second thickness H2 outside the land M, the first thickness H1 is between 0.5 microns and 15 microns, and the second thickness H2 can be between about 0.5 microns. Between about 10 microns. The edge of the cover 480 is formed with a light shielding layer 490 for shielding the signal wires 440, ensuring that the single-chip glass touch panel 400 is not seen by the user during use, affecting the visual appearance. Other characteristics of the components of the monolithic glass trackpad 400 have been described in detail in the process, and are not described herein.

The purpose of thickening the thickness of the carrier layer 420 of the bonding region M is achieved by making the plastic layer 422 of the bonding region M have a thick thickness H1, so that the stress of the bonding region M of the carrier layer 420 is affected when the substrate 410 is removed. Buffering can be obtained, thereby reducing the likelihood of the board 470 of the landing zone M falling off or being damaged. On the other hand, since the non-joining area of the carrier layer 420 does not need to be correspondingly thickened, it does not affect the light transmittance of the overall single-chip glass touch panel. The signal line 440 of the splicing area M is subsequently shielded by the light shielding layer 490, that is, the splicing area M is not the touch area of the main body. Therefore, when the touch panel is applied to the touch display device, the main body touch panel is not affected. Translucency.

Referring to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B , the main components and manufacturing methods of the single-chip glass touch panel 500 are substantially similar to those of the single-chip glass touch panel 400 . The difference is that the strengthening step of the embodiment further includes the circuit in the bonding area M. The gap between the plate 570 and the carrier layer 520 fills the adhesive 551. By adding the adhesive 551, the stability of the bonding region M when the carrier layer 520 is peeled off when the substrate 510 is peeled off can be further enhanced, and the possibility that the circuit board 570 of the landing region M is peeled off or damaged can be reduced. The additional adhesive 551 may be a solid optical adhesive, a liquid optical adhesive or the like.

In the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, the sensing electrodes may be other aspects in addition to the strip structure shown in FIG. 3A. The sensing electrode 432 shown in the first embodiment is taken as an example to illustrate another aspect of the sensing electrode. Referring to FIG. 5A to FIG. 5C, the sensing electrode 432 includes a plurality of first electrode blocks arranged along the first direction. 432a, a plurality of first wires 432c connecting adjacent first electrode blocks 432a, and a plurality of second electrode blocks 432b arranged in a second direction, and each of the second electrode blocks 432b is distributed on both sides of the first wires 432c. Preferably, the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other.

As shown in FIG. 5B, after the sensing array electrode sensing electrodes 432 of FIG. 5A are formed, an insulating block P is further formed on each of the first wires 432c. The insulating block P may be made of an insulating material such as an epoxy resin.

As shown in FIG. 5C, after the insulating block P shown in FIG. 5B is formed, a second wire 433 connecting the adjacent second electrode block 432b, and a signal wire 440 are further formed on each of the insulating blocks P. The second wire 433 and the signal wire 440 may be formed at the same time or may be formed one after another. The second wire 433 may be of the same material as the signal wire 440, such as copper, aluminum, silver, gold, molybdenum aluminum molybdenum alloy, indium tin oxide (ITO), or a combination thereof. The second wire 433 can also be made of a material different from the signal wire 440. Other characteristics of the sensing electrode 432 and the signal conductor 440 are the same as those of the previous embodiment, and are not described herein again.

According to the manufacturing method of the monolithic glass touch panel of the present invention, when the substrate is removed by thickening the thickness of the carrier layer of the joint region, the stress applied to the bearing layer of the joint region can be buffered, thereby reducing the edge region of the bearing layer of the joint region. The component is prone to detachment or damage. Moreover, since only the thickness of the bearing layer of the joint zone is thickened, the non-joining zone bearing layer is not thickened, and the joint zone is subsequently shielded by the light shielding layer, that is, the joint zone is not the touch of the main body. Control area, so when the touch panel is applied to the touch display device It does not affect the light transmission of the main touch panel.

While the invention has been described above in terms of several preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can be arbitrarily changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

A monolithic glass trackpad, comprising:

a cover plate

a carrier layer on which the carrier layer is formed:

a patterned conductive layer comprising a sensing electrode;

a signal wire electrically connected to the sensing electrode, wherein the signal wire is concentrated to at least one bonding region, and the bonding region is located on at least one outer side of the sensing electrode, wherein a thickness of the carrier layer of the bonding region is greater than a non-bonding The thickness of the bearing layer of the zone;

And a bonding glue disposed between the cover plate and the carrier layer for engaging the cover plate and the carrier layer.
The monolithic glass touch panel of claim 1 , wherein the carrier layer comprises a plastic layer and a buffer layer, and the patterned conductive layer is formed on the buffer layer.
The monolithic glass touch panel according to claim 2, wherein the plastic layer is made of polyimide (PI), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and acrylonitrile-butyl Aceene-styrene resin (ABS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene (PE), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) , polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), or a combination of the foregoing.
The monolithic glass track according to claim 2, wherein the buffer layer is made of silicon oxide.
The monolithic glass touch panel according to claim 2, wherein the buffer layer is an adhesion promoter comprising a functional group of an organophilic material and a functional group of an organophilic material.
The monolithic glass touch panel of claim 2, wherein the plastic layer has a first thickness in the joint region and a second thickness outside the joint region, the first thickness being 0.5 Between microns and 15 microns.
The monolithic glass track of claim 6 wherein the second thickness is between 0.5 microns and 10 microns.
The monolithic glass touch panel of claim 1 , wherein the carrier layer further comprises a circuit board electrically connected to the signal wires of the bonding area.
The monolithic glass track according to claim 8, wherein an adhesive is formed in the gap between the circuit board and the carrier layer in the joint region.
The monolithic glass track according to claim 1, wherein a surface of the cover is formed with a light shielding layer.
The monolithic glass touch panel of claim 1 , wherein the sensing electrode comprises: a plurality of first electrode blocks arranged along a first direction, and a plurality of first electrode blocks connected to each other a wire, a plurality of second electrode blocks arranged along a second direction, wherein the second electrode blocks are distributed on two sides of the first wires, and an insulating block is formed on each of the first wires, and each of the wires is insulated A second wire connecting adjacent second electrode blocks is formed on the block.
A method for manufacturing a monolithic glass touch panel, comprising:

S1: providing a substrate;

S2: forming a carrier layer on the substrate, wherein the thickness of the carrier layer is preset to be greater than the thickness of the carrier layer of the non-bonding region;

S3: forming a patterned conductive layer on the carrier layer;

S4: forming a signal wire electrically connected to the sensing electrode, and the signal wire is concentrated to at least one bonding region, the bonding region is located on at least one outer side of the sensing electrode;

S5: attaching a cover plate to the patterned conductive layer, and removing the substrate from the carrier layer.
The method of fabricating a monolithic glass touch panel according to claim 12, wherein the forming the carrier layer in step S2 comprises the steps of forming a plastic layer on the substrate, and forming a buffer layer on the plastic layer. A step of.
The method of fabricating a monolithic glass touch panel according to claim 12, wherein the step S3 can form the patterned conductive layer by screen printing or spraying.
The method of fabricating a monolithic glass track according to claim 12, further comprising the step of bonding a circuit board to the signal conductors of the land.
The method of fabricating a monolithic glass track according to claim 15 further comprising the step of adding an adhesive to the gap between the circuit board 570 and the carrier layer 520 in the land M.
The method of fabricating a monolithic glass track according to claim 12, further comprising the step of forming a light shielding layer on an edge of the cover.
The method of fabricating a monolithic glass touch panel according to claim 12, wherein the substrate is removed by solution soaking, heat treatment, cold treatment, external force stripping or a combination thereof.