KR20120084205A - Touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A touch panel is provided to form a connection electrode in a mesh shape so that a pattern of the connection electrode is not seen in a valid area. CONSTITUTION: A hardware for a transparent electrode is separated from a substrate in order to be formed. The transparent electrode(20) is formed on the hardware for the transparent electrode. The transparent electrode includes a first and a second electrodes(22,24). The first electrode includes both a first sensor(22a) formed in a first direction and a first electrode connection unit(22b) connecting the first sensor. The second electrode is insulated from the first electrode, and includes both a second sensor(24a) formed in a second direction intersecting with the first direction and a second electrode connection unit(24b) connecting the second sensor. The second electrode connection unit is in a mesh shape.

Description

TOUCH PANEL {TOUCH PANEL}

The present description relates to a touch panel.

Recently, various electronic products have been applied to a touch panel for inputting a method of contacting an input device such as a finger or a stylus to an image displayed on a display device.

The touch panel may be largely classified into a resistive touch panel and a capacitive touch panel. In the resistive touch panel, the glass and the electrode are short-circuited by the pressure of the input device to detect the position. The capacitive touch panel detects a change in capacitance between electrodes when a finger touches and detects a position thereof.

In such touch panels, in order to reduce thickness and improve optical characteristics, one-layer touch panels using bridge electrodes have been in the spotlight. However, there is a problem in that the pattern of the connection electrode is visible according to the size of the connection electrode in the effective region.

Embodiments provide a touch panel capable of improving reliability and characteristics.

In one embodiment, a touch panel includes a substrate; A transparent electrode base material spaced apart from the substrate; And a transparent electrode formed on the substrate for the transparent electrode, wherein the transparent electrode comprises: a first electrode including a first sensor part formed in a first direction and a first electrode connection part electrically connecting the first sensor part; And a second electrode electrically insulated from the first electrode and including a second sensor part formed in a second direction crossing the first direction and a second electrode connection part electrically connecting the second sensor part. In addition, the second electrode connection part has a mesh shape.

In the touch panel according to the embodiment, the connection electrode may be formed in a mesh shape so that the pattern of the connection electrode is not visible on the effective area.

On the other hand, in the touch panel according to the embodiment, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost while improving the transmittance, reflectance and color difference (b *, yellowish) characteristics through the intermediate layer and the anti-reflective layer that can be index matched. Furthermore, the electrode formed of the transparent conductive material may be invisible by index matching. Thereby, the visibility of the display to which the touch panel is applied can be improved.

1 is a plan view of a touch panel according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1.

In the description of embodiments, each layer, region, pattern, or structure may be “on” or “under” the substrate, each layer, region, pad, or pattern. Substrate formed in ”includes all formed directly or through another layer. Criteria for the top / bottom or bottom / bottom of each layer will be described with reference to the drawings.

The thickness or the size of each layer (film), region, pattern or structure in the drawings may be modified for clarity and convenience of explanation, and thus does not entirely reflect the actual size.

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

A touch panel according to an embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. 1 is a plan view of a touch panel according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1.

1 and 2, in the touch panel according to the embodiment, an effective area AA for detecting a position of an input device and a dummy area DA positioned outside the effective area AA are defined. .

Here, the transparent electrode 20 may be formed in the effective area AA to detect the input device. In the dummy area DA, a wiring 40 connected to the transparent electrode 20 and a printed circuit board connecting the wiring 40 to an external circuit (not shown) are the same. Etc. may be located. The touch panel will be described in more detail as follows.

Referring to FIG. 2, the touch panel according to the embodiment may include a substrate 10 including a first surface (hereinafter referred to as “top surface”) 10a and a second surface (hereinafter referred to as “bottom surface”) 10b opposite to each other. The substrate 10 may include a transparent electrode substrate 30 formed to be spaced apart from the bottom surface 10b of the substrate 10, a transparent electrode 20 formed on the transparent electrode substrate 30, and the like. In addition, the anti-reflection layer 70 may be formed on the transparent electrode substrate 30.

The substrate 10 may be made of a glass substrate or a plastic substrate.

An optically clear adhesive (OCA) 80 may be formed to bond the substrate 30 for a transparent electrode described later to the substrate 10.

The substrate 30 for the transparent electrode is positioned to be spaced apart from the substrate 10. The transparent electrode base material 30 may include glass or a polyethylene (terephthalate, PET) film.

The intermediate layer 60 is formed on the transparent electrode base material 30. Specifically, the intermediate layer 60 is formed on the third surface 30a facing the substrate 10 of the transparent electrode substrate 30. The intermediate layer 60 may be formed on the entire surface of the third surface 30a.

The intermediate layer 60 may include metal oxides or metal fluorides, for example magnesium fluoride, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, cerium fluoride, indium oxide, hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, lead oxide, titanium oxide, tantalum oxide, and the like. Niobium oxide and the like. The intermediate layer 60 may have a specific refractive index to be index matching.

The intermediate layer 60 may be formed in a single layer or multiple layers to have a specific refractive index. For example, the intermediate layer 60 may sequentially form the high refractive index first layer 61 and the low refractive index second layer 62 on the substrate 10 to improve transmittance of the touch panel in the effective area AA. Can be.

For example, the first layer 61 may include high refractive index tantalum oxide, titanium oxide, niobium oxide, zirconium oxide, or lead oxide, and the second layer 62 may include silicon oxide having low refractive index. . For example, the refractive index of titanium oxide may be 2.2, the refractive index of niobium oxide is 2.4, and the refractive index of silicon oxide may be 1.4. In this case, the transmittance of the touch panel can be improved to 90% or more, preferably 92% or more, up to 99%. In addition, the plurality of first layers 61 and the second layers 62 may be alternately stacked.

The intermediate layer 60 may be formed by coating or deposition. In one example, the intermediate layer 60 may be formed by reactive sputtering. That is, by adding oxygen (O ₂ ) and / or nitrogen (N ₂ ) together with the inert gas (Ar, Ne) in the sputtering apparatus for the metal deposition source and the deposition target, the metal deposition source is oxidized and deposited on the deposition target. can do.

Subsequently, the transparent electrode 20 is formed on the intermediate layer 60. The transparent electrode 20 may include a first electrode 22 and a second electrode 24. The first electrode 22 includes a first sensor part 22a and a first electrode connection part 22b, and the second electrode 24 connects the second sensor part 24a and the second electrode connection part 24b. Include.

When an input device such as a finger is in contact with such a touch panel, a difference in capacitance occurs at a portion where the input device contacts, and a portion where the difference is generated can be detected as a contact position.

Specifically, the first electrode 22 includes a first sensor part 22a that detects whether an input device such as a finger is in contact with the first electrode connector 22b that connects the first sensor part 22a. The first sensor part 22a may be formed in a first direction (X-axis direction in the drawing, hereinafter the same), and the first electrode connection part 22b connects the first sensor part 22a in the first direction. . The first electrode connection part 22b may be integrally formed with the first sensor part 22a.

Similarly, the second electrode 24 includes a second sensor part 24a for detecting whether an input device such as a finger is in contact with the second electrode connection part 24b for connecting the second sensor part 24a. . The second sensor unit 24a which detects whether an input device such as a finger is in contact with each other may be formed in a second direction (Y-axis direction in the drawing, hereinafter same) that crosses the first direction. The second electrode connection part 24b connects the second sensor part 24a in the second direction. The second electrode connection part 24b will be described in detail later.

In the drawing, although the first and second sensor units 22a and 24a have a rhombus shape, the embodiment is not limited thereto. Accordingly, the first and second sensor units 22a and 24a may be formed in various shapes capable of detecting whether an input device such as a finger is in contact with each other. For example, it may have a shape such as a polygon, a circle or an oval, such as a quadrangle or a pentagon.

The first sensor unit 22a, the first electrode connection unit 22b, and the second sensor unit 24a may include a transparent conductive material so that electricity can flow without disturbing the transmission of light. Specifically, materials such as indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide, carbon nano tube (CNT), conductive polymer, and silver nano wire ink may be included. can do.

The first sensor unit 22a, the first electrode connection unit 22b, and the second sensor unit 24a may be used in various thin film deposition techniques such as physical vapor deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Can be formed.

Subsequently, a second electrode connection part 24b is formed to connect the second sensor part 24a, and the second electrode connection part 24b is formed in a mesh shape.

In order to form the second electrode connection part 24b in a mesh shape, the electrode material may be formed by applying an electrode material and then etching it by a photoresist process. However, the embodiment is not limited thereto, and thus various processes capable of forming a mesh shape may be used.

The line width of the second electrode connection part 24b may be 1 um to 5 um. The second electrode connecting portion 24b having a line width of 1 um or less is impossible in the process, and when the line width is larger than 5 um, the mesh shape of the second electrode connecting portion 24b may be visible. In the case of having such a line width, since it is not visually confirmed regardless of the shape of the mesh, it may have various shapes.

The second electrode connection part 24b may include a metal having excellent electrical conductivity. For example, it may be formed of a metal of chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), silver (Ag), and molybdenum (Mo) or an alloy thereof.

However, since the embodiment is not limited thereto, the second electrode connection part 24b may include a transparent conductive material. For example, the second electrode connection part 24b may be formed of indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide, carbon nano tube (CNT), conductive polymer, and silver nano wire ink. wire ink) may be included.

In addition, the mesh shape may be formed in a single layer or multiple layers. The flexibility or adhesion varies depending on the material forming the second electrode connection part 24b, and may be formed in multiple layers according to such properties to have more advantageous properties.

The transparent insulating layer 50 is formed to prevent an electrical short between the first electrode connection part 22b and the second electrode connection part 24b. Specifically, the transparent insulating layer 50 may be formed of a transparent insulating material capable of insulating the first electrode connecting portion 22b and the second electrode connecting portion 24b. For example, the transparent insulating layer 50 may include magnesium fluoride, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, cerium fluoride, indium oxide, hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, lead oxide, titanium oxide, tantalum oxide, niobium oxide, and the like. The transparent insulating layer 50 may be formed in a single layer or multiple layers.

A wiring 40 connected to the transparent electrode 20 and a printed circuit board connected to the wiring 40 are formed in the dummy area DA of the substrate 10. Since the wiring 40 is located in the dummy area DA, the wiring 40 may be made of a metal having excellent electrical conductivity. As the printed circuit board, various types of printed circuit boards may be applied. For example, a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) may be applied.

An anti-reflection layer 70 may be formed on at least one of the upper surface 10a of the substrate 10 and the fourth surface 30b of the transparent electrode substrate 30. In the drawing, although the anti-reflection layer 70 is formed on the fourth surface 30b of the substrate 30 for transparent electrodes, the embodiment is not limited thereto. Therefore, the anti-reflection layer 70 may be formed only on the top surface 10a of the substrate 10, and in order to maximize the effect of the anti-reflection layer 70, the top surface 10a of the substrate 10 and the substrate 30 for the transparent electrode 30 may be formed. It may be formed on both sides of the fourth surface (30b) of.

The anti-reflection layer 70 serves to lower the reflectance of light in the visible region in order to prevent glare or reflection of the screen. In other words, the anti-reflection layer 70 can effectively reduce the adverse effects of reflection to provide excellent resolution and improve visibility. In addition, the transmittance of the touch panel may serve to improve 90% or more, preferably 92% or more, and up to 99%.

The anti-reflection layer 70 may include an oxide or fluoride having a refractive index of 1.35 to 2.7. The refractive index is determined to be a range suitable for antireflection, and the antireflection layer 70 may be formed by stacking one or more layers of materials having different refractive indices.

As the above-described oxide or fluoride, magnesium fluoride, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, cerium fluoride, indium oxide, hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, lead oxide, titanium oxide, tantalum oxide, niobium oxide, or the like may be used.

In this case, the anti-reflection layer 70 may be formed by a sputtering or roll to roll process. Sputtering is a method in which ionized atoms are accelerated by an electric field to impinge on a thin film material, whereby the atoms of the thin film material are deposited. The roll-to-roll process refers to a process in which a material such as paper or film is wound on a roll and processed as it is.

The features, structures, effects and the like described in the foregoing embodiments are included in at least one embodiment of the present invention and are not necessarily limited to one embodiment. In addition, the features, structures, effects, and the like illustrated in the embodiments may be combined or modified with respect to other embodiments by those skilled in the art to which the embodiments belong. Therefore, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to these combinations and modifications.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It can be seen that various modifications and applications are possible. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiments may be modified. It is to be understood that the present invention may be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.

10: Substrate
20: transparent electrode
22: first electrode
22a: first sensor unit
22b: first electrode connecting portion
24: second electrode
24a: second sensor unit
24b: second electrode connection portion
50: transparent insulation layer
60: middle layer
70: antireflection layer

Claims (15)

Board;
A transparent electrode base material spaced apart from the substrate; And
Transparent electrode formed on the substrate for transparent electrode
Including,
The transparent electrode may include a first electrode including a first sensor part formed in a first direction and a first electrode connection part electrically connecting the first sensor part; And
A second electrode electrically insulated from the first electrode and including a second sensor part formed in a second direction crossing the first direction and a second electrode connection part electrically connecting the second sensor part;
Including,
The second electrode connector is a mesh (mesh) shape touch panel. The method of claim 1,
The line width of the second electrode connection portion is 1 nm to 5 um. The method of claim 1,
The second electrode connection part includes at least one of chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), silver (Ag), molybdenum (Mo), and an alloy including the same. panel. The method of claim 1,
The second electrode connection portion is formed of indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide, carbon nano tube (CNT), conductive polymer, and silver nano wire ink. Touch panel comprising at least one from the group consisting of. The method of claim 2,
The touch panel which the said mesh shape consists of one or more layers. The method of claim 1,
A touch panel in which an intermediate layer is formed between the transparent electrode base material and the transparent electrode. The method of claim 6,
The intermediate layer includes at least one of magnesium fluoride, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, cerium fluoride, indium oxide, hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, lead oxide, titanium oxide, tantalum oxide and niobium oxide. The method of claim 7, wherein
A touch panel in which the intermediate layer is formed of a single layer or a multilayer. The method of claim 1,
A touch panel comprising a transparent insulating layer between the first electrode connection portion and the second electrode connection portion. 10. The method of claim 9,
The transparent insulation layer includes at least one of magnesium fluoride, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, cerium fluoride, indium oxide, hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, lead oxide, titanium oxide, tantalum oxide, and niobium oxide. The method of claim 10,
Touch panel wherein the transparent insulating layer is formed of a single layer or multiple layers. The method of claim 1,
An optically clear adhesive (OCA) is formed between the substrate and the substrate for transparent electrode. The method of claim 1,
A touch panel having an antireflection layer formed on at least one surface of the substrate and the substrate for transparent electrode. The method of claim 13,
The anti-reflection layer includes at least one of magnesium fluoride, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, cerium fluoride, indium oxide, hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, lead oxide, titanium oxide, tantalum oxide, and niobium oxide. 15. The method of claim 14,
The anti-reflection layer is a touch panel formed of a single layer or multiple layers.

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