WO2015016473A1

WO2015016473A1 - Touch screen panel and method for manufacturing same

Info

Publication number: WO2015016473A1
Application number: PCT/KR2014/004656
Authority: WO
Inventors: 임정구; 이종수; 임거산; 최선미; 하경수; 김상수
Original assignee: 동우화인켐 주식회사
Priority date: 2013-07-29
Filing date: 2014-05-26
Publication date: 2015-02-05
Also published as: TW201504912A; KR20150014106A; TWI638303B

Abstract

The present invention relates to a touch screen panel and a method for manufacturing the same and, more specifically, to a touch screen panel and a method for manufacturing the same, the touch screen panel comprising: a first sensing pattern formed on the bottom surface of an insulating layer and a second sensing pattern formed on the top surface thereof, wherein the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern are formed in different directions to each other, and when the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern are projected onto the same plane, the spacing therebetween is no more than 4㎛ so that electric conductivity, touch sensitivity and visibility are improved.

Description

Touch screen panel and its manufacturing method

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a flat panel display technology, and more particularly, to a touch screen panel and a method of manufacturing the same.

The touch screen device refers to a device that controls the electronic device by recognizing the coordinate value of the touched point when the display screen is touched with a finger or a pen. The touch screen device has various methods such as a capacitive method, a resistive film method, a surface wave method using infrared rays or ultrasonic waves, etc. according to the applied technology.

In the conventional touch screen panel, the second sensing electrode pattern is formed so that the first sensing electrode pattern and the second sensing electrode pattern do not contact each other while forming the first sensing electrode pattern and the second sensing electrode pattern of the touch screen on the same plane. (Or the first sensing electrode patterns) took the manner of interconnecting via bridge patterns formed on different planes.

That is, as illustrated in FIG. 1, in the conventional touch screen panel, the first sensing electrode pattern 20-1 and the second sensing electrode pattern 20-2 are mutually formed in a rhombus shape on a transparent substrate (not shown). It is densely formed and regularly formed. Here, the first sensing patterns 20-1 are formed in a plurality of rows on a transparent substrate (not shown), and the first sensing patterns 20-1 disposed in the same row are connected to each other. In contrast, the second sensing patterns 20-2 are formed in a plurality of rows on a transparent substrate (not shown), and the second sensing patterns 20-2 arranged in the same column are formed to be spaced apart from each other. Here, a bridge pattern is used to interconnect the second sensing patterns 20-2 spaced apart from each other.

2A and 2B are plan and cross-sectional views illustrating a state in which second sensing patterns are connected through a bridge pattern in a conventional touch screen panel.

Referring to FIG. 2, a conventional touch screen panel manufacturing method is described. First, a first sensing electrode pattern 20-1 and a second sensing electrode pattern 20-2 are formed on a transparent substrate 10. In this case, the first sensing electrode patterns 20-1 arranged in the same row are connected to each other, and the second sensing electrode patterns 20-2 arranged in the same column are formed to be spaced apart from each other. Next, the insulating layer 30 is formed on the transparent substrate 10 by surrounding the first sensing electrode pattern 20-1 and the second sensing electrode pattern 20-2. Next, a contact hole 40 is formed in the insulating layer 30 on the second sensing electrode pattern 20-2. Next, the bridge pattern 50 is formed on the insulating layer 30 while filling the contact hole 40 to interconnect the second sensing electrode patterns 20-2.

According to the conventional touch screen panel, the contact hole 40 and the bridge pattern 50 are required to connect the second sensing electrode patterns 20-2. In this case, the contact hole 40 has a small area and thus a large contact resistance. As a result, the electrical conductivity between the second sensing electrode patterns 20-2 is lowered, which makes it difficult to apply the large area. In addition, a photolithography process for forming the contact hole 40 is added, thereby making the manufacturing process complicated. In addition, since the first sensing electrode pattern 20-1 and the second sensing electrode pattern 20-2 are located at the same plane, the first sensing electrode pattern 20-1 and the second sensing electrode pattern 20-20 are located in the same plane. The interval between 2) must be maintained at a predetermined interval or more, and a defect in the manufacturing process may occur, such as a short circuit between the first sensing electrode pattern 20-1 and the second sensing electrode pattern 20-2.

The present invention is to provide a touch screen panel and a method of manufacturing the same that can improve the electrical conductivity of the sensing electrode patterns.

The present invention is to provide a touch screen panel and a method of manufacturing the same that can improve the touch sensitivity and visibility.

1. A first sensing pattern formed on a lower surface of an insulating layer and a second sensing pattern formed on an upper surface, wherein the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern are formed in different directions. And a distance of 4 μm or less when projecting the second sensing pattern on the same plane.

2. In the above 1, wherein the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern is a form in which a polygonal pattern is connected independently of each other, the interval is a polygon of the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern projected on the same plane Touch screen panel, which is the interval between them.

3. The touch screen panel of 1 above, wherein the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern are embedded in an insulating layer independently of each other, and the surface thereof is formed to be the same as the insulating layer or protruded from one surface of the insulating layer. .

4. In the above 1, the touch screen panel, the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern projected on the same plane overlap

5. forming a first sensing pattern on the top surface of the base member; Forming an insulating layer on the first sensing pattern on the base member; And forming a second sensing pattern on the upper surface of the insulating layer so that the interval is 4 μm or less when projected on the same plane as the first sensing pattern.

6. In the above 5, wherein the forming the first sensing pattern is formed on the upper surface of the base member by using at least one of sputtering, photolithography, screen printing with a conductive material, manufacturing method of the touch screen panel .

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the forming of the second sensing pattern is formed by using at least one of sputtering, photolithography, and screen printing as a conductive material on the upper surface of the insulating layer, the manufacturing method of the touch screen panel. .

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern are formed to overlap when projected on the same plane.

9. In the above 5, wherein the base member is a plastic substrate or a glass substrate, manufacturing method of the touch screen panel.

In the touch screen panel of the present invention, by forming the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern on different planes, the touch screen panel can be formed by interconnecting the sensing patterns without the bridge pattern and the contact hole. In this case, it is not necessary to perform the photolithography process for forming the contact hole, and only a lamination process may be performed, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing manufacturing time and cost. In addition, since there is no phenomenon of lowering the electrical conductivity due to the high contact resistance of the contact hole, the electrical conductivity can be improved. In addition, since the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern are formed on different planes, the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern may be formed by screen printing, thereby forming a large touch screen panel. It becomes possible.

In addition, the touch screen panel of the present invention may improve the touch sensitivity and improve the visibility of the sensing pattern by forming the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern having an interval less than a specific distance.

1 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement state of a first sensing electrode pattern and a second sensing electrode pattern in a conventional touch screen panel.

2 is a view illustrating a state in which second sensing patterns are connected through a bridge pattern in a conventional touch screen panel.

3 is a diagram illustrating a touch screen panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a plan view schematically illustrating a change in interval between a first sensing pattern and a second sensing pattern.

5 is a diagram illustrating a touch screen panel according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

6 illustrates a method of manufacturing a touch screen panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

7 illustrates a method of manufacturing a touch screen panel according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a graph showing Cm values of Examples and Comparative Examples.

The present invention includes a first sensing pattern formed on the lower surface of the insulating layer and a second sensing pattern formed on the upper surface, wherein the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern are formed in different directions, and the first sensing When the pattern and the second sensing pattern are projected on the same plane, the distance is 4 μm or less, and the present invention relates to a touch screen panel having improved electrical conductivity, touch sensitivity, and visibility, and a method of manufacturing the same.

Hereinafter, a touch screen panel of the present invention and a manufacturing method thereof will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this is only an exemplary embodiment and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, terms to be described below are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to the intention or custom of a user or an operator. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout the specification.

The technical spirit of the present invention is determined by the claims, and the following embodiments are merely means for efficiently explaining the technical spirit of the present invention to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Referring to FIG. 3, the touch screen panel 100 includes a first sensing pattern 104, an insulating layer 106, and a second sensing pattern 108 formed on the base member 102.

The base member 102 may use a transparent substrate (or film). For example, the base member 102 may be a glass substrate or a plastic substrate, but is not limited thereto. In addition, the base member 102 may be made of a flexible material.

The first sensing pattern 104 is formed on the base member 102. The first sensing patterns 104 are formed in a plurality of rows on the base member 102, and the first sensing patterns 104 disposed in the same row are connected to each other. The first sensing pattern 104 may be formed, for example, in a polygonal shape. Examples of the polygon may include a triangle, a square (a rhombus, a rectangle, a square), a hexagon, and the like, but the shape of the first sensing pattern 104 is not limited thereto, and may be formed in various shapes other than this. Of course. The first sensing pattern 104 may be formed of, for example, a conductive material such as indium tin-oxide (ITO), metal nano-wire, metal mesh, graphene, or organic electrode. It may be made, it may be made of a transparent electrode. In the present invention, the transparent electrode refers to an electrode that is not visually identified, and thus includes a case where the material itself is non-transparent, even if it is not visually identified due to the fine structure.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the first sensing pattern 104 may be embedded in the insulating layer so that the surface thereof is the same as the insulating layer, but is not limited thereto. If necessary, the first sensing pattern 104 may protrude from the surface of the insulating layer. It may be formed to be.

The insulating layer 106 is formed to surround the first sensing pattern 104 on the base member 102. The insulating layer 106 serves to electrically insulate the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 while protecting the base member 102. The insulating layer 106 may be made of an inorganic material or an organic material. When the insulating layer 106 is formed of an inorganic material, an inorganic material such as SiO ₂ may be formed by, for example, a sputtering method. When the insulating layer 106 is formed of an inorganic material, the durability of the insulating layer 106 can be maintained at a predetermined level. When the insulating layer 106 is formed of an organic material, it may be formed by applying an organic material such as a photocurable resin and then curing it. Since the organic material is baked at a relatively low temperature (eg, about 220 ° C.), the polarizer (not shown) is formed when a polarizer (not shown) is formed between the base member 102 and the insulating layer 106. Will not damage. In addition, when the base member 102 is formed of a flexible material, the insulating layer 106 is preferably formed of an organic material.

The second sensing pattern 108 is formed on the insulating layer 106. The second sensing patterns 108 are formed in a plurality of rows on the insulating layer 106, and the second sensing patterns 108 arranged in the same columns are connected to each other. That is, since the second sensing pattern 108 is formed on a different plane from the first sensing pattern 104, the second sensing patterns 108 arranged in the same column may be connected to each other.

The second sensing pattern 108 is formed in a direction different from the first sensing pattern 104 (eg, orthogonal to each other), so that the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 are formed in a different direction. Provides information about the X and Y coordinates of the touched point.

The second sensing pattern 108 may be formed in, for example, a polygonal shape. Examples of the polygon may include a triangle, a square (a rhombus, a rectangle, a square), a hexagon, and the like, but the shape of the first sensing pattern 104 is not limited thereto, and may be formed in various shapes other than this. Of course. The second sensing pattern 108 may be formed of, for example, a conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO), metal nano-wire, metal mesh, graphene, or organic electrode. It may be made, it may be made of a transparent electrode.

In the present invention, when the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 are projected on the same plane, the gap W is formed to be 4 μm or less.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in the conventional structure in which the first sensing pattern 20-1 and the second sensing pattern 20-2 are formed on the same plane, the first sensing pattern 20-1 and the second sensing pattern 20-2 are formed due to a problem such as interference between the patterns. The first sensing pattern 20-1 and the second sensing pattern 20-2 may be formed to be spaced apart by a predetermined interval or more.

However, in the touch screen panel of the present invention, the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 are formed by forming the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 on different planes. It can be formed regardless of the spacing.

In addition, in the present invention, when the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 are projected on the same plane, when the distance becomes 4 μm or less, the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern are present. The capacitance that occurs between the 108 and the capacitance (Capacitance) is significantly increased to focus on improving the touch sensitivity.

In detail, the sensitivity of the touch may be expressed as mutual capacitance (Cm) generated between the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 when the touch is performed. ΔCm represents the change in Cm before and after touching.

The mutual capacitance Cm occurring between the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 is represented by Equation 1 below.

Equation 1

Where ε is the dielectric constant, A is the cross-sectional area, and d is the distance between the patterns. As the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 are formed close to d, the d becomes smaller and the Cm value is increased. It becomes bigger.

Since ΔCm represents a change in the Cm before and after the touch (base Cm) and after the touch (touch Cm), a large value of ΔCm means that the signal difference between the touch and the touch is large and the touch sensitivity is excellent. .

In addition, as the base Cm increases, signal to noise ratio increases, thereby improving touch sensitivity. That is, the signal-to-noise ratio in the touch screen panel may be represented by the ratio of Cm and C _cell . C _cell refers to capacitance generated in cell electrodes other than the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 (for example, an LCD electrode or an OLED electrode). C _cell acts as a kind of noise as unwanted capacitance in the touch screen. However, when the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 are formed to be 4 μm or less, the base Cm value is greatly increased compared to the case where the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 are smaller than 4 μm, thereby improving the touch sensitivity.

In the present invention, since the base Cm increases as the distance is closer as long as it is within the interval range of the present invention, the lower limit of the interval is not particularly limited within the range where such a trend is maintained. For example, the interval may be zero.

As another embodiment of the present invention, a case in which the interval W has a negative value (when the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern overlap when projected on the same plane) is also included in the scope of the present invention. In this regard, FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a change in interval between the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern, and FIG. 5 schematically illustrates another embodiment of the present invention when the interval has a negative value.

When the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern overlap each other (when the interval has a negative value), not only Cm but also ΔCm is significantly increased, so that the sensitivity of the touch is further increased.

When the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern overlap, the area of the overlapping area is not particularly limited, but, for example, 50% or less based on the total area of the first sensing pattern 104 or the second sensing pattern 108. Can be

In addition, the sensing pattern of the present invention can significantly improve visibility by having the interval within the above range. The detection pattern is visually identified by the difference in reflectance between the pattern portion and the non-pattern portion. When the pattern is visually identified, visibility is reduced. Accordingly, the present invention has been conceived in light of the fact that when the spacing between patterns is 4 占 퐉 or less, the area of the non-pattern portion is significantly narrowed and becomes indistinguishable to the naked eye. In this respect, the spacing between patterns may be 4 μm or less, preferably 3 μm or less. As the spacing between patterns becomes smaller, the non-pattern part cannot be identified, so the lower limit of the spacing is not particularly limited.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the second sensing pattern 108 may be formed to protrude from the surface of the insulating layer. However, if necessary, the second sensing pattern 108 may be embedded in the insulating layer to have the same surface as the insulating layer.

The present invention also provides a method of manufacturing a touch screen panel.

Referring to FIG. 6, the first sensing pattern 104 is formed on the base member 102 (FIG. 6A). Here, the first sensing pattern 104 may be formed, for example, by screen printing. In this case, the first sensing pattern 104 may be made of a metal nanowire or a metal mesh. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the first sensing pattern 104 may be formed by a sputtering method, a photolithography method, or various other methods. In addition, a conductive material may be used without limitation, materials known in the art, such as indium tin-oxide (ITO), graphene, and organic electrodes.

Next, an insulating layer 106 is formed on the first sensing pattern 104 on the base member 102 (FIG. 6B). The insulating layer 106 may be formed by depositing an inorganic material or by coating an organic material.

Next, a second sensing pattern 108 is formed on the insulating layer 106 (FIG. 4C). In this case, the second sensing pattern 108 may be formed to have a spacing of 4 μm or less when projected onto the same plane as the first sensing pattern 104. The second sensing pattern 108 may be formed, for example, by screen printing. In this case, the second sensing pattern 108 may be made of a metal nanowire or a metal mesh. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the second sensing pattern 108 may be formed by a sputtering method, a photolithography method, or various other methods. In addition, a conductive material may be used without limitation, materials known in the art, such as indium tin-oxide (ITO), graphene, and organic electrodes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 are formed on different planes, thereby interconnecting the second sensing patterns 108 in the same row without the bridge pattern and the contact hole. Can be formed. In this case, it is not necessary to perform the photolithography process for forming the contact hole, and only a lamination process may be performed, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing manufacturing time and cost. In addition, since there is no phenomenon of lowering the electrical conductivity due to the high contact resistance of the contact hole, the electrical conductivity can be improved.

In addition, since the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 are formed on different planes, the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 may be formed by screen printing. As a result, the touch screen panel 100 can be formed in a large area. In addition, by forming the first sensing pattern 104 and the second sensing pattern 108 to be 4㎛ or less, it is possible to improve the touch sensitivity.

As another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 shows a manufacturing method in which the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern are formed to overlap when projected on the same plane (the interval W has a negative value). It is.

The manufacturing method according to FIG. 7 may be performed in the same category as the manufacturing method described with reference to FIG. 6 except that the interval W has a negative value.

Hereinafter, preferred examples are provided to aid the understanding of the present invention, but these examples are merely illustrative of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims, which are within the scope and spirit of the present invention. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the present invention, and such modifications and changes belong to the appended claims.

실시예 1-4및 비교예 1-3Examples 1-4 and Comparative Examples 1-3

ITO was sputtered on the PES polymer substrate to form a rhombus-shaped first sensing pattern, and an organic insulating film was coated thereon, and ITO was again sputtered on the second sensing pattern in the form of rhombus.

In this case, an interval formed when the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern were projected on the same plane was prepared as in Table 1 below.

In addition, Cm and ΔCm of the prepared electrode laminate were measured, and it was also confirmed whether the pattern could be visually identified, and the results are shown in Table 1 and FIG. 8.

Table 1

Referring to Table 1 and FIG. 8, compared to the comparative examples in which the interval between the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern is greater than 4 μm, the distance between the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern is increased from 4 μm or less and Cm is increased. As a result, the touch sensitivity may be improved.

In addition, when the interval is 0 or less, it can be seen that not only the Cm but also the ΔCm values increase rapidly, and thus the touch sensitivity increases more remarkably.

On the other hand, in embodiments where the spacing between the patterns is 4 µm or less, the spacing between the electrodes is narrower than the visually visible range, making it almost impossible to identify the sensing pattern.

[Description of the code]

100: touch screen panel

102 base member 104 first sensing pattern

106: insulating layer 108: second sensing pattern

Claims

And a first sensing pattern formed on the bottom surface of the insulating layer and a second sensing pattern formed on the upper surface, wherein the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern are formed in different directions, and the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern are formed in different directions. The touch screen panel having a spacing of 4 μm or less when projecting a sensing pattern on the same plane.
The method of claim 1, wherein the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern is a form in which a polygonal pattern is connected to each other independently, the interval is the interval between the polygon of the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern projected on the same plane , Touch screen panel.
The touch screen panel as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern are embedded in an insulating layer independently of each other, and the surface thereof is formed to be the same as the insulating layer or protrude from one surface of the insulating layer.
The touch screen panel of claim 1, wherein the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern projected on the same plane overlap.
Forming a first sensing pattern on an upper surface of the base member;

Forming an insulating layer on the first sensing pattern on the base member; And

And forming a second sensing pattern on an upper surface of the insulating layer so that the interval is 4 μm or less when projected onto the same plane as the first sensing pattern.
The method of claim 5, wherein the forming of the first sensing pattern comprises forming at least one of sputtering, photolithography, and screen printing with a conductive material on the upper surface of the base member.
The method of claim 5, wherein the forming of the second sensing pattern is performed by using at least one of sputtering, photolithography, and screen printing with a conductive material on an upper surface of the insulating layer.
The method of claim 5, wherein the first sensing pattern and the second sensing pattern are formed to overlap when projected on the same plane.
The method of claim 5, wherein the base member is a plastic substrate or a glass substrate.