TWI552042B - Touch panel and method of manufacturing same - Google Patents

Description

Touch panel and method of manufacturing same

The present invention relates to a touch technology, and more particularly to a touch panel and a method of fabricating the same.

The use of touch panels has become increasingly popular. Currently, there is a thin touch panel comprising a substrate and a touch element. The touch elements are directly formed on one side of the substrate, and the other side of the substrate is used. By touching the operation, the substrate has both the protection function and the function of carrying the touch element, and the touch substrate which is originally required to independently carry the touch element can be omitted. Due to the advantages of thinness and lightness of such a touch panel, it is gradually favored by people.

In the above-mentioned thin design touch panel, a shielding layer is usually formed on the substrate to define the peripheral area, and the area outside the peripheral area belongs to the visible area. Next, a transparent electrode layer is formed to form a touch element, wherein the transparent electrode layer is extended from the substrate of the visible area to the shielding layer of the peripheral area. Since the shielding layer usually needs to be designed to have a thickness of several micrometers (μm) to several tens of micrometers, the transparent electrode layer must be formed to extend from the visible region to the peripheral region, which has a certain degree of difficulty. That is, the climbing ability of the transparent conductive layer in the shielding layer is lowered due to the increase in the thickness of the shielding layer, and the transparent electrode layer is liable to be broken or broken. The reliability of the electrical connection between the transparent electrode layer and other lines is reduced.

Therefore, the present invention provides a touch panel and a method for fabricating the same, which can effectively solve the problem that breakage or peeling occurs when the transparent electrode layer is formed to extend across the height of the shielding layer from the visible region to the peripheral region.

The invention provides a touch panel, which is defined by a non-visible area and a pair of visible areas that should be invisible. The touch panel comprises: a shielding layer formed on a substrate, wherein the forming area of the shielding layer is defined The non-visible area, and the shielding layer and the substrate form a step portion; a sensing electrode layer is formed on the substrate to be correspondingly located in the visible area, and further extends through the step portion to be formed on the shielding layer to correspond to Located in the non-visible area; and a conductive protective layer formed on the surface of the sensing electrode layer at least corresponding to the position of the step portion.

The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing a touch panel, wherein the touch panel includes a non-visible area and a pair of visible areas that should be invisible, and the method of manufacturing the touch panel includes: forming a shielding layer On the substrate, wherein the formation area of the shielding layer defines the non-visible area, and the shielding layer forms a step with the substrate; forming a sensing electrode layer on the substrate to be correspondingly located in the visible area, and further sensing the The electrode layer extends through the step portion to be formed on the shielding layer to correspond to the non-visible region; and at least at a position corresponding to the step portion, a conductive protective layer is formed on the surface of the sensing electrode layer.

The touch panel and the manufacturing method thereof are provided by using a step of forming a sensing electrode layer and then corresponding to a step portion of the shielding layer and the substrate. The conductive protective layer is formed on the surface of the sensing electrode layer, thereby effectively solving the problem that the transparent electrode layer is susceptible to breakage or peeling, thereby improving the reliability of electrical connection between the transparent electrode layer and other lines.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from

1‧‧‧Electronic device

10‧‧‧shell

20,20’‧‧‧ touch panel

21‧‧‧Substrate

211‧‧‧ first side

22‧‧‧Shielding layer

221‧‧‧ side wall

222‧‧‧ second side

23‧‧‧Sensing electrode layer

231‧‧‧First axial electrode

232‧‧‧second axial electrode

24‧‧‧ Conductive protective layer

241,241'‧‧‧protective components

25‧‧‧ wire

30‧‧‧Display module

40‧‧‧Adhesive layer

NV‧‧‧ non-visible area

V‧‧‧visible area

S101, S102, S103, S104, S105‧‧‧ steps

1 is a partial top plan view showing a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line a-a' in Fig. 1;

3 is a partial top plan view showing a touch panel according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line b-b' in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing a method of manufacturing a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2 are respectively a partial top view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention and a cross-sectional view along the line a-a' in FIG. 1 . The touch panel 20 of the present embodiment includes a substrate 21, a shielding layer 22, a sensing electrode layer 23, and a conductive protective layer 24. The shielding layer 22 is formed on the substrate 21, and the forming region of the shielding layer 22 is used to define the touch panel 20. A non-visible area NV allows a region other than the non-visible area NV to form a visible area V. In the embodiment of the present invention, the shielding layer 22 can be formed on the periphery of the surface of the substrate 21, and the defined non-visible area NV is disposed around the visible area V. Further, the shielding layer 22 can be formed only on the substrate 21. One side of the surface, or both sides, the non-visible area NV defined by the surface is located on one side or both sides of the visible area V, and the invention is not limited thereto.

In addition, the shielding layer 22 formed in this embodiment has a certain thickness and a step S formed on the substrate 21. The thickness of the shielding layer 22 can be adjusted according to the color adopted by the actual shielding layer 22 and the required shielding effect. This is not a limitation of the invention. In the embodiment of the present invention, the material of the substrate 21 is transparent and strengthened, and the substrate can be designed by using a non-conductive substrate such as glass, acrylic or plastic, and a shielding layer 22 is disposed on one surface thereof. And other structures, the corresponding other surface is an operation surface for the user to touch; the material of the shielding layer 22 is ink or photoresist, which has a certain light blocking property, generally dark color, for example, black, but different products In design requirements, it can also be other colors. The shielding layer 22 may be a single-layer structure or a multi-layer stacked structure, which is not limited by the present invention.

The sensing electrode layer 23 is formed on the substrate 21 to correspond to the visible area V, and further extends through the step S to be formed on the shielding layer 22 to correspond to the non-visible area NV. The sensing electrode layer 23 is specifically designed to form, for example, a plurality of first axial electrodes 231 (such as Y-axis electrodes) and a plurality of second axial electrodes 232 (such as X) electrically insulated from each other by a patterning process. Axial electrode). In an embodiment of the invention, the sensing electrode layer 23 is formed of a transparent conductive material, such as indium tin oxide, aluminum zinc oxide, zinc oxide, tin oxide germanium, tin dioxide, indium oxide, and nanometer. Silver, carbon nanotubes, graphene, etc. or a combination of the foregoing.

The conductive protective layer 24 is formed on the surface of the sensing electrode layer 23 at least corresponding to the position of the step S to cover at least the portion of the sensing electrode layer 23 corresponding to the step S, and the enhanced sensing electrode layer 23 is The adhesion between the step portion S and the shielding layer 22 prevents the sensing electrode layer 23 from being easily peeled off due to climbing at a position corresponding to the step portion S, and the sensing electrode layer 23 is effectively reinforced. In addition, since the conductive protective layer 24 of the present embodiment has electrical conductivity, when the sensing electrode layer 23 is broken or broken in the step portion S, the conductive protective layer 24 can continue to provide an electrical connection and maintain the feeling. The function of the electrode layer 23 is measured.

More specifically, in order to achieve the effect of protecting the sensing electrode layer 23 without affecting the function of the sensing electrode layer 23, the conductive protective layer 24 is patterned to be formed only for each of the first An axial electrode 231 and a surface of each of the second axial electrodes 232. In this embodiment, the conductive protective layer 24 is patterned to include a plurality of protective elements 241 respectively corresponding to each of the first axial electrodes 231 and each of the second axial electrodes formed on the sensing electrode layer 23 On the surface of 232, as shown in FIG. 1, each of the first axial electrodes 231 and each of the second axial electrodes 232 are respectively protected by two protection elements 241, and the protection element 241 of the embodiment is, for example, long. The strip structure is designed, and the protection element 241 is non-perpendicular and non-parallel to the boundary between the visible area V and the non-visible area NV, and the protection element 241 is further along the first axial electrode 231 and the second axial electrode 232. The edges are correspondingly formed on the surfaces of the first axial electrode 231 and the second axial electrode 232. Thereby, the chance of the conductive protective layer 24 affecting the optical and visual visual effects of the touch panel 20 is reduced. In an embodiment of the invention, the conductive protective layer 24 The material may be a transparent conductive material, which may be the same as the material of the sensing electrode layer 23. In the manufacturing step of forming the sensing electrode layer 23, the conductive protective layer 24 may be formed in the same step therein to save the process. The material of the conductive protective layer 24 may also be a non-transparent conductive material, such as a metal, and the invention is not limited thereto.

The touch panel 20 of the present embodiment further includes a wire 25 formed on the shielding layer 22 corresponding to the non-visible area NV and electrically connected to the sensing electrode layer 23. In practical design, the wires 25 and the conductive protective layer 24 can be formed, for example, of the same material and formed in the same process step, so that the conductive protective layer 24 designed by the present invention does not add an additional process step. The wire 25 can be a single layer metal structure, such as a single layer metal structure formed of copper, silver, aluminum. In various embodiments of the invention, the conductive layer 25 can be a multilayer metal structure, such as three formed of molybdenum-aluminum-molybdenum. Layer structure.

Next, the lamination arrangement of the touch panel 20 of the present embodiment will be described more specifically. As shown in FIG. 2, the shielding layer 22 is formed on the first surface 211 of the substrate 21, and the shielding layer 22 has a sidewall 221 and a second surface 222 away from the substrate 21. The opposite side of the first surface 211 of the substrate 21 is a surface that is provided for the user to touch. The sensing electrode layer 23 is formed on the first face 211 of the substrate 21 in the visible region V, and is further formed along the sidewall 221 and the second face 222 of the shielding layer 22 to extend into the non-visible region NV. The conductive protective layer 24 is formed on the surface of the sensing electrode layer 23 corresponding to the position of the step portion S. Specifically, the conductive protective layer 24 is divided into three portions to respectively correspond to the first surface 211 of the substrate 21 and the sidewall 221 of the shielding layer 22 The second surface 222 of the shielding layer 22 is formed on the surface of the sensing electrode layer 23. The wire 25 is formed on the second surface 222 of the shielding layer 22 and electrically connected to the sensing electrode layer 23.

As described above, the touch panel 20 of the embodiment is in the corresponding step portion S. The conductive protective layer 24 is disposed on the surface of the sensing electrode layer 23 such that at least a portion of the sensing electrode layer 24 is located between the conductive protective layer 24 and the shielding layer 22 at the position of the step portion S, and is in the present invention. In other embodiments, the conductive protection layer 24 may be formed between the shielding layer 22 and the sensing electrode layer 23 and corresponding to the position of the step portion S to slow the height difference between the shielding layer 22 and the substrate 21. The climbing of the electrode layer 23 is gently sensed, thereby reducing the risk of the sensing electrode layer 23 being broken at the step S. In addition, the touch panel 20 of the present embodiment does not limit the laminated structure and the layered relationship of other portions. In the visible region V, the sensing electrode layer 23 and the substrate 21 and the shielding layer 22 are An anti-reflection layer, an explosion-proof film, or the like can be further disposed between the substrates 21.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a partial top view of a touch panel according to another embodiment of the present invention and a cross-sectional view along line b-b' in FIG. 3 are respectively illustrated. The touch panel 20 ′ of the present embodiment has substantially the same structure and extension design as the touch panel 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , and the difference lies in the protection element 241 of the conductive protective layer 24 of the present embodiment. 'NV in the non-visible area is to further extend the incoming connection wire 25. Wherein, since the portion of the embodiment for the extension of the protection element 241 ′ is already located in the non-visible area NV, the shape and pattern of the protection element 241 ′ of the extension portion are relatively flexible, and the touch panel 20 ′ is not particularly considered. The optical and visual visual effects can be extended by the shortest path, and the zigzag elongated structure shown in Fig. 3 can be formed, for example. Of course, the shape and pattern of the specific protection element 241' can be adjusted according to actual design requirements, and is not limited by this embodiment.

As described above, the present embodiment extends the protective element 241' to the electrically conductive connecting wire 25, in addition to effectively preventing the sensing electrode layer 23 from being broken at the step portion S. In addition to the failure of cracking, breakage or peeling, the reliability of the electrical connection between the sensing electrode layer 23 and the wire 25 can be further enhanced, and the signal transmission between the sensing electrode layer 23 and the wire 25 is ensured.

Please refer to FIG. 5 based on the architecture of the foregoing embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for manufacturing a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the method of manufacturing the touch panel provided in this embodiment includes: providing a substrate 21 (step S101). Next, a shielding layer 22 is formed on the substrate 21 (step S102), wherein the formation region of the shielding layer 22 defines the non-visible region NV, and the shielding layer 22 and the substrate 21 constitute a step portion S. The masking layer 22 can be formed by printing or coating and etching on the substrate 21, wherein the printing can include screen printing, and the number of times of printing can be single or multiple, and the adjustment can be made according to actual process requirements. When the coating and etching are used, the material of the shielding layer 22 is mostly photoresist. The specific forming step is to apply a full-surface photoresist material on the substrate, and then form the shielding layer 22 by exposure development or laser etching.

Next, a sensing electrode layer 23 is formed on the substrate 21 to be correspondingly located in the visible region V, and the sensing electrode layer 23 is further extended through the step portion S to be formed on the shielding layer 22 to correspond to the non-visible region NV (step S103). The specific formation manner of the sensing electrode layer 23 is related to the specific structure thereof, and is a technique known in the art, and is not limited in the present invention, and therefore will not be described again. Further, a conductive protective layer 24 is formed on the surface of the sensing electrode layer at least at a position corresponding to the step portion S (step S104). Thereby, at least a portion of the sensing electrode layer 23 is located between the conductive protective layer 24 and the shielding layer 22 at the position of the step portion S, effectively preventing the sensing electrode layer 23 of the touch panel 20, 20' from being stepped. The portion S fails due to breakage, breakage or peeling. In addition, the manufacturing method further includes forming a wire 25 for shielding The layer 22 is correspondingly located in the non-visible area for electrically connecting the sensing electrode layer 23 (step S105). In another embodiment, after the foregoing step S104 is completed, the conductive protective layer 24, which is further extendable in the non-visible area NV, electrically connects the wires 25.

It is worth mentioning that the conductive protective layer 24 and the wires 25 can be fabricated by using the same material, such as metal, whereby the foregoing steps S104 and S105 can be combined into one step to simultaneously form the conductive protective layer 24 and the wires. 25, which is not limited by the present invention. In addition, the substrate 21 mentioned in the foregoing embodiments may be designed, for example, by using a non-conductive substrate such as glass, acryl, plastic, etc., and the foregoing substrate may further be a reinforced substrate. Further, the transparent electrode layer 23 may have a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide (Zinc Tin Oxide) or zinc aluminum oxide (Aluminum Zinc Oxide).

The touch panel provided by the present invention can be further integrated into an electronic device having a display module, so that the touch panel becomes an operation input interface of the electronic device. Referring to FIG. 6, a partial cross-sectional view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The present embodiment is exemplified by, for example, the touch panel 20 described in the first and second embodiments.

The electronic device 1 includes a housing 10, the aforementioned touch panel 20, and a display module 30. The touch panel 20 and the display module 30 are bonded by an adhesive layer 40 (such as an optical adhesive), and the entire touch panel 20 and the display module 30 are disposed in the casing 10 . Therefore, when the electronic device 1 is used, the user views the use on the side of the touch panel 20 , wherein the display module 30 displays the image for viewing by the user, and the substrate 21 of the touch panel 20 carries the shielding layer 22 . And the opposite surface of the surface of the sensing electrode layer 23 is provided for the user to touch operating.

In summary, the present invention provides a touch panel having a conductive protective layer and a method of fabricating the same, which can improve the electrical connection between the sensing electrode layer itself and the sensing electrode layer and the conductive line by the arrangement of the conductive protective layer. The reliability, in turn, reduces the risk that the sensing electrode layer cannot be used after the stepped portion is broken or peeled off.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above in the foregoing embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention. Those skilled in the art having the ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

20‧‧‧Touch panel

21‧‧‧Substrate

22‧‧‧Shielding layer

23‧‧‧Sensing electrode layer

231‧‧‧First axial electrode

232‧‧‧second axial electrode

24‧‧‧ Conductive protective layer

241‧‧‧protective components

25‧‧‧ wire

NV‧‧‧ non-visible area

V‧‧‧visible area

S‧‧‧Steps

Claims (13)

A touch panel is defined as a non-visible area and a pair of visible areas that should be invisible, the touch panel includes: a shielding layer formed on a substrate, wherein the forming area of the shielding layer defines the non-visible area And the shielding layer and the substrate form a step portion; a sensing electrode layer is formed on the substrate to be corresponding to the visible area, and further extends through the step portion to be formed on the shielding layer to correspond to the non-visible a region, wherein the sensing electrode layer comprises a plurality of first axial electrodes and a plurality of second axial electrodes electrically insulated from each other; and a conductive protective layer formed on the sensing electrode at least corresponding to a position of the step portion The surface of the layer, and the conductive protective layer comprises a plurality of protective elements respectively formed on the surfaces of each of the first axial electrodes and the second axial electrodes. The touch panel of claim 1, further comprising a wire formed on the shielding layer to be corresponding to the non-visible area and electrically connected to the sensing electrode layer. The touch panel of claim 2, wherein the conductive protective layer is further extended to electrically connect the wire in the non-visible area. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the protection elements are elongated structures. The touch panel of claim 4, wherein the protection elements are non-perpendicular and non-parallel to a boundary between the visible area and the non-visible area. The touch panel of claim 4, wherein the protection elements are formed corresponding to each of the first axes along an edge of each of the first axial electrodes and the second axial electrodes On the surface of the electrode and the second axial electrodes. The touch panel of claim 4, wherein the protective elements are zigzag elongated structures. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the conductive protective layer is made of a metal material. A touch panel manufacturing method, wherein the touch panel comprises a non-visible area and a pair of visible areas that should be invisible, the method of manufacturing the touch panel comprises: forming a shielding layer on a substrate, wherein The formation area of the shielding layer defines the non-visible area, and the shielding layer forms a step portion with the substrate; forming a sensing electrode layer on the substrate to be correspondingly located in the visible area, and further extending the sensing electrode layer Forming on the shielding layer by the step portion to correspondingly locate the non-visible region, wherein the sensing electrode layer comprises a plurality of first axial electrodes and a plurality of second axial electrodes electrically insulated from each other; and at least in a pair A conductive protective layer is formed on the surface of the sensing electrode layer, and the conductive protective layer includes a plurality of protective elements respectively formed corresponding to each of the first axial electrodes and the second axial directions. On the surface of the electrode. The method for manufacturing a touch panel according to claim 9 of the patent application, The method includes forming a wire on the shielding layer to correspond to the non-visible area for electrically connecting the sensing electrode layer. The method for manufacturing a touch panel according to claim 10, further comprising the conductive protective layer extending in the non-visible area electrically connecting the wire. The method of manufacturing a touch panel according to claim 10, wherein the wire and the conductive protective layer are formed of the same material and formed in the same step. The method of manufacturing a touch panel according to claim 9, wherein the conductive protective layer is made of a metal material.