CN203117929U - Touch electrode structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch electrode structure, comprising: a substrate; the electrode layer is arranged on the substrate and is divided into an etching area and a non-etching area, and the electrode layer of the non-etching area comprises: the electrode structure comprises more than two first electrode blocks which are arranged along a first direction, wherein the adjacent first electrode blocks are electrically connected through a first lead; more than two second electrode blocks arranged along a second direction, wherein the second electrode blocks are arranged on two sides of the first lead; the first etching-proof optical layer is arranged on the electrode layer of the non-etching area, and a through hole is formed in the first etching-proof optical layer at a position corresponding to the second electrode block; the second etching-proof optical layer is arranged on the first etching-proof optical layer and the substrate, and a hollow area is formed at the position, corresponding to the through hole, of the second etching-proof optical layer; and the circuit layer is electrically connected with the adjacent second electrode blocks through the hollow areas and the through holes. By adjusting the refractive index of the first etching prevention optical layer and the second etching prevention layer, the difference in appearance between the etched area and the non-etched area after etching can be reduced.

Description

Touch electrode structure

technical field

The utility model relates to touch technology, in particular to a touch electrode structure.

Background technique

In the traditional touch electrode structure manufacturing process, the most important steps include the formation of the electrode structure and the formation of the wiring layer. In these two steps, a mask for defining the electrode pattern and a mask for defining the wiring layer are required respectively. Mask for connected regions. In the traditional manufacturing process, the mask generally requires additional steps to be removed after the above process steps are completed.

On the other hand, in order to make the touch electrode structure have a good visual effect when applied to a touch display device, after the touch sensing electrode structure is formed, it is usually necessary to add an additional optical layer on the touch electrode structure to adjust the touch. The display effect of the control device.

Therefore, the traditional manufacturing process of the touch electrode structure is not only cumbersome, but also needs to pay extra costs in the adjustment of the display effect.

Utility model content

Based on this, it is necessary to provide a touch electrode structure with less process steps and better visual effect.

A touch electrode structure, comprising:

a substrate;

An electrode layer is arranged on the substrate, and the electrode layer is divided into an etching area and a non-etching area, wherein the electrode layer in the non-etching area includes: at least two or more first electrode blocks arranged along the first direction , the adjacent first electrode blocks are electrically connected by first wires; at least two second electrode blocks arranged along the second direction, the second electrode blocks are respectively arranged on both sides of the first wires;

A first anti-etching optical layer, disposed on the electrode layer in the non-etching area, and the first anti-etching optical layer is formed with through holes corresponding to the positions of the second electrode blocks;

A second anti-etch optical layer, disposed on the first anti-etch optical layer and the substrate, and a hollow area is formed in the second anti-etch optical layer corresponding to the through hole;

A circuit layer is arranged on the second anti-etching optical layer, and the circuit layer is electrically connected to adjacent second electrode blocks through the hollow area and the through hole.

By adjusting the refractive index of the first anti-etching optical layer and the second anti-etching layer, the appearance difference between the etched area and the non-etched area after etching can be alleviated.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of the manufacturing process of the touch electrode structure of the first embodiment;

Figures 2a to 2f are top views of the touch electrode structure corresponding to each step in the process flow chart shown in Figure 1; Figures 2a' to 2f' are cross-sectional views along the direction A-A' of Figures 2a to 2e;

2g is a layered structure diagram of the electrode layer of the etching area and the non-etching area of the touch electrode structure of the first embodiment;

Fig. 3a is a top view of the touch electrode structure of the second embodiment; Fig. 3a' is a cross-sectional view along the direction A-A' of Fig. 3a;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a manufacturing process of a touch electrode structure according to another embodiment;

Figures 5a to 5e are top views of the touch electrode structure corresponding to each step in the process flow chart shown in Figure 4; Figures 5a' to 5f' are cross-sectional views along the direction A-A' of Figures 5a to 5e respectively.

Detailed ways

As shown in FIG. 1 , it is a flow chart of the manufacturing process of the touch electrode structure of an embodiment. The manufacturing process includes the following steps.

S101: Form an electrode layer on a substrate. Referring to FIGS. 2 a ′ and 2 a , the electrode layer 130 a is formed on the substrate 110 . The substrate 110 may be a glass substrate or a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The substrate 110 can be flat or curved to adapt to different touch products. The substrate 110 can also be a rigid substrate or a perturbable substrate. The electrode layer 130a can be made of nano-silver (Silver Nano-Wire, SNW) layer, carbon nanotube (Carbon nanotube, CNT) layer, graphene (Graphene) layer, polymer conductive (Conductive Polymer) layer and metal oxide (ITO, AZO...Gel) layer and other see-through materials. The manner of forming the electrode layer 130 may adopt processes such as deposition and sputtering.

S102: Form a protection layer on the electrode layer. For materials that are easily oxidized, such as nano-silver wire, the protective layer 140 isolates the electrode layer 130a from the air, thereby helping to improve the oxidation resistance of the electrode layer 130a. Simultaneously, because the nano-silver material itself has a certain density, the protective layer 140 can contact the substrate through the gap of the nano-silver, and by selecting materials with better adhesion with the substrate 110, it helps to improve the adhesion of the nano-silver to the substrate. 110 adhesion. The protective layer is made of see-through insulating material, such as silicon dioxide. The protective layer has a thickness of 50nm to 500nm.

S103: Form a first anti-etching optical layer on the protection layer. Referring to FIGS. 2b' and 2b, a first etch-resistant optical layer 150 is formed on the protective layer 140. Referring to FIG. The first anti-etching optical layer 150 has a patterned shape, which is used to define conductive electrode patterns on the electrode layer 130a. The first anti-etching optical layer 150 can be made of transparent insulating materials such as acrylic polymer (Acrylate Polymer) and epoxy resin (Epoxide Resin). The method of forming the first anti-etching optical layer 150 may adopt a printing process. The thickness of the first anti-etching optical layer is 0.05um to 5um.

S104: Etch the electrode layer not shielded by the first etch-resistant optical layer, and the etched electrode layer is divided into an etching area and a non-etching area. Referring to Fig. 2c' and Fig. 2c, the electrode layer 130a in Fig. 2b' and Fig. 2b is etched to form the electrode layer 130b shown in Fig. 2c and Fig. 2c'. During the etching process, since the protective layer 140 is thin, the etchant can penetrate the protective layer 140 to etch the electrode layer 130a. The electrode layer 130b shown in FIG. 2c' and FIG. 2c is divided into an etching region M and a non-etching region N. In this embodiment, the etching electrode layer 130 adopts an incomplete etching process, that is, only part of the etching region M is etched under the premise of ensuring that the electrode layer 130b in the etching region M is electrically insulated from the electrode layer 130b in the non-etching region N. the electrodes. Using the incomplete etching process can avoid excessive color difference between the electrode layer in the etching area M and the non-etching area N. In another embodiment, a full etch process may be used. The electrode layer 130b of the non-etching area N includes: at least two or more first electrode blocks 132 arranged along the first direction, and adjacent first electrode blocks 132 are electrically connected by first wires 134; The second electrode blocks 136 are arranged in the second direction, and the second electrode blocks 136 are respectively arranged on both sides of the first wire 134 . The figure only shows some electrode blocks of the electrode layer 130b in the non-etching region N, and the actual electrode layer 130b should include more electrode blocks. Due to the shielding of the first anti-etching optical layer 150 , after etching, the electrode layer 130 finally forms the same electrode structure as the pattern defined by the first anti-etching optical layer 150 . In FIG. 2c ′ and FIG. 2c , the first electrode block 132 , the first wire 134 and the second electrode block 136 are all located under the first etch-resistant optical layer 150 .

S105: Form a second anti-etch optical layer on the protection layer and the first anti-etch optical layer. Referring to FIG. 2d' and FIG. 2d, after the electrode layer 130b is formed by etching, the second etch-resistant optical layer 160 is covered and formed on the entire substrate 210, and the second etch-resistant optical layer 160 is formed on the first etch-resistant optical layer 150 and A hollow area 162 is formed on the protection layer 140 and corresponding to the second anti-etching optical layer 160 on each second electrode block 136 . The second anti-etching optical layer 160 can be made of transparent insulating materials such as acrylic polymer (Acrylate Polymer) and epoxy resin (Epoxide Resin). The thickness of the second anti-etching optical layer 160 is 0.05um to 5um.

S106: Etching the first anti-etching optical layer and the protection layer at the hollowed out regions. 2e' and 2e, by etching the first etch-resistant optical layer 150 and the protective layer 140 at the hollowed out region 162, a through hole 152 can be formed on the first etch-resistant optical layer 150 and the protective layer 140. The through hole 152 is formed and penetrates through the first anti-etch optical layer 150 and the protective layer 140 , so that the second electrode block 136 is partially exposed. It should be noted that, for a single second electrode block 136 , the number of hollowed out regions 162 and through holes 152 can be adjusted according to the size of the second electrode block 136 , and is not limited to the number shown in the figure. In addition, the hollow area 162 and the through hole 152 may also be in the shape of a circle, and are not limited to the square in the figure.

S107: Form a circuit layer. Referring to FIG. 2 f ′ and FIG. 2 f , the circuit layer 170 is formed on the second anti-etching optical layer 160 and is electrically connected to the second electrode block 136 located in the non-etching area through the hollow area 162 and the through hole 152 . The circuit layer 170 can be made of see-through conductive materials such as indium tin oxide, or metal materials such as silver and aluminum, or alloy materials such as molybdenum-aluminum-molybdenum.

Referring to Fig. 2c, Fig. 2f' and Fig. 2f at the same time, the touch electrode structure obtained through the above process includes: a substrate 110; an electrode layer 130b is arranged on the substrate 110, and the electrode layer 130b is divided into etching regions M and the non-etching area N, wherein the electrode layer of the non-etching area N includes: at least two or more first electrode blocks 132 arranged along the first direction, and the adjacent first electrode blocks 132 are electrically connected through the first wire 134 connection; at least two second electrode blocks 136 arranged along the second direction, and the second electrode blocks 136 are respectively arranged on both sides of the first wire 134; the protective layer 140 is arranged on the electrode layer 130b; An anti-etching optical layer 150 is disposed on the protective layer in the non-etching region N, and the first anti-etching optical layer 150 and the protective layer 140 are formed with through holes 152 corresponding to the positions of the second electrode block 136; The layer 160 is disposed on the protection layer 140 and the first anti-etching optical layer 150, and the second anti-etching optical layer 160 is formed with a hollow area 162 corresponding to the position of the through hole 152; the circuit layer 170 is disposed on the second anti-etching optical layer 150; layer 160 , and the circuit layer 170 is electrically connected to the adjacent second electrode block 136 through the hollow area 162 and the through hole 152 . Other characteristics of the components of the touch electrode structure in this embodiment have been described in detail in the formation process, so details will not be repeated here.

Please refer to FIG. 2f', FIG. 2f and FIG. 2g at the same time. In the touch electrode structure formed by the process of the present invention, a protective layer 140 and a second anti-etching optical layer 160 are formed on the etching area M of the electrode layer 130b; the non-etching area A protective layer 140 , a first anti-etch optical layer 150 , and a second anti-etch optical layer 160 are formed on N. By adjusting the refractive index of the protection layer 140 , the first anti-etch optical layer 150 , and the second anti-etch optical layer 160 , the appearance difference between the etched area M and the non-etched area N after etching can be alleviated. In one embodiment, the refractive index of the first anti-etching optical layer 150 is at least 0.1 greater than the refractive index of the protective layer 140, and the refractive index of the second anti-etching optical layer 160 is at least greater than the refractive index of the first anti-etching optical layer 150. 0.1. The refractive indices of the protection layer 140 , the first anti-etching optical layer 150 and the second anti-etching optical layer 160 can be adjusted according to the refractive indices of different electrode layer materials. In addition, the thickness of the protection layer 140 can be up to 50nm to 500nm, and this thickness range can ensure that when the electrode layer 130a is etched, the etching solution can easily penetrate; the thickness of the first anti-etch optical layer 150 and the second anti-etch optical layer 160 can be The thickness range is from 0.05um to 5um, which is beneficial to ensure the light transmittance of the overall touch electrode structure. In addition, compared with the traditional manufacturing process, the process flow of this embodiment does not involve the step of removing the mask used to define the electrode pattern of the electrode layer and the step of removing the mask used to define the position of the through hole, so the process steps will be Less, the process time will be shorter, which can improve the efficiency of the process.

Further referring to FIG. 3a' and FIG. 3a, in another embodiment of the present invention, after forming the touch electrode structure as shown in FIG. 2f and FIG. 2f', an optical adjustment layer 180 can be further formed to cover the circuit layer 170 superior. The optical adjustment layer 180 can be a single-layer structure or a multi-layer composite structure. On the one hand, the optical adjustment layer 180 can be used to protect the overall touch structure; on the other hand, the optical adjustment layer 180 can also adjust the optical appearance of the circuit layer 170 and the overall touch structure. The thickness of the optical adjustment layer 180 is 0.05um to 5um. The optical adjustment layer 280 is made of transparent insulating materials such as acrylic polymer (Acrylate Polymer) and epoxy resin (Epoxide Resin).

As shown in FIG. 4 , it is a flow chart of the manufacturing process of the touch electrode structure of another embodiment. The manufacturing process includes the following steps.

S201: Form an electrode layer on a substrate. Referring to FIGS. 5 a ′ and 5 a , an electrode layer 230 a is formed on a substrate 210 . The substrate 210 may be a glass substrate or a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The substrate 110 can be flat or curved to adapt to different touch products. The substrate 110 can also be a rigid substrate or a perturbable substrate. The electrode layer 230a can be made of nano-silver (Silver Nano-Wire, SNW) layer, carbon nanotube (Carbon nanotube, CNT) layer, graphene (Graphene) layer, polymer conductive (Conductive Polymer) layer and metal oxide (ITO, AZO...Gel) layer and other see-through materials. The manner of forming the electrode layer 130 may adopt processes such as deposition and sputtering.

S202: Form a first anti-etching optical layer on the electrode. Referring to Figure 5a' and Figure 5a, the difference from the process flow shown in Figure 1 is that when the electrode layer is made of materials with good oxidation resistance and adhesion such as metal oxide (ITO, AZO...Gel) layers, The step of forming the protective layer can be omitted, that is, the first anti-corrosion optical layer is directly formed on the electrode layer. The first anti-etching optical layer 250 has a patterned shape, which is used to define conductive electrode patterns on the electrode layer 230a. Other characteristics of the first anti-etching optical layer 250 are the same as those of the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

S203: Etch the electrode layer not shielded by the first etch-resistant optical layer, and the etched electrode layer is divided into an etching area and a non-etching area. Referring to Fig. 5b' and Fig. 5b, the electrode layer 230a in Fig. 5a' and Fig. 5a is etched to form the electrode layer 230b shown in Fig. 5b' and Fig. 5b. 5b' and the electrode layer 230b shown in FIG. 5b is divided into an etching region M and a non-etching region N. Etching the electrode layer 230a may use a complete etching process or an incomplete etching process. The electrode layer 230b of the non-etching area N includes: at least two or more first electrode blocks 232 arranged along the first direction, and adjacent first electrode blocks 232 are electrically connected by first wires 234; The second electrode blocks 236 are arranged in the second direction, and the second electrode blocks 236 are respectively arranged on both sides of the first wire 234 . The figure only shows some electrode blocks of the electrode layer 230b in the non-etching region N, and the actual electrode layer 230b should include more electrode blocks. Due to the shielding of the first anti-etching optical layer 250 , after etching, the electrode layer 230 b finally forms the same electrode structure as the pattern defined by the first anti-etching optical layer 250 . In FIG. 5b' and FIG. 5b, the first electrode block 232, the first wire 234 and the second electrode block 236 are all located under the first etch-proof optical layer 250.

S204: Form a second etch-resistant optical layer on the first etch-resistant optical layer and the substrate. Referring to FIG. 5c' and FIG. 5c, after the electrode layer 230b is formed by etching, a second etch-resistant optical layer 260 is covered and formed on the entire substrate 210, and the second etch-resistant optical layer 260 is formed on the first etch-resistant optical layer 250 and A hollow area 262 is formed on the substrate 210 corresponding to the second anti-etching optical layer 260 on each second electrode block 236 . Other characteristics of the second anti-etch optical layer 260 are the same as those of the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

S205: Etching the first anti-etching optical layer at the hollow area. Referring to FIG. 5d' and FIG. 5d, by etching the first etch-resistant optical layer 250 at the hollow area 262, a through hole 252 can be formed on the first etch-resistant optical layer 250. Referring to FIG. The through hole 252 is formed and penetrates through the first anti-etch optical layer 250 , so that the second electrode block 236 is partially exposed. Other characteristics of the hollowed out area 262 and the through hole 252 are the same as those of the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

S206: Form a circuit layer. Referring to FIG. 5 e ′ and FIG. 5 e , the circuit layer 270 is formed on the second etch-resistant optical layer 260 , and is electrically connected to the adjacent second electrode blocks 136 through the hollow area 262 and the through hole 252 . Other features of the circuit layer 270 are the same as those of the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

5b, 5e' and 5e, the touch electrode structure obtained through the above process includes: a substrate 210; an electrode layer 230b is arranged on the substrate 210, and the electrode layer 230b is divided into etching regions M and the non-etching area N, wherein the electrode layer of the non-etching area N includes: at least two or more first electrode blocks 232 arranged along the first direction, and the adjacent first electrode blocks 232 are electrically connected through the first wire 234 Connection; at least two second electrode blocks 236 arranged along the second direction, the second electrode blocks 236 are respectively arranged on both sides of the first wire 234; the first anti-etching optical layer 250 is arranged in the non-etching area On the electrode layer 230b of N, and the position of the first anti-etch optical layer 250 corresponding to the second electrode block 236 is formed with a through hole 252; the second anti-etch optical layer 260 is arranged on the first anti-etch optical layer 250 and the substrate 210 , and the second anti-etching optical layer 260 is formed with a hollow area 262 corresponding to the position of the through hole 252; the circuit layer 270 is arranged on the second anti-etching optical layer 260, and the circuit layer 270 passes through the hollow area 262 and the through hole 252 The adjacent second electrode blocks 236 are electrically connected. In addition, in another embodiment, an optical adjustment layer may be further formed on the circuit layer 270 . Other characteristics of the components of the touch electrode structure in this embodiment have been described in detail in the formation process, so details will not be repeated here.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, the electrodes of the electrode layer are electrically connected by square electrode blocks. In other embodiments, the electrode blocks are also prismatic, pentagonal, or hexagonal.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementations of the utility model, and the description thereof is relatively specific and detailed, but it should not be construed as limiting the patent scope of the utility model. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the utility model patent should be based on the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. A touch electrode structure, characterized in that, comprising: a substrate; An electrode layer is arranged on the substrate, and the electrode layer is divided into an etching area and a non-etching area, wherein the electrode layer in the non-etching area includes: at least two or more first electrode blocks arranged along the first direction , the adjacent first electrode blocks are electrically connected by first wires; at least two second electrode blocks arranged along the second direction, the second electrode blocks are respectively arranged on both sides of the first wires; A first anti-etching optical layer, disposed on the electrode layer in the non-etching area, and the first anti-etching optical layer is formed with through holes corresponding to the positions of the second electrode blocks; A second anti-etch optical layer, disposed on the first anti-etch optical layer and the substrate, and a hollow area is formed in the second anti-etch optical layer corresponding to the through hole; A circuit layer is arranged on the second anti-etching optical layer, and the circuit layer is electrically connected to adjacent second electrode blocks through the hollow area and the through hole. 2 . The touch electrode structure according to claim 1 , wherein a protection layer is further formed on the electrode layer, and the protection layer is disposed between the electrode layer and the first anti-etching optical layer. 3 . The touch electrode structure according to claim 1 , wherein an optical adjustment layer is disposed on the circuit layer. 4 . 4 . The touch electrode structure according to claim 2 , wherein the protective layer has a thickness of 50 nm to 500 nm. 5 . The touch electrode structure according to claim 2 , wherein the refractive index of the first anti-etching optical layer is at least 0.1 greater than that of the protective layer. 6. The touch electrode structure according to claim 1 or 5, wherein the refractive index of the second anti-etching optical layer is at least 0.1 greater than the refractive index of the first anti-etching optical layer. 7 . The touch electrode structure according to claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the first anti-etching optical layer is 0.05 um to 5 um. 8 . The touch electrode structure according to claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the second anti-etching optical layer is 0.05 um to 5 um. 9 . The touch electrode structure according to claim 1 , wherein the circuit layer is made of see-through conductive material, metal material, or alloy material, or a combination thereof. 10 . The touch electrode structure according to claim 1 , wherein the first anti-etch optical layer material and the second anti-etch optical layer material are acrylic polymer or epoxy resin. 11 .

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