This relates generally to the fabrication of thin sheets of substrate material, and more particularly, to the fabrication of thin sheets of glass.
The standard process for fabricating LCD panels involves, inter alia, sealing two transparent substrates together to form a sandwich for depositing liquid crystal therebetween, thinning the sandwich to an appropriate LCD panel thickness, and depositing thin film on the outside surfaces of the sandwich. Conventional substrates are made from sheets of glass or some other transparent material. In order to withstand the chemical and mechanical rigors of fabrication without deformation or damage, a conventional sheet is generally at least 0.5 mm thick. Because 0.5 mm is the thinnest dimension for the sheets being used, standard LCD fabrication equipment has been designed to have a minimum thickness tolerance of 0.5 mm. This means that any sheet fabricated using standard LCD technology should have a thickness of at least 0.5 mm in order to be handled properly.
In recent years, touch sensor panels, touch screens, and the like have become available as input devices. Touch screens, in particular, are becoming increasingly popular because of their ease and versatility of operation as well as their declining price. Touch screens can include a touch sensor panel, which can be a clear panel with a touch-sensitive surface, and a display device, such as an LCD panel, that can be positioned partially or fully behind the touch sensor panel so that the touch-sensitive surface can cover at least a portion of the viewable area of the display device. Touch screens can allow a user to perform various functions by touching the touch sensor panel using a finger, stylus or other object at a location dictated by a user interface (UI) being displayed by the display device. In general, touch screens can recognize a touch event and the position of the touch event on the touch sensor panel, and a computing system can then interpret the touch event in accordance with the display appearing at the time of the touch event, and thereafter can perform one or more actions based on the touch event.
Like LCD panels, touch sensor panels in touch screens may be made of glass or other suitable transparent material. However, unlike LCD panels, touch sensor panels may be generally very thin, much more so than LCD panels. Fabrication technology can be similar for both touch sensor panels and LCD panels. However, due to touch sensor panel thinness, difficulties can occur in fabricating them using the same equipment as that used for LCD fabrication because the touch sensor panels may not fit the equipment and/or may be too fragile to withstand the rigors of the fabrication process. As such, equipment specifically designed for fabricating touch screen panels may be needed, which can be very expensive.
This relates to the fabrication of thin sheets of glass or other substrate material for use in devices such as touch sensor panels. In some embodiments, fabrication can be achieved using standard LCD technology. Standard equipment for fabrication of LCD panels has been designed with a minimum thickness tolerance of 0.5 mm. This is because glass (or other transparent material) used to fabricate LCD panels should be at least 0.5 mm thick in order to withstand the rigors of fabrication. Thinner glass would be subject to deformation or damage.
To fabricate thin sheets of glass, a pair of thick glass sheets may be provided, typically with thicknesses of 0.5 mm or greater each. Patterns of thin film may be deposited on a surface of each glass sheet for use as conductive traces, anti-reflective material, and/or protective layering, for example. The pair of thick glass sheets may be sealed together to form a sandwich with their patterned surfaces facing each other and separated by removable spacers. Either or both of the sandwiched thick glass sheets may be thinned on their respective outside surfaces to thicknesses of less than 0.5 mm each. The sandwich of now thin glass sheets may be separated from each other. Either or both sheets may have thicknesses less than the minimum thickness requirement for standard LCD equipment, yet be fabricated using that same equipment.
To fabricate thin sheets of glass, a thick glass sheet may be provided, typically with a thickness of 0.5 mm or greater. Patterns of thin film may be deposited on a surface of the glass sheet for use as described previously. A removable protective layer may be placed over the patterned thin film. The thick glass sheet may be thinned on its outside surface opposite the protective layer surface to a thickness of less than 0.5 mm. The protective layer may be removed. The sheet may have a thickness less than the minimum thickness requirement for standard LCD equipment, yet be fabricated using that same equipment.
In the following description of preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which it is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the preferred embodiments of the invention.
This relates to the fabrication of thin sheets of glass or other substrate material for use in devices such as touch sensor panels. In some embodiments, fabrication can be achieved using standard LCD technology. Standard equipment for fabrication of LCD panels has been designed with a minimum thickness tolerance of 0.5 mm. This is because glass (or other transparent material) used to fabricate LCD panels should be at least 0.5 mm thick in order to withstand the rigors of fabrication. Thinner glass would be subject to deformation or damage.
Touch sensor panels may be significantly thinner than LCD panels, but use similar fabrication methods. Therefore, using standard LCD technology to fabricate touch sensor panels may substantially save time, cost, and labor. However, to do so, the touch sensor panels should meet the minimum thickness tolerance of LCD equipment. One way to do so may be by forming a sandwich of two sheets such that the combined thickness of the sandwich during fabrication does not drop below 0.5 mm. As such, each sheet in the sandwich can be thinned during fabrication to a thickness of less than 0.5 mm. Another way to do so may be by applying a protective layer to a sheet such that the combined thickness during fabrication does not drop below 0.5 mm. As such, the sheet can be thinned during fabrication to a thickness of less than 0.5 mm. After thinning, the sheets can be separated, resulting in separate sheets that are thinner than could be achieved had the sandwich not been formed. This process can result in thin glass sheets suitable for touch sensor panels. Moreover, for the pairs of sheets, the throughput may increase substantially because two thin sheets may be processed at once.
Although embodiments of this invention are described and illustrated herein in terms of touch sensor panels with glass substrates, it should be understood that embodiments of this invention are not so limited to such panels and substrates, but is generally applicable to panels utilizing other touch and proximity sensing technologies, and any substrate for which thinness is required.
Patterns of thin film 105-a may be deposited on a surface of glass sheet 100-a. Similarly, patterns of thin film 105-b may be deposited on a surface of glass sheet 100-b. The thin film patterns may be used as conductive traces for carrying signals and may include transparent materials, such as indium tin oxide (ITO). Alternatively or additionally, the thin film patterns may be used as an anti-reflective layer to minimize reflection off the glass sheet surface and may include anti-reflective material. Alternatively or additionally, the thin film patterns may be used as a protective layer and may include ceramic material or any other material with similar protective properties. The type of thin film used may depend on the ultimate use of the fabricated thin glass sheet.
To separate the sandwich to form separate thin glass sheets 100-a and 100-b, the sealed edges of the sheets may be cut from the sandwich and spacers 110 removed. Other mechanical methods may be used to separate the glass sheets. Alternatively, chemical methods may be used, e.g., delamination to remove a laminate that formed the seal. A combination of mechanical and chemical methods may also be used.
In an example, as shown in
It is to be understood that the thickness of a thin glass sheet is not limited to that described here, but may include any thickness below the minimum thickness requirement of the LCD equipment that may be suitable for touch sensor panels or other devices.
After completing the standard LCD fabrication process, unlike LCD panels, the sandwich of thin glass sheets may now be separated into separate glass sheets. Any suitable unsealing tool known to those skilled in the art may be used to separate the pair of patterned thin glass sheets into separate glass sheets (225). The resulting thin glass sheet or sheets may have a thickness of less than 0.5 mm, which is below the minimum thickness requirement of standard LCD equipment, yet still advantageously have been fabricated using that equipment.
Patterns of thin film 305 may be deposited on a surface of glass sheet 300. As mentioned previously, the thin film patterns may be used as conductive traces for carrying a signal and may include semiconductor materials. Alternatively or additionally, the thin film patterns may be used as an anti-reflective layer to minimize reflection off the glass sheet surface and may include anti-reflective material. Alternatively or additionally, the thin film patterns may be used as a protective layer and may include ceramic, organic, or any other materials with such protective properties.
In an example, as shown in
It is to be understood that the thickness of a thin glass sheet is not limited to that described here, but may include any thickness below the minimum thickness requirement of the LCD equipment that may be suitable for touch sensor panels.
After completing the standard LCD fabrication process, the protective layer may be removed from the surface of the glass sheet. Any suitable removal tool known to those skilled in the art may be used to do so, leaving the thin glass sheet remaining (425). The resulting thin glass sheet may have a thickness of less than 0.5 mm, which is below the minimum thickness requirement of standard LCD equipment, yet still advantageously have been fabricated using that equipment.
The media player and the mobile telephone of
Touch sensor panel 624 can include a capacitive sensing medium having a plurality of drive lines and a plurality of sense lines, although other sensing media can also be used. Either or both of the drive and sense lines can be coupled to a thin glass sheet according to embodiments of the invention. Each intersection of drive and sense lines can represent a capacitive sensing node and can be viewed as picture element (pixel) 626, which can be particularly useful when touch sensor panel 624 is viewed as capturing an “image” of touch. (In other words, after panel subsystem 606 has determined whether a touch event has been detected at each touch sensor in the touch sensor panel, the pattern of touch sensors in the multi-touch panel at which a touch event occurred can be viewed as an “image” of touch (e.g. a pattern of fingers touching the panel).) Each sense line of touch sensor panel 624 can drive sense channel 608 (also referred to herein as an event detection and demodulation circuit) in panel subsystem 606.
Computing system 600 can also include host processor 628 for receiving outputs from panel processor 602 and performing actions based on the outputs that can include, but are not limited to, moving an object such as a cursor or pointer, scrolling or panning, adjusting control settings, opening a file or document, viewing a menu, making a selection, executing instructions, operating a peripheral device coupled to the host device, answering a telephone call, placing a telephone call, terminating a telephone call, changing the volume or audio settings, storing information related to telephone communications such as addresses, frequently dialed numbers, received calls, missed calls, logging onto a computer or a computer network, permitting authorized individuals access to restricted areas of the computer or computer network, loading a user profile associated with a user's preferred arrangement of the computer desktop, permitting access to web content, launching a particular program, encrypting or decoding a message, and/or the like. Host processor 628 can also perform additional functions that may not be related to panel processing, and can be coupled to program storage 632 and display device 630 such as an LCD panel for providing a UI to a user of the device. Display device 630 together with touch sensor panel 624, when located partially or entirely under the touch sensor panel, can form touch screen 618.
Note that one or more of the functions described above can be performed by firmware stored in memory (e.g. one of the peripherals 604 in
The firmware can also be propagated within any transport medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In the context of this document, a “transport medium” can be any medium that can communicate, propagate or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The transport readable medium can include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic or infrared wired or wireless propagation medium.
Although the invention has been fully described in connection with embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as being included within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/163,701, filed Jun. 27, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,673,163, and entitled “METHOD FOR FABRICATING THIN SHEETS OF GLASS,” which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20140196933 A1 | Jul 2014 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12163701 | Jun 2008 | US |
Child | 14211396 | US |