Patent Application
20150059970
This application claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. §119 from China Patent Applications: Application No. 201310389789.X, filed on Sep. 2, 2013, in the China Intellectual Property Office, disclosures of which are incorporated herein by references.
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates touch panels and method for making the same, particularly to a carbon nanotube based capacitance-type touch panel and method for making the same.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, various electronic apparatuses such as mobile phones, car navigation systems have advanced toward high performance and diversification. There is continuous growth in the number of electronic apparatuses equipped with optically transparent touch panels in front of their display devices such as liquid crystal panels. A user of such electronic apparatus operates it by pressing a touch panel with a finger or a stylus while visually observing the display device through the touch panel. Thus a demand exists for such touch panels which superior in visibility and reliable in operation. Different types of touch panels, including a resistance-type, a capacitance-type, an infrared-type and a surface sound wave-type have been developed.
A conventional capacitance-type touch panel usually includes a first transparent conductive layer, an insulative substrate, and a second transparent conductive layer stacked with each other in that order. That is, the first transparent conductive layer and the second transparent conductive layer are located on opposite two surfaces of the insulative substrate. However, the insulative substrate is usually a glass plate or polymer plate with a relative high thickness, which cannot meet the requirement of lightweight and small thickness of electronic device development. Furthermore, in making process, it is difficult to form the first transparent conductive layer and the second transparent conductive layer on the same insulative substrate directly. Usually, the first transparent conductive layer and the second transparent conductive layer are formed on two different insulative substrates, and then the two different insulative substrates are bound together by an optically clear adhesive (OCA), however, the thickness of the touch panel is further increased.
What is needed, therefore, is to provide a touch panel and method for making the same which can overcome the short come described above.
Many aspects of the embodiments can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
The disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one.
References will now be made to the drawings to describe, in detail, various embodiments of the carbon nanotube based capacitance-type touch panel and method for making the same.
Referring to
In step (S10), the insulative substrate 11 can be flat or curved and configured to support other elements. The insulative substrate 11 can be transparent or opaque. The size and shape of the insulative substrate 11 can be selected according to need. In one embodiment, the thickness of the insulative substrate 11 is in a range from about 100 micrometers to about 500 micrometers. The insulative substrate 11 can be made of rigid materials such as glass, quartz, diamond, plastic or any other suitable material. The insulative substrate 11 can also be made of flexible materials such as polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate acrylic (PMMA), polyimide (PI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polyether polysulfones (PES), polyvinyl polychloride (PVC), benzocyclobutenes (BCB), polyesters, or acrylic resin. In one embodiment, the insulative substrate 11 is a flat PET plate with a thickness of 150 micrometers.
The first patterned adhesive layer 12a can be formed by spin-coating, spraying, or brushing. The first patterned adhesive layer 12a can be made by depositing using a mask directly. Also the first patterned adhesive layer 12a can be made by forming a continuous adhesive layer first, and then patterning the continuous adhesive layer by chemically etching or mechanically scraping. The first patterned adhesive layer 12a is used to fix the first carbon nanotube layer 13a on the insulative substrate 11. The thickness of the first patterned adhesive layer 12a can be in a range from about 10 nanometers to about 10 micrometers, for example, from about 1 micrometer to about 2 micrometers. The first patterned adhesive layer 12a can be transparent or opaque. The first patterned adhesive layer 12a can be made of materials such as thermal plastic glue, thermosetting glue or UV (Ultraviolet Ray) glue, for example PVC or PMMA. In one embodiment, the insulative substrate 11 is a flat and flexible PET plate with a thickness of 150 micrometers, and a patterned UV glue layer with a thickness of 2 micrometers is formed on the surface of the insulative substrate 11 by screen printing with a mask. The shape and size of the first adhesive layer 12 can be the same or different, and can be selected according to need.
In step (S11), the first carbon nanotube layer 13a is a free-standing carbon nanotube film with resistance anisotropy. Referring to
The carbon nanotubes of the carbon nanotube film are oriented along a preferred orientation. That is, the majority of carbon nanotubes of the carbon nanotube film are arranged to substantially extend along the same direction and in parallel with the surface of the carbon nanotube film. Each adjacent two of the majority of carbon nanotubes of the carbon nanotube film are joined end-to-end by van der Waals force therebetween along the extending direction. A minority of dispersed carbon nanotubes of the carbon nanotube film may be located and arranged randomly. However, the minority of dispersed carbon nanotubes have little effect on the properties of the carbon nanotube film and the arrangement of the majority of carbon nanotubes of the carbon nanotube film. The majority of carbon nanotubes of the carbon nanotube film are not absolutely form a direct line and extend along the axial direction, some of them may be curved and in contact with each other in microcosm. Some variations can occur in the carbon nanotube film. Because the electric conductivity of the carbon nanotubes along the axial direction is much better than the electric conductivity along the radial direction, and the majority of the carbon nanotubes of the carbon nanotube film are substantially arranged to extend along the same direction, the carbon nanotube film is conductivity anisotropy.
The carbon nanotube film can be made by the steps of: growing a carbon nanotube array on a wafer by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method; and drawing the carbon nanotubes of the carbon nanotube array to from the carbon nanotube film. During the drawing step, the carbon nanotubes are joined end-to-end by van der Waals attractive force therebetween along the drawing direction. The carbon nanotube film has the smallest resistance along the drawing direction and the greatest resistance along a direction perpendicular to the drawing direction. Thus, the carbon nanotube film is resistance anisotropy. Furthermore, the carbon nanotube film can be etched or irradiated by laser. After being irradiated by laser, a plurality of parallel carbon nanotube conductive strings will be formed and the resistance anisotropy of the carbon nanotube film will not be damaged because the carbon nanotube substantially extending not along the drawing direction are removed by burning. Each carbon nanotube conductive string comprises a plurality of carbon nanotubes joined end-to-end by van der Waals attractive force.
In one embodiment, the carbon nanotube film includes a plurality of successively oriented carbon nanotube segments joined end-to-end by van der Waals attractive force therebetween. Each carbon nanotube segment includes a plurality of carbon nanotubes parallel to each other, and combined by van der Waals attractive force therebetween. The carbon nanotubes in the carbon nanotube film are oriented along a preferred orientation.
The free-standing carbon nanotube film can be drawn from a carbon nanotube array and then placed on the first patterned adhesive layer 12a directly to cover part or entire surface of the first patterned adhesive layer 12a. The carbon nanotube film can be infiltrated into the first patterned adhesive layer 12a after being placed on the first patterned adhesive layer 12a. In one embodiment, part of the carbon nanotube film is infiltrated into the first patterned adhesive layer 12a, and part of the carbon nanotube film is exposed through of the first patterned adhesive layer 12a. Furthermore, a step of pressing the carbon nanotube film can be performed after step (S11) to allow more carbon nanotubes of the carbon nanotube film to infiltrate into the first patterned adhesive layer 12a. In one embodiment, a single carbon nanotube film is placed on the first patterned adhesive layer 12a with the carbon nanotubes substantially extending along the Y direction to form a plurality of first conductive channels on a first surface of the first patterned adhesive layer 12a along the Y direction. Each carbon nanotube of the carbon nanotube film has a first portion infiltrated into the first patterned adhesive layer 12a and a second portion exposed through of the first patterned adhesive layer 12a. Also, two or more than two carbon nanotube films can be placed on the first patterned adhesive layer 12a side by side to obtain a greater first carbon nanotube layer 13a. Adjacent sides of the two or more than two carbon nanotube films can be between adjacent two rows or adjacent two columns of the plurality of first adhesive layers 12.
Furthermore, the first patterned adhesive layer 12a is solidified to fix the first carbon nanotube layer 13a. The method for solidifying the first patterned adhesive layer 12a depends on the material of the first patterned adhesive layer 12a. The thermoplastic first patterned adhesive layer 12a can be solidified by cooling, the thermosetting first patterned adhesive layer 12a can be solidified by heating, and the UV glue first patterned adhesive layer 12a can be solidified by irradiating with ultraviolet light. Because part of the first carbon nanotube layer 13a is infiltrated into the first patterned adhesive layer 12a, the first carbon nanotube layer 13a is fixed by the first patterned adhesive layer 12a during solidifying the first patterned adhesive layer 12a. In one embodiment, the first patterned adhesive layer 12a is a patterned UV glue layer and solidified by ultraviolet light irradiating for about 2 seconds to about 30 seconds, for example, irradiating for about 4 seconds.
In step (S12), the first carbon nanotube layer 13a can be patterned by removing the part of the first carbon nanotube layer 13a that is suspended between adjacent two of the plurality of first adhesive layers 12. The suspended part of the first carbon nanotube layer 13a is not fixed by the first patterned adhesive layer 12a and can be removed easily by a method such as stripping by an adhesive tape or peeling by a roller having an adhesive outer surface. The suspended carbon nanotube layer can be removed easily by the adhesive tape or the roller having an adhesive outer surface. The suspended carbon nanotube layer can also be removed by a method such as laser-beam etching, ion-beam etching, or electron-beam etching. In one embodiment, a laser beam is controlled by a computer to etch the first carbon nanotube layer 13a and remove both the suspended part of the first carbon nanotube layer 13a and the other part of the first carbon nanotube layer 13a that on the first adhesive layer 12. Thus, the size of the first transparent conductive layers 13 is smaller than the size of the first adhesive layer 12.
In step (S13), the plurality of first electrodes 16 and the first conductive trace 17 can be made of material such as metal, carbon nanotube, conductive silver paste, or transparent conductive oxide (TCO), and can be made by etching a metal film, etching an TCO film, or printing a conductive silver paste. The plurality of first electrodes 16 can be entirely formed on the surface of the first adhesive layer 12, entirely formed on the surface of the first transparent conductive layer 13, or have a part formed on the surface of the first adhesive layer 12 and the other part formed on the surface of the first transparent conductive layer 13. The first conductive trace 17 is formed only on the surface of the first adhesive layer 12.
In one embodiment, the plurality of first electrodes 16 and the first conductive trace 17 are made of conductive silver paste and made by printing conductive silver paste contemporaneously. That is, the plurality of first electrodes 16 and the first conductive trace 17 are made by the same screen printing process once time. The conductive silver paste can include about 50% to about 90% (by weight) of the metal powder, about 2% to about 10% (by weight) of the glass powder, and about 8% to about 40% (by weight) of the binder. The plurality of first electrodes 16 are bar-shaped. At least part of each first electrode 16 is formed on the surface of the first transparent conductive layer 13 so the first electrode 16 can permeate into the carbon nanotube film before backing and form a composite after backing Because the carbon nanotube film has a plurality of gaps between the carbon nanotubes, the materials of the first electrode 16 can permeate into the carbon nanotube film easily. The plurality of first electrodes 16 are located at one side of the first transparent conductive layer 13 and on a surface of the first adhesive layer 12. The plurality of first electrodes 16 are located along the X direction and spaced from each other. The plurality of first electrodes 16 are electrically connected to the first transparent conductive layer 13. The first conductive trace 17 is electrically connected to the plurality of first electrodes 16.
In step (S14), the method for making the second patterned adhesive layer 14a is the same as the method for making the first patterned adhesive layer 12a. In one embodiment, the shape and size of each second adhesive layer 14 is the same as the shape and size of each first adhesive layer 12. The second adhesive layer 14 is an UV glue layer with a thickness of 15 micrometers and cover all the first transparent conductive layer 13, the plurality of first electrodes 16 and the first conductive trace 17.
In step (S15), the method for making the second carbon nanotube layer 15a and solidifying the second patterned adhesive layer 14a is the same as the method for making the first carbon nanotube layer 13a and solidifying the first patterned adhesive layer 12a. In one embodiment, a single carbon nanotube film is placed on part surface of the second patterned adhesive layer 14a with the carbon nanotubes substantially extending along the X direction.
In step (S16), the method for patterning the second carbon nanotube layer 15a is the same as the method for patterning the first carbon nanotube layer 13a. The step (S16) of patterning the second carbon nanotube layer 15a and the step (S13) of patterning the first carbon nanotube layer 13a can be performed at the same process. That is, patterning the first carbon nanotube layer 13a and the second carbon nanotube layer 15a simultaneously. In one embodiment, a laser beam is controlled by a computer to etch both the first carbon nanotube layer 13a and the second carbon nanotube layer 15a and remove redundant carbon nanotubes to obtain ten first transparent conductive layers 13 and ten second transparent conductive layers 15.
In step (S17), the method for making the plurality of second electrodes 18 and the second conductive trace 19 is the same as the method for making the plurality of first electrodes 16 and the first conductive trace 17. In one embodiment, both the plurality of second electrodes 18 and the second conductive trace 19 are made of conductive silver paste and made by printing conductive silver paste contemporaneously. The plurality of second electrodes 18 are located at one side of the second transparent conductive layer 15 and on a surface of the second adhesive layer 14. The plurality of second electrodes 18 are located along the Y direction and spaced from each other. The plurality of second electrodes 18 are electrically connected to the second transparent conductive layer 15, and the second conductive trace 19 is electrically connected to the plurality of second electrodes 18. A plurality of touch panels 10 are obtained after step (S17). The plurality of touch panels 10 are joined together.
Furthermore, a step (S18) of separating each of the plurality of touch panels 10 by cutting can be performed. The cutting can be performed by a laser beam or a mechanical device such as a blade. The blade can move along the row direction firstly and then along the column direction. Thus, the plurality of touch panels 10 are separated from each other. In one embodiment, ten touch panels 10 are obtained by cutting.
The order of the step (S12) and step (S13) can be exchanged, and the order of the step (S16) and step (S17) can be exchanged. That is, the electrodes 16, 18 and the conductive traces 17, 19 can be formed first on the corresponding areas of the carbon nanotube layers 13a, 15a, and then the carbon nanotube layers 13a, 15a are patterned. Thus, some carbon nanotubes will be remained between the electrodes 16, 18 and the adhesive layers 12, 14, and between the conductive traces 17, 19 and the adhesive layers 12, 14. The number of the electrodes 16, 18 and the conductive traces 17, 19 are not limited to only three as shown in
Referring to
The insulative substrate 11, the first adhesive layer 12, the first transparent conductive layer 13, the second adhesive layer 14, and the second transparent conductive layer 15 are stacked with each other in that order. That is, all the first adhesive layer 12, the first transparent conductive layer 13, the second adhesive layer 14, and the second transparent conductive layer 15 are located on the same side of the insulative substrate 11. Adjacent two of the insulative substrate 11, the first adhesive layer 12, the first transparent conductive layer 13, the second adhesive layer 14, and the second transparent conductive layer 15 are in contact with each other directly. That is, there is no other layer being located between the adjacent two of the insulative substrate 11, the first adhesive layer 12, the first transparent conductive layer 13, the second adhesive layer 14, and the second transparent conductive layer 15. Thus, the touch panel 10 has a decreased thickness. The plurality of first electrodes 16 are located on at least one side of the first transparent conductive layer 13 and electrically connected with the first transparent conductive layer 13. The plurality of first electrodes 16 are also electrically connected with a sensing circuit (not shown) via the first conductive trace 17. The plurality of second electrodes 18 are located on at least one side of the second transparent conductive layer 15 and electrically connected with the second transparent conductive layer 15. The plurality of second electrodes 18 are also electrically connected with a driving circuit (not shown) via the second conductive trace 19. The sensing circuit and the driving circuit can be two printed circuit board (PCB) or integrated in the same PCB.
Both the first adhesive layer 12 and the second adhesive layer 14 are a layer of solidified electrically insulating glue. The first adhesive layer 12 is used to fix the first transparent conductive layer 13 on the insulative substrate 11. The second adhesive layer 14 is used to bind the first transparent conductive layer 13 and the second transparent conductive layer 15 with each other, and electrically insulate the first transparent conductive layer 13 and the second transparent conductive layer 15 from each other. Because the first transparent conductive layer 13 and the second transparent conductive layer 15 are electrically insulated from each other only by the second adhesive layer 14, the second adhesive layer 14 should have a certain thickness. The thickness of the first adhesive layer 12 can be in a range from about 10 nanometers to about 10 micrometers, for example, from about 1 micrometer to about 2 micrometers. The thickness of the second adhesive layer 14 can be in a range from about 5 micrometers to about 50 micrometers, for example, from about 10 micrometers to about 20 micrometers. The first adhesive layer 12 and the second adhesive layer 14 can be transparent or opaque. The first adhesive layer 12 and the second adhesive layer 14 can be made of materials such as thermal plastic glue, thermosetting glue or UV (Ultraviolet Ray) glue, for example PVC or PMMA. In one embodiment, the first adhesive layer 12 is an UV glue layer with a thickness of 1.5 micrometers and the second adhesive layer 14 is an UV glue layer with a thickness of 15 micrometers. The second adhesive layer 14 covers all the first transparent conductive layer 13, the plurality of first electrodes 16 and the first conductive trace 17.
The solidified electrically insulating glue is different from the widely used insulative layer, such as a previously prepared glass plate, or previously prepared polymer sheet. Usually, the carbon nanotube film is attached on the previously prepared glass plate or polymer sheet, and the glass plate or polymer sheet with the carbon nanotube film thereon is bound with the insulative substrate 11 by OCA. However, it is easy to result a stress difference between the two different insulative substrates during bounding process, which will cause the insulative substrates to be twisted or curled. Furthermore, the previously prepared glass plate or polymer sheet usually has a thickness greater than 100 micrometers, which cause the thickness of the touch panel is increased. If the previously prepared glass plate or polymer sheet has a too small thickness, the difficulty of bounding will be increased greatly. The touch panel 10 only has the second adhesive layer 14 located between the first transparent conductive layer 13 and the second transparent conductive layer 15, which allows the making process to be simplified, and the second adhesive layer 14 have smaller thickness.
Referring to
In step (S20), the insulative substrate 21 is a glass plate with a thickness in a range from about 100 micrometers to about 300 micrometers. The TCO layer 23a defines a plurality of area 22. The material of the TCO layer 23a can be indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), aluminum zinc oxide (AZO), zinc oxide (ZnO) or tin oxide (TO). In one embodiment, TCO layer 23a is an ITO layer on an ITO glass.
In step (S21), the TCO layer 23a is patterned by laser etching. Each first transparent conductive layer 23 is located in one of the plurality of area 22. The first transparent conductive layer 23 includes a plurality of strap-shaped TCO layers spaced from and in parallel with each other. The plurality of strap-shaped TCO layers extend along the X direction. The pattern of the first transparent conductive layer 23 is not limited, as long as it can form a conductive film with resistance anisotropy. The thickness, width, and gaps of the plurality of strap-shaped TCO layers can be selected according to need.
In step (S22), the method for making the plurality of first electrodes 26 and the first conductive trace 27 can be the same as the method for making the plurality of first electrodes 16 and a first conductive trace 17 above. Each of the plurality of area 22 has a plurality of first electrodes 26 and a first conductive trace 27. In one embodiment, each of the plurality of first electrodes 26 is electrically connected with one of the strap-shaped TCO layers.
Because the first transparent conductive layer 23 is a patterned TCO layer, the touch panel 20 can omit the first electrodes 26, and the first conductive trace 27 can be in contact with and electrically connected to the patterned TCO layer directly. That is, the plurality of first electrodes 26 and the first conductive trace 27 can be made during the process of laser etching the ITO layer in step (S21).
Step (S23) to step (27) are the same as the step (S14) to step (18) above.
Referring to
The insulative substrate 21, the first transparent conductive layer 23, the second adhesive layer 24, and the second transparent conductive layer 25 are stacked with each other in that order. That is, all the first transparent conductive layer 23, the second adhesive layer 24, and the second transparent conductive layer 25 are located on the same side of the insulative substrate 21. The touch panel 20 is similar as the touch panel 10 except that the first transparent conductive layer 23 is a patterned TCO layer located on a surface of the insulative substrate 21 directly. That is, the touch panel 20 does not have any adhesive layer between the first transparent conductive layer 23 and the insulative substrate 21.
The first transparent conductive layer 23 includes a plurality of strap-shaped TCO layers spaced from and in parallel with each other. The plurality of strap-shaped TCO layers extend along the X direction. The pattern of the first transparent conductive layer 23 is not limited, as long as it can form a conductive film with resistance anisotropy. The thickness, width, and gaps of the plurality of strap-shaped TCO layers can be selected according to need. The material of the TCO layer can be indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), aluminum zinc oxide (AZO), zinc oxide (ZnO) or tin oxide (TO). In one embodiment, the first transparent conductive layer 23 includes a plurality of strap-shaped ITO layers with each electrically connected to one of the plurality of first electrodes 26.
The second adhesive layer 24 is located on the insulative substrate 21 and covers the entire patterned TCO layer. Part of the second adhesive layer 24 permeates the gaps between the adjacent strap-shaped TCO layers.
Because the first transparent conductive layer 23 is a patterned TCO layer, the touch panel 20 can omit the first electrodes 26. That is the first conductive trace 27 can be in contact with and electrically connected to the patterned TCO layer directly.
Because only the adhesive layer is located between the first transparent conductive layer and the second transparent conductive layer, the touch panel has small thickness, which can meet the requirement of lightweight and small thickness of electronic device development. The touch panel with such structure is easy to fabricate. Furthermore, there is no need to bound two different insulative substrates by an OCA, and the method of making the touch panel is simple and cost less.
It is to be understood that the above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate rather than limit the disclosure. Any elements described in accordance with any embodiments is understood that they can be used in addition or substituted in other embodiments. Embodiments can also be used together. Variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. The above-described embodiments illustrate the scope of the disclosure but do not restrict the scope of the disclosure.
Depending on the embodiment, certain of the steps of methods described may be removed, others may be added, and the sequence of steps may be altered. It is also to be understood that the description and the claims drawn to a method may include some indication in reference to certain steps. However, the indication used is only to be viewed for identification purposes and not as a suggestion as to an order for the steps.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201310389789X | Sep 2013 | CN | national |
