KR101446313B1 - Touch window - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a touch window in which an electrode pattern formed by a nanoimprinting metal mesh method is formed integrally with a window, more specifically, a transparent window having a predetermined thickness and width, , A UV resin or a thermosetting resin is applied to the center of the transparent window, a resin layer having a uniform thickness is pushed by a blade having a constant width, and a stamp having a fine pattern formed on the resin layer is printed An engraved pattern in which a pattern corresponding to a fine pattern is formed on the inner side when the stamp is separated after curing, and an electrode material coated on the resin layer, and the electrode material embedded in the engraved pattern inside the hardened Electrode pattern to overcome the limit of size, To an improved thin and light integrated touch window.

Description

Touch window using nanoimprinting metal mesh method and its manufacturing method. {Touch window}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch window in which an electrode pattern formed by a nanoimprinting metal mesh method is integrally formed in a window, and more particularly, to a thin and light integrated touch window which overcomes a size limitation and is improved in visibility.

In general, a touch panel includes a touch part capable of sensing a touched fact by applying a transparent conductive material on a PET film or glass or acryl, an electrode part having a plurality of electrode lines formed on the rim with the touch part as a center, And a tag portion to which a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) is bonded at the end of the line.

For example, the ITO pattern is formed by applying the ITO material at a predetermined interval to form the ITO pattern by photolithography or the like. However, the manufacturing process of the ITO pattern is complicated. In particular, when the touch panel is bent or warped, There has been a problem that the cost thereof is as high as 25% of the manufacturing cost of the touch panel

Recently, a metal mesh method has been proposed in which an electrode is formed by finely coating copper or silver on a transparent substrate without using an ITO film. However,

This metal mesh method is advantageous in that it is easy to apply a touch to a large screen because of its low cost and low resistance. However, since the light transmittance is lower than that of ITO and the line width becomes longer than 8 탆, There was a limit.

That is, an engraved pattern is formed on one side of the transparent substrate, and an electrode material is coated on the inside of the engraved pattern to form an electrode pattern. In this case, when the line width of the engraved pattern is longer than 8 탆, The light was scattered or shaded, and the electrode pattern was dimly displayed along the viewing direction.

Therefore, in order to conceal such a problem, it is installed in a display device of more than 20 inches which is far from the monitor and eyes and is viewed from the front.

Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2011-0100034 (Published date: Sep. 09, 2011)

Accordingly, the present invention can be applied to a display device or a smartphone of 20 inches or less in which visibility and size limitation are solved by a nanoimprinting metal mesh method,

At the same time, the touch screen is directly formed on the back side of the transparent window to realize a touch window having excellent sensitivity with minimized thickness and weight.

To this end, the present invention provides a transparent window having a predetermined thickness and width, a decoupled film laminated on the frame,

A resin layer having a uniform thickness by applying a UV resin or a thermosetting resin to the center of the transparent window and pushing it with a blade having a constant width,

An engraved pattern in which a stamp in which a fine pattern is formed on the resin layer is formed and a pattern corresponding to the fine pattern is formed on the inner side when the stamp is separated after curing,

A touch window formed by a nanoimprinting metal mesh method including an electrode pattern formed by applying an electrode material onto the resin layer and curing an electrode material embedded in an engraved pattern with a doctor blade.

Accordingly, the present invention forms an engraved pattern having a thickness of 3 mu m and a line width of 2.5 to 3 mu m with a stamp made of a PDMS material on one side of a transparent window by a nanoimprinting method, Thin and light all-in-one touch window with improved visibility and overcome.

Also, in the present invention, a composite material obtained by mixing carbon nanotubes and a silver paste or an electrode material in which a graphene and a silver paste are mixed at a ratio of 9: 1 is filled with a darkening agent and an electrode pattern simultaneously.

1 is a sectional view of a touch panel made of a conventional metal mesh;
2 is a cross-sectional view of a touch window according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a pattern image of a touch window according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 4 and 5 are views showing TOP and BOTTEN images of the touch window according to the embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a process schematic diagram of a touch window according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart of a touch window according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 is a photograph of a surface of a touch window according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views illustrating a touch window according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a photograph of TOP and BOTTEN of the touch panel.

As shown in the figure, the present invention is characterized in that a UV resin or a transparent thermosetting resin is applied on one side of a transparent window 10 having a decoupled film laminated on its rim, and the surface is pushed by a blade, The resin layer 11 is formed,

The engraved patterns 11a corresponding to the fine patterns are formed when the stamp 20 having the fine patterns projected on one surface of the resin layer is pressed to cure the resin,

When the electrode material is applied to the inside of the engraved pattern with a certain degree of transmittance and conductivity and the electrode material is buried inside the engraved pattern with the doctor blade and cured, the electrode pattern 12 is formed on the transparent window 10 Since the touch window formed can be served,

It is possible to provide a touch window which is free from the limitation of visibility and size and at the same time has excellent sensitivity with minimized thickness and weight.

A surface treatment layer 11b and a seed layer 11c are formed on the engraved pattern 11a in order to facilitate the implantation while cleaning the inner surface according to the embodiment. The engraved pattern 11a is made of PDMS A stamp made of a material is pressed to form an engraved pattern having a thickness of 3 탆 and a line width of 2.5 to 3 탆.

For reference, the transparent window 10 maintains a uniform thickness and has a transparency of at least 80% or more. The frame is laminated with a deco film, and the flexible board is bonded to the lower end by an anisotropic conductive film .

The resin layer 11 is formed by applying a UV resin or a thermosetting resin having a predetermined viscosity to a transparent window and pushing the surface of the UV resin or thermosetting resin to a blade having a uniform width, Layer.

For reference, the resin layer 11 has a thickness of about 3 mu m, and the engraved pattern 11a imprinted on the upper surface of the resin layer has a thickness of 3 mu m and a line width of 2.5 mu m to 3 mu m A plurality of lines are formed at regular intervals.

The engraved pattern 11a is formed by setting a stamp on which a fine pattern protruding at the lower end is formed, and when the stamp is brought into close contact with the resin layer and irradiated with light or heat for a predetermined period of time, And the engraved pattern corresponding to the fine pattern can be formed on the resin layer. For reference, when the thickness and the line width of the fine pattern are more than 3 mu m, the pattern of the engraved pattern is seen due to scattering of light when the electrode pattern is formed.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a UV mold and a nanoimprinting process using a doctor blade according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, a UV curable polymer mold thermosetting PDMS is cured and then a master pattern Create a flame to enter. After fixing the disk to the PDMS frame, pour the UV-curable polymer into the mold and cover the PDMS lid. After irradiating the UV (~ 365 nm) lamp for about 30 minutes, the softened NOA replica mold is removed from the plate at a moderate temperature (above 70 ° C)

In order to solve the problems caused by the hard mold, a technique of making a polymer mold capable of realizing a plurality of microscopic nanopatterns in one disc by using a curable low-molecular material was studied

For reference, the polymer used in the present invention is a commercially available UV-curable polymer, and when it is above a suitable temperature, the adhesion to Si is reduced. By using this properly, a polymer mold replicated from the Si master disc can be easily obtained.

In the aspect of diversity, the fine pattern technology using the polymer replica mold has an advantage that it can overcome the limit factors of the hard mold which was produced with the inorganic materials such as SiO 2, Si and Quartz, It is possible to reduce the entire process cost economically.

However, in spite of these advantages, it is necessary to improve the non-adhesion between the polymer mold and the transferred polymer, and to treat the various hardenable materials, the surface treatment of the disk is required to lower the adhesion between the disk and the replica polymer mold It was a problem.

6 is a schematic view illustrating a method of applying a surface treatment technique to a plurality of polymer molds on a single disk and transferring the polymer molds onto a transparent window using an imprinting lithography process. The present invention is not limited to a mold, and can be applied to an extremely excellent non-adhesive layer formation such as a surface treatment of an original plate. This has the advantage that a mold having various mechanical strengths and experimental characteristics can be constituted by having the mold having the PDMS surface which is always a constant non-adhesive layer regardless of the material constituting the mold.

The electrode material is formed of a material having a resistance value lower than that of indium tin oxide (ITO). Preferably, the electrode material is selected from the group consisting of copper (Cu), silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), nickel (Ni) Can be used. However,

In the present invention, a composite material obtained by mixing carbon nanotubes and silver paste at a certain ratio or a composite material obtained by mixing graphene and silver paste at a certain ratio was applied to treat electrode patterns and darkening at one time.

That is, in the present invention, a thin film having a continuous structure is formed by superimposing a plurality of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in order to obtain a conductivity of a certain amount or more, while a silver paste is mixed in part to lower the light transmittance, To ensure the maximum transmittance at 550 nm, which is the most sensitive wavelength. At this time, the transparency was lowered as the ratio of carbon nanotubes was higher, and the surface resistance value was lowered as the ratio of silver was higher.

Therefore, carbon nanotube (CNT) and silver (Ag) paste were mixed at a ratio of 1 to 9, respectively. It is possible to form an electrode pattern having a surface resistance of 8? / Sq or less and a transmittance of 87% or more at a wavelength of 550 nm.

Similarly, in the present invention, a thin film having a continuous structure is formed by superimposing a plurality of graphenes in order to obtain a conductivity of a certain amount or more, and a silver paste is mixed in order to lower the light transmittance, To ensure the maximum transmittance at 550 nm.

At this time, transparency was lowered as the ratio of graphene was increased, and the surface resistance value was lowered as the silver ratio was higher.

Thus, graphene and silver paste were mixed in a 1: 9 ratio, respectively. It is possible to form an electrode pattern having the highest transmittance and low surface resistance.

For reference, the electrode material is filled in the depressed pattern, and then the electrode material filled at 20O < 0 > C to 130 < 0 > C for 20 to 30 minutes is cured to form an electrode pattern having a uniform and smooth surface.

In addition, the surface treatment layer 11b is for refining the engraved engraved pattern and the upper surface of the resin layer after stamp separation, and at the same time, for improving adhesion between the seed layer and the resin layer. At this time, the surface treatment layer is subjected to surface treatment through a plasma or an ion beam.

The seed layer 11c is formed on the surface of the engraved pattern by electroless plating, CVD deposition, or sputtering using a metal material. The seed layer may be formed of copper, nickel, chromium, iron, tungsten, Copper or the like.

Hereinafter, a process of manufacturing a touch window according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

A transparent window having a deco film formed on its rim is prepared,

A UV resin or a transparent resin having a transmittance and a viscosity of a predetermined amount or more is applied to the center of the transparent window.

Then, the surface of the UV resin or transparent resin coated with the blade having a certain width and thickness is pushed to the other side to form a resin layer having a thickness equal to the distance between the blades and the transparent window.

Then, a stamp made of PDMS having a fine pattern formed on the resin layer is pressed and adhered to the inside of the sintering furnace, and the sintered body is transferred to the inside of the sintering furnace, and heat treatment is performed for 20 to 30 minutes in the range of 100 ° C to 130 ° C to cure the resin layer give.

At this time, a top surface of the resin layer is irradiated with a plasma or ion beam to form a clean surface treatment layer, and a metal material is deposited thereon to form a seed layer. For reference, the surface treatment layer may be removed after cleaning, and a seed layer of a metal material may be formed thereon.

Then, the electrode material is applied onto the seed layer thus formed, and the electrode material is pushed into the doctor blade to fill the inside of the seed pattern.

At this time, the electrode material is formed of a material having a resistance value lower than that of indium tin oxide (ITO), and preferably copper, silver, aluminum, nickel, chromium, , And the like. In the present invention, a composite material obtained by mixing carbon nanotubes and silver paste at a certain ratio or a composite material obtained by mixing graphene and silver paste at a certain ratio,

Then, the filled electrode material is cured at 100 ° C to 130 ° C for 20 to 30 minutes in the baking furnace. At this time, the cured electrode pattern forms an electrode pattern having a thickness of 3 mu m or less and a line width of 2.5 to 3 mu m.

Thereafter, the etchant is injected to remove the exposed seed layer except for the portion filled with the electrode material, so that the touch window in which the electrode pattern having the line width of 2.5 to 3 m is integrally formed on one side of the transparent window It will be possible to do.

For reference, in the present invention, an electrode pattern may be formed by injecting a corrosion resistant material into the engraved pattern, removing the exposed seed layer, and filling the electrode material thereafter.

Accordingly, the present invention can be applied not only to a display device or a smartphone of 20 inches or less in which visibility and size limitation are solved by a nanoimprinting metal mesh method, but also to realize a touch window with excellent sensitivity with minimized thickness and weight It will be.

10: transparent window 11: resin layer
11a: engraved pattern 11b: surface treated layer
11c: seed layer 12: electrode pattern
20: Stamp

Claims (15)

A transparent window having a constant thickness and width, a decoupled film laminated on the rim,
A resin layer having a uniform thickness by applying a UV resin or a thermosetting resin to the center of the transparent window and pushing it with a blade having a constant width,
An engraved pattern in which a stamp in which a fine pattern is formed on the resin layer is formed and a pattern corresponding to the fine pattern is formed on the inner side when the stamp is separated after curing,
On the resin layer, an electrode material in which carbon nanotubes and silver (Ag) paste are mixed at a ratio of 1 to 9 are applied, and the electrode material is embedded in the depressed pattern by the doctor blade, And the electrode pattern having a transmittance of 87% or more at a wavelength of 550 nm is formed on the surface of the substrate The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the stamp is made of PDMS. The touch screen according to claim 1, 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the engraved pattern engraved through the stamp has a thickness of 3 탆 and a line width of 2.5 탆 to 3 탆. The touch window using the nanoimprinting metal mesh method The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the resin layer and the electrode material are cured at 100 ° C to 130 ° C for 20 to 30 minutes. The nanoimprinting metal mesh method The method according to claim 1,
And a surface treatment layer and a seed layer are formed on the inside of the engraved pattern so as to smooth the inner surface and facilitate the implantation. The nanoimprinting metal mesh method according to claim 1, delete delete delete delete delete A transparent window in which a deco film is formed on the rim is set,
Applying UV resin or transparent resin to the center of the transparent window,
Forming a resin layer of uniform thickness by pushing the surface of the UV resin or transparent resin coated with the blade having a constant width and thickness;
A stamp made of PDMS in which a fine pattern is formed on the resin layer is pressed and adhered,
And transferred to the inside of the firing furnace to perform heat treatment for 20 to 30 minutes at a temperature of 100 to 130 ° C. to cure the resin layer. When the stamp is separated, an engraved pattern corresponding to the fine pattern is formed on the resin layer ;
Applying an electrode material in which carbon nanotubes and silver (Ag) paste are mixed at a ratio of 1 to 9 on the resin layer, filling the electrode material inside the engraved pattern with a doctor blade,
The electrode material filled in the furnace at 100 ° C to 130 ° C for 20 to 30 minutes is cured to have a thickness of 3 μm or less and a width of 2.5 to 3 μm which has a surface resistance of 8 Ω / sq or less and a transmittance of 87% The method of claim 1, wherein the metal mesh pattern is formed by forming an electrode pattern. 12. The method of claim 11,
The step of applying the electrode material onto the resin layer and embedding the electrode material inside the engraved pattern with the doctor blade
Further comprising the step of forming a clean surface treatment layer by irradiating a plasma or ion beam on the upper surface of the resin layer and depositing a metal material thereon to form a seed layer, The method comprising: delete delete 13. The method of claim 12,
And injecting an etchant onto the upper surface of the resin layer to remove a seed layer exposed to the outside, wherein the nanoimprinting metal mesh method is applied.

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