KR102205985B1 - High-performance touch sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

The high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention includes a substrate, a first sensing electrode formed on the substrate, an insulating layer formed on the first sensing electrode, a second sensing electrode formed on the insulating layer, and the second sensing electrode. A protective layer is included, and one of the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode has a triple layer structure including a stacked metal oxide and a thin film metal, and the other includes a metal pattern.
According to the present invention, it is possible to implement a high-resolution and large-area touch sensor while simultaneously satisfying low resistance characteristics and optical characteristics, facilitate high-temperature process, and diversify substrates.

Description

High-performance film type touch sensor {HIGH-PERFORMANCE TOUCH SENSOR}

The present invention relates to a touch sensor. More specifically, the present invention relates to a high-performance touch sensor capable of realizing high resolution and large area while simultaneously satisfying low resistance characteristics and optical characteristics.

In general, a touch sensor is a device that recognizes a touch point in response to a user's contact with a finger or a touch pen when a user touches an image displayed on the screen, and depending on the applied technology, There are various methods such as a surface wave method using ultrasonic waves or the like.

Such a touch sensor is generally manufactured in a structure mounted on a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (EL), etc., and recently, a polymer film replacing a glass substrate has been manufactured. Research on a thinner, lighter, and bendable film-type touch sensor using as a base film is actively being conducted.

Recently, as various functions are integrated into mobile devices, mobile devices with high-resolution touch sensors are gradually expanding, and in particular, applications that can be applied to various security signatures by recognizing a user's fingerprint through a high-resolution touch sensor have been developed. Has become.

On the other hand, in order for the touch sensor to perform the fingerprint recognition function, the pitch of the unit sensing cells constituting the touch sensor is the change in the capacitance of the user's fingerprint having a minute interval, that is, ridges and valleys. It should be at a level that can be detected, and product defects may be caused in the process of miniaturizing the unit sensing cell in this way, and resistance increases as the cell pitch becomes narrower and the number of channels increases in response to the resolution of the touch sensor There is a problem that this becomes inevitable.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-1372525 (Registration date: March 04, 2014, name: Method of manufacturing a touch screen panel using photosensitive metal nanowires)

An object of the present invention is to provide a high-performance touch sensor capable of realizing high resolution and large area while simultaneously satisfying low resistance characteristics and optical characteristics.

In addition, the present invention increases the resistance while minimizing the pitch of the unit sensing cells constituting the touch sensor to a level that can detect the change in capacitance of the user's fingerprint, that is, ridges and valleys. It is a technical problem to provide a high-performance touch sensor capable of improving optical properties including light transmittance while securing low resistance characteristics by suppressing

The high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention for solving these technical problems includes a substrate, a first sensing electrode formed on the substrate, an insulating layer formed on the first sensing electrode, a second sensing electrode formed on the insulating layer, and the It includes a protective layer formed on the second sensing electrode, one of the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode has a triple-layer structure including a stacked metal oxide and a thin film metal, and the other has a metal pattern. Include.

In the high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention, unit patterns constituting the metal pattern do not cross each other on a plane of an electrode including the metal pattern among the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode. .

In the high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention, the unit patterns constituting the metal pattern are characterized in that they have a stripe shape.

In the high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention, the boundary surfaces of the unit patterns having the stripe shape are characterized in that they have a curved shape.

The high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention is characterized in that it further comprises a pad electrode connected to an electrode including the metal pattern among the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode.

In the high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention, the pad electrode is formed of the same material as the electrode including the metal pattern among the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode.

In the high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention, the protective layer is characterized in that it partially covers the pad electrode.

The high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention is characterized in that it further comprises a pad protection electrode formed on the pad electrode to protect the pad electrode.

In the high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention, among the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode, the electrode having the triple film structure has a structure in which the metal oxide, the thin film metal, and the metal oxide are sequentially stacked. It features.

In the high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention, a line width of an electrode including the metal pattern among the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode is 1 μm or more and 8 μm or less.

In the high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention, a sheet resistance of the electrode having the triple-layer structure among the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode is 3 Ω/sq or more and 10 Ω/sq or less.

In the high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention, the light transmittance of the electrode having the triple layer structure among the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode is 80% or more and 93% or less.

In the high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention, the light transmittance of the touch sensor including the substrate, the first sensing electrode, the insulating layer, the second sensing electrode, and the protective layer is 80% or more and 90% or less. do.

In the high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention, the sum of the line resistances of the electrodes constituting one unit sensing cell among a plurality of unit sensing cells that are an intersection area between the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode is 13Ω or more and 90Ω or less. It features.

In the high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention, the electrode including the thin film metal and the metal pattern is Ag, Cu, Ca, Ni, Al, Cr, Mo, Co, Ti, Pd, In, W, Cd, and their It characterized in that it comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of alloys.

The high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention is characterized in that it further comprises a separation layer formed between the substrate and the first sensing electrode.

The high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention is characterized in that it further comprises an inner protective layer formed between the separation layer and the first sensing electrode.

In the high-performance touch sensor according to the present invention, a pitch of one unit sensing cell among a plurality of unit sensing cells that is an intersection area between the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode is 50 μm or more and 110 μm or less.

According to the present invention, there is an effect of providing a high-resolution, high-performance touch sensor and a method of manufacturing the same to realize high resolution and large area while simultaneously satisfying low resistance characteristics and optical characteristics.

In addition, while minimizing the pitch of the unit sensing cells constituting the touch sensor to a level that can detect the change in capacitance of the user's fingerprint, that is, ridges and valleys, the resistance increase is suppressed. There is an effect of providing a high-performance touch sensor and a method of manufacturing the same to secure low resistance characteristics and at the same time improve optical characteristics including light transmittance.

1 is a view showing a high-performance touch sensor according to a first embodiment of the present invention,
2 is a view showing a high-performance touch sensor according to a second embodiment of the present invention,
3 is a view showing a high-performance touch sensor according to a third embodiment of the present invention,
4 is a view showing an exemplary shape of unit patterns constituting a metal pattern in an embodiment of the present invention,
5 is a diagram illustrating another exemplary shape of unit patterns constituting a metal pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Specific structural or functional descriptions of the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention disclosed in the present specification are only exemplified for the purpose of describing the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention, and the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention are in various forms. And are not limited to the embodiments described herein.

Since the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention can apply various changes and have various forms, embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and will be described in detail in the present specification. However, this is not intended to limit the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention to specific disclosed forms, and includes all changes, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms such as first or second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from other components, for example, without departing from the scope of the rights according to the concept of the present invention, the first component may be named as the second component and similarly the second component. The component may also be referred to as a first component.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that it is directly connected or may be connected to the other component, but other components may exist in the middle. will be. On the other hand, when a component is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in the middle. Other expressions describing the relationship between components, such as "between" and "directly between" or "adjacent to" and "directly adjacent to" should be interpreted as well.

Terms used in the present specification are used only to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the present specification, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described herein, but one or more other features. It is to be understood that the possibility of addition or presence of elements or numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof is not preliminarily excluded.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms, including technical or scientific terms, used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms as defined in a commonly used dictionary should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related technology, and should not be interpreted as an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present specification. .

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

1 is a view showing a high-performance touch sensor according to a first embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a view showing a high-performance touch sensor according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 3 is a third embodiment of the present invention It is a diagram showing a high-performance touch sensor according to. As will be described later, in the first and second embodiments, an electrode having a triple-layer structure is positioned at the bottom, and vice versa, in the third embodiment, an electrode having a triple-layer structure is positioned above.

Referring to FIG. 1, the high-performance touch sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a substrate 10, a separation layer 12, an inner protective layer 14, a first sensing electrode 20, and an insulating layer 30. , A second sensing electrode 40, a pad electrode 45, a protective layer 50, and a pad protective electrode 60.

First, an active region (AR), a junction region (JR), a trace region (TR), and a pad region, which are regions functionally partitioning a high-performance touch sensor according to embodiments of the present invention. Region, PR).

The active region (AR) is an area in which an image provided by a device coupled to a touch sensor is displayed and at the same time detects a touch signal input from a user, and is formed in a direction crossing each other in the active area (AR). A plurality of sensing electrode patterns are provided. Hereinafter, although it will be described in detail, for example, the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 formed to cross each other while the sensing electrode patterns constituting the touch sensor are insulated from each other by the insulating layer 30 Can be made.

In the pad region (PR), bonding pad patterns to which the FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) that transmits the touch signal sensed by the sensing electrode patterns provided in the active region (AR) to a driving unit (not shown) are connected are formed. have.

In the junction region (JR) and the trace region (TR), the sensing electrode patterns provided in the active region AR and the bonding pad patterns provided in the pad region (PR) are electrically connected. Wires are formed.

The substrate 10 structurally supports the components of the high-performance touch sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

For example, the substrate 10 may have a hard material having excellent heat resistance and chemical resistance, such as glass or SUS, or may have a soft material having excellent flexibility.

As a more specific example, the substrate 10 may be implemented in the form of a base film made of an arbitrary material having excellent flexibility and light transmittance.

For example, the base film may be a transparent optical film or a polarizing plate.

For example, as a transparent optical film, a film having excellent transparency, mechanical strength, and thermal stability may be used, and specific examples are polyester-based such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene isophthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, and polybutylene terephthalate. Suzy; Cellulose resins such as diacetyl cellulose and triacetyl cellulose; Polycarbonate resin; Acrylic resins such as polymethyl (meth)acrylate and polyethyl (meth)acrylate; Styrene resins such as polystyrene and acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer; Polyolefin resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyolefin having a cyclo-based or norbornene structure, and ethylene-propylene copolymer; Vinyl chloride resin; Amide resins such as nylon and aromatic polyamide; Imide resin; Polyethersulfone resin; Sulfone resin; Polyether ether ketone resin; Sulfide polyphenylene resin; Vinyl alcohol resin; Vinylidene chloride resin; Vinyl butyral resin; Allylate resin; Polyoxymethylene resin; A film composed of a thermoplastic resin such as an epoxy resin may be mentioned, and a film composed of a blend of the thermoplastic resin may also be used. In addition, a film made of a thermosetting resin such as (meth)acrylic, urethane, acrylic urethane, epoxy, silicone, or an ultraviolet curable resin may be used. The thickness of such a transparent optical film can be appropriately determined, but in general, it can be determined from 1 to 500 μm in consideration of workability such as strength and handling properties, thin layer properties, and the like. In particular, 1 to 300 µm is preferable, and 5 to 200 µm is more preferable.

Such a transparent optical film may contain one or more suitable additives. Examples of the additives include ultraviolet absorbers, antioxidants, lubricants, plasticizers, release agents, colorants, flame retardants, nucleating agents, antistatic agents, pigments, colorants, and the like. The transparent optical film may have a structure including various functional layers such as a hard coating layer, an antireflection layer, and a gas barrier layer on one or both sides of the film, and the functional layer is not limited to the above, and various functional layers are formed according to the use. Can include.

In addition, if necessary, the transparent optical film may be surface-treated. Examples of such surface treatment include chemical treatments such as plasma treatment, corona treatment, dry treatment such as primer treatment, and alkali treatment including saponification treatment.

In addition, the transparent optical film may be an isotropic film, a retardation film, or a protective film.

In the case of an isotropic film, the in-plane retardation (Ro, Ro=[(nx-ny)xd], nx, ny is the main refractive index in the film plane, d is the film thickness) is 40 nm or less, preferably 15 nm or less, and the thickness direction The retardation (Rth, Rth=[(nx+ny)/2-nz]xd, nx, ny is the main refractive index in the film plane, nz is the refractive index in the film thickness direction, and d is the film thickness) is -90nm to +75nm. And preferably -80 nm to +60 nm, particularly preferably -70 nm to +45 nm.

The retardation film is a film manufactured by the method of uniaxial stretching, biaxial stretching, polymer coating, and liquid crystal coating of a polymer film, and is generally used to improve and control optical properties such as compensating the viewing angle of a display, improving color, improving light leakage, and adjusting color taste. do. Types of the retardation film include a 1/2 or 1/4 wave plate, a positive C plate, a negative C plate, a positive A plate, a negative A plate, and a biaxial wave plate.

The protective film may be a film including an adhesive layer on at least one surface of a film made of a polymer resin, or a film having self-adhesive properties such as polypropylene, and may be used to protect the surface of the touch sensor and improve processability.

As the polarizing plate, a known polarizer used in a display panel may be used. Specifically, a polyvinyl alcohol film is stretched and a protective layer 50 is provided on at least one surface of a polarizer dyed with iodine or a dichroic dye, and a liquid crystal is aligned to have the performance of a polarizer, and a transparent film Examples include coating an oriented resin such as polyvinyl alcohol and stretching and dyeing the same, but are not limited thereto.

The separation layer 12 and the inner protective layer 14 formed between the substrate 20 and the first sensing electrode 20 are first detected during the manufacturing process when the substrate 20 is implemented as a film having a flexible material. In a state in which constituent elements including the electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 are formed on a rigid carrier substrate such as glass or SUS, the function of separating the constituent elements from the carrier substrate is performed. Additionally, the internal protective layer 14 formed on the separation layer 12 also has a function of protecting the separation layer 12 during deposition and etching of the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 4, etc. Perform.

The first sensing electrode 20 formed in the active area AR of the substrate 10 functions as a sensing electrode for sensing a user's touch signal together with a second sensing electrode 40 to be described later.

Meanwhile, although previously described in the process of describing the prior art, in order for the touch sensor to perform the fingerprint recognition function, the pitch of the unit sensing cells constituting the touch sensor is a fingerprint of a user having a fine interval, that is, a ridge ( Ridge) and valley change in capacitance must be detected. In the process of miniaturizing the unit sensing cell, product defects may be caused, and in response to the resolution of the touch sensor, the There is a problem in that the increase in resistance becomes inevitable because the pitch becomes narrow and the number of channels increases.

However, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the pitch of the unit sensing cells constituting the touch sensor is set to the extent that it is possible to detect the change in capacitance of the user's fingerprint, that is, ridges and valleys. While miniaturizing to the level of, it is possible to secure low resistance characteristics by suppressing an increase in resistance, and at the same time improve optical characteristics including light transmittance.

Hereinafter, main technical configurations applied to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in order to simultaneously improve the technical problems of securing low resistance characteristics and improving optical characteristics of the touch sensor.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the first sensing electrode 20 formed on the substrate 10 has a triple layer structure including a stacked metal oxide and a thin film metal, and the second sensing electrode 40 is a metal pattern. It may be configured to include.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, this configuration applied to the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 overcomes the contradictory relationship between the resistance characteristic and the optical characteristic, and is complementary. ) To provide a touch sensor capable of simultaneously acquiring low resistance characteristics and excellent optical characteristics.

This is described in more detail as follows.

The first sensing electrode 20 composed of a triple film structure has relatively low resistance characteristics compared to other electrodes, that is, the second sensing electrode 40 including a metal pattern, but has excellent optical characteristics including light transmittance. Do.

On the other hand, the second sensing electrode 40 including the metal pattern has a relatively low resistance compared to the other electrode, that is, the first sensing electrode 20 composed of a triple-layer structure, and relatively improves the low resistance characteristics, but includes light transmittance. Optical properties (eg, visibility and haze) are reduced.

Therefore, when the first sensing electrode 20 is configured to have a triple-layer structure including a stacked metal oxide and a thin film metal, and the second sensing electrode 40 is configured to include a metal pattern, low resistance characteristics and optical characteristics From the viewpoint of, since the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 have a complementary relationship, a high-performance touch sensor having low resistance characteristics and excellent optical characteristics at the same time is provided.

For example, the first sensing electrode 20 having a triple layer structure may be configured to have a triple layer structure in which a metal oxide, a thin film metal, and a metal oxide are sequentially stacked.

For example, on the plane of the second sensing electrode 40 including a metal pattern, unit patterns constituting the metal pattern may be configured so as not to cross each other differently from a known metal mesh. That is, the unit patterns constituting the metal pattern may not intersect in the active area AR, but may be configured to intersect in the junction area JR located outside the active area AR. If configured in this way, there is an effect of increasing the light transmittance of the second sensing electrode 40 including the metal pattern than that of a known metal mesh pattern.

4 and 5 are diagrams showing exemplary shapes of unit patterns constituting a metal pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention.

For example, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 additionally, unit patterns constituting the metal pattern may be configured to have a stripe shape, and the stripe shape may be a straight line or a curved line, as illustrated in FIG. 5. As shown, the meaning that the stripe shape is curved means that the boundary surface of the unit patterns having the stripe shape has a curved shape. In this way, when the unit patterns constituting the metal pattern are configured to have a stripe shape, compared to a conventional metal mesh pattern, moire is less generated and haze is small, so that optical characteristics are excellent.

For example, the line width of the second sensing electrode 40 including the metal pattern may be 1 μm or more and 8 μm or less. When the line width is 1 μm or more and 8 μm or less, low resistance properties and excellent optical properties can be simultaneously secured. When the line width is less than 1 μm, optical properties including light transmittance are improved, but resistance increases, making it difficult to secure low resistance characteristics. When the line width exceeds 8 μm, resistance is lowered, which is advantageous for securing low resistance characteristics, but light transmittance is high. It becomes low, and the optical property falls. From the viewpoint of securing low resistance characteristics and excellent optical characteristics at the same time, it is more preferable that the line width is 1 µm to 3.5 µm.

Experimental data demonstrating this critical significance are disclosed in Tables 1 and 2 below.

Table 1 is experimental data for the prior art, and when both electrodes are electrodes including a metal pattern, experimental data for resistance characteristics and optical characteristics according to the line width of the electrodes are shown, and Table 2 is for an embodiment of the present invention. As experimental data, one of the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 has a triple-layer structure including a stacked metal oxide and a thin film metal, and the other is an electrode including a metal pattern. In this case, this is experimental data on resistance characteristics and optical characteristics according to the line width of an electrode including a metal pattern.

Line width
(㎛) 15 12 10 8 7 5 3.5 2.5 2 1.5 One 0.7 resistance
(Ω) 1.7 2.1 2.5 3.2 3.6 5.0 7.2 10.1 12.6 16.8 25.2 36.0 Transmittance
(%) 66.8 68.2 69.9 72.1 74.4 77.7 78.1 79.7 80.1 80.9 81.2 82.1 Visibility × × × × × × × △ △ △ ○ ○ Haze 19.0 17.0 14.0 12.1 10.9 9.2 7.9 6.5 5.8 4.3 3.1 2.2

Line width
(㎛) 15 12 10 8 7 5 3.5 2.5 2 1.5 One 0.7 resistance
(Ω) 13.14 20.08 24.30 30.2 36.6 43.0 50.2 56.3 65.2 78.2 90.0 110.3 Transmittance
(%) 75.0 76.5 78.3 80.7 81.5 82.1 83.4 84.5 86.8 88.1 90.0 90.5 Visibility × × × △ △ △ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Haze 8.0 5.6 4.3 3.2 2.5 1.5 1.0 0.8 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2

In the above experiment, the resistance is the sum of the line resistances of the electrodes constituting one unit sensing cell among a plurality of unit sensing cells, which are the crossing regions of the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40, and K- The value was obtained using 9510AT, the transmittance was obtained using Konica-Minolta (CM-3300D), and the visibility was evaluated based on the number of people who felt that the pattern was visually confirmed in the experimental group of 100 people. As a result, ○ represents the case where 5 or less people perceive the pattern, △ represents the case where 6 or more and 10 or less people recognize the pattern, and × is when 10 or more people recognize the pattern. And Haze is a value obtained using Haze-Meter (HM-150).

For example, the sheet resistance of the first sensing electrode 20 having a triple layer structure may be 3 Ω/sq or more and 10 Ω/sq or less, and the light transmittance may be 80% or more and 93% or less. When the sheet resistance of the first sensing electrode 20 having a triple-layer structure is 3Ω/sq or more and 10Ω/sq or less, and the light transmittance is 80% or more and 93% or less, high light transmittance, which is an advantage of an electrode having a triple-layer structure, is secured. At the same time, it is possible to minimize a decrease in low resistance characteristics due to an increase in resistance. If the sheet resistance is less than 3Ω/sq, visibility is poor because the thickness of the thin film metal of the triple layer is thickened. When the sheet resistance exceeds 10Ω/sq, the high performance touch sensor is not driven smoothly. In addition, if the light transmittance is less than 80%, the visibility is not good, and if the light transmittance exceeds 93%, the thickness of the thin film metal of the triple film becomes thin, so that an increase in resistance is inevitable.

For example, in order to secure the optical characteristics of the touch sensor, touch including the substrate 10, the first sensing electrode 20, the insulating layer 30, the second sensing electrode 40, and the protective layer 50 It is preferable that the light transmittance of the sensor is 80% or more and 90% or less.

In addition, for example, in order to secure electrical driving characteristics including the response speed of the touch sensor, one of a plurality of unit sensing cells, which is an intersection area of the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40, is It is preferable that the sum of the line resistances of the electrodes constituting the unit sensing cell is 13Ω or more and 90Ω or less.

In addition, for example, in order to stably recognize a user's fingerprint without error, the pitch of one unit sensing cell among a plurality of unit sensing cells that is an intersection area between the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 Is preferably 50 μm or more and 110 μm or less.

In this way, the light transmittance of the touch sensor is configured to be 80% or more and 90% or less, and one unit sensing cell among a plurality of unit sensing cells that is an intersection area between the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 is formed. The sum of the line resistances of the constituting electrodes is composed of 13 Ω or more and 90 Ω or less, and the pitch of one unit sensing cell among a plurality of unit sensing cells that is an intersection area between the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 is By configuring the range of 50㎛ to 110㎛, the pitch of the unit sensing cell constituting the touch sensor is level enough to detect the change in the capacitance of the user's fingerprint, that is, the ridge and valley While miniaturizing, it is possible to secure low resistance characteristics by suppressing an increase in resistance, and at the same time improve optical characteristics including light transmittance.

In order to help understand the structure and function of the touch sensor, a more specific configuration of the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 will be exemplarily described as follows.

For example, the sensing patterns constituting the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 may be formed in an appropriate shape according to the request of the electronic device to be applied, for example, applied to a touch screen panel. In this case, it may be formed of two types of patterns: a pattern sensing x coordinates and a pattern sensing y coordinates, but is not limited thereto.

For example, the first sensing electrode 20 may be formed along a first direction, the second sensing electrode 40 may be formed along a second direction, and the second direction crosses the first direction. It can be a direction. For example, when the first direction is the X direction, the second direction may be the Y direction. The first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 are electrically insulated by an insulating layer 30 to be described later.

For example, metal oxides include indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), indium zinc tin oxide (IZTO), aluminum zinc oxide (AZO), zinc oxide (ZnOx), indium oxide (InOx), and tin. At least one selected from the group consisting of oxide (SnOx), cadmium tin oxide (CTO), gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO), zinc tin oxide (ZTO), and indium gallium oxide (IGO) may be applied, and thin film metal and metal pattern At least one selected from the group consisting of Ag, Cu, Ca, Ni, Al, Cr, Mo, Co, Ti, Pd, In, W, Cd, and alloys thereof may be applied as an electrode including, but is not limited thereto. Does not.

The thickness of the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 is not particularly limited, but in consideration of flexibility and excellent resistance characteristics of the touch sensor, the thickness is preferably 300 Å to 2,800 Å.

The lower junction part 23 formed in the junction area JR may be the same material as the first sensing electrode 20, and is formed together with the first sensing electrode 20 in the process of forming the first sensing electrode 20 Can be.

The insulating layer 30 is formed on the region including the first sensing electrode 20 and electrically insulates the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 from each other. For example, the insulating layer 30 may be formed to completely cover the first sensing electrode 20 and partially expose the lower junction part 23 through the contact hole, and in the process of forming the insulating layer 30 In the pad area PR, an insulating pattern 35 may be formed in a portion where the pad electrode 45 is formed.

As a material of the insulating layer 30 that insulates the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40, an insulating material known in the art including organic and inorganic substances may be used without limitation. For example, A photosensitive resin composition or a thermosetting resin composition including a metal oxide such as silicon oxide or an acrylic resin may be used. Alternatively, the insulating layer 30 may be formed using an inorganic material such as silicon oxide (SiOx), and in this case, it may be formed by a method such as vapor deposition or sputtering.

The second sensing electrode 40 is formed in the active region AR of the insulating layer 30 to face the first sensing electrode 20 and includes a metal pattern.

For example, in the process of forming the second sensing electrode 40, the upper junction part 43 electrically connected to the lower junction part 23 is formed in the junction area JR, and the upper junction part 43 is formed in the trace area TR. The trace portion 44 may be formed, and a pad electrode 45 covering the insulating pattern 35 may be formed in the pad area PR, and the upper junction portion 43, the trace portion 44, and the pad electrode 45 ) May be the same material as the second sensing electrode 40.

The protective layer 50 includes at least a part of the pad electrode 45 on the insulating layer 30 on which the second sensing electrode 40, the upper junction part 43, the trace part 44, and the pad electrode 45 are formed. It is formed to be exposed through a contact hole or the like.

For example, the protective layer 50 may be formed of an insulating material, and the second sensing electrode 40 located in the active area AR, the upper junction part 43 located in the junction area JR, and a trace While completely covering the trace portion 44 located in the area TR, a part or all of the pad electrode 45 located in the pad area PR is exposed to insulate and protect the internal components from the outside. .

As the material of the protective layer 50, an insulating material known in the art may be used without limitation, and for example, a photosensitive resin composition including a metal oxide such as silicon oxide or an acrylic resin, or a thermosetting resin composition may be used. Alternatively, the protective layer 50 may be formed using an inorganic material such as silicon oxide (SiOx), and in this case, it may be formed by a method such as vapor deposition or sputtering.

The pad protection electrode 60 is formed on at least a portion of the pad electrode 45 and serves to prevent a corrosion phenomenon caused by inflow of moisture from the outside of the pad electrode 45.

For example, the pad protection electrode 60 is indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), indium zinc tin oxide (IZTO), aluminum zinc oxide (AZO), zinc oxide (ZnOx), indium oxide (InOx). ), tin oxide (SnOx), cadmium tin oxide (CTO), gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO), zinc tin oxide (ZTO), and at least one selected from the group consisting of indium gallium oxide (IGO), but limited thereto. It doesn't work.

The high-performance touch sensor according to the second embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 2 is the same as the first embodiment described in detail above, and the first sensing electrode 20 has a triple-layer structure including a stacked metal oxide and a thin film metal. And, since the second sensing electrode 40 has a configuration including a metal pattern, the description of the first embodiment may be applied substantially the same to the second embodiment.

However, the second embodiment differs in the shape of the insulating layer 30 compared to the first embodiment. That is, according to the second embodiment, the insulating layer 30 is formed on the region including the first sensing electrode 20 and electrically connects the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 to each other. Insulate. For example, the insulating layer 30 is entirely stacked on the first sensing electrode 20 and the substrate 10 while partially exposing the lower junction portion 23 formed in the junction region JR through a contact hole, Accordingly, the trace portion 44 and the pad electrode 45 are positioned on the insulating layer 30.

3 is a view showing a high-performance touch sensor according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the high-performance touch sensor according to the third embodiment of the present invention has a structure in which an electrode having a triple layer structure is positioned on the upper side, contrary to the first and second embodiments. That is, according to the third embodiment, the first sensing electrode 20 formed on the substrate 10 includes a metal pattern, and the second sensing electrode 40 formed on the insulating layer 30 includes the stacked metal oxide and It has a triple film structure containing a thin film metal.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, this configuration applied to the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 overcomes the contradictory relationship between the resistance characteristic and the optical characteristic, and is complementary. ) To provide a touch sensor capable of simultaneously acquiring low resistance characteristics and excellent optical characteristics.

This is described in more detail as follows.

The first sensing electrode 20 including a metal pattern has relatively lower optical properties including light transmittance than other electrodes, that is, the second sensing electrode 40 configured in a triple-layer structure, but has excellent low resistance characteristics. Do.

On the other hand, the second sensing electrode 40 having a triple-layer structure has superior optical characteristics including light transmittance compared to the other electrode, that is, the first sensing electrode 20 including a metal pattern, but has low resistance characteristics. do.

Therefore, when the first sensing electrode 20 is configured to include a metal pattern, and the second sensing electrode 40 is configured to have a triple-layer structure including a stacked metal oxide and a thin film metal, low resistance characteristics and optical characteristics From the viewpoint of, since the first sensing electrode 20 and the second sensing electrode 40 have a complementary relationship, a high-performance touch sensor having low resistance characteristics and excellent optical characteristics at the same time is provided.

For example, the second sensing electrode 40 having a triple-layer structure may be configured to have a triple-layer structure in which a metal oxide, a thin film metal, and a metal oxide are sequentially stacked.

For example, the line width of the first sensing electrode 20 including the metal pattern may be 1 μm or more and 8 μm or less. When the line width is 1 μm or more and 8 μm or less, low resistance properties and excellent optical properties can be simultaneously secured. When the line width is less than 1 μm, optical properties including light transmittance are improved, but resistance increases, making it difficult to secure low resistance characteristics. When the line width exceeds 8 μm, resistance is lowered, which is advantageous for securing low resistance characteristics, but light transmittance is high. It becomes low, and the optical property falls.

For example, the sheet resistance of the thin film metal applied to the second sensing electrode 40 having a triple-layer structure may be 3Ω/sq or more and 10Ω/sq or less, and the light transmittance may be 80% or more and 93% or less. When the sheet resistance of the thin film metal is 3Ω/sq or more and 10Ω/sq or less and the light transmittance is 80% or more and 93% or less, high light transmittance, which is an advantage of the electrode having a triple film structure, is secured, while low resistance characteristics due to increased resistance The degradation can be minimized.

For example, in the process of forming the first sensing electrode 20, the lower junction portion 23 is formed in the junction area JR, the trace portion 44 is formed in the trace area TR, and the pad area The pad electrode 25 may be formed in (PR), and the lower junction part 23, the trace part 44, and the pad electrode 25 may be made of the same material as the first sensing electrode 20.

The insulating layer 30 is stacked so that at least a portion of the lower junction part 23 and the pad electrode 25 are exposed through contact holes.

The second sensing electrode 40 is formed to have a structure facing the first sensing electrode 20 through an insulating layer.

For example, in the process of forming the second sensing electrode 40, an upper junction part 43 electrically connected to the lower junction part 23 is formed in the junction area JR, and the pad area PR An intermediate conductor pattern 46 electrically connected to the pad electrode 25 may be formed, and the upper junction part 43 and the intermediate conductor pattern 46 may be made of the same material as the second sensing electrode 40. have.

For example, the protective layer 50 may be formed of an insulating material, and the second sensing electrode 40 located in the active area AR and the upper junction part 43 located in the junction area JR are completely While covering, a part or all of the intermediate conductor pattern 46 electrically connected to the pad electrode 25 positioned in the pad area PR is formed to be exposed to insulate and protect internal components from the outside.

The pad protection electrode 60 is formed on at least a part of the intermediate conductor pattern 46 electrically connected to the pad electrode 25 to prevent corrosion of the pad electrode 25 due to inflow of moisture from the outside. Perform.

Excluding these differences, since the third embodiment has substantially the same technical characteristics as the first and second embodiments, the descriptions of the first and second embodiments may be substantially equally applied to the third embodiment. .

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, there is an effect of providing a high-performance touch sensor capable of realizing high resolution and large area while simultaneously satisfying low resistance characteristics and optical characteristics.

In addition, while minimizing the pitch of the unit sensing cells constituting the touch sensor to a level that can detect the change in capacitance of the user's fingerprint, that is, ridges and valleys, the resistance increase is suppressed. There is an effect of providing a high-performance touch sensor capable of securing low resistance characteristics and improving optical characteristics including light transmittance at the same time.

AR: Active Region
JR: Junction Region
TR: Trace Region
PR: Pad Region
10: substrate
12: separation layer
14: inner protective layer
20: first sensing electrode
23: lower junction
24, 44: trace part
25, 45: pad electrode
30: insulating layer
40: second sensing electrode
43: upper junction
50: protective layer
60: pad protection electrode

Claims (18)

Board;
A first sensing electrode formed on the substrate;
An insulating layer formed on the first sensing electrode;
A second sensing electrode formed on the insulating layer; And
Comprising a protective layer formed on the second sensing electrode,
Any one of the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode has a triple layer structure in which a metal oxide, a thin film metal, and a metal oxide are sequentially stacked, and the other includes a metal pattern,
The light transmittance of the electrode having the triple-layer structure among the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode is 80% or more and 93% or less,
The sum of the line resistances of the electrodes constituting one unit sensing cell among a plurality of unit sensing cells that are an intersection region between the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode is 13Ω or more and 90Ω or less,
A high-performance touch sensor, wherein a pitch of one unit sensing cell among the plurality of unit sensing cells is 50 μm or more and 110 μm or less. The method of claim 1,
A high-performance touch sensor, characterized in that unit patterns constituting the metal pattern do not cross each other on a plane of an electrode including the metal pattern among the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode. The method of claim 2,
The unit patterns constituting the metal pattern are characterized in that they have a stripe shape. The method of claim 3,
The high-performance touch sensor, characterized in that the boundary surface of the unit patterns having a stripe shape has a curved shape. The method of claim 1,
A high-performance touch sensor, characterized in that it further comprises a pad electrode connected to an electrode including the metal pattern among the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode. The method of claim 5,
The pad electrode is a high-performance touch sensor, characterized in that formed of the same material as the electrode including the metal pattern among the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode. The method of claim 5,
The protective layer partially covers the pad electrode. The method of claim 5,
A high-performance touch sensor, further comprising a pad protection electrode formed on the pad electrode to protect the pad electrode. delete The method of claim 1,
The high-performance touch sensor, characterized in that the line width of the electrode including the metal pattern among the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode is 1 μm or more and 8 μm or less. The method of claim 1,
A sheet resistance of the electrode having the triple-layer structure among the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode is 3 Ω/sq or more and 10 Ω/sq or less. delete The method of claim 1,
The high-performance touch sensor, characterized in that the light transmittance of the touch sensor including the substrate, the first sensing electrode, the insulating layer, the second sensing electrode and the protective layer is 80% or more and 90% or less. delete The method of claim 1,
The electrode including the thin film metal and the metal pattern includes at least one selected from the group consisting of Ag, Cu, Ca, Ni, Al, Cr, Mo, Co, Ti, Pd, In, W, Cd, and alloys thereof. A high-performance touch sensor, characterized in that. The method of claim 1,
A high-performance touch sensor, characterized in that it further comprises a separation layer formed between the substrate and the first sensing electrode. The method of claim 16,
The high-performance touch sensor, characterized in that it further comprises an inner protective layer formed between the separation layer and the first sensing electrode. delete

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