Laser etching system and method for patterning electrode layers

Abstract

The application discloses a laser etching system for electrode layer patterning, which can not damage the conductive layer on the second surface of the substrate when the conductive layer on the first surface of the substrate of the touch panel with double-sided structure is subjected to electrode layer patterning by a laser beam, and comprises a laser for generating and emitting a laser beam, and a laser etching platform for carrying and fixing the substrate of the touch panel, which makes the first surface face the laser beam and the second surface adhere to the laser etching platform. Wherein, the laser etching system further comprises an optical element, and the ratio of the spot area irradiated at the second surface to the spot area irradiated at the first surface is not less than 1.2. The application also discloses a laser etching method for electrode layer patterning, which realizes the electrode layer patterning of the touch panel with double-sided structure by applying the laser etching system for electrode layer patterning.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of touch screen technology, and more particularly to a laser etching system and method for patterning electrode layers. Background Technology

[0002] Touch screens are currently the simplest, most convenient, and most natural form of human-computer interaction, widely used in information retrieval, industrial control, self-service, multimedia teaching, video games, and many other fields. Among various types of touch screens, capacitive touch screens hold an important position and have better application prospects due to their accuracy, ease of use, wear resistance, and long lifespan. Typically, a capacitive touch screen consists of a touch panel and a display screen that are fixedly connected to each other at their edges using adhesives (e.g., double-sided tape, adhesives, etc.). The touch panel provides the touch functionality, while the display screen provides the display functionality.

[0003] The touch panel can be single-sided or double-sided; this invention only relates to double-sided touch panels. In the prior art, double-sided touch panels utilizing the concept of mutual capacitance, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the touch panel 1 has a generally transparent substrate, which is, for example, glass or PET material. On one surface of the substrate ( Figure 1 On the front side (the surface facing outwards from the paper), multiple rows of sequentially arranged driving conductive lines, such as driving conductive lines 20, are formed, which constitute the driving electrode layer of the double-sided touch panel 1; while on the other surface ( Figure 1 The back side (the surface facing inwards from the paper, where structures are shown in dashed lines) has multiple rows of sequentially arranged conductive lines, such as conductive line 10, which form the sensing electrode layer of the double-sided touch panel 1. That is, a driving electrode layer and a sensing electrode layer are formed on the two surfaces of the substrate of the double-sided touch panel, respectively. This is typically achieved by forming conductive layers of materials such as ITO, IGZO, PEDOT, silver nanowires, or metal mesh on the two surfaces of the substrate, and then patterning these conductive layers.

[0004] Patterning of the electrode layer in a double-sided touch panel is typically done using industry-standard processes such as photolithography or dry etching (using etching paste). However, laser processing, which is suitable for single-sided touch panels—where the electrode layer is formed only on one surface of the substrate—is not applicable. This is because when a laser is applied to pattern the conductive layer on one surface of the substrate to form the electrode layer, the laser penetrates the substrate (which is very thin, typically between 0.3 and 1.1 mm), creating unwanted patterns on the electrode or conductive layer already formed on the other surface of the substrate. This can affect the touch functionality of the finished touch panel.

[0005] However, both the yellow light process and the dry process have the problems of complex process, high cost and environmental pollution, which are not conducive to energy saving and emission reduction. The laser process has the advantages of simple process, high manufacturing precision, precise controllability, low cost and no environmental pollution. Therefore, how to apply the laser process to the patterning of the electrode layer of the double-sided structure touch panel has become a subject that the touch industry urgently needs to develop and break through.

[0006] Therefore, those skilled in the art are committed to developing a laser etching system and method for electrode layer patterning, which is suitable for electrode layer patterning of a double-sided structure touch panel, thereby solving the above technical problems. SUMMARY

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, in one aspect, the present application provides a laser etching system for electrode layer patterning, which can not damage the conductive layer on the second surface of the substrate when patterning the conductive layer on the first surface of the substrate of a double-sided structure touch panel with a laser beam, comprising:

[0008] a laser for generating and emitting the laser beam;

[0009] a laser etching platform for carrying and fixing the substrate of the touch panel, so that the first surface faces the laser beam and the second surface adheres to the laser etching platform;

[0010] characterized in that the laser etching system further comprises an optical element, and the ratio of the spot area of the laser beam irradiated at the second surface to the spot area of the laser beam irradiated at the first surface is not less than 1.2.

[0011] Further optionally, the ratio of the spot area of the laser beam irradiated at the second surface to the spot area of the laser beam irradiated at the first surface is 1.2-20.

[0012] Further optionally, the ratio of the spot area of the laser beam irradiated at the second surface to the spot area of the laser beam irradiated at the first surface is not less than 1.5.

[0013] Further optionally, the ratio of the spot area of the laser beam irradiated at the second surface to the spot area of the laser beam irradiated at the first surface is not less than 1.8.

[0014] Further optionally, the ratio of the spot area of the laser beam irradiated at the second surface to the spot area of the laser beam irradiated at the first surface is not less than 2.

[0015] Optionally, the laser beam is a plurality of laser beams, the laser beams illuminating the first surface with overlapping spots, and the laser beams illuminating the second surface with separate spots.

[0016] Furthermore, at least one of the laser beams is incident on the first surface at an angle of less than 90º relative to the first surface.

[0017] Furthermore, at least one of the laser beams is incident on the first surface at an angle no greater than 60º relative to the first surface.

[0018] Furthermore, at least a portion of the optical element is implemented as a laser galvanometer.

[0019] Optionally, the optical element further includes a lens that forms the laser beam passing through it into a positively defocused laser beam focused outside the substrate, wherein the area of ​​the positively defocused laser beam illuminating the second surface is larger than the area of ​​the laser beam illuminating the first surface.

[0020] Furthermore, the angle between the laser beam incident on the first surface and the first surface is less than 90º.

[0021] Furthermore, the angle between the laser beam incident on the first surface and the first surface is no greater than 60º.

[0022] Furthermore, the laser beam is a plurality of laser beams, the laser beams illuminating the first surface overlap, and the laser beams illuminating the second surface are separate from each other.

[0023] Alternatively, the laser etching system may have multiple lasers, with each laser beam originating from one of the multiple lasers.

[0024] Further optionally, at least two of the plurality of laser beams are formed by splitting a laser beam from one laser using a beam splitter.

[0025] Furthermore, the laser etching system also includes a blowing device for providing a cooling gas flow to the spot location where the laser beam irradiates the first surface.

[0026] Furthermore, the blowing device uses liquid nitrogen as a cooling source to provide the cooling gas flow.

[0027] Furthermore, the laser etching system also includes a cooling device for providing a coolant flow to the spot location where the laser beam irradiates the second surface, wherein the temperature of the coolant flow is at least 14°C lower than the temperature of the cooling gas flow.

[0028] Furthermore, the cooling device uses solid nitrogen as a cooling source to provide the coolant flow.

[0029] Furthermore, at least one recess is formed on the surface of the laser etching platform that is in contact with the second surface of the substrate. The recess is positioned adjacent to the spot position where the laser beam irradiates the second surface, and the coolant flow is introduced into the recess to provide cooling at the spot position where the laser beam irradiates the second surface.

[0030] Furthermore, the cooling device is a cooling circulation device, which is connected to the recess via a coolant inlet pipe and a coolant return pipe. The coolant flows from the cooling device into the recess through the coolant inlet pipe and then back to the cooling device through the coolant return pipe.

[0031] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a laser etching method for patterning an electrode layer, comprising: applying the laser etching system for patterning an electrode layer of the present invention as described above, configuring the optical element such that the ratio of the area of ​​the laser beam irradiating the second surface to the area of ​​the laser beam irradiating the first surface is not less than 1.2, and then using the laser beam to pattern the electrode layer of the conductive layer on the first surface of the substrate.

[0032] As can be seen, the laser etching system and method for patterning electrode layers of the present invention, by irradiating the double-sided touch panel to be etched with a laser beam, ensures that the ratio of the laser beam spot area on the second surface of the substrate to the laser beam spot area on the first surface of the substrate is not less than 1.2, significantly reducing the energy density of the laser beam irradiating the second surface. This avoids damage to the conductive layer on the second surface during the patterning of the conductive layer on the first surface by the laser beam. Furthermore, the laser etching system and method for patterning electrode layers of the present invention employs a blowing device to provide a cooling gas flow to the spot location of the laser beam irradiating the first surface, thereby cooling the temperature at that spot location and removing the portion of the conductive layer removed by the laser etching. The laser etching system and method for patterning electrode layers of the present invention also employs a cooling device that provides a coolant flow with a temperature lower than the cooling gas flow to the spot location of the laser beam irradiating the second surface, thereby further protecting the conductive layer on the second surface of the substrate from damage by the laser beam. Therefore, it can be seen that the laser etching system and method for electrode layer patterning of the present invention can be used in double-sided touch panels, wherein the laser beam will not damage the conductive layer on the other surface when etching the conductive layer on one surface of the substrate of the touch panel, thereby realizing the application of laser process to pattern the electrode layer of double-sided touch panels.

[0033] The following will further explain the concept, specific structure, and technical effects of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, so as to fully understand the purpose, features, and effects of the present invention. Attached Figure Description

[0034] Figure 1 The diagram illustrates a touch panel with a dual-sided structure.

[0035] Figure 2 The illustration shows, in a preferred embodiment, the laser etching system for electrode layer patterning of the present invention being used to pattern the upper surface conductive layer of a double-sided touch panel.

[0036] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 The structure of the laser etching system for patterning electrode layers is shown.

[0037] Figure 4 Schematic illustration in Figure 2 In the embodiment shown, a laser beam is used to pattern the electrode layer of the double-sided touch panel.

[0038] Figure 5 The illustration schematically shows a laser beam patterning the electrode layers of a double-sided touch panel in another preferred embodiment.

[0039] Figure 6 The illustration schematically shows a laser beam patterning the electrode layers of a double-sided touch panel in another preferred embodiment.

[0040] Figure 7 The illustration schematically shows a laser beam patterning the electrode layers of a double-sided touch panel in another preferred embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0041] like Figures 2-4 As shown, in a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a laser etching system 100 for patterning electrode layers, suitable for patterning electrode layers in a double-sided touch panel. In this embodiment, the laser etching system 100 includes a laser 110, a laser etching platform 120, an air blowing device 130, and a cooling device 140, which pattern (i.e. etch) the conductive layer on the surface of the substrate 12 of the double-sided touch panel 1 to form the desired electrode layer.

[0042] Specifically, laser 110 generates and emits a laser beam A for patterning the electrode layer. The laser beam A can be focused to a suitable beam size (which is typically related to the resolution of the desired pattern) and guided to illuminate the conductive layer area to be patterned. The focused laser beam has suitable energy to etch away unwanted conductive layer portions, leaving conductive layer portions with the desired pattern.

[0043] The laser beam A emitted by laser 110 illuminates the substrate 12 on the laser etching platform 120 after passing through a plurality of optical elements. These optical elements may include those used for guiding, focusing, adjusting beam diameter, adjusting incident angle, adjusting intensity, converging, or separating the laser beam A, such as beam expanders, refraction mirrors, laser galvanometers, and field mirrors. In this embodiment, the optical element implemented as laser galvanometer 111 (e.g., a scanning galvanometer from Scanlab, Germany, or a Hozzori laser galvanometer, etc.) is used to adjust the optical path of the laser beam A so that it illuminates the conductive layer region to be etched; and optical elements such as lens 112 are used to form the laser beam A into a positively defocused laser beam, i.e., a laser beam A with its focal point above the conductive layer region to be etched, such as... Figure 4 As shown in the diagram. Lens 112 can be a lens integrated into the laser galvanometer 111, or it can be an additionally provided lens. In this embodiment, lens 112 in the laser galvanometer 111 is used to form the laser beam A into a positively defocused laser beam. They are shown separately for clarity. In addition, for the same clarity, optical components such as beam expanders, refractors, laser galvanometers, and field lenses arranged in the optical path of the laser beam A are omitted.

[0044] Thus, through the aforementioned optical elements, the area S2 of the light spot formed when the laser beam A irradiates the lower surface of the substrate 12 will be larger than the area S1 of the light spot formed when it irradiates the upper surface of the substrate 12. This reduces the energy density of the laser beam A at the lower surface of the substrate 12, making it less likely to damage the conductive layer on the lower surface of the substrate 12. Preferably, the light spot area S2 is 1.2-20 times the light spot area S1.

[0045] The laser etching platform 120 can carry and fix the touch panel 1 during the laser etching process. By moving its own relative to the laser beam A (e.g., the laser etching platform 120 is moved in a controlled manner, or the guiding device of the laser beam A (e.g., the optical element mentioned above) is moved in a controlled manner, or both), the relative movement between the laser beam A and the touch panel 1 during the laser etching process is realized. Thus, the laser beam A can sequentially irradiate the conductive layer area on the touch panel that needs to be patterned for etching.

[0046] In this embodiment, the laser etching platform 120 fixes the touch panel 1 by negative pressure adsorption, such as... Figure 3 As shown, the surface of the laser etching platform 120 for supporting the touch panel 1 (the upper surface shown in the figure) has a plurality of vacuum adsorption holes 123, which are connected to the internal chamber in the laser etching platform 120. The internal chamber is formed by an external air pump (not shown) to create an internal negative pressure. When the touch panel 1 is placed on the upper surface of the laser etching platform 120, the negative pressure internal chamber will generate a downward adsorption force on the touch panel 1 through the vacuum adsorption holes 123, thereby firmly adsorbing the touch panel 1 onto the laser etching platform 120.

[0047] The air blowing device 130 has at least one air blowing port for blowing a cooling gas flow B, such as a cooled air flow, onto the conductive layer portion being laser-etched on the touch panel 1 during the laser etching process, thereby removing heat generated by the laser etching and conductive layer residue. In this embodiment, the air blowing port of the air blowing device 130 can be automatically aligned with the laser etching location, for example, through a controller integrated into the air blowing device 130 or through a controller of the laser etching system 100, thereby precisely blowing the cooling gas flow B onto that location.

[0048] Cooling device 140 provides a coolant flow, such as cooled water, to laser etching platform 120. The temperature of the coolant flow is lower than that of the aforementioned cooling gas flow, thereby providing further cooling to the touch panel 1, especially its lower surface, during laser etching. Specifically, the upper surface of laser etching platform 120 has at least one ( Figure 3 Four recesses 122 are shown in the diagram. The recesses 122 are positioned adjacent to areas on the lower surface of the touch panel 1, which is fixed to the laser etching platform 120, that may be etched by the laser, i.e., the area where the laser beam A will penetrate the substrate 12 and irradiate its lower surface. Typically, the recesses 122 are located in the middle portion of the upper surface of the laser etching platform 120, and the aforementioned vacuum adsorption holes 123 are distributed around the recesses 122. Preferably, the depth of the recesses 122 is no greater than 5 cm.

[0049] Each recess 122 is provided with at least one coolant inlet 1241 and at least one coolant outlet 1242, whereby the coolant inflow C1 from the cooling device 140 enters the recess 123 through a corresponding coolant inflow pipe 1211 and coolant inlet 1241, cooling an area on the lower surface of the adjacent touch panel 1, and then returns to the cooling device 140 as a coolant return flow C2 through a corresponding coolant outlet 1242 and coolant return pipe 1212. In this embodiment, a coolant inlet 1241 in a recess 122 corresponds to a coolant inflow pipe 1211, and a coolant outlet 1242 in a recess 122 corresponds to a coolant return pipe 1212. In this way, the recess 122 that needs to be filled with coolant can be selected according to the area being laser-etched on the touch panel 1, and the valves of the corresponding coolant inlet pipe 1211 and coolant return pipe 1212 can be opened, so that the coolant circulates between the cooling device 140 and the selected recess 122 only through the coolant inlet pipe 1211, coolant return pipe 1212 and the corresponding coolant inlet 1241 and coolant outlet 1242, thereby saving coolant consumption.

[0050] As described above, the cooling device 140 used in this embodiment is a cooling circulation device, which helps to save energy. However, those skilled in the art will understand that in other embodiments, the cooling device 140 may also be a single-function coolant source, providing only the coolant inflow without receiving the coolant return flow. In this case, an additional device can be provided to receive the coolant return flow.

[0051] When using the laser etching system 100 for electrode layer patterning of the present invention, the substrate 12 of the double-sided touch panel 1 is first placed on the laser etching platform 120, as follows: Figure 2 As shown. Under the action of an external air pump, the substrate 12 is firmly adsorbed onto the upper surface of the laser etching platform 120.

[0052] like Figure 4 As shown, conductive layers are formed on both surfaces of the substrate 12, wherein the upper surface (i.e., Figure 2 , 4 The surface facing upwards, which is opposite to the laser etching platform 120, has a conductive layer 13 formed thereon. The lower surface of the substrate 12 (i.e., Figure 2 , 4 The surface shown below, which faces and is attached to the laser etching platform 120, has a conductive layer 14 formed thereon. Here, the conductive layer 13 on the upper surface of the substrate 12 is subjected to laser etching. The conductive layer 14 can be a conductive layer that has not yet been laser etched, or it can be an electrode layer that has been laser etched.

[0053] Next, the operating parameters of the laser 110 are set, and the optical path of the laser beam A emitted by the laser galvanometer 111 is adjusted so that it can irradiate the conductive layer area to be etched on the upper surface of the substrate 12 with an appropriate spot size and energy density. This step can be completed before or simultaneously with placing and fixing the touch panel 1.

[0054] In this embodiment, a 1064nm laser is used, the frequency of the laser galvanometer 111 is set to 300-500kHz, the scanning speed is 2000-3000mm / s, and 32% of the power of a 30W laser is used for etching (in other embodiments, the laser power can be 20-30W, and 10%-50% of its power is used for etching), thereby avoiding damage to the conductive layer on the lower surface of the substrate 12 that may be caused by using excessively high laser power. In addition, in this embodiment, a vertically incident laser beam A (i.e., the angle between the laser beam A and the surface of the substrate 12 is 90º) is used to irradiate and etch the conductive layer on the surface of the substrate 12. The focusing position of the laser beam A on the substrate 12 is set so that the spot area S2 formed on the lower surface of the substrate 12 is 1.5-5 times that of the spot area S1 formed on the upper surface of the substrate 12. In other embodiments, the spot area S2 can be set to be no less than 1.2 times, 1.5 times, 1.8 times, or 2 times the spot area S1, and / or no more than 20 times the spot area S1.

[0055] Next, the operating parameters of the blowing device 130 are set, including the temperature and flow rate of the cooling gas stream B it blows out. This step can also be performed before or simultaneously with the aforementioned steps.

[0056] In this embodiment, liquid nitrogen is used as the cooling source of the blowing device 130. Air cooled by liquid nitrogen is blown out by the blowing device 130 to form a cooling gas flow B with a temperature between -196°C and 30°C and a flow rate of 0.5m / s to 30m / s.

[0057] Next, the operating parameters of the cooling device 140 are set, including the temperature and flow rate of the coolant it provides, as well as the valves that need to be opened for the coolant inlet pipe 1211 and the coolant return pipe 1212. This step can also be performed before or simultaneously with the aforementioned steps.

[0058] In this embodiment, solid nitrogen is used as the cooling source of the coolant. The liquid (such as water) cooled by the solid nitrogen is output by the cooling device 140 to one or more selected recesses 122 on the laser etching platform 120. The temperature of the output coolant entering the flow C1 is between -210°C and 30°C, and the flow rate is 0.5m / s to 30m / s.

[0059] After completing the above settings, the laser 110, the blower 130, and the cooling device 140 can be turned on to begin patterning, i.e., laser etching, on the conductive layer 13 on the upper surface of the substrate 12 of the touch panel 1. Specifically, the laser beam A emitted by the laser 110 is guided to irradiate the conductive layer 13, and the conductive layer 13 is patterned according to a preset pattern, etching away a portion of the conductive layer 13. The blower 130 automatically aligns its air nozzle with the laser etching location, quickly dissipating heat from the upper surface of the substrate 12 and reducing the adverse effects of laser energy on the conductive layer 14 on the lower surface of the substrate 12. Simultaneously, the cooling device 140 provides circulating coolant to quickly remove the heat generated by the laser irradiating the conductive layer 14 on the lower surface of the substrate 12, preventing damage to the conductive layer 14.

[0060] Because laser beam A is formed as a positively defocused laser beam, the ratio of the spot area S2 formed on the lower surface of substrate 12 to the spot area S1 formed on the upper surface of substrate 12 is not less than 1.2. Furthermore, because the temperature of the coolant flow C1 flowing near the lower surface of substrate 12 is lower than the temperature of the cooling gas flow B flowing near the upper surface of substrate 12, laser beam A can remove a portion of the conductive layer 13 on the upper surface of substrate 12 through normal etching without affecting the conductive layer 14 on the lower surface of substrate 12. Thus, a conductive layer portion with the desired pattern (e.g., ...) is ultimately left on the upper surface of substrate 12. Figure 2 The conductive layer portion 11 in the middle forms the required electrode layer.

[0061] In other embodiments, the incident angle θ of the laser beam A relative to the surface of the substrate 12 can be adjusted to further diffuse the light spot formed by the laser beam A irradiating the lower surface of the substrate 12, thereby obtaining a lower surface light spot area S2 that is larger than the upper surface light spot area S1, such as... Figure 5 As shown. For clarity and convenience, the diagram is as follows. Figure 5 And afterwards Figure 6 and 7 The refraction of the obliquely incident laser beam in the substrate is not shown in the figure.

[0062] At this time, the incident angle θ of the laser beam A is less than 90º, and as the incident angle θ decreases, the ratio of the lower surface spot area S2 to the upper surface spot area S1 will increase, thereby reducing the energy density of the laser beam A irradiating the lower surface of the substrate 12. Preferably, the incident angle θ is not greater than 60º. By adjusting the incident angle θ, the spot area S2 formed by the laser beam A on the lower surface of the substrate 12 can be 1.5-10 times that of the spot area S1 formed on the upper surface of the substrate 12. In other embodiments, the spot area S2 can be set to be not less than 1.2 times, 1.5 times, 1.8 times, or 2 times the spot area S1, and / or not greater than 20 times the spot area S1.

[0063] In addition, such as Figure 6 , 7 As shown, multiple laser beams (two are shown in the diagram) A1 and A2 can also be used to simultaneously illuminate the substrate 12 of the touch panel 1. These two laser beams A1 and A2 can originate from two lasers, such as... Figure 6 As shown; alternatively, it can be formed by splitting a laser beam A from a single laser using a beam splitter 113, as shown. Figure 7 As shown, two laser beams A1 and A2 are focused into positively defocused laser beams by their respective lenses 1121 and 1122, respectively, and irradiate the conductive layer 13 on the upper surface of the substrate 12 at corresponding incident angles θ1 and θ2. The laser beams A1 and A2 overlap at the conductive layer 13 on the upper surface, with a beam area of ​​S1. At the conductive layer 14 on the lower surface, the beams separate, with beam areas of S21 and S22, respectively. Therefore, the beam area on the lower surface is S2 = S21 + S22. This allows for a further increase in the ratio of the beam area S2 on the lower surface to the beam area S1 on the upper surface. For example, the beam area S2 formed by laser beams A1 and A2 on the lower surface of the substrate 12 is 1.5-20 times larger than the beam area S1 formed on the upper surface of the substrate 12. In other embodiments, the spot area S2 can be set to be no less than 1.2 times, 1.5 times, 1.8 times, or 2 times the spot area S1, and / or no more than 20 times the spot area S1. Furthermore, this ratio can be further increased by decreasing the incident angles θ1 and θ2.

[0064] Since the laser beams A1 and A2 overlap at the upper surface of the substrate 12 in the two embodiments shown in Figures 6 and 7, the laser energy density experienced at the etching location of the conductive layer 13 on the upper surface is the sum of the energy densities of the two laser beams at that location. Therefore, the two laser beams A1 and A2 should have a lower energy density than... Figure 5 The energy density of laser beam A in the illustrated embodiment. For example, when the incident angles are all the same, Figure 6 The energy densities of laser beams A1 and A2 in the illustrated embodiment can be Figure 5The energy density of laser beam A in the illustrated embodiment is half that of the laser beam in the example. For instance, when the incident angles are all the same, Figure 6 In the illustrated embodiment, laser beams A1 and A2 can be Figure 5 In the illustrated embodiment, the laser beam A is split into beams by optical elements such as beam splitter 113.

[0065] It should be noted that, as mentioned above, the optical element commonly used in the art to adjust the optical path of the laser beam so that it can irradiate the conductive layer area to be etched is implemented as a laser galvanometer. Therefore, when using two or more laser beams to etch the upper surface conductive layer as described above, it is necessary to properly set the parameters of the laser galvanometers used for these laser beams so that they can operate in coordination, keeping the laser beam spots on the upper surface overlapping and the laser beam spots on the lower surface separated during the scanning etching of the upper surface conductive layer.

[0066] Alternatively, these laser galvanometers can be made to not perform scanning operations. That is, during the etching process, their optical scanning heads can be kept stationary relative to, for example, the laser, and the laser beam can be driven to etch the conductive layer areas to be etched sequentially by driving the laser etching platform. This method simplifies the setup of the laser galvanometers, but generally speaking, the method of moving the laser etching platform by setting up a motor is inferior to the laser galvanometer in terms of accuracy and speed.

[0067] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that although the above description uses two obliquely incident positively defocused laser beams as an example to illustrate how to use multiple laser beams to pattern the conductive layer on one surface (first surface) of a double-sided touch panel substrate without damaging the conductive layer on the other surface (second surface), by appropriately adjusting (e.g., through optical elements such as apertures or lenses) the spot size of the laser beam on the first surface, it is also possible to allow one of the laser beams to be perpendicularly incident. Moreover, those skilled in the art will understand that when using multiple laser beams to achieve the above objective, it is not necessarily necessary to use positively defocused laser beams. As long as the spots of these multiple laser beams overlap on the first surface and separate on the second surface, it can be ensured that the energy density of the laser beam at the spot on the first surface is greater than the energy density at the spot on the second surface, thereby enabling etching of the conductive layer on the first surface without damaging the conductive layer on the second surface.

[0068] The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. It should be understood that those skilled in the art can make numerous modifications and variations based on the concept of the present invention without creative effort. Therefore, all technical solutions that can be obtained by those skilled in the art based on the concept of the present invention through logical analysis, reasoning, or limited experimentation on the basis of existing technology should be within the scope of protection defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A laser etching system for patterning electrode layers, which is capable of patterning electrode layers on a conductive layer on a first surface of a substrate of a double-sided touch panel without damaging a conductive layer on a second surface of the substrate, comprising: A laser, used to generate and emit the laser beam; A laser etching platform is used to support and fix the substrate of the touch panel, such that the first surface faces the laser beam and the second surface is attached to the laser etching platform; The laser etching system is characterized in that it further includes optical elements, wherein the ratio of the area of ​​the laser beam irradiating the second surface to the area of ​​the laser beam irradiating the first surface is not less than 1.

2. The laser beams are multiple laser beams, and the laser beams illuminate overlapping spots on the first surface, and then pass through the substrate to separate the laser beams illuminating spots on the second surface.

2. The laser etching system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the laser beams is incident on the first surface at an angle of less than 90º relative to the first surface.

3. The laser etching system of claim 1, wherein the laser etching system has a plurality of lasers, and the plurality of laser beams respectively come from the plurality of lasers.

4. The laser etching system of claim 1, wherein at least two of the plurality of laser beams are formed by splitting a laser beam from a laser source using a beam splitter.

5. The laser etching system of claim 1, wherein the laser etching system further comprises a blower for providing a cooling gas flow to the spot position where the laser beam irradiates the first surface.

6. The laser etching system of claim 5, wherein the laser etching system further comprises a cooling device for providing a coolant flow to the spot location where the laser beam irradiates the second surface, wherein the temperature of the coolant flow is at least 14°C lower than the temperature of the cooling gas flow.

7. The laser etching system of claim 6, wherein at least one recess is formed on the surface of the laser etching platform that is in contact with the second surface of the substrate, the recess being positioned adjacent to the spot position of the laser beam irradiating the second surface, and the coolant flow is introduced into the recess to provide cooling at the spot position of the laser beam irradiating the second surface.

8. The laser etching system of claim 7, wherein the cooling device is a cooling circulation device connected to the recess via a coolant inlet pipe and a coolant return pipe, the coolant flowing from the cooling device into the recess through the coolant inlet pipe and then back to the cooling device through the coolant return pipe.

9. A laser etching method for patterning an electrode layer, comprising: The laser etching system according to any one of the preceding claims is configured such that the ratio of the area of ​​the laser beam irradiating the second surface to the area of ​​the laser beam irradiating the first surface is not less than 1.2, and then the laser beam is used to pattern the electrode layer of the conductive layer on the first surface of the substrate.

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