A transparent film antenna and a manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

The present application discloses a transparent film antenna and a method for manufacturing the same. The method comprises: providing a substrate substrate and a conductive substrate layered on the substrate substrate; performing laser controlled deep cutting on the conductive substrate to process the conductive substrate into an antenna pattern layer having a plurality of grooves, wherein the grooves define the routing distance of the antenna pattern layer, and the portion between two adjacent grooves forms the routing of the antenna pattern layer; covering the antenna pattern layer with a transparent substrate, and the transparent substrate fills each groove; peeling off the substrate substrate, and the antenna pattern layer and the transparent substrate form a transparent film antenna. The present application does not require additional molds, can get rid of the dependence on high-precision imprinting molds, reduce costs and shorten delivery time; in addition, copper foil can be used in combination with laser controlled deep cutting process to manufacture the antenna pattern layer, with low material cost, small square resistance and good conductivity; and the laser controlled deep cutting process does not cut through the conductive substrate, which can prevent the transparent substrate from solidifying with the substrate substrate, and avoid the inability to peel off the substrate substrate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of antenna manufacturing, and in particular to a transparent film antenna and a manufacturing method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Antennas, as a component that can transmit and receive electromagnetic waves, play an important role in wireless communication systems. In recent years, with the continuous development of wireless communication technology, people's requirements for wireless communication technology have also been continuously improved. Therefore, antennas have attracted more and more attention, and research on antennas has also been continuously deepened. In some special electronic equipment, traditional antennas not only affect the visual appearance, but also are not conducive to safety and concealment in actual environments. Since transparent conductive films have optical transparency and conductivity, they can be used to design transparent film antennas to achieve visual beauty, safety, reliability and good concealment. However, there is still a processing and manufacturing process from the design of transparent antennas to their actual use. The core of preparing transparent film antennas lies in the manufacture of antenna pattern layers. There are currently three main manufacturing processes on the market: nanoimprinting process, microcontact process and ultraviolet nanoimprinting process.

[0003] These processes require the use of high-precision imprint molds, and require multiple mold repairs or reprocessing, resulting in high costs and long delivery times. In addition, nanosilver and polymer resins are generally used to form conductive materials. The material cost of nanosilver is high, resulting in a high cost for the entire antenna. In addition, due to the polymer resin, the square resistance of the antenna pattern layer is large and the conductivity is poor. The thinner the antenna pattern layer, the more obvious this phenomenon is. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, the present application provides a transparent film antenna and a method for manufacturing the same, which can improve the dependence of the preparation of the transparent film antenna on a high-precision imprinting mold and the resulting problems of high cost and long delivery time.

[0005] The present application provides a method for manufacturing a transparent film antenna, comprising:

[0006] Providing a substrate substrate and a conductive substrate layered on the substrate substrate;

[0007] Performing laser controlled deep cutting on the conductive substrate to process the conductive substrate into an antenna pattern layer having a plurality of grooves, wherein the grooves define a routing distance of the antenna pattern layer, and a portion between two adjacent grooves forms a routing of the antenna pattern layer;

[0008] Covering the antenna pattern layer with a transparent substrate, wherein the transparent substrate fills each of the grooves;

[0009] The base substrate is peeled off, and the antenna pattern layer and the transparent substrate form a transparent film antenna.

[0010] Optionally, the depth of the groove is less than the thickness of the conductive substrate, and the bottom of the groove does not expose the substrate.

[0011] Optionally, after laminating the transparent substrate on the antenna pattern layer, the method further includes:

[0012] Etching the antenna pattern layer to remove the bottom of the groove.

[0013] Optionally, the conductive substrate is a copper foil.

[0014] Optionally, the thickness of the conductive substrate is D1, and 0 < D1 ≤ 6 μm, and the thickness of the bottom of the groove is greater than or equal to 0.1 μm.

[0015] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0016] Attaching one side of the transparent double-sided tape to the antenna pattern layer to allow the transparent film antenna to be attached to the target device through the other side of the transparent double-sided tape.

[0017] Optionally, before peeling off the substrate, the method further includes:

[0018] Providing a reinforcing layer on the transparent substrate;

[0019] After attaching one side of the transparent double-sided tape to the antenna pattern layer, the method includes:

[0020] Peeling off the reinforcing layer.

[0021] Optionally, the light transmittance of the transparent substrate is greater than or equal to 85%.

[0022] Optionally, the transparent substrate is a PET film.

[0023] A transparent film antenna provided by the present application is prepared by any of the above methods.

[0024] As described above, the present application adopts a laser-controlled deep cutting process to manufacture the antenna pattern layer. The laser-controlled deep cutting itself has high precision and low cost, so there is no need to open an additional mold, thereby getting rid of the dependence on high-precision imprinting molds, reducing costs and shortening delivery time. In addition, the present application can use copper foil in conjunction with the laser-controlled deep cutting process to manufacture the antenna pattern layer, which has low material cost, small square resistance and excellent conductivity. In addition, the present application uses a transparent substrate and an antenna pattern layer to form a transparent film antenna, rather than the prior art using embossing, printing, spraying, sputtering and other processes on a transparent substrate to form a transparent film antenna, and the process is relatively simplified; further, after the laser-controlled deep cutting process, the bottom of the groove does not expose the substrate substrate, that is, the conductive substrate is not engraved, which can prevent the transparent substrate from being solidified with the substrate substrate through the groove when the transparent substrate is pressed with the antenna pattern layer, thereby avoiding the inability to peel off the substrate substrate; the present application can also use a peelable substrate substrate and a reinforcing layer to support the strength of the product during the manufacturing process, thereby reducing the appearance defects caused by wrinkles, warping, etc. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 It is a schematic flow chart of a method for manufacturing a transparent film antenna provided by the present application;

[0026] Figure 2 It is a schematic flow chart of another method for manufacturing a transparent film antenna provided by the present application;

[0027] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a scenario for manufacturing a transparent film antenna provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0028] Substrate 1

[0029] Conductive substrate 2

[0030] Antenna pattern layer 2a groove 20 wiring 21

[0031] Transparent substrate 3

[0032] Reinforcement layer 4

[0033] Transparent double-sided tape 5 DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] In order to solve the above problems existing in the prior art, the present application provides a transparent film antenna and a method for manufacturing the same. The two protection themes are based on the same concept, and the principles for solving the problems are basically the same or similar. The implementation methods of the protection themes can refer to each other, and the repetitions will not be repeated.

[0035] The manufacturing method of the transparent film antenna comprises at least the following steps:

[0036] Providing a substrate substrate and a conductive substrate layered on the substrate substrate;

[0037] Performing laser controlled deep cutting on the conductive substrate to process the conductive substrate into an antenna pattern layer having a plurality of grooves, wherein the grooves define the routing distance of the antenna pattern layer, and a portion between two adjacent grooves forms the routing of the antenna pattern layer;

[0038] Covering the antenna pattern layer with a transparent substrate, wherein the transparent substrate fills each groove;

[0039] The base substrate is peeled off, and the antenna pattern layer and the transparent substrate form a transparent film antenna.

[0040] Here, the present application adopts a laser-controlled deep cutting process to manufacture the antenna pattern layer. The laser-controlled deep cutting process itself has high precision and low cost. Therefore, the present application does not require additional molds, thereby getting rid of the dependence on high-precision imprinting molds, reducing costs and shortening delivery time.

[0041] The type, specific structural design, length, thickness and other parameters of the transparent film antenna can be determined according to the actual adaptability required. For example, the transparent film antenna can be an ultra-wideband antenna, which can be suitable for high-precision positioning equipment, including but not limited to handheld devices such as mobile phones and wearable devices such as smart glasses.

[0042] In actual scenarios, the actual manifestations of the above steps should be determined according to the adaptability of the actual scenarios. In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solutions of the present application will be clearly described below in combination with specific embodiments and corresponding drawings. Obviously, the embodiments described below are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. In the absence of conflict, the following embodiments and their technical features can be combined with each other, and also belong to the technical solutions of the present application.

[0043] Figure 1 is a schematic flow chart of a method for manufacturing a transparent film antenna provided in the present application, Figure 2 is based on Figure 1 The schematic diagram of another method for manufacturing a transparent film antenna is shown in FIG. Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the method includes the following steps S1 to S4.

[0044] S1: providing a substrate substrate and a conductive substrate layered on the substrate substrate.

[0045] Combination Figure 3 As shown, when viewed perpendicular to the layer arrangement direction, the orthographic projection of the conductive substrate 2 falls within the orthographic projection of the substrate 1. Figure 3 The exemplary display in FIG. 1 is that the two completely overlap each other vertically.

[0046] The substrate base material 1 and the conductive base material 2 can both be copper foils uniformly, and their thicknesses can be different. The thickness of the substrate base material 1 is greater than that of the conductive base material 2. For example, the thickness of the conductive base material 2 is D1, and 0 < D1 ≤ 6 μm, and the thickness of the substrate base material 1 is D0, and D0 ≥ 9 μm.

[0047] S2: Perform laser controlled deep cutting on the conductive base material to process the conductive base material into an antenna pattern layer with a number of grooves. Among them, the grooves define the trace distance of the antenna pattern layer, and the part between two adjacent grooves forms the trace of the antenna pattern layer.

[0048] Continue to refer to Figure 3 , the so-called laser controlled deep cutting is to use the laser emitted by the laser device to perform deep cutting on the surface of the conductive base material 2 to form grooves 20 with a preset pattern on the conductive base material 2. Each groove 20 is the blank area between two adjacent traces 21 in the antenna pattern layer 2a, so as to define the trace distance of the antenna pattern layer 2a (the distance between two adjacent traces 21). Correspondingly, the part between two adjacent grooves 20, that is, the part of the conductive base material 2 that is retained, forms the trace 21 of the antenna pattern layer 2a.

[0049] In one example, the depth of the groove 20 is less than the thickness of the conductive base material 2, and the bottom of the groove 20 does not expose the substrate base material 1, that is, the laser does not penetrate the conductive base material 2.

[0050] The width of the groove 20 (that is, the length along the horizontal direction x parallel to the conductive base material 2) can be greater than or equal to 6 μm, and the part between two adjacent grooves 20 (that is, the width of a single trace 21) can be less than or equal to 6 μm. It should be understood that the widths of the traces 21 can be the same or different; the widths of the grooves 20 can be the same or different; for any single groove 20, along its extending direction, the width of the groove 20 can be always the same, and for any single trace 21, along its extending direction, the width of the trace 21 can be always the same; in addition, at least one of the widths of the traces 21, the widths of the grooves 20, and the depth of the grooves 20 can be adaptively determined according to the actual scenario requirements, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit it. For example, for the scenario where the thickness of the aforementioned conductive base material 2 satisfies 0 < D1 ≤ 6 μm, the thickness of the bottom of the groove 20 can be greater than or equal to 0.1 μm.

[0051] S3: Press a transparent base material on the antenna pattern layer, and the transparent base material fills each groove.

[0052] Please continue to refer to Figure 3As shown, the transparent substrate 3 can be a mixed film, for example, it is composed of PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) film and transparent glue. The transparent glue is used to adhere the PET film to the antenna pattern layer 2a, and the optional transparent glue is filled in the groove 20 and the junction between the wiring 21 and the PET film, so that after the transparent glue is cured, the transparent substrate 3 and the antenna pattern layer 2a are cured together. The upper surface of the transparent substrate 3 is a horizontal plane.

[0053] In one example, the light transmittance of the transparent substrate 3 can be greater than or equal to 85%, thereby ensuring that the transparent film antenna finally manufactured has good light transmittance. The thickness of the transparent substrate 3 can be determined adaptively, for example, Figure 3 In the exemplary scenario shown, the thickness of the transparent substrate 3 may be greater than or equal to 5 μm, and the thickness of the transparent adhesive may be greater than or equal to 5 μm.

[0054] Continue reading Figure 3 The method may further include step S31: providing a reinforcing layer 4 on the transparent substrate 3. The reinforcing layer 4 is provided on the side of the transparent substrate 3 facing away from the antenna pattern layer 2a. The reinforcing layer 4 can support the strength of the product during the manufacturing process, thereby reducing the poor appearance caused by wrinkles, warping, etc.

[0055] In one example, the reinforcement layer 4 may be a PET film with a thickness greater than or equal to 25 μm.

[0056] In the present application, the reinforcing layer 4 can be covered on the upper surface of the transparent substrate 3 by a pressure-resistant bonding process, and when observed in a direction perpendicular to the transparent substrate 3, the orthographic projection of the transparent substrate 3 can fall within the orthographic projection of the reinforcing layer 4. Figure 3 The exemplary display in FIG. 1 is that the two completely overlap each other vertically.

[0057] It should be understood that, depending on the actual scenarios such as the thickness of the substrate 1, the conductive substrate 2 and the transparent substrate 3, and the processing capabilities of the production equipment, the reinforcing layer 4 may not be provided in the present application.

[0058] S4: Peeling off the substrate, the antenna pattern layer and the transparent substrate to form a transparent film antenna.

[0059] Continue reading Figure 3 , turn the product with the reinforcement layer 4 upside down, and peel the substrate base material 1 from the antenna pattern layer 2a. During the peeling process, the strength of the product is supported by the reinforcement layer 4, thereby reducing the occurrence of wrinkles, warping and other defects on the antenna pattern layer 2a and the transparent substrate 3.

[0060] Optionally, the peel strength of the substrate base 1 may be less than or equal to 0.3 kgf / cm.

[0061] Then, combine Figure 2 As shown, the method further includes step S41: etching the antenna pattern layer 2a to remove the bottom of the groove 20, that is, the thickness of the antenna pattern layer 2a is reduced by etching, so as to expose the portion of the transparent substrate 3 that was originally blocked by the bottom of the groove 20, and ensure that the traces 21 in the antenna pattern layer 2a are not connected. At this time, the remaining antenna pattern layer 2a and the transparent substrate 3 form a transparent thin film antenna. In one example, the etching process can be a rapid etching or micro-etching process.

[0062] Continue reading Figure 3 , and combined with Figure 2 As shown, the method may further include step S42: attaching one side of the transparent double-sided adhesive tape 5 to the antenna pattern layer 2a, so as to allow the transparent film antenna to be attached to the target device through the other side of the transparent double-sided adhesive tape 5.

[0063] After attachment, the traces of the antenna pattern layer 2 a are in direct contact with the transparent double-sided tape 5 .

[0064] The transparent double-sided adhesive 5 includes but is not limited to at least one of OCA (Optically Clear Adhesive) and PET double-sided adhesive. The light transmittance of OCA is generally above 90%, and the shrinkage is small when cured at room temperature or medium temperature. The orthographic projection of the antenna pattern layer 2a and the transparent substrate 3 can fall within the orthographic projection of the transparent double-sided adhesive 5. Figure 3 The exemplary display in FIG. 1 is that the two completely overlap each other vertically.

[0065] After attaching one side of the transparent double-sided tape 5 to the antenna pattern layer 2a, Figure 2 As shown, the method may further include step S43: peeling off the reinforcing layer 4. At this point, the transparent film antenna finally formed includes the antenna pattern layer 2a, the transparent substrate 3 and the transparent double-sided adhesive tape 5. Of course, the transparent double-sided adhesive tape 5 may also be peeled off when or after the transparent film antenna is attached to the target device.

[0066] As mentioned above, the present application adopts a laser controlled deep cutting process to manufacture the antenna pattern layer 2a. The laser controlled deep cutting process itself has high precision and low cost, so there is no need to open an additional mold, thereby getting rid of the dependence on high-precision imprinting molds, reducing costs and shortening delivery time. The transmittance of the light-transmitting film antenna produced by the present application can be between 70% and 100%, which has the advantages of meeting existing industry needs and exceeding the current process level.

[0067] In addition, the present application can use copper foil in conjunction with a laser-controlled deep cutting process to manufacture the antenna pattern layer 2a. Compared with the existing conductive materials composed of nanosilver and polymer resin, the present application uses lower-cost copper foil to manufacture conductive materials (such as the aforementioned conductive substrate 2 and traces 21), thereby greatly reducing material costs. Moreover, since copper foil is used and there is no need to use polymer resin, the influence of polymer resin on square resistance and conductivity can be eliminated, so that the product manufactured by the present application has a small square resistance and excellent conductivity.

[0068] In addition, the present application uses a transparent substrate 3 and an antenna pattern layer 2a to be pressed together to form the transparent film antenna, rather than using embossing, printing, spraying, sputtering and other processes on the transparent substrate 3 as in the prior art to form the transparent film antenna. The pressing process of the present application is relatively simplified; further, after the laser controlled deep cutting process, the bottom of the groove 20 does not expose the substrate 1, that is, the conductive substrate 2 is not engraved through, which can prevent the transparent substrate 3 from being cured together with the substrate 1 through the groove 20 when the transparent substrate 3 and the antenna pattern layer 2a are pressed together, thereby avoiding the inability to peel off the substrate 1.

[0069] The present application can also utilize the peelable substrate base material 1 and the reinforcing layer 4 to support the strength of the product during the manufacturing process, thereby reducing the poor appearance caused by wrinkles, warping, etc.

[0070] It should be understood that the manufacturing method of the transparent film antenna is a complete manufacturing process, which also includes steps involved in other processes. Please refer to the prior art and the embodiments of the present application will not be described in detail.

[0071] The transparent film antenna provided in the embodiment of the present application is manufactured by any of the above methods. Therefore, the transparent film antenna has the beneficial effects that can be produced by the corresponding example method, which will not be described in detail here.

[0072] The transparent film antenna may have Figure 3 The structure shown in the last figure in the figure, that is, the transparent film antenna includes an antenna pattern layer 2a, a transparent substrate 3 and a transparent double-sided adhesive tape 5. In other examples, the transparent film antenna may include an antenna pattern layer 2a and a transparent substrate 3, but without the transparent double-sided adhesive tape 5. In actual scenarios, the transparent film antenna may be attached to a target device by glue or the like.

[0073] It should be understood that the transparent film antenna provided in the embodiment of the present application is a complete device and also has the corresponding structure of the known transparent film antenna, for example, it is also provided with a radiation plate connected to the wiring 21 and used to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals, various feeding points for connecting the wiring 21 to electricity, and grounding points, etc., which will not be described one by one here.

[0074] The above descriptions are only some embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, all equivalent structural changes made using the contents of this specification and drawings are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

[0075] It should be understood that the step codes such as S1, S2, etc. are intended to express the corresponding content more clearly and concisely, and do not constitute a substantial limitation on the order. When implementing the step codes, those skilled in the art may, for example, execute S3 first and then S2, etc., and all of these should be within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0076] Although the terms "first, second", etc. are used herein to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from each other. In addition, the singular forms "one", "an", and "the" are intended to include plural forms as well. The terms "or" and "and / or" are interpreted as inclusive, or mean any one or any combination. Only when the combination of elements, functions, steps, or operations is inherently mutually exclusive in some way, an exception to this definition will occur.

[0077] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", and "counterclockwise" indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the technical solutions of the corresponding embodiments, rather than indicating or implying that a device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a transparent film antenna, It is characterized in that The method comprises: Providing a substrate substrate and a conductive substrate layered on the substrate substrate; Performing laser controlled deep cutting on the conductive substrate to process the conductive substrate into an antenna pattern layer having a plurality of grooves, wherein the grooves define a routing distance of the antenna pattern layer, a portion between two adjacent grooves forms a routing of the antenna pattern layer, the depth of the grooves is less than the thickness of the conductive substrate, and the bottom of the grooves does not expose the substrate; Laminating a transparent substrate on the antenna pattern layer, the transparent substrate filling each of the grooves, wherein the transparent substrate comprises a PET film and a transparent adhesive, the transparent adhesive filling the grooves and the junction between the wiring and the PET film, so as to adhere the PET film to the antenna pattern layer; Disposing a reinforcing layer on the transparent substrate, and then peeling off the base substrate to expose a side of the antenna pattern layer where the groove bottom is disposed; The antenna pattern layer is etched to remove the bottom of the groove, so that the antenna pattern layer and the transparent substrate form a transparent film antenna.

2. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The conductive substrate is copper foil.

3. The method according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The thickness of the conductive substrate is D 1 , and 0 <D 1 ≤6μm, and the thickness of the groove bottom is greater than or equal to 0.1μm.

4. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: One side of the transparent double-sided adhesive tape is attached to the antenna pattern layer to allow the transparent film antenna to be attached to a target device through the other side of the transparent double-sided adhesive tape.

5. The method according to claim 4, It is characterized in that After attaching one side of the transparent double-sided adhesive tape to the antenna pattern layer, the method includes: The reinforcement layer is peeled off.

6. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The light transmittance of the transparent substrate is greater than or equal to 85%.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 6, It is characterized in that The transparent substrate is a PET film.

8. A transparent film antenna, It is characterized in that The transparent film antenna is manufactured by the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7 above.

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