Touch panel, preparation method thereof and electronic equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to a touch panel, a preparation method thereof and electronic equipment. The touch panel includes: a substrate; the plurality of conductive parts are arranged on the surface of the substrate at intervals; the touch electrodes are arranged on the surface of the substrate at intervals, and the touch electrodes are connected with the conductive pieces in a one-to-one correspondence mode; wherein the touch electrode is used for generating a corresponding induction electric signal according to a touch operation of a user, and the impedance of the touch electrode is greater than that of the conductive piece; and the plurality of touch wires are connected with the conductive pieces in a one-to-one correspondence manner so as to output induction electric signals generated by the touch electrodes. According to the touch panel, the conductive pieces with low impedance are arranged and connected to the touch electrodes in the one-to-one correspondence mode, so that the impedance of an overall structure formed by the conductive pieces and the corresponding touch electrodes is low, the low impedance can correspondingly generate larger induction electric signals, and therefore sensitive induction of touch operation is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of touch technology, and in particular to a touch panel, a method for manufacturing the same, and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous advancement of science and technology, users can now conveniently control electronic devices containing touch panels (referred to as touch devices) by touching them. As a result, touch devices are increasingly used in our daily lives, and people's demands for a better touch experience are also increasing. However, the sensitivity of existing touch devices no longer meets these demands. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a touch panel with higher touch operation sensitivity, a preparation method thereof, and an electronic device in order to address the above technical problems.

[0004] In a first aspect, the present application provides a touch panel, comprising:

[0005] substrate;

[0006] A plurality of conductive members are spaced apart and arranged on the surface of the substrate;

[0007] A plurality of touch electrodes are spaced apart on the surface of the substrate, the touch electrodes being connected to the conductive members in a one-to-one correspondence; wherein the touch electrodes are configured to generate corresponding induced electrical signals according to a user's touch operation, and the impedance of the touch electrodes is greater than the impedance of the conductive member;

[0008] A plurality of touch lines are connected to the conductive elements in a one-to-one correspondence to output the induced electrical signals generated by the touch electrodes.

[0009] In a second aspect, the present application provides a method for preparing a touch panel, comprising:

[0010] forming a plurality of conductive elements spaced apart from each other on the surface of the substrate;

[0011] A plurality of touch electrodes are formed on the surface of the substrate, wherein the touch electrodes are connected to the conductive members in a one-to-one correspondence, the touch electrodes are used to generate corresponding induced electrical signals according to a user's touch operation, and the impedance of the touch electrodes is greater than the impedance of the conductive members;

[0012] A plurality of touch lines are formed; the touch lines are connected to the conductive members in a one-to-one correspondence to output the induced electrical signals generated by the touch electrodes.

[0013] In a third aspect, the present application provides an electronic device, comprising the touch panel as described above or comprising a touch panel manufactured using the touch panel manufacturing method as described above.

[0014] The touch panel, its preparation method, and electronic device described above, by providing a low-impedance conductive member and connecting the conductive member one-to-one to the touch electrodes, can reduce the impedance of the overall structure formed by the conductive member and the corresponding touch electrode. Under the same touch operation, the lower impedance can generate a larger induced electrical signal, thereby achieving sensitive response to the touch operation. In addition, by outputting the induced electrical signal through the touch trace connected to the conductive member, the loss of the induced electrical signal in the transmission path can be greatly reduced, thereby further increasing the strength of the induced electrical signal received by the touch chip. Therefore, this embodiment provides a touch panel with a higher sensitivity to touch operations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or related technologies, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or related technical descriptions. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0016] Figure 1 FIG1 is a schematic top view of a touch panel according to an embodiment;

[0017] Figure 2 FIG1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to an embodiment;

[0018] Figure 3 FIG2 is a second cross-sectional schematic diagram of a touch panel according to an embodiment;

[0019] Figure 4 FIG1 is a partial schematic diagram of a touch electrode and a conductive member according to an embodiment;

[0020] Figure 5 FIG2 is a second partial schematic diagram of a touch electrode and a conductive member according to an embodiment;

[0021] FIG6 (a) is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conductive member according to an embodiment;

[0022] FIG6( b ) is a second cross-sectional schematic diagram of a conductive member according to an embodiment;

[0023] FIG6 (c) is a third schematic cross-sectional view of a conductive member according to an embodiment;

[0024] FIG6 (d) is a fourth schematic cross-sectional view of a conductive member according to an embodiment;

[0025] Figure 7 FIG3 is a third schematic cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to an embodiment;

[0026] Figure 8 FIG2 is a second schematic top view of a touch panel according to an embodiment;

[0027] Figure 9 FIG3 is a third partial schematic diagram of a touch electrode and a conductive member according to an embodiment;

[0028] Figure 10 This is a flow chart of a method for manufacturing a touch panel according to an embodiment;

[0029] Figure 11 This is a schematic structural diagram of a touch panel after step 1002 in one embodiment;

[0030] Figure 12 This is a schematic structural diagram of a touch panel after step 1004 in one embodiment;

[0031] Figure 13 This is a schematic structural diagram of a touch panel after step 1006 in one embodiment;

[0032] Figure 14 This is a second flow chart of a method for manufacturing a touch panel according to an embodiment.

[0033] Component number description:

[0034] Substrate: 100; underlay: 110; display layer: 120; driving thin film transistor: 121; anode layer: 122; light-emitting layer: 123; cathode layer: 124; conductive element: 200; main layer: 210; first contact layer: 220; second contact layer: 230; inner wall of conductive element: 201; touch electrode: 300; touch trace: 400; insulating layer: 500; via: 510. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain this application and are not intended to limit this application.

[0036] It is understood that the terms "first," "second," etc., used herein may be used to describe various elements, but these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are used solely to distinguish a first element from another element. For example, a first contact layer may be referred to as a second contact layer, and similarly, a second contact layer may be referred to as a first contact layer, without departing from the scope of this application.

[0037] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood to indicate or imply relative importance or implicitly specify the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features specified as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features. "Multiple" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically defined. "Several" means at least one, such as one, two, etc., unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0038] Embodiments of the present application provide a touch panel for sensing user touch operations and transmitting the sensing results to a processor. In the current display field, a touch panel can be integrated with a display panel and is referred to as a touch display panel. The touch panel of the present application embodiment can be a standalone touch panel or the aforementioned touch display panel, without limitation. Common types of touch display panels include OGS (One Glass Solution), on-cell, and in-cell. In-cell refers to a touch display solution in which the touch functionality is embedded within the display panel, with the entire touch display panel positioned beneath an encapsulation layer. Compared to on-cell touch display panels, in-cell integration can significantly reduce screen thickness, resulting in a thinner and lighter electronic device. Therefore, the embodiments of the present application will focus on touch display panels with an in-cell structure. Display panels can be, but are not limited to, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). The above-mentioned type of display panel has the advantages of active luminescence, large viewing angle, wide color gamut, high brightness, fast response speed, low power consumption and flexible structure. Therefore, it has gradually replaced liquid crystal display panels and become the mainstream display technology.

[0039] Figure 1 FIG1 is a structural diagram of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 FIG1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 Two touch electrodes and their corresponding conductive members are shown, and reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 In one embodiment, the touch panel includes a substrate 100 , a plurality of conductive members 200 , a plurality of touch electrodes 300 , and a plurality of touch traces 400 .

[0040] Among them, a plurality of touch electrodes 300 are spaced apart on the surface of the substrate 100, and the touch electrodes 300 are used to generate corresponding induced electrical signals according to the user's touch operation. Specifically, the shapes of the plurality of touch electrodes 300 can be the same, for example Figure 1 While all shown in the embodiment are rectangular, they can also be triangular or have other shapes, which are not limited to this embodiment. Multiple touch electrodes 300 of the same shape can be arranged in an array on the surface of the substrate 100, with the distance between two adjacent touch electrodes 300 being the same. It will be appreciated that in some embodiments, smaller and more densely arranged touch electrodes 300 can be provided in high-frequency touch areas to provide more sensitive sensing of touch operations in these high-frequency touch areas.

[0041] Furthermore, the touch mode of the touch panel of this embodiment can be self-capacitive. Each touch unit of the mutual-capacitive touch panel needs to include two touch electrodes, one for sending and one for receiving signals. However, each touch unit of the self-capacitive touch panel only needs to use one touch electrode 300 to measure the capacitance between the touch electrode 300 and the ground, so as to sense the touch operation. Specifically, when a finger or the like is placed on the self-capacitive touch electrode 300, the overall capacitance to the ground increases, and the measured voltage also increases accordingly, thereby sensing the user's touch operation. The induced electrical signal generated by the touch electrode 300 of this embodiment refers to the above-mentioned measured voltage, or the current corresponding to the measured voltage. Among them, in the case where the touch panel is a display panel with an integrated touch function, the touch electrode 300 needs to have a high transmittance to reduce the blocking and absorption of the light output of the display device by the touch electrode 300. Therefore, the touch electrode 300 can be made of thinner materials such as indium tin oxide (ITO) and magnesium aluminum alloy. Based on the conventional thickness of the touch electrode 300 in the touch panel, the square resistance of ITO or magnesium aluminum alloy is about 10Ω / □.

[0042] A plurality of conductive members 200 are also spaced apart on the surface of the substrate 100. The thickness of the conductive member 200 can be 5 μm to 20 μm, thereby reducing the effect of the size of the conductive member 200 on the overall thickness of the touch panel. The touch electrodes 300 are connected to the conductive members 200 in a one-to-one correspondence, that is, one touch electrode 300 is connected to a corresponding conductive member 200. Optionally, the touch electrodes 300 and the corresponding conductive members 200 can be as follows: Figure 2The direct contact connection shown may also be that the touch electrode 300 is connected to the corresponding conductive member 200 via a wiring, which is not limited in this embodiment. The impedance of the touch electrode 300 is greater than the impedance of the conductive member 200. Under the aforementioned thickness conditions, the square resistance of the conductive member 200 may be less than 1Ω / □. The conductive member 200 may be made of metal or metal alloy, such as aluminum, so as to have a smaller impedance. By connecting the touch electrode 300 to the conductive member 200 with a smaller impedance, the impedance of the overall structure formed by the touch electrode 300 and the conductive member 200 can be made smaller. It can be understood that under the same touch operation, based on the smaller impedance, the overall structure formed by the touch electrode 300 and the conductive member 200 can output a larger signal amount, such as a larger voltage value or a larger current value, thereby improving the sensing sensitivity and accuracy of the touch operation.

[0043] The touch traces 400 are connected to the conductive members 200 in a one-to-one correspondence, that is, one conductive member 200 is connected to a corresponding touch trace 400, and the conductive member 200 is used to transmit the induced electrical signal generated by the corresponding touch electrode 300 to the corresponding touch trace 400. Specifically, a touch chip is also provided on the outside of the touch panel, and the touch traces 400 are used to output the above-mentioned induced electrical signal to the touch chip. After receiving the induced electrical signal, the touch chip can obtain information such as the touch position and touch pressure of the touch operation based on the induced electrical signal. Optionally, the touch chip can be an independent touch chip or a display driver chip (Touch and Display Driver Integration, TDDI) integrated with the display function, which is not limited in this embodiment.

[0044] Here, the touch panel with in-cell structure is described by taking OLED as an example. Figure 3 This is a second cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to an embodiment, referring to Figure 3 The substrate 100 includes a base 110 and a display layer 120 formed on the surface of the base 110. The display layer 120 includes a driving circuit layer and a light-emitting device layer. The touch layer is provided on the surface of the light-emitting device layer and is provided with a plurality of conductive members 200 and a plurality of touch electrodes 300 of this embodiment. An encapsulation layer (not shown) is provided on the surface of the touch layer to encapsulate the display layer 120 and the touch layer.

[0045] Specifically, the driving circuit layer includes a driving thin film transistor 121. The light-emitting device layer includes an anode layer 122, a light-emitting layer 123 and a cathode layer 124. The anode layer 122 is connected downward to the driving thin film transistor 121 to obtain the driving current from the driving thin film transistor 121. A pixel definition layer is provided between two adjacent light-emitting devices in the light-emitting layer 123 to isolate adjacent light-emitting materials of different colors. The cathode layer 124 is connected to the ground during the display stage and is reused as a touch electrode 300 during the touch stage. Compared with the touch electrode 300 separately made above the encapsulation layer in the related art, the reused touch electrode 300 in this embodiment does not require an additional process, and can also reduce the overall thickness of the panel, thereby reducing the thickness of the touch display panel, which is beneficial to the thinness of the touch display panel and at the same time improves the utilization rate of the cathode layer 124. Among them, continue to refer to Figure 3 In the thickness direction of the touch panel, the projection of the conductive member 200 of this embodiment falls on the pixel definition layer. As will be appreciated, the pixel definition layer does not emit light. Therefore, placing the conductive member 200, which has insufficient light transmittance, in this position has minimal impact on the light emission of the light-emitting layer 123, thereby improving the display effect.

[0046] The encapsulation layer can adopt multi-layer thin film encapsulation (Thin Film Encapsulation, TFE), which includes two inorganic film layers and an organic film layer sandwiched between the two inorganic film layers. The inorganic film layer has good water and oxygen barrier properties, but is relatively rigid. The water and oxygen barrier properties of the organic film layer are weaker than those of the inorganic film layer, but it can eliminate the stress generated by the inorganic film layer, thereby reducing mechanical damage and improving the flatness of the touch display panel. Therefore, the encapsulation layer in this embodiment can not only ensure excellent water and oxygen barrier properties, but also minimize the overall stress of the encapsulation layer, reducing adverse effects on other components in the touch panel. Moreover, the touch module encapsulated by thin film can have good bendability, so it is suitable for rollable or foldable electronic devices.

[0047] In this embodiment, by providing a low-impedance conductive member 200 and connecting each conductive member 200 to the touch electrodes 300, the impedance of the overall structure formed by the conductive member 200 and the corresponding touch electrodes 300 can be reduced. Under the same touch operation, the lower impedance can generate a larger induced electrical signal, thereby achieving sensitive response to the touch operation. In addition, by outputting this induced electrical signal through the touch trace 400 connected to the conductive member 200, the loss of the induced electrical signal in the transmission path can be greatly reduced, thereby further improving the strength of the induced electrical signal received by the touch chip. Therefore, this embodiment provides a touch panel with higher sensitivity to touch operations.

[0048] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a partial schematic diagram of a touch electrode and a conductive member according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 In one embodiment, the edge of the touch electrode 300 overlaps the inner wall 201 of the corresponding conductive member. The inner wall 201 of the conductive member is the side wall of the conductive member 200 that is closest to the touch electrode 300. The overlapping of the patterned touch electrode 300 and the inner wall 201 of the corresponding conductive member can greatly increase the contact area between the two, thereby ensuring good contact between the two and maintaining electrical communication between the patterned touch electrode 300 and the conductive member 200. Moreover, compared to connecting with wires, direct electrical connection can avoid additional impedance on the wires, thereby further improving touch performance.

[0049] In one embodiment, Figure 1 The conductive member 200 is a closed ring structure and surrounds the corresponding touch electrode 300. Figure 4 , the top width of the longitudinal section of the conductive member 200 is greater than the bottom width, and the longitudinal section is a section perpendicular to the extension direction of the annular structure. That is, the conductive member 200 can adopt a structure that is approximately an inverted trapezoid. Based on the above-mentioned arrangement of the conductive member 200, the conductive member 200 can not only reduce the overall impedance, but can also be reused as an isolation column between different touch electrodes 300 during the stage of manufacturing the touch panel. Specifically, when manufacturing the touch panel, the conductive member 200 can be formed as an isolation column first, and then the touch electrode 300 can be formed by evaporating the electrode material. In this embodiment, because the conductive member 200 adopts a structure that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, when the electrode material is evaporated, the electrode material will fall on the top of the conductive member 200 in the area where the conductive member 200 is formed. In the area where the conductive member 200 is not formed, the electrode material will fall toward the substrate 100, with part of it deposited on the surface of the substrate 100 and the other part deposited on the inner wall 201 of the conductive member. That is, the evaporated electrode material will be isolated at the edge of the conductive member 200, thereby forming a plurality of self-capacitive touch electrodes 300 that are electrically independent of each other and arranged in an array. In this embodiment, by providing a conductive member 200 with a wide top and narrow bottom structure, a plurality of touch electrodes 300 spaced apart can be formed more conveniently without the need for a patterned mask plate for the touch electrode 300, thereby simplifying the preparation process of the touch electrode 300 and reducing the preparation cost of the touch panel. It should be noted that the top width of the conductive member 200 is not the width of the upper surface in an absolute sense. Similarly, the bottom width is not the width of the lower surface in an absolute sense. It can be understood that the conductive member 200 is divided into two parts, the top and the bottom. As long as the widths of the two parts meet the condition of being wide top and narrow bottom, so that the electrode material can be disconnected at the edge of the conductive member 200 when being evaporated, it falls within the protection scope of this embodiment.

[0050] Figure 5 This is a second partial schematic diagram of a touch electrode and a conductive member according to an embodiment, referring to Figure 5In one embodiment, the dimension of the top of the conductive member 200 protruding from the bottom on the side close to the touch electrode 300 is smaller than the dimension of the top of the conductive member 200 protruding from the bottom on the side away from the touch electrode 300. It is understandable that if the Figure 4 If the symmetrical conductive member 200 shown is used as a spacer to form the touch electrode 300, electrical isolation of the outer wall of the conductive member 200 must also be considered. A symmetrical conductive member 200 means that the protrusion of the top of the conductive member 200, which is closer to the touch electrode 300, from the bottom is equal to the protrusion of the top of the conductive member 200, which is farther from the touch electrode 300. It is understood that when electrode material is evaporated onto the entire surface of a symmetrical conductive member 200 as a spacer, electrode material will not only be deposited onto the inner wall 201 of the conductive member, but also onto the outer wall of the conductive member 200. Electrode material deposited on the outer wall of the conductive member 200 may cause a short circuit between adjacent conductive members 200, resulting in touch failure. Therefore, electrical isolation of the outer wall of the conductive member 200 is necessary. For example, a layer of insulating material can be formed on the outer wall of the conductive member 200 before the electrode material is evaporated onto the entire surface. Alternatively, the electrode material deposited on the outer wall of the conductive member 200 can be removed after the electrode material is evaporated onto the entire surface. However, the above methods all increase the number of touch panel manufacturing steps, thereby reducing touch panel manufacturing efficiency. In this embodiment, by adjusting the structure of the conductive member 200, during the evaporation process, the electrode material can be deposited only on the inner wall 201 of the conductive member, rather than on the outer wall of the conductive member. This directly isolates adjacent conductive members 200, thereby preventing short circuits between different touch electrodes 300 through the conductive member 200 and simplifying the touch panel manufacturing steps.

[0051] Figure 6(a) is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conductive element according to one embodiment. Referring to Figure 6(a), in one embodiment, the conductive element 200 includes a main layer 210, a first contact layer 220, and a second contact layer 230. The first contact layer 220 and the second contact layer 230 are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the main layer 210 in the thickness direction and are respectively connected to the main layer 210. The impedance of the main layer 210 is lower than that of the first contact layer 220 and lower than that of the second contact layer 230. The elasticity of the main layer 210 is lower than that of the first contact layer 220 and lower than that of the second contact layer 230. In this embodiment, by adopting a composite structure combining the main layer 210 and the two contact layers, the low impedance of the main layer 210 can be utilized to effectively reduce the impedance of the overall structure formed by the touch electrode and the conductive element 200. On the other hand, the first contact layer 220 and the second contact layer 230 with lower elasticity can be used to buffer and protect the main layer 210 with higher elasticity, thereby reducing the damage to the main layer 210 caused by external impact or the disconnection between the main layer 210 and the touch line, greatly improving the structural stability of the conductive part 200 and thus improving the reliability of the touch panel.

[0052] Figure 6(b) is a second schematic cross-sectional view of a conductive member according to an embodiment, Figure 6(c) is a third schematic cross-sectional view of a conductive member according to an embodiment, and Figure 6(d) is a fourth schematic cross-sectional view of a conductive member according to an embodiment. With reference to Figures 6(b) to 6(d), in one embodiment, the conductive member 200 includes a main body layer 210 and a first contact layer 220. The first contact layer 220 is disposed on a side of the main body layer 210 away from the substrate and is connected to the main body layer 210. The impedance of the main body layer 210 is lower than that of the first contact layer 220, and the elasticity of the main body layer 210 is lower than that of the first contact layer 220. In this embodiment, by adopting a composite structure combining the main body layer 210 and the first contact layer 220, the low impedance of the main body layer 210 can be utilized to effectively reduce the impedance of the overall structure consisting of the touch electrode and the conductive member 200. On the other hand, the first contact layer 220 with lower elasticity can be used to buffer and protect the main layer 210 with higher elasticity, thereby reducing the damage to the main layer 210 caused by external impact or the disconnection between the main layer 210 and the touch line, greatly improving the structural stability of the conductive part 200, and thus improving the reliability of the touch panel.

[0053] In one embodiment, the conductive element 200 includes a main layer 210 and a second contact layer 230. The second contact layer 230 is disposed on a side of the main layer 210 proximal to the substrate and connected to the main layer 210. The impedance of the main layer 210 is lower than that of the second contact layer 230, and the elasticity of the main layer 210 is lower than that of the second contact layer 230. In this embodiment, by adopting a composite structure combining the main layer 210 and the second contact layer 230, the low impedance of the main layer 210 can be utilized to effectively reduce the impedance of the overall structure consisting of the touch electrodes and the conductive element 200. Furthermore, the less elastic second contact layer 230 can be used to buffer and protect the more elastic main layer 210, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the main layer 210 due to external impacts or disconnection between the main layer 210 and the touch traces. This significantly improves the structural stability of the conductive element 200, thereby enhancing the reliability of the touch panel.

[0054] In one embodiment, the main layer 210, the first contact layer 220, and the second contact layer 230 are made of different materials. The main layer 210 includes at least one of aluminum and molybdenum, while the first contact layer 220 and the second contact layer 230 each include at least one of titanium and molybdenum. If the conductive element 200 comprises two layers, the main layer 210 may be made of aluminum, and the first contact layer 220 may be made of titanium or molybdenum. If the conductive element 200 comprises three layers, the main layer 210 may be made of aluminum or molybdenum, and the first contact layer 220 may be made of titanium or molybdenum, or the main layer 210 may be made of aluminum or titanium, and the first contact layer 220 may be made of titanium or molybdenum. Aluminum typically has a square resistance of less than 1Ω / □, effectively reducing the impedance of the overall structure formed by the touch electrode and the conductive element 200. Furthermore, the first and second contact layers 220 and 230 may be made of an alloy including titanium and molybdenum to further enhance their strength and elasticity, such as a molybdenum-zirconium-titanium alloy, although this embodiment is not limiting.

[0055] In one embodiment, referring again to Figures 6(a) to 6(d), the width of the first contact layer 220 is greater than the width of the main body layer 210. It should be noted that Figures 6(a) to 6(d) are for illustrative purposes only. The main body layer 210 may have a shape such as a right trapezoid, an inverted trapezoid, or an I-beam. This embodiment does not limit the shape of each layer; as long as the widths of the main body layer 210 and the first contact layer 220 meet the isolation requirements, they fall within the scope of protection of this embodiment. In this embodiment, because the conductive element 200 has a wide top and narrow bottom structure, during electrode material deposition, in areas where the conductive element 200 is formed, the electrode material will deposit on top of the conductive element 200. In areas where the conductive element 200 is not formed, the electrode material will descend toward the substrate 100, with some deposited on the surface of the substrate 100 and some deposited on the inner wall 201 of the conductive element. That is, the evaporated electrode material is isolated at the edge of the conductive member 200 , thereby forming a plurality of self-capacitive touch electrodes 300 that are electrically independent from each other and arranged in an array.

[0056] Figure 7 This is a third cross-sectional view of a touch panel according to an embodiment, referring to Figure 7 In one embodiment, the edge of the touch electrode 300 overlaps the sidewall of the main layer 210 of the corresponding conductive element 200. It is understood that the main layer 210 has a higher conductivity than the first contact layer 220 and the second contact layer 230. Therefore, compared to overlapping the sidewall of the first contact layer 220 or the second contact layer 230, overlapping the edge of the touch electrode 300 with the sidewall of the main layer 210 can further improve the impedance characteristics of the overlapping joint, thereby reducing the impedance of the overall structure formed by the touch electrode 300 and the conductive element 200.

[0057] Figure 8 This is a second top view schematic diagram of a touch panel according to an embodiment, with reference to Figure 7 and Figure 8 In one embodiment, the touch panel further includes an insulating layer 500. The insulating layer 500 is disposed on the top of the conductive member 200 and the surface of the touch electrode 300. The insulating layer 500 located on the top of the conductive member 200 is provided with a via 510. The touch trace 400 is connected to the corresponding conductive member 200 through the via 510. The material of the insulating layer 500 can be, but is not limited to, SiN. x 、SiO x In this embodiment, by providing the insulating layer 500, the portion of the top of the conductive member 200 not covered by the touch trace 400 and the surface of the touch electrode 300 can be protected, thereby preventing other conductive materials from being deposited at these locations and preventing other conductive materials from interfering with the induced electrical signals transmitted by the touch trace 400, thereby providing a touch panel with higher signal reliability.

[0058] Figure 9 This is a third partial schematic diagram of a touch electrode and a conductive member according to an embodiment, referring to Figure 9 In one embodiment, the insulating layer 500 disposed on top of the same conductive element 200 is provided with a plurality of vias 510, and the plurality of vias 510 are connected to the same touch trace 400. The plurality of vias 510 can be as follows: Figure 9 The vias 510 are arranged sequentially on the same side of the rectangular conductive member 200. Multiple vias 510 can also be arranged at each corner of the rectangular conductive member 200, but this is not a limitation in this embodiment. In this embodiment, by providing multiple vias 510, a more stable and reliable connection between the touch trace 400 and the conductive member 200 is achieved. Even if any via 510 is disconnected, the remaining vias 510 can still connect the touch trace 400 and the conductive member 200, thereby allowing the induced electrical signal to be output to the external touch chip through the conductive member 200 and the touch trace 400 in sequence.

[0059] The present application also provides a method for preparing a touch panel. Figure 10 This is a flow chart of a method for manufacturing a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 10 In one embodiment, the method for preparing a touch panel includes steps 1002 to 1006.

[0060] Step 1002 : forming a plurality of conductive elements 200 spaced apart from each other on a surface of a substrate.

[0061] Specifically, Figure 11 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the touch panel after step 1002 of an embodiment, referring to FIG. Figure 11 A plurality of spaced apart conductive elements 200 can be formed by vapor deposition on the substrate surface using a mask. The thickness of the conductive elements 200 can be 5 μm to 20 μm. Under the aforementioned thickness conditions, the square resistance of the conductive elements 200 can be less than 1 Ω / □. Furthermore, the conductive elements 200 are made of at least one of titanium, aluminum, and molybdenum.

[0062] Step 1004 : forming a plurality of touch electrodes 300 spaced apart from each other on the surface of the substrate.

[0063] in, Figure 12 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the touch panel after step 1004 of an embodiment, referring to FIG. Figure 12The touch electrodes 300 are connected to the conductive members 200 in a one-to-one correspondence, that is, each touch electrode 300 is connected to a corresponding conductive member 200. Optionally, the touch electrodes 300 and the corresponding conductive members 200 may be connected directly or via wiring, which is not a limitation in this embodiment. The touch electrodes 300 are used to generate corresponding induced electrical signals based on the user's touch operation. The impedance of the touch electrodes 300 is greater than the impedance of the conductive member 200.

[0064] Step 1006 , forming a plurality of touch traces 400 .

[0065] in, Figure 13 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the touch panel after step 1006 of an embodiment, referring to FIG. Figure 13 The touch traces 400 are connected to the conductive members 200 in a one-to-one correspondence to output the induced electrical signals generated by the touch electrodes 300 .

[0066] In this embodiment, by providing a conductive member 200 with low impedance and connecting the conductive member 200 to the touch electrodes 300 in a one-to-one correspondence, the impedance of the overall structure formed by the conductive member 200 and the corresponding touch electrode 300 can be reduced. Under the same touch operation, the lower impedance can generate a larger induced electrical signal, thereby achieving sensitive response to the touch operation. In addition, by outputting this induced electrical signal through the touch trace 400 connected to the conductive member 200, the loss of the induced electrical signal in the transmission path can be greatly reduced, thereby further improving the strength of the induced electrical signal received by the touch chip. Therefore, this embodiment provides a method for preparing a touch panel with high sensitivity to touch operations.

[0067] In one embodiment, continue with reference to Figure 13The conductive member 200 has a closed ring structure, and the top width of the longitudinal cross-section of the conductive member 200 is greater than the bottom width. The longitudinal cross-section is perpendicular to the extension direction of the ring structure. A plurality of touch electrodes 300 are formed spaced apart on the substrate surface, including: evaporating electrode material on the substrate surface where the conductive member 200 is formed to form a plurality of touch electrodes 300 arranged in an array. Based on the above steps, the conductive member 200 not only reduces overall impedance but can also be reused as a spacer between different touch electrodes 300 during the touch panel manufacturing stage. In this embodiment, because the conductive member 200 has a wide top and narrow bottom structure, during the evaporation of the electrode material, the electrode material will be deposited on the top of the conductive member 200 in the area where the conductive member 200 is formed. In the area where the conductive member 200 is not formed, the electrode material will fall toward the substrate, with some deposited on the substrate surface and some deposited on the inner wall 201 of the conductive member. That is, the evaporated electrode material is isolated at the edge of the conductive member 200 , thereby forming a plurality of self-capacitive touch electrodes 300 that are electrically independent from each other and arranged in an array.

[0068] In one embodiment, continue with reference to Figure 5 The dimension of the top of the conductive member 200 protruding from the bottom on the side close to the touch electrode 300 is smaller than the dimension of the top of the conductive member 200 protruding from the bottom on the side away from the touch electrode 300. Vapor-depositing the electrode material on the surface of the substrate on which the conductive member 200 is formed includes: evaporating the electrode material on the entire surface of the substrate on which the conductive member 200 is formed, so that the electrode material is deposited on the inner wall 201 of the conductive member, and the outer wall of the conductive member 200 is free of electrode material. The electrode material deposited on the inner wall 201 of the conductive member and the surface of the substrate together constitute the touch electrode 300. The inner wall 201 of the conductive member is the sidewall of the conductive member 200 close to the corresponding touch electrode 300, and the outer wall of the conductive member 200 is the sidewall of the conductive member 200 away from the corresponding touch electrode 300. In this embodiment, by adjusting the structure of the conductive member 200, during the evaporation process, the electrode material can be deposited only on the inner wall 201 of the conductive member, rather than on the inner wall 201 of the conductive member, thereby directly achieving isolation between adjacent conductive members 200, thereby avoiding the short circuit between different touch electrodes 300 through the conductive member 200 and simplifying the preparation steps of the touch panel.

[0069] Figure 14 This is a second flow chart of a method for preparing a touch panel according to an embodiment, referring to Figure 14 In one embodiment, the method for manufacturing a touch panel includes steps 1402 to 1410. Steps 1402 and 1404 may refer to the previous embodiment and will not be described in detail here. This embodiment further includes step 1406 before the step of forming the plurality of touch traces 400, and employs steps 1408 and 1410 to form the plurality of touch traces 400.

[0070] Step 1402 : forming a plurality of conductive elements 200 spaced apart from each other on the surface of the substrate.

[0071] Step 1404 : forming a plurality of touch electrodes 300 spaced apart from each other on the surface of the substrate.

[0072] Step 1406 : forming an insulating layer 500 on the surfaces of the touch electrode 300 and the conductive element 200 .

[0073] Specifically, the insulating layer 500 may be formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The material of the insulating layer 500 may be, but is not limited to, SiNx, SiOx, and the like.

[0074] In step 1408 , the insulating layer 500 on the surface of the conductive member 200 is etched to form a through hole.

[0075] Specifically, a patterned hard mask layer may be formed on the surface of the conductive member 200, and the insulating layer 500 may be etched through the patterned hard mask layer to form a through hole. After the through hole is formed, the remaining hard mask layer may be removed.

[0076] In step 1410 , a wiring material is deposited in the through hole and on the surface of the insulating layer 500 to form the touch wiring 400 and the via hole 510 for connecting the touch wiring 400 and the conductive element 200 .

[0077] That is, the via hole 510 and the touch line 400 are prepared simultaneously, and the material of the conductive material filled in the via hole 510 is the same as the material of the touch line 400. Specifically, the line material can be deposited by evaporation.

[0078] In this embodiment, by providing an insulating layer 500, the top portion of the conductive member 200 that is not covered by the touch trace 400 and the surface of the touch electrode 300 can be protected, thereby preventing other conductive materials from being deposited at the above-mentioned positions and preventing other conductive materials from interfering with the induced electrical signal transmitted by the touch trace 400, thereby providing a touch panel with higher signal reliability.

[0079] The present application also provides an electronic device including a touch panel as described above or a touch panel prepared using the touch panel preparation method as described above. The electronic device may be, but is not limited to, various personal computers, laptops, smartphones, tablet computers, Internet of Things devices, and portable wearable devices. The Internet of Things devices may be smart speakers, smart TVs, smart air conditioners, smart car-mounted devices, smart cars, etc. The portable wearable device may be a smart watch, smart bracelet, head-mounted device, etc. Based on the aforementioned touch panel and its preparation method, the present embodiment provides an electronic device with high touch sensitivity.

[0080] It should be understood that although Figure 10 and Figure 14 The steps in the flowchart are shown in sequence as indicated by the arrows, but these steps are not necessarily executed in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless otherwise specified in this document, there is no strict order restriction for the execution of these steps, and these steps can be executed in other orders. In addition, Figure 10 and Figure 14 At least part of the steps may include multiple sub-steps or multiple stages. These sub-steps or stages are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times. The execution order of these sub-steps or stages is not necessarily sequential, but can be executed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least part of the sub-steps or stages of other steps.

[0081] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0082] The above embodiments only express several implementation methods of the embodiments of the present application. The descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, but they should not be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the embodiments of the present application, several variations and improvements can be made, which all fall within the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the patent of the embodiments of the present application shall be based on the attached claims.

Claims

1. A touch panel, characterized in that: include: substrate; A plurality of conductive members are spaced apart and arranged on the surface of the substrate; A plurality of touch electrodes are spaced apart on the surface of the substrate, the touch electrodes being connected to the conductive members in a one-to-one correspondence; wherein the touch electrodes are configured to generate corresponding induced electrical signals according to a user's touch operation, and the impedance of the touch electrodes is greater than the impedance of the conductive member; A plurality of touch lines are connected to the conductive elements in a one-to-one correspondence to output the induced electrical signals generated by the touch electrodes.

2. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein: The edge of the touch electrode overlaps the corresponding inner wall of the conductive member, and the inner wall of the conductive member is the side wall of the conductive member close to the touch electrode.

3. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein: The conductive member is a closed ring structure and surrounds the corresponding touch electrode. The top width of the longitudinal section of the conductive member is greater than the bottom width. The longitudinal section is a section perpendicular to the extension direction of the ring structure.

4. The touch panel according to claim 3, wherein: The dimension of the side of the top of the conductive member close to the touch electrode protruding from the bottom is smaller than the dimension of the side of the top of the conductive member far from the touch electrode protruding from the bottom.

5. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein: The conductive element includes a main body layer and a first contact layer, wherein the first contact layer is provided on a side of the main body layer away from the substrate and connected to the main body layer; The impedance of the main body layer is smaller than the impedance of the first contact layer, and the elasticity of the main body layer is smaller than the elasticity of the first contact layer.

6. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein: The conductive element includes a main body layer, a first contact layer and a second contact layer, wherein the first contact layer and the second contact layer are respectively provided on both sides of the main body layer in the thickness direction and are respectively connected to the main body layer; The impedance of the main body layer is smaller than the impedance of the first contact layer and smaller than the impedance of the second contact layer, and the elasticity of the main body layer is smaller than the elasticity of the first contact layer and smaller than the elasticity of the second contact layer.

7. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein: The conductive element includes a main body layer and a second contact layer, wherein the second contact layer is provided on a side of the main body layer close to the substrate and connected to the main body layer; The impedance of the main body layer is smaller than the impedance of the second contact layer, and the elasticity of the main body layer is smaller than the elasticity of the second contact layer.

8. The touch panel according to claim 6, wherein: The main body layer, the first contact layer and the second contact layer are made of different materials. The main body layer is made of at least one of aluminum and molybdenum, and the first contact layer and the second contact layer are made of at least one of titanium and molybdenum.

9. The touch panel according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein: The edges of the touch electrodes overlap the side walls of the corresponding main body layer of the conductive element.

10. The touch panel according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: The width of the first contact layer is greater than the width of the main layer.

11. The touch panel according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: Also includes: an insulating layer, disposed on the top of the conductive member and the surface of the touch electrode, wherein the insulating layer located on the top of the conductive member is provided with a via hole; Wherein, the touch wiring is connected to the corresponding conductive member through the via hole.

12. The touch panel according to claim 10, wherein: The insulating layer disposed on the top of the same conductive component is provided with a plurality of via holes, and the plurality of via holes are connected to the same touch wiring.

13. A method for preparing a touch panel, characterized in that: include: forming a plurality of conductive elements spaced apart from each other on the surface of the substrate; A plurality of touch electrodes are formed on the surface of the substrate, wherein the touch electrodes are connected to the conductive members in a one-to-one correspondence, the touch electrodes are used to generate corresponding induced electrical signals according to a user's touch operation, and the impedance of the touch electrodes is greater than the impedance of the conductive members; A plurality of touch lines are formed; the touch lines are connected to the conductive members in a one-to-one correspondence to output the induced electrical signals generated by the touch electrodes.

14. The method for preparing a touch panel according to claim 13, wherein: The conductive member is a closed ring structure, and the top width of the longitudinal section of the conductive member is greater than the bottom width, and the longitudinal section is a section perpendicular to the extension direction of the ring structure. The plurality of touch electrodes spaced apart from each other are formed on the surface of the substrate, including: Electrode materials are evaporated on the surface of the substrate on which the conductive elements are formed, so as to form a plurality of touch electrodes arranged in an array.

15. The method for preparing a touch panel according to claim 14, wherein: The dimension of the top of the conductive member protruding from the bottom on the side close to the touch electrode is smaller than the dimension of the top of the conductive member protruding from the bottom on the side away from the touch electrode; The step of evaporating the electrode material on the surface of the substrate on which the conductive member is formed comprises: Vapor-depositing an electrode material on the entire surface of the substrate on which the conductive element is formed, so that the electrode material is deposited on the inner wall of the conductive element and the outer wall of the conductive element is free of the electrode material; Among them, the electrode material deposited on the inner wall of the conductive part and the surface of the substrate together constitute the touch electrode, the inner wall of the conductive part is the side wall of the conductive part close to the corresponding touch electrode, and the outer wall of the conductive part is the side wall of the conductive part away from the corresponding touch electrode.

16. The method for preparing a touch panel according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that: Before forming the plurality of touch lines, the method further includes: forming an insulating layer on surfaces of the touch electrode and the conductive member; The forming of multiple touch lines includes: Etching the insulating layer on the surface of the conductive member to form a through hole; A wiring material is deposited in the through hole and on the surface of the insulating layer to form a touch wiring and a via hole for connecting the touch wiring and the conductive member.

17. An electronic device, characterized in that: A touch panel comprising the touch panel according to any one of claims 1 to 12, or a touch panel prepared by the method for preparing a touch panel according to any one of claims 13 to 16.

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