Touch device and method of manufacturing the same

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a touch device, which includes a touch panel and a cover plate. The cover plate is disposed on the touch panel. The cover plate includes a plurality of microstructures on a surface thereof away from the touch panel. The plurality of microstructures are formed by a photolithography process and a wet etching process. The plurality of microstructures have microscale structures or nanoscale structures. The present disclosure also provides a manufacturing method of the touch device. The touch device provided by the present disclosure can have relatively good stability and relatively low process cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to an electronic device and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a touch device and a method of manufacturing the same. Background Technology

[0002] Touchscreen devices are now widely used in various electronic products, allowing users to operate them with their fingers or styluses. However, touchscreen devices can generate static electricity during use, which can interfere with the user's touch operations, leading to decreased sensitivity or touch failure.

[0003] Current technical challenges in addressing static electricity include the use of antistatic coatings, conductive films, or static-releasing materials. Antistatic coatings suffer significant performance degradation in high-temperature or high-humidity environments, making it difficult to maintain uniformity on large panels. Conductive films are relatively complex to manufacture and also struggle to maintain uniformity on large panels. While static-releasing materials offer better antistatic performance, they also come with relatively high manufacturing costs. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This disclosure provides a touch device that, in addition to having relatively good antistatic properties, also has relatively good stability and relatively low manufacturing costs.

[0005] The disclosed touch device includes a touch panel and a cover plate. The cover plate is disposed on the touch panel. The surface of the cover plate away from the touch panel includes multiple microstructures, which are formed using photolithography and wet etching processes, and the multiple microstructures have micron-scale or nanoscale structures.

[0006] In one embodiment disclosed herein, the multiple microstructures have a honeycomb structure, a striped structure, or a dotted structure in the top view of the touch device.

[0007] In one embodiment disclosed herein, the plurality of microstructures have an arithmetic mean roughness (Ra) of 0.15 μm to 0.30 μm, a ten-point mean roughness (Rz) of 1.2 μm to 1.8 μm, and an average width (Rsm) of the roughness profile of the plurality of microstructures of 40 μm to 80 μm.

[0008] In one embodiment disclosed herein, the multiple microstructures have a depth of 500 nanometers to 5 micrometers.

[0009] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the cover plate is made of soda-lime glass.

[0010] This disclosure provides a method for manufacturing a touch device, which, in addition to having relatively good antistatic properties, also has relatively good stability and relatively low processing costs.

[0011] The method for manufacturing a touch device disclosed herein includes the following steps: Providing a cover plate material layer; Performing photolithography and wet etching processes on the cover plate material layer to form a cover plate with multiple microstructures; Forming the cover plate on a touch panel to form a touch device.

[0012] In one embodiment disclosed herein, the steps of performing photolithography and wet etching on the cover plate material layer include the following steps: A photoresist layer is formed on the cover plate material layer. The photoresist layer is subjected to an exposure process and a development process to form a photoresist pattern. The cover plate material layer is then subjected to a wet etching process using the photoresist pattern.

[0013] In one embodiment disclosed herein, before forming the cover plate on the touch panel, the surface roughness of the multiple microstructures of the cover plate is detected to meet the following preset standards: (1) the arithmetic mean roughness (Ra) of the multiple microstructures is 0.15 μm to 0.30 μm; (2) the ten-point mean roughness (Rz) of the multiple microstructures is 1.2 μm to 1.8 μm; and (3) the average width (Rsm) of the roughness profile of the multiple microstructures is 40 μm to 80 μm.

[0014] In one embodiment disclosed herein, the surface haze value of the cover plate increases by no more than 3% relative to the surface haze value of the cover plate material layer, and the gloss of the cover plate changes by no more than 5% relative to the gloss of the cover plate material layer.

[0015] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the etching solution used in the wet etching process includes hydrofluoric acid, and the concentration of hydrofluoric acid is from 2 wt% to 10 wt%.

[0016] Based on the above, in the touch device and manufacturing method disclosed herein, multiple microstructures are formed by processing the surface of the cover plate using photolithography and wet etching processes. Compared with technologies using antistatic coatings, conductive films, or static discharge materials, this method not only has relatively good antistatic effects but also relatively good stability and relatively low process costs. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for manufacturing a touch device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figures 2A to 2C This is a partial top view of the cover plate of a touch device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 3 This is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of a touch device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The following examples, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, are provided to illustrate this disclosure in detail; however, the examples provided are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, the accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only, and certain elements in the drawings are not drawn to scale. For ease of understanding, the same elements will be identified using the same symbols in the following description.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for manufacturing a touch device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figures 2A to 2C This is a partial top view of the cover plate of a touch device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Please refer to Figure 1 In this embodiment, the touch device can be formed by performing the following steps, but this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0023] Step (1): Provide a cover plate material layer.

[0024] The material of the cover plate material layer may include, for example, glass. In this embodiment, the material of the cover plate material layer is soda-lime glass, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. More specifically, a suitable material for the cover plate material layer may be selected depending on the application scenario and / or requirements. For example, the material of the cover plate material layer may also include aluminosilicate glass, lithium aluminosilicate glass, aluminosilicate glass, quartz glass, or other transparent glass, but this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0025] Step (2): Select etching equipment.

[0026] In this embodiment, the etching equipment may be selected based on the size and / or material of the cover plate material layer, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the etching equipment for etching the cover plate material layer may be selected based on the size of the cover plate material layer (e.g., 50 inches). In some embodiments, the etching equipment may include a wet etching machine, an automatic coating machine, an automatic exposure machine, an automatic developing machine, or a combination thereof, but this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0027] Step (3): Select an etching solution.

[0028] In this embodiment, the etching equipment can be selected according to the size and / or material of the cover plate material layer, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, when the material of the cover plate material layer is soda-lime glass, the etching solution may include hydrofluoric acid. In some embodiments, the concentration of the hydrofluoric acid may be 2 wt% to 10 wt%, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. Additionally, when the material of the cover plate material layer is soda-lime glass, the etching solution may also include hydrochloric acid and phosphoric acid, wherein hydrochloric acid acts as a corrosion promoter and phosphoric acid acts as a corrosion inhibitor. In some embodiments, the concentration of the hydrochloric acid may be 2 wt% to 10 wt%, and the concentration of the phosphoric acid may be 0.1 wt% to 1 wt%, but this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0029] Step (4): Perform photolithography and wet etching on the cover plate material layer to form a cover plate with multiple microstructures.

[0030] In this embodiment, the cover plate material layer is placed in the etching equipment selected in step (2), and the surface of the cover plate material layer is wet-etched using the etching solution selected in step (3) so that the etched surface of the cover plate material layer has multiple microstructures.

[0031] In some embodiments, the method of performing photolithography and wet etching on the cover plate material layer can be formed by performing the following steps, but this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0032] Step (4-1): Form a photoresist layer on the cover plate material layer.

[0033] In some embodiments, the photoresist layer can be formed on the surface of the cover plate material layer by a coating process, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the photoresist layer can be formed on the surface of the cover plate material layer by, for instance, a spin coating process, a spray coating process, a slot coating process, or other suitable coating processes.

[0034] Step (4-2): Expose the photoresist layer.

[0035] In some embodiments, a photoresist exposure machine can be used to expose the photoresist layer to transfer the photoresist pattern onto the photoresist layer, but this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0036] Step (4-3): Perform a development process on the photoresist layer.

[0037] In some embodiments, the photoresist layer subjected to the exposure process may be developed to form the desired photoresist pattern.

[0038] Step (4-4): Use photoresist pattern to perform wet etching process on cover plate material layer.

[0039] In some embodiments, a wet etching process can be performed on the surface of the cover material layer exposed by the photoresist pattern to remove a portion of the cover material layer and form multiple microstructures. In this embodiment, the etching solution used in the wet etching process includes hydrofluoric acid, and the concentration of hydrofluoric acid is from 2 wt% to 10 wt%. In some embodiments, the etching time in the wet etching process is from 30 seconds to 90 seconds.

[0040] Proceed to step (4-5): Remove the photoresist pattern.

[0041] After a wet etching process is performed on the cover plate material layer, a stripping process can be performed to remove the photoresist pattern, but this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0042] In this embodiment, the cover plate formed in step (4) may have a micron- or nanon-scale texture. In some embodiments, the microstructure of the cover plate may have a groove structure with a depth of 500 nanometers to 5 micrometers. For details, please refer to... Figures 2A to 2C The diagram illustrates that the multiple microstructures MS of the cover plate 100 can each have a honeycomb structure, a striped structure, and a dotted structure in its top view direction Z. Through the design of these structures, the frictional area between the cover plate and the target object can be reduced, thereby effectively reducing the generation of static electricity. Furthermore, the multiple microstructures MS of the cover plate 100 can be highly hydrophobic due to the lotus effect, which can reduce the accumulation of moisture and / or humidity on the surface of the cover plate 100. Moreover, the multiple microstructures MS of the cover plate 100 can further reduce the generation of static electricity by dispersing the energy generated by friction through the randomness of their texture.

[0043] Step (5): Inspect multiple microstructures of the cover plate.

[0044] In some embodiments, the cover plate formed in step (4) may be selectively subjected to relevant inspections. Specifically, the surface roughness of the multiple microstructures of the cover plate may be inspected to ensure that it meets a preset standard. If not, the process parameters in the above steps are adjusted in step (6a) to make the surface roughness of the multiple microstructures meet the preset standard. In this embodiment, the arithmetic mean roughness (Ra) of the multiple microstructures is 0.15 μm to 0.30 μm, the ten-point mean roughness (Rz) of the multiple microstructures is 1.2 μm to 1.8 μm, and the average width (Rsm) of the roughness profile of the multiple microstructures is 40 μm to 80 μm.

[0045] Perform step (6a): Adjust the process parameters in step (3) and / or step (4).

[0046] As mentioned above, in some embodiments, if the surface roughness of multiple microstructures of the cover plate does not meet the preset standard, the concentration of the etching solution in step (3), the process temperature in step (4), and / or the process time in step (4) can be adjusted so that the surface roughness of multiple microstructures meets the preset standard.

[0047] Perform step (6b): Form a cover plate on the touch panel to form a touch device, and test the surface electrostatic value of the touch device.

[0048] In some embodiments, a cover plate may be disposed on the touch electrodes and display panel in the touch panel to protect the touch electrodes and display panel. For example, the cover plate may include dustproof, scratch-resistant, and water vapor intrusion-resistant properties to reduce the impact of the external environment on the touch electrodes and display panel. In some embodiments, the cover plate may be light-transmitting. In this embodiment, after the cover plate after step (5) or the cover plate after step (6a) is formed on the touch panel, the antistatic properties of the cover plate surface are evaluated.

[0049] It is worth noting that, in order to comprehensively evaluate the antistatic properties of the cover plate surface, haze and gloss values ​​were also measured. In some embodiments, the surface haze value of the cover plate formed after the above steps increased by no more than 3%, and its gloss changed by no more than 5%.

[0050] This completes the manufacturing method of the touch device in this embodiment, but the manufacturing method of the touch device disclosed herein is not limited thereto.

[0051] Figure 3 This is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of a touch device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The following utilizes... Figure 3 The touch device 10 of this embodiment will be introduced here, and the repeated technical content will not be repeated here.

[0052] In this embodiment, the touch device 10 includes a cover plate 100 and a touch panel 200.

[0053] The cover plate 100 is disposed, for example, on the touch panel 200. In this embodiment, the surface of the cover plate 100 away from the touch panel 200 includes a plurality of microstructures MS. The plurality of microstructures MS of the cover plate 100 are formed using photolithography and wet etching processes, and the plurality of microstructures MS of the cover plate 100 have micron-scale or nano-scale structures.

[0054] In some embodiments, the multiple microstructures MS of the cover plate 100 have a honeycomb structure, a striped structure, or a dotted structure in the top view Z direction of the touch device 200.

[0055] In some embodiments, the plurality of microstructures MS of the cover plate 100 have an arithmetic mean roughness (Ra) of 0.15 μm to 0.30 μm, a ten-point mean roughness (Rz) of 1.2 μm to 1.8 μm, and an average width (Rsm) of the roughness profile of the plurality of microstructures MS of the cover plate 100 of 40 μm to 80 μm.

[0056] In some embodiments, the multiple microstructures MS of the cover plate 100 are groove structures with a depth of 500 nanometers to 5 micrometers.

[0057] In some embodiments, the material of the cover plate 100 includes soda-lime glass, but this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0058] The touch panel 200 may include, for example, a display panel (not shown) and touch electrodes (not shown). The display panel may include, for example, a liquid crystal display panel, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. The touch electrodes may be, for example, an indium tin oxide thin film or an indium tin oxide thin film formed on glass, to form, for example, a thin film structure (Glass-Film; GF) or a glass structure (Glass-Glass; GG) with the cover plate 100, but this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0059] Experimental Example

[0060] The following experimental examples will illustrate this disclosure, but these examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0061] In this experimental example, the cover plate of Example 1 and the cover plate of Comparative Example 1 are both made of soda-lime glass.

[0062] In this experimental example, the cover plates of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 were rubbed, and the potential of the cover plates after rubbing was measured to test the generation of static electricity. The ambient temperature during the test was 23°C ± 2°C, and the ambient humidity was below 30%. Furthermore, during the static electricity test, the pressure was 0.7 kg to 1.0 kg, the moving distance during pressure application was 10 cm, and 60 back-and-forth tests were completed within 40 seconds. When performing static electricity tests on the cover plates of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1, the initial electrostatic potential was recorded using a surface electrostatic meter, and the measured electrostatic potential was recorded after back-and-forth tests in a designated area. The maximum value was recorded.

[0063] In addition, in order to comprehensively evaluate the antistatic performance of the cover plate of Example 1 and the cover plate of Comparative Example 1, the haze and gloss of the cover plate of Example 1 and the cover plate of Comparative Example 1 were measured in this experimental example to ensure that the antistatic performance was tested under the same conditions.

[0064] The surface roughness and surface static electricity of the cover plate of Example 1 and the cover plate of Comparative Example 1 were measured below, and the experimental data are summarized in Table 1.

[0065] [Table 1]

[0066]

[0067] As shown in Table 1, because the cover plate of Example 1 undergoes a photolithography process, microstructures can be formed in a designated area (the surface of the cover plate material layer exposed by the photoresist layer), which can effectively improve the arithmetic mean roughness (Ra), ten-point mean roughness (Rz), and / or the average width of the roughness profile (Rsm) of the formed cover plate surface. Based on this, after undergoing triboelectric charging, the electrostatic potential of the cover plate of Example 1 can be effectively reduced by about 8% compared to the cover plate of Comparative Example 1.

[0068] In summary, in the manufacturing method of the touch device provided in one embodiment of this disclosure, the surface of the cover plate is treated by photolithography and wet etching processes. Compared with the use of antistatic coatings, conductive films or static discharge materials, it not only has a relatively good antistatic effect, but also reduces the process cost.

[0069] In addition, the cover plate formed by photolithography and wet etching processes has a micron-scale or nano-scale structure, which can effectively avoid the technical problem of uneven coating caused by antistatic coating or conductive film, so that the cover plate can maintain relatively good stability during long-term use.

[0070] Furthermore, the microstructure of the cover plate formed by the manufacturing method of the touch device provided in one embodiment of the present disclosure is directly integrated onto its surface, which does not require the formation of an additional protective layer and has relatively good durability.

[0071] Furthermore, the manufacturing method of the touch device provided in one embodiment of this disclosure utilizes photolithography and wet etching processes to form the microstructure of the cover plate. This alters the physical properties of the cover plate material, rather than forming coatings with different chemical properties, such as antistatic coatings, conductive films, or static discharge materials. Therefore, the cover plate formed using the manufacturing method of the touch device provided in one embodiment of this disclosure exhibits relatively good stability under high-frequency or harsh environments.

[0072] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A touch device, characterized in that, include: Touch panel; as well as A cover plate is provided on the touch panel. The cover plate has multiple microstructures on its surface away from the touch panel. These microstructures are formed using photolithography and wet etching processes, and they have micron-scale or nanoscale structures.

2. The touch device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of microstructures have a honeycomb structure, a striped structure or a dotted structure in the top view of the touch device.

3. The touch device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of microstructures have an arithmetic mean roughness Ra of 0.15 micrometers to 0.30 micrometers, the plurality of microstructures have a ten-point mean roughness Rz of 1.2 micrometers to 1.8 micrometers, and the plurality of microstructures have an average width Rsm of a roughness profile of 40 micrometers to 80 micrometers.

4. The touch device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of microstructures have a depth of 500 nanometers to 5 micrometers.

5. The touch device according to claim 1, wherein the material of the cover plate includes soda-lime glass.

6. A method for manufacturing a touch device, characterized in that, include: Provide a cover plate material layer; The cover plate material layer is subjected to photolithography and wet etching processes to form a cover plate with multiple microstructures; as well as The cover plate is formed on the touch panel to form the touch device.

7. The method for manufacturing a touch device according to claim 6, wherein the steps of performing the photolithography process and the wet etching process on the cover plate material layer include: A photoresist layer is formed on the cover plate material layer; The photoresist layer is subjected to an exposure process and a development process to form a photoresist pattern; as well as The wet etching process is performed on the cover plate material layer using the photoresist pattern.

8. The method of manufacturing a touch device according to claim 6, wherein before forming the cover plate on the touch panel, the surface roughness of the plurality of microstructures of the cover plate is detected to meet the following preset standard: (1) The arithmetic mean roughness Ra of the plurality of microstructures is 0.15 micrometers to 0.30 micrometers; (2) The ten-point average roughness Rz of the multiple microstructures is 1.2 micrometers to 1.8 micrometers; (3) The average width Rsm of the roughness profile of the plurality of microstructures is 40 micrometers to 80 micrometers.

9. The method for manufacturing a touch device according to claim 6, wherein the surface haze value of the cover plate increases by no more than 3% relative to the surface haze value of the cover plate material layer, and the gloss of the cover plate changes by no more than 5% relative to the gloss of the cover plate material layer.

10. The method for manufacturing a touch device according to claim 6, wherein the etching solution used in the wet etching process comprises hydrofluoric acid, and the concentration of the hydrofluoric acid is from 2 wt% to 10 wt%.

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