Bundled Silver Micro-Wire Patterns for Touch Screen Conductivity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing transparent electrically-conductive articles with silver halide emulsions suffer from poor fidelity in replicating master circuit images, leading to reduced conductivity and performance in touch screen devices due to differences in feature dimensions between the master and copies.
Innovation Solution
The use of photosensitive black-and-white silver halide emulsions and image-forming processing chemistry to create electrically-conductive articles with bundled silver micro-wire patterns, ensuring improved conductivity, manufacturability, and robustness by maintaining specific dimensions and spacing in the silver wire patterns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional silver halide emulsion methods are used to replicate master circuit images, then manufacturing process is simple, but fidelity of circuit pattern replication is poor leading to reduced conductivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the silver wire pattern into bundled micro-wires (multiple thin wires grouped together) rather than using single thick wires. This segmentation allows better replication fidelity while maintaining electrical conductivity, as the bundled structure can more accurately follow the master circuit image patterns while still providing sufficient conductive pathways
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the conductive structure by specifying micro-wire dimensions (width of 1-20 micrometers, length of 1mm or more) and spacing ratios (0.5:1 to 2:1). These parameter changes enable improved pattern fidelity while maintaining optimal electrical conductivity through carefully controlled geometric characteristics
2Illumination intensity
If silver wire patterns are made thinner to improve transparency, then optical transparency is improved, but electrical conductivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple thin silver micro-wires into bundled patterns that function as a single conductive element. This combining approach maintains high transparency (since individual micro-wires are thin) while achieving sufficient conductivity through the collective effect of multiple parallel conductive pathways in each bundle
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite conductive structure where multiple micro-wires are bundled together with specific spacing relationships. This composite approach allows optimization of both optical properties (through thin individual components) and electrical properties (through collective conductive behavior of the bundle)
3Reliability
If feature dimensions in silver patterns are increased to improve conductivity, then electrical conductivity is improved, but fidelity to master circuit design is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the conductive pattern into bundled micro-wires, the patent achieves high fidelity replication of fine master circuit features while maintaining conductivity. The segmented structure can accurately follow complex master patterns at small scales while the bundled nature ensures sufficient conductive cross-section
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes specific parameters including micro-wire width (1-20 micrometers), length (1mm or more), and spacing ratios (0.5:1 to 2:1 between micro-wires). These controlled parameter changes enable high-fidelity replication while maintaining optimal electrical conductivity through carefully engineered geometric characteristics
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The approach results in electrically-conductive articles with enhanced electrical conductivity, fidelity to the original circuit design, and improved performance in touch screen devices by reducing manufacturing defects and maintaining optimal conductivity and transparency.
Implementation Method 1
imagewise exposing a conductive film element precursor that comprises: a transparent substrate comprising a first supporting side and an opposing second supporting side; and a photosensitive silver halide emulsion layer on at least the first supporting side, to radiation to provide, in the photosensitive silver halide emulsion layer on at least the first supporting side
Implementation Method 2
processing the latent silver metal electrode grid and the latent electrically-conductive silver connector wire pattern using at least solution physical development and silver halide fixing
Data Source
AI summary
Electrically-conductive articles are prepared to have electrically-conductive silver metal electrode grids and electrically-conductive silver connector wire patterns (BUS lines) on one or both supporting sides of a transparent substrate. The electrically-conductive silver connector wire patterns are designed with at least one silver main wire that comprises two or more adjacent silver micro-wires in bundled patterns. These bundled patterns and silver micro-wires are designed with specific dimensions and configurations to provide optimal fidelity (or correspondence) to the mask image used to provide such images in a silver halide emulsion layer. The electrically-conductive articles are provided by imagewise exposure, development, and fixing of corresponding silver halide-containing conductive film element precursors containing photosensitive silver halide emulsion layers. The electrically-conductive articles can be used are parts of various electronic devices including touch screen devices.