Dry Etching Shadow Mask for Touch Screen Panel Exposure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current manufacturing processes for touch screen panels face challenges in achieving sufficient hardness and simplifying the production steps, particularly in forming exposure portions for electrical connections, which often require additional photo processes and increase costs.
Innovation Solution
A dry etching apparatus with a shadow mask is used to perform a dry etching process on a mother substrate, removing SiO2 from specific exposure portions using plasma, thereby eliminating the need for a photo process and enhancing the hardness of the touch screen panels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a photo process is used to form exposure portions, then the manufacturing precision is improved, but the device complexity and production cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the photo process from the manufacturing sequence by using a shadow mask that directly defines exposure portions through physical masking during dry etching. This eliminates the need for photoresist coating, photoexposure, and photoetching steps, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining precision through the shadow mask's geometric definition
Solution Approach 2:
The shadow mask serves as an intermediary element that directly transfers the exposure portion pattern to the substrate during dry etching. Instead of using light and photoresist as intermediaries, the shadow mask physically blocks the etching plasma to define exposure portions, simplifying the process while maintaining manufacturing precision
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple patterning processes are used, then the manufacturing precision is improved, but the productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the patterning function into the shadow mask itself, which is applied once during the dry etching process. This combines multiple separate patterning steps (photoresist application, exposure, development, etching) into a single integrated operation, thereby improving productivity while maintaining pattern precision through the pre-fabricated shadow mask design
Solution Approach 2:
The shadow mask is prepared in advance with the exact exposure portion patterns required, allowing the actual patterning to occur in a single step during dry etching. This preliminary preparation of the mask eliminates the need for multiple sequential patterning operations on the substrate, significantly improving production speed while maintaining precision
3Strength
If SiO2 is deposited using CVD, then the hardness is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies depositing SiO2 with a thickness of 50-200 nm, which is optimized to provide sufficient hardness and protective function. By controlling the thickness parameter within this range, the patent achieves the required hardness improvement while minimizing material consumption and manufacturing cost, as excessive thickness would increase cost without proportional benefit
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
This method simplifies the manufacturing process by removing the need for a photo process, increases the hardness of the touch screen panels beyond current standards, and reduces production costs by using a dry etching process with SiO2 deposited via CVD, ensuring effective electrical connections.
Implementation Method 1
performing a dry etching process using the dry etching apparatus, the dry etching apparatus having a shadow mask in which exposure windows are formed respectively corresponding to exposure portions of touch screen panels on the mother substrate
Implementation Method 2
depositing SiO2 on the mother substrate having the patterns formed thereon
Data Source
AI summary
A dry etching apparatus for performing dry etching in manufacture of a set of touch screen panels on a mother substrate, including a chamber, an upper electrode in the chamber at an upper portion thereof, the upper electrode configured to apply a high-frequency power source (RF) to the interior of the chamber, a lower electrode in the chamber at a lower portion thereof, the lower electrode configured to apply the high-frequency power source to the interior of the chamber, a gas injection port configured to inject a compound mixture gas into the chamber, an exhaust port configured to exhaust a reactive gas produced in the interior of the chamber, and a shadow mask disposed above a location on the lower electrode for the mother substrate for the touch screen panels, the shadow mask having a plurality of exposure windows respectively corresponding to a plurality of exposure portions to be formed.