Flexible Touch Sensor With Buried Electrodes For Stress Dispersion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible touch sensors for flexible display devices are prone to damage due to bending stresses, necessitating the development of more robust sensors that can withstand such stresses.
Innovation Solution
A flexible touch sensor design featuring organic layers with recesses and conductive patterns, where driving and sensing electrodes are buried within the layers, and a bridge pattern connects adjacent electrodes, allowing for stress dispersion when the sensor is bent.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a flexible touch sensor is formed of flexible material, then the sensor can be integrated into flexible display devices, but the sensor is prone to damage due to bending stresses
Solution Approach 1:
The touch sensor is divided into multiple organic layers (first organic layer, second organic layer, third organic layer) with conductive patterns distributed across different layers. This segmentation allows bending stresses to be dispersed across multiple layers rather than concentrated in a single layer, improving resistance to bending damage while maintaining flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
Conductive patterns are arranged in three-dimensional space across multiple stacked organic layers. The driving lines and sensing lines extend in different directions and are positioned at different heights (Z-axis), creating a multi-layered capacitive structure that enhances mechanical robustness while preserving flexible form factor.
2Reliability
If conductive patterns are disposed in recesses of organic layers, then stress is dispersed when bent, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Recesses are pre-formed in the organic layers before the conductive patterns are deposited into them. This preliminary action of creating recesses allows for better stress management and pattern alignment during subsequent manufacturing steps, making the overall process more controllable despite the added complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Conductive patterns are nested within the recesses of organic layers, with multiple layers of organic material and conductive patterns stacked within each other. This nested structure optimizes space utilization and enhances stress dispersion while maintaining a compact design.
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 design enhances the robustness of flexible touch sensors against bending stress by dispersing stress across the organic layers, reducing the risk of damage during use.
Implementation Method 1
exposing a first portion of the first photosensitive organic layer to a first light to form a first organic layer
Data Source
AI summary
A touch sensor includes: a first organic layer including first recesses; first conductive patterns disposed in the first recesses; a second organic layer disposed on the first organic layer, the second organic layer covering at least some of the first conductive patterns and including second recesses; second conductive patterns disposed in the second recesses; and a third organic layer disposed on the second organic layer, the third organic layer covering at least some of the second conductive patterns. Some of the first and second conductive patterns form a driving line extending in a first direction. Some of the first and second conductive patterns form a sensing line extending in a second direction crossing the first direction. The touch sensor is configured to sense a touch based on a change in capacitance between the driving line and the sensing line.