Metal Wire Grid Etching with Protective Coating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing metal wire manufacturing methods, particularly etching processes, face challenges in controlling the shape and size of metal wires due to unwanted etching reactions, especially when producing small wires or wire grids with close spacing, leading to inconsistent pattern appearance and distance between adjacent wires.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the formation of a metal material layer on a substrate, followed by etching using a composite gas comprising an etching gas and a coating reaction gas to create a metal wire with a protective coating layer on its surface, ensuring directional etching and precise control over wire dimensions through inductively coupled plasma etching, and forming a metal wire grid with juxtaposed wires and a protective coating on their lateral side walls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional etching process is used to manufacture metal wires, then the etching process can remove unnecessary metal material, but the shape and size of metal wires cannot be precisely controlled due to unwanted etching reactions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a protective coating layer as an intermediary substance between the etching gas and the metal wire surface. This coating layer selectively protects the wire surface from unwanted etching reactions while allowing the etching process to proceed in controlled areas, thereby enabling precise control of wire shape and size.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes plasma parameters (temperature, pressure, gas composition) to control the etching process. By adjusting plasma conditions and using composite gas composition, the etching rate and selectivity are optimized to achieve precise wire dimensions while minimizing unwanted etching reactions.
2Manufacturing precision
If etching process is used to produce small wires or wire grids with close spacing, then the metal wires can be formed, but inconsistent pattern appearance and distance between adjacent wires occur
Solution Approach 1:
The protective coating layer acts as a mediator that stabilizes the etching process for closely spaced wires. It prevents lateral etching that would cause spacing variations, ensuring uniform wire spacing and consistent pattern appearance even for small wires with close spacing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies protective coating specifically to areas requiring protection during etching, such as wire surfaces and spacing regions. This localized protection ensures uniform etching across the entire wire grid structure, maintaining consistent pattern appearance and wire spacing.
3Reliability
If protective coating layer is formed on metal wire surface, then horizontal etching is prevented and wire integrity is maintained, but additional process steps are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the protective coating formation and etching processes into a single integrated plasma treatment step. The protective coating is formed in-situ during the etching process using composite gas, eliminating the need for separate coating and etching steps, thus maintaining wire integrity without significantly increasing process complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The plasma process serves multiple functions simultaneously: it forms the protective coating layer, performs the etching reaction, and controls the wire shape. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate process steps while ensuring wire integrity through protective coating formation.
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 approach ensures the formation of metal wires and grids with accurate size and shape, preventing horizontal etching and maintaining the integrity of the wire grid's polarization effect, resulting in higher precision and quality, especially for applications like wire grid polarizers.
Implementation Method 1
etching the metal material layer by an etching process to remove an unnecessary part of the metal material
Implementation Method 2
etching the metal material layer by using a composite gas comprising an etching gas and a coating reaction gas to form the metal wire and a protective coating layer on a surface of the metal wire
Implementation Method 3
performing an etching process on the metal material layer by using the photoresist pattern as a mask, wherein the etching process is an inductively coupled plasma etching process
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a metal wire, a method of manufacturing a metal wire grid, a wire grid polarizer, and an electronic device are provided. The method of manufacturing a metal wire includes: forming a metal material layer on a base substrate; etching the metal material layer by using a composite gas including an etching gas and a coating reaction gas to form the metal wire and a protective coating layer on a surface of the metal wire.