Nanowire Touch Panel Etching for Narrow Bezel Yield

The patent replaces the mechanical laser processing system with a chemical etching system. Instead of using laser beams to physically remove material, the invention employs chemical etchants to selectively remove metal nanowires in peripheral regions, forming patterns through chemical reactions. This substitution eliminates the need for expensive laser equipment and precision mechanical control mechanisms, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency while maintaining pattern precision.

The patent changes the etching parameters by introducing a multi-step etching process with different etchants. The first etchant selectively removes metal nanowires from peripheral regions, while the second etchant processes the conductive layer. By controlling etching time, temperature, and chemical composition, the process achieves fine circuit patterns without requiring high-precision mechanical control, thus resolving the contradiction between precision and efficiency.

The patent merges multiple separate etching operations into a unified chemical etching process. Instead of performing laser processing followed by separate alignment steps for different layers, the invention uses chemical etching to simultaneously define patterns in both the metal nanowire layer and the conductive layer. The etching process naturally aligns features across layers through chemical selectivity, eliminating the need for repeated mechanical alignment operations and reducing cumulative alignment errors.

The patent introduces a non-conductive material as an intermediary layer between the metal nanowire layer and the conductive layer. This intermediary serves as a reference structure that guides the etching process, ensuring consistent positioning and alignment. The non-conductive material remains during etching to form an isolation structure, providing a stable reference frame that prevents alignment drift between different processing steps.

The patent replaces the high-energy laser beam with a chemical etching system that operates at lower energy levels. The chemical etchants selectively dissolve metal nanowires through chemical reactions rather than thermal ablation, significantly reducing the risk of substrate damage. This substitution eliminates the point-like thermal damage caused by focused laser beams while maintaining precise pattern definition through chemical selectivity.

The patent converts the potential harmful effect of chemical etchants into a beneficial selective removal process. By carefully selecting etchants with specific reactivity toward metal nanowires versus the substrate and non-conductive material, the process achieves precise pattern definition while the non-conductive material and substrate remain intact. The chemical selectivity transforms what could be a damaging process into a controlled, selective etching method that protects the substrate from damage.

The patent merges multiple sequential alignment and etching steps into a single chemical etching operation. The chemical etching process simultaneously defines patterns in the metal nanowire layer and the conductive layer through selective removal, eliminating the need for repeated alignment operations. This consolidation reduces the manufacturing cycle time while maintaining pattern definition accuracy through the inherent selectivity of the chemical process.

The patent performs preliminary preparation by depositing the non-conductive material in specific regions before the etching process. This preliminary action creates predetermined isolation structures that guide the subsequent etching process, ensuring that metal nanowires are removed only from intended peripheral regions. By pre-establishing the etching template through non-conductive material deposition, the process eliminates the need for repeated alignment steps during etching, thereby reducing manufacturing time while maintaining precision.