Room-Temperature PECVD DLC Coating for Transparent Touch Panels
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Solution Overview
Problem
DLC coatings for touch panels face issues with color difference and bond strength, which affect light transmittance and compatibility with substrates, and conventional methods are complex and costly, exceeding the heat tolerance of polymer materials.
Innovation Solution
A DLC coating is prepared using a PECVD method with hydrocarbon and silane monomers at room temperature, ensuring low color difference, high transparency, and strong bond strength, combined with an AF coating for enhanced scratch resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If DLC coating is applied to touch panels to improve wear resistance, then scratch resistance is improved, but color difference increases and light transmittance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the deposition parameters by using PECVD method at room temperature instead of high temperature CVD, and controls the carbon-to-silicon ratio in the coating composition. These parameter changes enable the coating to achieve both high scratch resistance and high light transmittance by optimizing the molecular structure and reducing coloration
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite DLC coating by combining carbon-containing monomers with silicon-containing monomers. This composite structure integrates the hardness and wear resistance of carbon with the transparency and adhesion enhancement provided by silicon, resolving the contradiction between scratch resistance and light transmittance
2Strength
If conventional high temperature deposition method is used to prepare DLC coating, then coating hardness is improved, but substrate material is damaged due to excessive temperature
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the thermal energy-based conventional CVD method with a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method that uses electromagnetic field energy. This substitution allows coating formation at room temperature by utilizing plasma activation to break chemical bonds and enable deposition without high thermal input, thus protecting temperature-sensitive substrate materials
Solution Approach 2:
The patent fundamentally changes the deposition temperature parameter from high temperature (conventional CVD) to room temperature (PECVD). This parameter change is achieved by introducing plasma enhancement that enables chemical reactions and film formation at low temperatures, maintaining coating hardness while protecting polymer substrates from thermal damage
3Reliability
If multiple discharge modes are combined to prepare silicon-doped DLC coating, then coating performance is improved, but equipment complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of multiple discharge modes into a single PECVD system. By using plasma enhancement, the method combines the benefits of chemical vapor deposition and plasma activation in one integrated process, eliminating the need for separate equipment while achieving superior coating performance with good adhesion, uniformity, and controlled composition
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 DLC coating achieves low color difference, high transparency, and improved bond strength, facilitating industrial production and providing superior scratch resistance for touch panels.
Implementation Method 1
A DLC coating is prepared using a PECVD method with hydrocarbon and silane monomers at room temperature
Implementation Method 2
a plasma reactor for forming a DLC coating by deposition through a PECVD method
Data Source
AI summary
A DLC coating and a preparation method and device therefor, a composite coating and a coated product. The DLC coating is obtained by the deposition of a hydrocarbon monomer and a silane monomer via a PECVD method. A hydrocarbon monomer and a silane monomer may undergo reaction and deposition at room temperature to form a coating, such that the influence of a relatively high temperature of a conventional coating manner on the performance of a substrate is effectively avoided. The formed DLC coating has the characteristics of a low color difference, high transparency and high bonding strength; and a preparation method therefor is simple, which is conductive to process production. Moreover, a composite coating obtained by depositing an AF coating on the DLC coating has the characteristics of a low color difference, high transparency, and better scratch resistance, and is particularly suitable for coated products such as a touch panel.