Thin-sheet Glass Substrate Laminate for Touch Panels

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current thin-sheet glass substrates for touch panels face challenges in achieving 100% impermeability to gas or vapor, high transparency, and thin thickness while maintaining high performance and reliability, especially in the integration of display cells and touch panels, where the risk of fabrication issues and limitations in thin film materials at high temperatures are significant.

Innovation Solution

A method involving temporary attachment of a support and self-attachable adhesive film bases to a glass substrate, followed by etching and lamination with a cover glass or display panel, allowing for thinning and peeling processes to achieve a thin-sheet glass substrate laminate that is 100% impermeable and highly transparent, while enabling high-temperature processing for improved sensor performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Length of stationary object

If the glass substrate is thinned to reduce thickness, then the transparency is improved, but the glass becomes easily broken and requires a base film

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovethicknessVSAvoidbreakage resistance

Core Design Contradiction:

Length of stationary objectVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

A support is temporarily attached to the glass substrate before thinning to prevent breakage during the etching process. The support is removed after thinning is complete, allowing the glass to be handled carefully only when needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

A base film is introduced as an intermediary layer between the thinned glass substrate and the environment. This base film provides mechanical support and protection to the fragile thinned glass while allowing the glass to maintain its thin dimensions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Strength

If a base film is attached to thinned glass, then the breakage resistance is improved, but the transparency is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebreakage resistanceVSAvoidtransparency

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSIllumination intensity

Solution Approach 1:

An extremely thin base film is used to provide the necessary mechanical support while minimizing its impact on optical transparency. The film thickness is optimized to balance structural integrity with optical performance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

3Length of stationary object

If a thin film is used as sensor substrate, then the thickness is reduced, but high-temperature processing is required which limits the thin film

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovethicknessVSAvoidprocessing temperature

Core Design Contradiction:

Length of stationary objectVSTemperature

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of using a thin film substrate and attempting to make it heat-resistant, the invention inverts the approach by using a glass substrate that can withstand high temperatures and then thinning it after the high-temperature sensor fabrication is complete.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The glass substrate is thinned after the sensor fabrication process is complete, allowing high-temperature processing to be performed on the intact glass substrate without concern for thermal damage to a thin film.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Length of stationary object

If the on-cell manner is used to integrate display cell and touch panel, then the thickness is reduced, but the fabrication risk increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovethicknessVSAvoidfabrication reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Length of stationary objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The touch panel structure is segmented into a sensor substrate and a separate thin-sheet glass substrate. This allows the sensor substrate to be fabricated using conventional processes on a robust substrate, then the thin glass layer is attached to achieve the integrated on-cell appearance without the fabrication risks.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

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 results in a thin-sheet glass substrate laminate that is 100% impermeable to gas or vapor, offering high transparency and thin thickness, similar to the on-cell manner, while enhancing the reliability and performance of touch panels by reducing the need for additional film bases, thus addressing the limitations of existing technologies.

Implementation Method 1

thinning the glass substrate by etching another surface of the glass substrate

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectEtching:

Data Source

PatentUS8398873B2Thin-sheet glass substrate laminate and method of manufacturing the same

Publication Date: 2013.03.19 MICRO GIJUTSU KENKYUSHO KK

AI summary

There is provided a thin-sheet glass substrate laminate which is approximately 100% impermeable to gas or vapor and has a high transparency and a thin thickness, and a method of manufacturing the same. A support is temporarily attached to one surface of a glass substrate after forming a pattern P on the one surface, the glass substrate is thinned by etching another surface of the glass substrate, a film base is temporarily attached to the etched another surface, the temporarily attached support is peeled off from the one surface of the glass substrate, the one surface from which the support is peeled off is laminated to a surface of a cover glass, and the temporarily attached film base is peeled off from the another surface.