Touch Sensor Nanowire Silver Composite Narrow Bezel Traces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current touch sensors with silver paste peripheral circuits face challenges in achieving flexibility and stability required for narrow bezel designs, as they often compromise on line width and spacing, leading to increased trace resistance and potential peeling issues during bending.
Innovation Solution
A touch sensor design featuring a metal nanowire layer, transitional insulating portion, and silver layer, where the metal nanowire layer forms electrode and wiring portions with a silver layer stacked on top, providing direct electrical connection without additional overlapping structures, and a manufacturing method that includes etching and surface treatment processes to achieve small line widths and improved stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If silver paste is used as material for peripheral circuits to achieve flexibility, then the touch panel can be bent, but the line width and spacing increase leading to higher trace resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite structure combining metal nanowires and silver paste. The metal nanowire layer provides flexible conductivity while the silver paste layer forms the peripheral circuits. This composite approach allows achieving both flexibility and low trace resistance by combining the advantages of both materials - the nanowires enable bending without cracking while the silver paste provides stable electrical connection with controlled resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs thin film structures for the peripheral circuits, replacing traditional thick silver paste traces with optimized thin silver layers deposited on metal nanowire patterns. This thin film approach reduces the overall thickness and improves flexibility while maintaining electrical performance through optimized deposition processes and pattern designs.
2Ease of manufacture
If silver paste is used for peripheral circuits to simplify manufacturing, then the process is easier, but stability during bending deteriorates causing peeling issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a multi-layer composite structure with metal nanowires as the base layer and silver paste as the circuit-forming layer. The nanowire network provides a flexible substrate that prevents the silver paste from peeling during bending, while the silver layer maintains electrical continuity. This composite design solves the peeling issue by distributing mechanical stress across layers with different mechanical properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the conductive path into two functional layers: the metal nanowire layer that handles mechanical flexibility and the silver paste layer that provides stable electrical connection. This segmentation allows each layer to optimize its specific function - the nanowires accommodate bending through their network structure while the silver paste maintains stable composition and low resistance.
3Area of stationary object
If peripheral circuits are designed in the peripheral area to meet narrow bezel requirements, then the bezel size is reduced, but the available space for circuits is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses thin film deposition techniques to create peripheral circuits with minimal thickness, allowing the circuits to occupy reduced space in the peripheral area. The thin film structure enables high-density routing of traces within the constrained bezel area, achieving narrow bezel design while maintaining complete circuit functionality through optimized trace spacing and routing patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes various parameters including trace width, spacing, and layer thickness to maximize circuit density within the peripheral area. By carefully controlling the thickness of the silver paste layer and the spacing between traces, the design achieves narrow bezel dimensions while maintaining electrical performance and manufacturing feasibility through parameter optimization.
Data Source
AI summary
A touch sensor having a visible area and a peripheral area includes a substrate, a metal nanowire layer, a transitional insulating portion, and a silver layer. The metal nanowire layer is disposed on the substrate and defines a plurality of electrode portions corresponding to the visible area and a plurality of wiring portions corresponding to the peripheral area, in which the adjacent wiring portions are spaced apart by a spaced region. The transitional insulating portion is disposed in the spaced region and adjacent and connected to a sidewall of each of the wiring portions, and a gap is between two of the transitional insulating portions that are respectively connected to the adjacent wiring portions. The silver layer is disposed on an upper surface of the wiring portions, and the silver layer and the wiring portions together constitute a plurality of peripheral traces of the touch sensor.