Ultra-thin Touch Panel Using Flexible Substrate and Mesh Electrodes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing touch panels are prone to damage and malfunction when bent or folded due to the use of indium tin oxide (ITO) sensing electrodes, which are not suitable for flexible and stretchable applications, and require a 2-glass structure, resulting in a thick and rigid display device.
Innovation Solution
An ultra-thin touch panel is fabricated using a flexible substrate with a polygonal mesh structure formed by oxygen plasma etching, where all sensing electrodes are patterned on one substrate, replacing ITO with graphene, carbon nanotubes, or metal wires, and an adhesive insulating layer, allowing for increased flexibility and stretchability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ITO sensing electrodes are used in existing touch panels, then electrical conductivity and transparency are achieved, but the touch panel becomes rigid and prone to cracking when bent or folded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter of the sensing electrode from ITO to graphene, carbon nanotubes, or metal wires. These alternative materials possess inherent flexibility and stretchability parameters that allow the electrode to deform without cracking, directly resolving the contradiction between maintaining electrical conductivity and achieving flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material structures where flexible substrates are combined with flexible electrode materials (graphene, carbon nanotubes, or metal wires). This composite approach creates a unified structure that maintains both electrical functionality and mechanical flexibility, eliminating the brittleness issue of ITO while preserving conductivity.
2Device complexity
If a 2-glass structure is used for touch panels, then sensing electrodes can be formed on separate substrates, but the display device becomes thick and hard
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the first and second sensing electrodes onto a single flexible substrate, eliminating the need for separate substrates. This consolidation reduces the overall device thickness and structural complexity while maintaining the capacitive sensing functionality through the adhesive insulating layer that electrically isolates the electrodes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes a flexible substrate with a thin-film structure that allows all sensing electrode layers to be integrated in a compact arrangement. This thin-film approach enables the 1-glass configuration to achieve both structural integration and reduced thickness, resolving the contradiction between device complexity and device dimension.
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 solution provides a flexible and stretchable touch panel that maintains electrical conductivity and mechanical strength, reducing thickness and preventing damage from bending, while enabling a 1-glass type mesh structure for enhanced display device flexibility.
Implementation Method 1
the flexible substrate is patterned in a shape corresponding to the first and second sensing electrodes by oxygen plasma etching to form a polygonal mesh structure
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are an ultra-thin touch panel and a method of fabricating the same. Particularly, the ultra-thin touch panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a flexible substrate, a plurality of first sensing electrodes arranged in a first direction on the flexible substrate, an adhesive insulating layer formed on the flexible substrate and the first sensing electrodes, and a plurality of second sensing electrodes arranged in a second direction, which intersects the first direction, on the flexible substrate and the adhesive insulating layer using a wet transfer method, wherein the flexible substrate is patterned in a shape corresponding to the first and second sensing electrodes by oxygen plasma etching to form a polygonal mesh structure.