Ultra-fine copper mesh for display and touch panel and method of manufacturing the same

• US 10,331,246 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2017
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ming-An Hsu
• Original Assignee: Ming-An Hsu
• Inventors: Hsu, Ming-An
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Binh X
• Application Number:
  US15/605,651
• Publication Number:
  US 20170351352A1
• Time in Patent Office: 761 Days
• Field of Search: 216 13, 216 16, 216 75, 216 76, 216 78, 216105
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04112 Electrode mesh in capacitive digitiser: electrode for touch sensing is formed of a mesh of very fine, normally metallic, interconnected lines that are almost invisible to see. This provides a quite large but transparent electrode surface, without need for ITO or similar transparent conductive material
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means

Abstract

The disclosure provides an ultra-fine copper mesh for a display and a touch panel, comprising a transparent substrate, having an upper surface and a lower surface with respect to the upper surface; and a first copper electrode layer comprising a first pure copper deposited film, having a top surface and a bottom surface with respect to the top surface, wherein the bottom surface of the first pure copper deposited film is disposed on the upper surface of the transparent substrate; and a first antireflective conductive film, disposed on the top surface of the first pure copper deposited film, the first antireflective conductive film comprises a cuprous oxide (Cu₂O). After the first antireflective conductive film is subjected to an exposure developing process, the first copper deposited film layer of the first copper electrode layer and the first antireflective conductive film are simultaneously subjected to an over-etching process on the transparent substrate to form together at least one mesh pattern.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing an ultra-fine copper mesh of a display and a touch panel, comprising the steps of:

a pure copper depositing step of depositing a pure copper deposited film on a transparent substrate;

a pure copper oxidation step of forming an oxide layer on the surface of the pure copper deposited film layer, the oxide layer comprising cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) and copper oxide (CuO);

a surface treatment step of removing copper oxide (CuO) in the oxide layer to form an antireflective conductive film containing only cuprous oxide (Cu₂O);

an exposure developing step of coating a photoresist (PR) to the antireflective conductive film and developing the photoresist (PR) to form a mesh pattern;

an over-etching step of over-etching the pure copper deposited film and the antireflective conductive film to form an ultra-fine copper mesh on the transparent substrate; and

a photoresist (PR) removal step of removing the photoresist (PR) on the antireflective conductive film,

wherein a mesh width of at least one of the ultra-fine copper mesh is between 0.5 micron and 20 microns.

2. A method of manufacturing an ultra-fine copper mesh of a display and a touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the pure copper deposited film step, the opposite surfaces of the transparent substrate are deposited separately the pure copper deposited film, and both surfaces of the pure copper deposited film are subjected simultaneously to the pure copper oxidation step, the surface treatment step, the exposure development step, the over-etching step, and the photoresist (PR) removal step.

3. A method of manufacturing an ultra-fine copper mesh of a display and a touch panel as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of junction oxidizing step of disposing a copper oxide composite film between the pure copper deposited film and the transparent substrate before the pure copper depositing step.

4. A method for producing an ultra-fine copper mesh of a display and a touch panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transparent substrate comprises one of glass, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), sapphire, tri-cellulose Acetate (TCA), cyclo olefin copolymer (COC), polyimide (PI).