Capacitive touch screen

• US 8,174,510 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2009
• Issued: 05/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Parade Technologies, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Inventors: Polishchuk, Igor, Grivna, Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Geisy, Adam R
• Application Number:
  US12/413,580
• Publication Number:
  US 20120044187A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,136 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/174, 178/18.05, 178/18.06, 178/18.07
• US Class Current: 345/174
• 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 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Abstract

One embodiment in accordance with the invention can include a capacitive touch screen. The capacitive touch screen includes a substantially transparent substrate and a plurality of electrodes formed on the substantially transparent substrate. The plurality of electrodes are substantially parallel in a first direction and each of the plurality of electrodes includes a layer of light altering material.

Claims

1. A capacitive touch screen comprising:

a substantially transparent substrate;

a first plurality of electrodes formed on said substantially transparent substrate, said first plurality of electrodes are substantially parallel in a first direction;

a second plurality of electrodes formed substantially perpendicular to the first plurality of electrodes; and

a solid layer of light altering material formed between a corresponding one of the first plurality of electrodes and a corresponding one of the second plurality of electrodes.

2. A capacitive touch screen comprising:

a substantially transparent substrate;

a plurality of electrodes formed on said substantially transparent substrate, said plurality of electrodes being substantially parallel in a first direction,

wherein each of said plurality of electrodes includes a solid layer of light altering material and

wherein each of said plurality of electrodes is for aligning with a gap between pixels of a display device.

3. The capacitive touch screen of claim 2, wherein said layer of light altering material comprises an anti-reflective material.

4. The capacitive touch screen of claim 3, wherein said anti-reflective material comprises a dielectric.

5. The capacitive touch screen of claim 2, wherein said plurality of electrodes comprises a first subset of electrodes coupled together and a second subset of electrodes coupled together, wherein said first subset of electrodes and said second subset of electrodes are interleaved.

6. The capacitive touch screen of claim 2, wherein said layer of light altering material comprises a light absorbing material.

7. The capacitive touch screen of claim 6, wherein said light absorbing material comprises a visible light absorbing photo resist material.

8. The capacitive touch screen of claim 2, wherein each of said plurality of electrodes are spaced in a substantially uniform manner.

9. The capacitive touch screen of claim 2, wherein each of said plurality of electrodes is spaced in an aperiodic manner.

10. The capacitive touch screen of claim 2, wherein each of said plurality of electrodes comprises dendrites.

11. A method comprising:

depositing a conductive material layer over a substantially transparent substrate;

depositing a solid light altering material layer over said conductive material layer;

patterning said solid light altering material layer and said conductive material layer to form a first plurality of electrodes for use as a capacitive touch screen, said plurality of electrodes are substantially parallel; and

forming a second plurality of electrodes substantially perpendicular to the first plurality of electrodes,

wherein the solid light altering material layer is formed between a corresponding one of the first plurality of electrodes and a corresponding one of the second plurality of electrodes.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein each of said first plurality of electrodes is for aligning with a gap between pixels of a display device.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said light altering material layer is an anti-reflective material.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said anti-reflective material layer comprises a visible light absorbing photo resist material.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein said light altering material layer is a light absorbing material.

16. A method comprising:

depositing a solid light altering material layer over a substantially transparent substrate;

depositing a conductive material layer over said solid light altering material layer; and

etching said conductive material layer and said solid light altering material layer to form a plurality of electrodes that are substantially parallel for use as a capacitive touch screen,

wherein each of said plurality of electrodes is for aligning with a gap or mask between pixels of a display device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said light altering material layer is an anti-reflective material.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein said light altering material layer is a light absorbing material.