Touch sensor

• US 9,519,366 B2
• Filed: 05/08/2014
• Issued: 12/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Inventors: Park, Jang Ho, Kim, Woon Chun, Lee, Jin Uk, Oh, Nam Keun
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia, Prabodh M
• Application Number:
  US14/273,459
• Publication Number:
  US 20140333855A1
• Time in Patent Office: 950 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-178, 349/12, 349/200, 349/41, 349/100, 178/18.05, 174/257, 174/258, 174/253, 324/661, 324/668, 324/686, 327/517, 200/600, 313/511, 315/169.3, 738/626.8
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact

Abstract

A touch sensor includes a transparent substrate, and an electrode pattern formed on the transparent substrate. The electrode pattern is formed by stacking at least two or more electrode layers, thereby enhancing the anti-corrosion and visibility of electrode patterns and ensuring the adhesive reliability of the transparent substrate and the electrode patterns.

Claims

1. A touch sensor comprising:

a transparent substrate; and

an electrode pattern formed on the transparent substrate,

wherein the electrode pattern is formed by stacking two or more electrode layers,

and at least one of the two or more electrode layers enhances either one or both of anticorrosion of an exposed portion of the electrode pattern and adhesion between the electrode pattern and the transparent substrate.

2. The touch sensor as set forth in claim 1, wherein the electrode pattern is formed by sequentially stacking, from one surface of the transparent substrate, a base layer as a first electrode layer and a conductive layer as a second electrode layer.

3. The touch sensor as set forth in claim 2, wherein the electrode pattern is formed by further stacking a surface layer as a third electrode layer on the second electrode layer.

4. The touch sensor as set forth in claim 3, wherein a stack-direction thickness d1 of the first electrode layer, a stack-direction thickness d2 of the second electrode layer, and a stack-direction thickness d3 of the third electrode layer satisfy a following conditional expression:

d1<

d3<

d2.

5. The touch sensor as set forth in claim 3, wherein the sum of a stack direction thickness d1 of the first electrode layer, a stack-direction thickness d2 of the second electrode layer, and a stack-direction thickness d3 of the third electrode layer is 0.05 μ

m to 2 μ

m.

6. The touch sensor as set forth in claim 3, wherein a stack-direction thickness of the first electrode layer is 0.01 μ

m to 1.935 μ

m.

7. The touch sensor as set forth in claim 3, wherein a stack-direction thickness of the second electrode layer is 0.04 μ

m to 1.975 μ

m.

8. The touch sensor as set forth in claim 3, wherein a stack-direction thickness of the third electrode layer is 0.015 μ

m to 1.95 μ

m.

9. The touch sensor as set forth in claim 3, wherein a stack-direction thickness d1 of the first electrode layer, a stack-direction thickness d2 of the second electrode layer, and a stack-direction thickness d3 of the third electrode layer satisfy a following conditional expression:

2%≦

d2/(d1+d2+d3)×

100≦

98.75%.

10. The touch sensor as set forth in claim 2, wherein the first electrode layer is formed to have a smaller thickness in the stack direction than that of the second electrode layer.

11. The touch sensor as set forth in claim 1, wherein the transparent substrate is formed of glass or temperate glass.

12. The touch sensor set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a second electrode pattern disposed apart from the first electrode pattern and formed by

stacking two or more electrode layers.

13. The touch sensor set forth in claim 12, wherein the second electrode pattern is disposed on the transparent substrate.

14. A touch sensor comprising:

a transparent substrate;

a first electrode pattern disposed on the transparent substrate; and

a second electrode pattern insulated from the first electrode pattern,

wherein the first electrode pattern comprises a first layer, a second layer, and a third

layer,

wherein the second layer has a higher electrical conductivity than the first and third layers, the third layer comprises a material that reduces the visibility of the first electrode pattern and prevents corrosion of the first electrode pattern, and the first layer comprises a material that has greater adhesion to the transparent substrate than the second layer.

15. The touch sensor set forth in claim 14, wherein the third layer comprises the same material as the first layer.

16. The touch sensor as set forth in claim 15, wherein a stack direction thickness d1 of the first layer, a stack-direction thickness d2 of the second layer, and a stack-direction thickness d3 of the third layer satisfy a following conditional expression:

d1<

d3<

d2.