User interface device having transparent electrodes

• US 9,898,140 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2013
• Issued: 02/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (AES Corporation), ISORG SA
• Original Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (AES Corporation), ISORG SA
• Inventors: Tallal, Jamal, Benwadih, Mohammed
• Primary Examiner(s): ABDULSELAM, ABBAS I
• Application Number:
  US14/391,986
• Publication Number:
  US 20150062461A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,777 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means

Abstract

The invention relates to an interface device including an array of pixels and an insulating, transparent substrate, the pixels being connected to the substrate by linking elements, the contact surface between the linking elements and the pixels being strictly smaller than the surface of the pixels facing the substrate.

Claims

1. An interface device comprising a pixel array and a transparent insulating substrate, pixels of the pixel array being connected to the substrate by connection elements, the contact surface area between the connection elements and the pixels being smaller than the surface area of the pixels opposite the substrate, the pixels being separated from the substrate by a gas or gaseous mixture except for the connection elements, wherein the connection elements are made of a flexible material having an elongation at break greater than or equal to 10%.

2. The interface device of claim 1, wherein the contact surface area between the connection elements and the pixels is smaller than half the surface area of the electrodes opposite the substrate.

3. The interface device of claim 1, wherein the connection elements are made of a material more flexible than the materials forming the pixels.

4. The interface device of claim 1, wherein the pixels comprise transparent conductive electrodes, the connection elements being connected to the electrodes, the contact surface area between the connection elements and the electrodes being smaller than the surface area of the electrodes opposite the substrate.

5. The interface device of claim 4, wherein the electrodes are made of transparent conductive oxide.

6. The interface device of claim 5, wherein the transparent conductive oxide is indium tin oxide or gallium zinc oxide.

7. The interface device of claim 1, wherein the connection elements comprise at least a resist.

8. The interface device of claim 7, wherein the connection elements further comprise at least an elastomer.

9. The interface device of claim 1, wherein the connection elements are electrically conductive.

10. The interface device of claim 1, wherein the pixels are organic photon sensors.

11. The interface device of claim 1, further comprising conductive elements on the substrate partly extending between the electrodes and the substrate, where the electrodes are not in contact with the conductive elements when the device is not deformed.

12. The interface device of claim 11, wherein the conductive elements are metallic or made of conductive polymer.

13. A method of manufacturing an interface device comprising a pixel array and a transparent insulating substrate, pixels of the pixel array being connected to the substrate by connection elements, the contact surface area between the connection elements and the pixels being smaller than the surface area of the pixels opposite the substrate, the method comprising steps of:

(a) covering the transparent insulating substrate with a resist layer;

(b) exposing the resist layer to a radiation to define the connection elements;

(c) forming the pixels on the resist layer; and

(d) before or after step (c), partially removing the resist layer to form the connection elements.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein step (c) comprises covering the resist layer with an electrically-conductive transparent layer and etching the electrically-conductive transparent layer to form the electrodes.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the electrically-conductive transparent layer is made of transparent conductive oxide.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the pixels are formed by successive deposition of additional layers on the electrically-conductive transparent layer and etching said additional layers.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the pixels are formed by printing techniques on electrodes.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising forming conductive elements on the substrate and covering the substrate and the conductive elements with the resist layer.