SIGNAL ROUTING IN AN OLED STRUCTURE THAT INCLUDES A TOUCH ACTUATED SENSOR CONFIGURATION

• US 20100265187A1
• Filed: 04/20/2009
• Published: 10/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hotelling, Steven Porter, Chang, Shih Chang
• Application Number:
  US12/426,906
• Publication Number:
  US 20100265187A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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: H10K 59/40 OLEDs integrated with touch screens

Abstract

Briefly, in accordance with one embodiment, signal routing for a touch sensor configuration may occur via a transistor driver integrated with an OLED structure.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

an OLED structure integrated with a transistor driver structure;

wherein the OLED structure further includes a passive touch actuated sensor configuration; and

wherein metallization of the transistor driver structure facilitates routing of touch sensor signals to the transistor driver structure.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the OLED structure includes a spacer having metallization thereon to connect the passive touch actuated sensor configuration to the metallization of transistor driver structure.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the OLED structure includes additional spacers at least some of which have metallization thereon that connect to the passive touch actuated sensor configuration.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein the metallization of the transistor driver structure comprises a configuration to route the touch sensor signals to a flexible printed circuit.

5. The device of claim 2, wherein the passive touch actuated sensor configuration is capable of connecting to drive and sense lines via the routing provided by the metallization of the transistor driver structure.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the passive touch actuated sensor configuration comprises a capacitive touch actuated sensor configuration.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the touch sensors of the capacitive touch actuated sensor configuration comprise Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) pads.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the touch actuated sensor configuration includes single-sided Indium Tin Oxide (SITO).

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the device comprises a dual-plate OLED display (DOD).

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the glass substrate of the DOD comprises a thinned glass substrate.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the thinned glass substrate was thinned by applying at least one of the following glass thinning techniques:

glass etching;

glass chemical polishing;

glass mechanical polishing;

or any combination thereof.

12. The device of claim 9, wherein the DOD is a component of a hand-held device.

13. A method comprising:

fabricating a passive touch actuated sensor configuration integrated with an OLED structure on one side of another substrate and a transistor driver structure on one side of another substrate;

combining the transistor driver structure and the passive touch actuated sensor configuration with an OLED structure into a single module so that metallization of the transistor driver structure facilitates routing of touch sensor signals for further processing.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the passive touch actuated sensor configuration integrated with an OLED structure and the transistor driver structure are fabricated by separate processes.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the processes for fabricating the configuration occur at temperatures or pressures that are different from the processes for fabricating the structure.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the combining the transistor driver structure and the passive touch actuated sensor configuration with an OLED structure into a single module comprises applying a process to cure the combination of the structures.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein at least one of the structure substrates comprises glass;

and further comprising;

thinning the glass substrate.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the thinning the glass substrate comprises applying at least one of the following:

glass etching;

glass chemical polishing;

glass mechanical polishing;

or any combination thereof.

19. A module comprising:

a first substrate and a second substrate;

wherein the first substrate on a first of two sides includes a first layer comprising passive touch actuated sensors and a second layer comprising an OLE material sandwiched between metallization sub-layers and forming an array of OLED pixels, and the second substrate on the first of two sides including a first layer comprising an array of thin-film transistors;

wherein the first and second substrates being mutually adjacent and arranged so that at least some of the thin-film transistors of the array of thin-film transistors first are capable of electrically driving at least some of the OLED pixels of the array of OLED pixels formed by the OLE material sandwiched between metallization sub-layers; and

wherein the passive touch actuated sensors of the first layer on the first substrate being electrically connected to a component external to the module via a metallization sub-layer of the first layer of the second substrate.

20. The module of claim 19, wherein the external component comprises at least one of an FPC or an IC.

21. The module of claim 19, wherein the passive touch actuated sensors are capable of being electrically connected to drive and sense lines via the metallization sub-layer of the thin-film transistor layer on the second substrate.

22. The module of claim 19, wherein the two substrates are oriented so that the second side of the first substrate is most remote from the second side of the second substrate.

23. A device formed by the following method, the method comprising:

fabricating a passive touch actuated sensor configuration integrated with an OLED structure on one side of another substrate and a transistor driver structure on one side of another substrate;

combining the transistor driver structure and the passive touch actuated sensor configuration with an OLED structure into a single module so that metallization of the transistor driver structure facilitates routing of touch sensor signals for further processing.

24. The device of claim 23, wherein the fabricating a touch actuated sensor configuration with an OLED structure comprises fabricating the touch actuated sensor configuration by a process that is separate from the process for fabricating the transistor driver structure.

25. The device of claim 24, wherein the fabricating the touch actuated sensor configuration by a process that is separate from the process for fabricating the transistor driver structures comprises employing processes that occur at temperatures or pressures for the configuration that are different from the processes for the structure.

26. The device of claim 23, wherein at least one of the substrates comprises a glass substrate;

and wherein the method for forming the device further includes;

thinning the at least one of the substrates that comprises a glass substrate.