METHOD FOR FABRICATING TOUCH SENSOR PANELS

• US 20110006999A1
• Filed: 07/13/2009
• Published: 01/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Zhong, John Z., Chang, Shih Chang
• Granted Patent: US 8,368,661 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• 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

A method for manufacturing a patterned thin film layer on an uneven substrate is provided. The substrate having an outer surface and an inner surface. The method includes creating a cavity on the inner surface of the substrate, the cavity creating a cavity surface on a different plane as compared to the inner surface and a step between the cavity surface and the inner surface; forming a thin film layer on the inner surface of the substrate covering at least a part of the cavity surface, the step and the inner surface; performing laser ablation on the thin film layer to create patterns, at least some of which are created on the cavity surface, the step and the inner surface.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a patterned thin film layer on an uneven substrate, the substrate having an outer surface and an inner surface, the method comprising:

creating a cavity on the inner surface of the substrate, the cavity creating a cavity surface on a different plane as compared to the inner surface and a step between the cavity surface and the inner surface;

forming a thin film layer on the inner surface of the substrate covering at least a part of the cavity surface, the step and the inner surface;

performing laser ablation on the thin film layer to create patterns, at least some of which are created on the cavity surface, the step and the inner surface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein creating a cavity is by performing glass etching on the inner surface of the substrate.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprises adding a temporary protective layer over a part of the inner surface before creating the cavity on the inner surface;

and removing the temporary protective layer after the cavity is created.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprises depositing one or more layers on the outer surface of the cover glass, wherein one of the one or more layers is a patterned thin film layer, and wherein the patterned thin film layer on the outer surface and the thin film layer on the inner surface, step and cavity surface of the cover glass form a plurality of touch sensors.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising thinning the substrate.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising bonding a flexible printed circuit (FPC) to the thin film layer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a cover glass for an OLED display.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein attaching the cover glass to the OLED display further comprises sealing the cover glass and the OLED display at their edges.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the OLED display comprises an OLED layer deposited on top of a TFT glass.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the OLED layer is partially accommodated in a space created by the cavity when the cover glass and the OLED display are sealed against each other.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the TFT glass comprises a plurality of transistors connected to an array of OLED pixels so as to electrically drive pixels of the array.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of touch sensors is integrated within a single module with the array of OLED pixels.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the OLED layer is sandwiched between two conductive layers.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising incorporating the substrate with a display to form a touch screen.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising incorporating the substrate into a mobile telephone.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising incorporating the substrate into a media player.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising incorporating the substrate into a media player.

18. A device having thin-film traces patterned over uneven surfaces of a substrate, the device formed by a method comprising:

creating a cavity in a first surface of the substrate, the cavity forming a cavity surface on a different plane as compared to the first surface and a step between the cavity surface and the first surface;

forming a thin film layer over at least a portion of the inner surface, the step and the cavity surface; and

performing laser ablation on the thin film layer to create patterns that traverse at least a portion of the inner surface, the step and the cavity surface.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises adding a temporary protective sheet over a part of the inner surface before creating the cavity on the inner surface;

and removing the temporary protective sheet after the cavity is created.

20. The device of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises depositing one or more layers on the outer surface of the cover glass, wherein one of the one or more layers is a patterned thin film layer, and wherein the patterned thin film layer on the outer surface and the thin film layer on the inner surface, step and cavity surface of the cover glass form a plurality of touch sensors.

21. The device of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises thinning the substrate.

22. The device of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises bonding a flexible printed circuit (FPC) to the thin film layer.

23. The device of claim 18, wherein creating a cavity is by performing glass etching on the inner surface of the substrate.