Patent ID: 12223150

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to drawings. It is to be noted that implementation modes may be implemented in multiple different forms. Those of ordinary skills in the art may easily understand such a fact that implementation modes and contents may be transformed into various forms without departing from spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure should not be construed as being only limited to the contents recorded in the following implementation modes. The embodiments in the present disclosure and features in the embodiments may be combined randomly with each other if there is no conflict.

In the specification, for convenience, wordings indicating orientations or positional relationships, such as “center”, “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “back”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inside”, and “outside”, are used for describing positional relationships between constituent elements with reference to the drawings, and are merely for facilitating describing the specification and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that referred devices or elements must have particular orientations, and be constructed and operated in particular orientations. Thus, they cannot be construed as limitations on the present disclosure. The positional relationships between the constituent elements are appropriately changed according to directions in which the constituent elements are described. Therefore, they are not limited to the wordings described in the specification, which may be replaced appropriately according to situations.

In the specification, unless otherwise specified and defined explicitly, terms “mounted”, “mutually connected”, and “connection” should be understood in a broad sense. For example, a connection may be a fixed connection, or a detachable connection, or an integral connection, it may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection, it may be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate, or an internal communication between two elements. Those of ordinary skills in the art may understand meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure according to situations.

In the present disclosure, “about” refers to that a boundary is defined not so strictly and numerical values in process and measurement error ranges are allowed.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a touch panel. A main structure of the touch panel of the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a substrate, multiple first touch electrodes provided at intervals and multiple second touch electrodes provided at intervals on a same layer on the substrate, wherein the first touch electrodes and the second touch electrodes are insulated from each other. Multiple grooves are further provided on the substrate, and an orthographic projection of the first touch electrodes and the second touch electrodes on the substrate does not overlap with an orthographic projection of the grooves on the substrate.

In the touch panel of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the grooves are formed on the substrate, and the orthographic projection of the first touch electrodes and the second touch electrodes on the substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the grooves on the substrate, such that the deformation is concentrated in the grooves when the touch panel is flexibly deformed (such as stretching, rolling and folding), therefore a coupling capacitance area of a touch electrode is located in a peripheral area of a groove with smaller stretching deformation, thereby reducing change of the coupling capacitance between the touch electrodes while avoiding the touch electrodes from breaking during the flexible deformation.

FIG.1is a schematic structural diagram of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG.2is an enlarged view of a inFIG.1. As shown inFIG.1andFIG.2, a planar structure of the touch panel of the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a substrate1, multiple first touch electrodes2provided at intervals and multiple second touch electrodes3provided at intervals on the substrate1, wherein the first touch electrodes2and the second touch electrodes3are insulated from each other. A coupling capacitance area is formed between a first touch electrode2and a second touch electrode3. In case of touch control, a capacitance of the coupling capacitance area between the first touch control electrode2and the second touch control electrode3changes, so that an induced signal changes correspondingly, thus a touch position is determined. Among them, one of the first touch electrode2and the second touch electrode3is a Tx (driving) electrode and the other of the first touch electrode2and the second touch electrode3is an Rx (sensing) electrode, therefore they cooperate with each other to complete a touch reaction. In a specific implementation, the first touch electrode2may be the Tx electrode, the second touch electrode3may be the Rx electrode, alternatively, the second touch electrode3may be the Tx electrode and the first touch electrode2may be the Rx electrode.

As shown inFIG.1andFIG.2, multiple grooves4are further provided on the substrate1, and an orthographic projection of the first touch electrodes2and the second touch electrodes3on the substrate1does not overlap with an orthographic projection of the grooves4on the substrate1, that is, the first touch electrodes2and the second touch electrodes3are traced in peripheral areas of the grooves4. The grooves4are used for providing a deformation amount when the touch panel is deformed.

In this embodiment, a groove4may be a strip groove, wherein an extension direction of the strip groove may be the same as that of the first touch electrodes2and the second touch electrodes3, and the extension direction of the strip groove may be different from that of the first touch electrodes2and the second touch electrodes3. For example, the strip grooves include first strip grooves which have the same extension direction as the first touch electrodes2and the second touch electrodes3, and second strip grooves which have an extension direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the first touch electrodes2and the second touch electrodes3.

As shown inFIG.2, both the first touch electrodes2and the second touch electrodes3are in a grid structure. The touch panel of the embodiment of the present disclosure further includes multiple sub-pixels5provided on the substrate1, and the grid structures are provided on the sub-pixels5. In the grid structure, each grid corresponds to one or a group of sub-pixels5, wherein a projection of the one or the group of sub-pixels5on a plane where the grids are located falls into the corresponding grid, i.e. the grid surrounds the periphery of the sub-pixel5so as not to cover the sub-pixel5, which are in an RBGB arrangement or pentile arrangement for example, and the shape of the grids may be changed according to the sub-pixels.

In a plane perpendicular to the substrate, a sub-pixel includes a drive structure layer provided on the substrate and a light-emitting structure layer provided on the drive structure layer. The light-emitting structure layer is used for emitting display light, and the drive structure layer is connected with the light-emitting structure layer and used for controlling and driving the light-emitting structure layer. The drive structure layer mainly includes a pixel driving circuit formed by multiple Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) and the light-emitting structure layer mainly includes an anode, a light-emitting layer, and a cathode.

In an embodiment, an encapsulation layer and a buffer layer are provided on the light-emitting structure layer in the sub-pixel, wherein a first touch electrode and a second touch electrode are provided on the encapsulation layer and the buffer layer.

In an embodiment, a surrounding dam is formed on the substrate. The surrounding dam is used for protecting a sub-pixel and preventing water and oxygen atoms from entering. The surrounding dam is a continuous dam body, which forms a groove on the substrate. Herein, silicon nitride, silicon oxide, inorganic or organic insulating materials may be used as materials for the surrounding dam.

In an embodiment, the substrate includes a sub-pixel area and a peripheral area located around a periphery of the sub-pixel area. In order to reduce resistance of the touch electrodes, adjacent first touch electrodes and/or adjacent second touch electrodes are connected in the peripheral area.

From the above description of the touch structure, it can be seen that the touch structure is in a mutual capacitance touch structure, and a principle of the touch structure for achieving touch control is that capacitance will be formed between the first touch electrodes and the second touch electrodes. When a finger touches the touch structure, coupling between a first touch electrode and a second touch electrode near the touch point is affected, thereby changing a capacitance value between the first touch electrode and the second touch electrode. During detection of magnitude of the mutual capacitance value, excitation signals are sequentially sent along multiple first touch electrodes, and signals are simultaneously received along all the second touch electrodes, so that capacitance values of intersection points between all the first touch electrodes and all the second touch electrodes can be obtained. Coordinates of each touch point can be calculated from data on capacitance variation quantity of the intersection points between all the first touch electrodes and all the second touch electrodes.

As shown inFIG.1, the touch panel according to the embodiment of the present disclosure further includes a floating electrode6provided on the substrate1, wherein the floating electrode6is provided on a same layer as the first touch electrodes2and the second touch electrodes3, and the floating electrode6is insulated from the first touch electrodes2and the second touch electrodes3. The floating electrode6is used for reducing the load capacitance of the touch electrodes and cathode to optimize (uniformize) display effects.

FIG.3is a sectional view of A-A inFIG.1. As shown inFIG.3, in a plane perpendicular to the substrate, adjacent second touch electrodes2or adjacent first touch electrodes3are electrically connected with each other by a bridge7. The first touch electrodes2and the second touch electrodes3are located on a same side of the insulating layer8, and the bridge7, and the first touch electrodes2with the second touch electrodes3are provided on two sides of the insulating layer8, respectively. With the structure of the bridge7, the touch panel can obtain a larger amount of induction.

The technical solution of the present embodiment is further described below through a preparation process of a touch substrate according to the present embodiment. The “patterning process” mentioned in the present embodiment includes procedures such as film layer deposition, photoresist coating, mask exposure, development, etching, and photoresist stripping, and is a mature preparation process in the related art. The “photoetching process” in the present embodiment includes coating of film layer, mask exposure and development, and is a mature preparation process in the related art. The deposition may be a known process such as sputtering, evaporation, chemical vapor deposition, the coating may be a known coating process, and the etching may be a known method, which are not specifically limited here. In the description of this embodiment, it should be understood that “thin film” refers to a layer of thin film manufactured by treating a certain material on a substrate with a deposition or coating process. If a patterning process or a photoetching process is not needed for the “thin film” during the entire manufacturing process, the “thin film” may also be referred to as a “layer”. If a patterning process or a photoetching process is needed for the “thin film” during the entire manufacturing process, it is referred to as a “thin film” before the patterning process and referred to as a “layer” after the patterning process. The “layer” after the patterning process or photoetching process includes at least one “pattern”.

FIG.3toFIG.8are schematic diagrams showing a preparation process of a touch panel according to this embodiment. A preparation process of the touch panel in the embodiment includes:(1) A flexible material is coated on a glass carrier plate to form a film after curing to form a substrate. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a thickness of the substrate is 50 μm to 150 μm. The flexible material may be polyimide (PI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or a surface-treated polymer soft film or the like.(2) Sub-pixels are formed on a substrate on the glass carrier plate with the aforementioned structure formed. As shown inFIG.4, formation of the sub-pixels includes:

A buffer thin film is deposited on a substrate1, and the buffer thin film is formed into a pattern of a first buffer layer201by a patterning process, wherein the buffer thin film may be made of silicon nitride (SiNx) or silicon oxide (SiOx), etc., which is an inorganic material, and may have single layer or a multilayer structure of silicon nitride/silicon oxide. In this embodiment, the first buffer layer is used for improving a water oxygen resistance capability of the substrate.

Subsequently, a source drain thin film is deposited on the first buffer layer201, and the source drain thin film is patterned by a patterning process to form a pattern of a source drain202on the first buffer layer201.

Subsequently, a passivation thin film is coated on the first buffer layer201, the passivation thin film is patterned by a patterning process, and a pattern of a passivation layer203covering the source drain202is formed on the first buffer layer201. A first via is formed on the passivation layer203, and the first via exposes the source drain202.

Subsequently, a pattern of a planarization layer204(PLN) is formed on the passivation layer203, and a second via is formed on the planarization layer204, and the second via exposes the source drain202.

Subsequently, a first metal thin film is deposited on the planarization layer204. The first metal thin film is patterned by a patterning process and an anode205is formed on the planarization layer204. The anode205is connected to the source drain202through the first via and the second via.

Subsequently, a pixel define layer206(PDL) is formed on the planarization layer204and a third via exposing the anode205is formed in the pixel define layer206(PDL).

Subsequently, a light-emitting layer207is formed on the anode205and a cathode208is formed on the light-emitting layer207, thus the preparation of the sub-pixels20is completed.

In a process of preparing the film layers of a sub-pixel, the surrounding dam30may be formed by a material of each film layer of the sub-pixel. The material of the surrounding dam30may be silicon nitride, silicon oxide, inorganic or organic insulating material or the like and the surrounding dam30is used for forming a groove on the substrate1to form the groove4as shown inFIG.3.(3) An encapsulation layer30and a second buffer layer40in superposition are sequentially formed on the sub-pixels20on the glass carrier plate10with the aforementioned structure formed, as shown inFIG.5.(4) A second metal thin film is deposited on the second buffer layer40on the glass carrier plate10with the aforementioned structure formed. The second metal thin film is patterned by a patterning process and a bridge7is formed on the second buffer layer40as shown inFIG.6.(5) An insulating layer8on the bridge7is formed on the glass carrier plate10with the aforementioned structure formed, wherein a fourth via is provided in the insulating layer8, and the fourth via is communicated with the bridge7, as shown inFIG.7.(6) A third metal thin film is deposited on the insulating layer8on the glass carrier plate10with the aforementioned structure formed. The third metal thin film is patterned by a patterning process to form first touch electrodes2and second touch electrodes3on the insulating layer8, and any adjacent second touch electrodes3are connected to the bridge7by the fourth via, as shown inFIG.3.(7) A protective layer50covering the first touch electrodes2and the second touch electrodes3is formed on an insulating layer8on the glass carrier plate10with the aforementioned structure formed, as shown inFIG.8. A material of the protective layer50may be, for example, one or more of silicon oxide, silicon nitride and silicon oxynitride and may be used for protecting the touch structure and make an upper surface of the touch structure planar, so as to facilitate the subsequent preparation of other film layers on the touch substrate.

In some embodiments, grooves are formed on sub-pixels.

Specifically,FIG.9toFIG.14are schematic diagrams showing a preparation process of a touch panel according to the present embodiment. The preparation process of the touch panel in this embodiment includes:(1) A flexible material is coated on a glass carrier plate10to form a film after curing to form a substrate1. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a thickness of the substrate is 50 μm to 150 μm. The flexible material may be polyimide (PI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or a surface-treated polymer soft film or the like.(2) Sub-pixels20are formed on the substrate1on the glass carrier plate10with the aforementioned structure formed, and then a first encapsulation layer60and a barrier layer in superposition are sequentially formed on the sub-pixels20, as shown inFIG.9.(3) An encapsulation thin film material is deposited on the barrier layer70on the glass carrier plate10with the aforementioned structure formed, and the encapsulation thin film material is formed into a second encapsulation layer80, wherein the second encapsulation layer is disconnected in a groove area of the substrate1, as shown inFIG.10.(4) A second metal thin film is deposited on the second encapsulation layer80on the glass carrier plate10with the aforementioned structure formed. The second metal thin film is patterned by a patterning process and a bridge7is formed on the second encapsulation layer as shown inFIG.11.(5) An insulating layer8is formed on the bridge7on the glass carrier plate10with the aforementioned structure is formed, wherein the insulating layer8is disconnected in the groove area of the substrate1and a fourth via is provided in the insulating layer8, and the fourth via is communicated with the bridge7, as shown inFIG.7.(6) A third metal thin film is deposited on the insulating layer8on the glass carrier plate10with the aforementioned structure formed. The third metal thin film is patterned by a patterning process, and first touch electrodes2and second touch electrodes3are formed on the insulating layer8, and any adjacent second touch electrodes3are connected to the bridge7by the via, as shown inFIG.13.(7) A protective layer50covering the first touch electrodes2and the second touch electrodes3is formed on the insulating layer8on the glass carrier plate10with the aforementioned structure formed, as shown inFIG.14. A material of the protective layer50may be, for example, one or more of silicon oxide, silicon nitride and silicon oxynitride and may be used for protecting the touch structure and make an upper surface of the touch structure planar, so as to facilitate the subsequent preparation of other film layers on the touch substrate.

It can be seen from the structure of the touch panel and the aforementioned preparation process according to the embodiment of the present disclosure that when the touch panel provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is flexibly deformed, change of the coupling capacitance between the touch electrodes is reduced, while the touch electrodes are avoided from being broken during flexible deformation.

On a basis of the technical concept of the above touch panel, an embodiment of the present application further provides a method for preparing the touch panel. The method for preparing the touch panel according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes:forming grooves on a substrate;forming multiple first touch electrodes provided at intervals and multiple second touch electrodes provided at intervals on the substrate, such that the first touch electrodes and the second touch electrodes are insulated from each other, and the first touch electrodes and the second touch electrodes are located in peripheral areas of the grooves.

The detailed preparation process of the touch panel according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is already described in details in the aforementioned exemplary embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a display device including the touch panel according to the embodiments described above. The display device may be any product or component with a display function, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a television, a display, a laptop computer, a digital photo frame, and a navigator, or product or component with functions of VR, AR and 3D display.

The drawings of the present disclosure only involve the structures involved in the present disclosure, and the other structures may refer to conventional designs. The embodiments in the present disclosure, i.e., the features in the embodiments, can be combined to obtain new embodiments if there is no conflict.

Those of ordinary skills in the art should know that modifications or equivalent replacements may be made to the technical solutions of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present disclosure, and the modifications or equivalent replacements shall all fall within the scope of the claims of the present disclosure.