CN116959783A

CN116959783A - Conductive film, touch electrode and preparation method of conductive film

Info

Publication number: CN116959783A
Application number: CN202310601509.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘腾蛟; 范江峰; 胡源; 苏燕平
Original assignee: Jiangsu Nameida Photoelectric Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Jiangsu Nameida Photoelectric Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2023-05-25
Filing date: 2023-05-25
Publication date: 2023-10-27

Abstract

The embodiment of the specification provides a conductive film, a touch electrode and a preparation method thereof. The conductive film comprises a base film and a conductive layer, wherein the conductive layer covers the base film and comprises a first conductive area and a second conductive area, and the first conductive area comprises a conductive grid structure; the conductive grid structure comprises a plurality of hollow spaces and conductive grid lines; the second conductive area is arranged around the first conductive area and is communicated with the conductive grid lines; the area resistance of the first conductive area is greater than the area resistance of the second conductive area.

Description

Conductive film, touch electrode and preparation method of conductive film

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of touch technologies, and in particular, to a conductive film, a touch electrode, and a method for preparing the same.

Background

Along with the development of science and technology, touch interaction has become one of the important ways of man-machine interaction, and is widely applied to the fields of smart home, intelligent home appliances, medical care, self-service business, commercial advertisement, smart logistics, intelligent settlement, industrial control, vehicle-mounted display and the like. The touch electrode needs to be processed on the basis of the conductive film, and when the conventional conductive film is used for subsequently processing the touch pattern and the lead of the touch electrode, the preparation of the touch electrode is complicated.

Disclosure of Invention

One of the embodiments of the present specification provides a conductive film. The conductive film includes: the conductive layer covers the base film and comprises a first conductive area and a second conductive area, wherein the first conductive area comprises a conductive grid structure; the conductive grid structure comprises a plurality of hollow spaces and conductive grid lines; the second conductive area is arranged around the first conductive area, and the second conductive area is communicated with the conductive grid lines; the area resistance of the first conductive area is larger than the area resistance of the second conductive area.

In some embodiments, the conductive layer has at least two of the first conductive regions thereon, and the second conductive region is between two adjacent first conductive regions.

In some embodiments, the at least two first conductive areas are arranged in an array; the first conductive region is circular or polygonal in shape.

In some embodiments, the minimum spacing between adjacent two of the first conductive regions is 200mm-350mm.

In some embodiments, the conductive layer comprises a conductive nano-layer comprising at least one of a nano-metal layer or a nano-metal wire layer, wherein the nano-metal layer comprises at least one of nano-gold, nano-silver, nano-copper, nano-platinum, nano-palladium, nano-aluminum, nano-tin, nano-lead, or nano-titanium; the nano metal wire layer comprises at least one of nano silver wires, nano gold wires, nano copper wires, nano platinum wires, nano aluminum wires, nano titanium wires or nano tin wires.

In some embodiments, the ratio of the area resistance of the first conductive region to the area resistance of the second conductive region is not less than 5; the surface resistance of the first conductive area is 5Ω/≡150 Ω/≡and the surface resistance of the second conductive area is 0.1Ω/≡10 Ω/≡.

In some embodiments, the first conductive region has a visible light transmittance that is greater than a visible light transmittance of the second conductive region; the visible light transmittance of the first conductive area is 80% -92%, and the visible light transmittance of the second conductive area is 20% -85%.

In some embodiments, the conductive mesh structure is formed from yellow light etching of the conductive layer.

One of the embodiments of the present specification provides a method for manufacturing a conductive film. The method comprises the following steps: preparing a conductive layer on the base film; and etching the conductive layer to obtain the conductive film, wherein the conductive layer comprises a first conductive area etched to form a conductive grid structure and a second conductive area not etched; the conductive grid structure comprises a plurality of hollow spaces and conductive grid lines; the second conductive area surrounds the first conductive area, and the second conductive area is communicated with the conductive grid lines; the area resistance of the first conductive area is larger than the area resistance of the second conductive area.

In some embodiments, etching the conductive layer comprises: the first conductive region including the conductive mesh structure is formed on the conductive layer by yellow light etching.

One of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a touch electrode. The touch electrode comprises the conductive film, and the touch electrode comprises a touch pattern and a lead, wherein the touch pattern is formed in the first conductive area; the lead is formed in the second conductive region.

One of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing a touch electrode, using the conductive film, the method including: preparing a touch pattern of the touch electrode in the first conductive area through laser etching; and preparing a lead of the touch electrode in the second conductive area through laser etching.

Drawings

The present specification will be further elucidated by way of example embodiments, which will be described in detail by means of the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are not limiting, in which like numerals represent like structures, wherein:

fig. 1 is a top view of an exemplary conductive film shown according to some embodiments of the present description.

Fig. 2 is a partial enlarged view of the area a in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a B-B cross-sectional view of the first conductive region of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a C-C cross-sectional view of the second conductive region of fig. 1.

In the figure, 100 is a conductive film, 110 is a base film, 120 is a conductive layer, 121 is a first conductive region, 1211 is a hollowed-out grid, 1212 is a conductive grid line, 122 is a second conductive region, 123 is a conductive nano layer, and 124 is a conductive protection layer.

Detailed Description

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present specification, the drawings that are required to be used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly described below. It is apparent that the drawings in the following description are only some examples or embodiments of the present specification, and it is possible for those of ordinary skill in the art to apply the present specification to other similar situations according to the drawings without inventive effort. Unless otherwise apparent from the context of the language or otherwise specified, like reference numerals in the figures refer to like structures or operations.

As used in this specification and the claims, the terms "a," "an," "the," and/or "the" are not specific to a singular, but may include a plurality, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In general, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" merely indicate that the steps and elements are explicitly identified, and they do not constitute an exclusive list, as other steps or elements may be included in a method or apparatus.

One of the embodiments of the present specification provides a conductive film. The conductive film comprises a base film and a conductive layer, wherein the conductive layer is covered on the base film. The conductive layer comprises a first conductive region and a second conductive region, wherein the first conductive region comprises a conductive grid structure; the second conductive region is disposed around the first conductive region. The first conductive area can be used for preparing a touch pattern of a touch electrode, the touch pattern area is used for sensing an external touch signal, the requirement on conductivity is not high, but the first conductive area is used as a visible area, and the requirements on optical transparency and appearance are high; the second conductive region can be used to prepare a lead for a touch electrode, which is used for signal transmission, requires higher conductivity, and has no requirements for optical performance and appearance. The first conductive area and the second conductive area are designed on the conductive layer, so that the touch electrode can be conveniently manufactured.

Fig. 1 is a top view of an exemplary conductive film according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, fig. 2 is an enlarged partial view of region a of fig. 1, fig. 3 is a B-B cross-sectional view of a first conductive region of fig. 1, and fig. 4 is a C-C cross-sectional view of a second conductive region of fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 1, the conductive film 100 may include a base film 110 (not shown in fig. 1, as shown in fig. 3 and 4) and a conductive layer 120. The conductive layer 120 covers the base film 110. The conductive layer 120 includes a first conductive region 121 and a second conductive region 122. The first conductive region 121 is formed by etching the conductive layer 120 into a conductive grid structure through yellow light, and the conductive grid structure may include a plurality of hollowed-out grids 1211 and conductive grid lines 1212 (shown in fig. 2), and the second conductive region 122 is disposed around the first conductive region 121. The second conductive region 122 communicates with the conductive grid lines 1212 to enable transmission of signals (e.g., electrical signals). The area resistance of the first conductive region 121 is greater than the area resistance of the second conductive region 122.

The first conductive area 121 is used for forming a touch pattern on the touch electrode, the second conductive area 122 is used for forming a lead on the touch electrode, the area resistance of the second conductive area 122 is smaller than that of the first conductive area 121, and the conductivity of the second conductive area 122 can be guaranteed to be better than that of the first conductive area 121, so that signal transmission can be realized. The first conductive area 121 has a larger area resistance due to the conductive mesh structure formed by yellow etching of the conductive layer 120, but this means that the transmittance of the first conductive area 121 is increased, so that the touch electrode can obtain better optical transmittance and appearance when forming the touch pattern. Note that, the first conductive region 121 is a region of the conductive layer 120 etched by yellow light, and the second conductive region 122 is a region of the conductive layer 120 not etched by yellow light.

The conductive layer 120 is covered on the base film 110 may be understood as that the conductive layer 120 is covered on one side surface of the base film 110. For example, the conductive layer 120 may cover over the base film 110. In this specification, the upper side may refer to a side facing the outside of the touch electrode when the conductive film 100 is used for the touch electrode.

In some embodiments, the material of the base film 110 may include one or more of polyester, cyclic olefin polymer (Cyclo Olefin Plymer, COP), colorless polyimide (Colorless Polyimide, CPI), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), cellulose triacetate (Tri-cellulose Acetate, TCA), poly (ethylene terephthalate-1, 4-cyclohexadiene dimethylene terephthalate) (Poly (ethylene terephthalateco-1,4-cylclohexylenedimethylene terephthalate), PETG), thermoplastic polyurethane (Thermoplastic Urethane, TPU), polyvinyl alcohol (Polyvinyl alcohol, PVA), polycarbonate (PC).

In some embodiments, the polyester may include, but is not limited to, polyethylene terephthalate (Polyethylene terephthalate, PET).

In some embodiments, the base film 110 may comprise a treated base film. In some embodiments, the treatment may include at least one of an anti-reflection treatment, a stiffening treatment, or an anti-glare treatment. In some embodiments, at least one of the anti-reflection treatment, the stiffening treatment, or the antiglare treatment may be achieved by coating.

In some embodiments, the antireflective treatment may increase the light transmission of the base film.

In some embodiments, the anti-reflection treatment may reduce the reflection of light by the base film to further increase the light transmittance of the base film.

In some embodiments, the stiffening treatment may increase the hardness of the base film. For example, the hardening treatment may make the surface hardness of the base film 3H or more.

In some embodiments, the antiglare treatment may cause the surface of the film to become a matte diffuse surface, thereby reducing interference of ambient light with the human eye.

In some embodiments, the base film may have a thickness of 13 μm to 300 μm. In some embodiments, the base film may have a thickness of 30 μm to 280 μm. In some embodiments, the base film may have a thickness of 50 μm to 250 μm. In some embodiments, the base film may have a thickness of 70 μm to 230 μm. In some embodiments, the base film may have a thickness of 90 μm to 200 μm. In some embodiments, the base film may have a thickness of 110 μm to 180 μm. In some embodiments, the base film may have a thickness of 130 μm to 150 μm. In some embodiments, the thickness of the base film may be 20 μm, 40 μm, 60 μm, 80 μm, 100 μm, 120 μm, 140 μm, 160 μm, 180 μm, 200 μm, 220 μm, 240 μm, 260 μm, 280 μm, 300 μm, or the like.

For a description of the first conductive region 121, the conductive layer 120, and the conductive mesh structure, see below and elsewhere in this specification (e.g., fig. 2-4 and their associated descriptions). In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1, the conductive layer 120 may have at least two first conductive regions 121 thereon. For example, the number of the first conductive regions 121 may be 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, or the like. In some embodiments, the shape of the first conductive region 121 may be a regular pattern of circles or polygons (e.g., triangles, squares, rectangles, diamonds, hexagons, octagons), etc. In some embodiments, the shape of at least two first conductive regions 121 may be the same or different. In some embodiments, at least two first conductive regions 121 may be arranged in an array to improve the utilization of the conductive film 100. In some embodiments, the array arrangement may include, but is not limited to, a rectangular array (simply "matrix") arrangement, a circular array arrangement, and the like. In some embodiments, the matrix may be expressed as m (rows) n (columns), where m and n are integers greater than or equal to 1. For example, the 4 first conductive regions 121 may be arranged in a 1*4 matrix or a 2×2 matrix. For another example, the 8 first conductive regions 121 may be arranged in a 1*8 matrix, or a 2×4 matrix, or a 4*2 matrix, or a 8*1 matrix. As another example, as shown in fig. 1, 9 first conductive regions 121 may be arranged in a 3*3 matrix. In some embodiments, at least two first conductive regions 121 may also be randomly arranged.

In some embodiments, the first conductive region 121 may be 1 inch to 21.5 inches in size. In some embodiments, the first conductive region 121 may be 2 inches to 21 inches in size. In some embodiments, the first conductive region 121 may be 3 inches to 20 inches in size. In some embodiments, the first conductive region 121 may be 4 inches to 19 inches in size. In some embodiments, the first conductive region 121 may be 5 inches to 18 inches in size. In some embodiments, the first conductive region 121 may be 6 inches to 17 inches in size. In some embodiments, the first conductive region 121 may be 7 inches to 16 inches in size. In some embodiments, the first conductive region 121 may be 8 inches-15 inches in size. In some embodiments, the first conductive region 121 may be 9 inches to 14 inches in size. In some embodiments, the first conductive region 121 may be 10 inches-13 inches in size. In some embodiments, the first conductive region 121 may be 11 inches-12 inches in size. In some embodiments, the first conductive region 121 may be 1 inch, 3.5 inches, 5 inches, 5.5 inches, 8.9 inches, 10.1 inches, 13.4 inches, 14 inches, 15.6 inches, 17 inches, 21.5 inches, or the like in size.

In some embodiments, the properties of at least two first conductive regions 121 may be the same or different. In some embodiments, properties may include, but are not limited to, size, sheet resistance, visible light transmittance, haze.

In some embodiments, the first conductive region 121 may be formed from the conductive layer 120 by yellow-light etching into a conductive mesh structure. In some embodiments, the yellow light etching may include, but is not limited to, at least one of oxidation etching, acid etching. For example, the yellow light etching may include oxidation etching and acid etching. In some embodiments, the etching solution may include, but is not limited to, hydrochloric acid-nitric acid systems, ferric chloride systems, ferric nitrate-nitric acid systems, and phosphoric acid-nitric acid-acetic acid systems.

The regions of the conductive layer 120 that are not etched by the yellow light are second conductive regions 122. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1, the second conductive region 122 may be disposed around the first conductive region 121, so that it is convenient to prepare a touch pattern of the touch electrode on the first conductive region 121, and prepare a lead of the touch electrode on the second conductive region 122 to form the touch electrode. In some embodiments, a second conductive region 122 may be disposed between two adjacent first conductive regions 121, so that each first conductive region 121 on the conductive film 100 and the second conductive region 122 disposed around each first conductive region 121 are conveniently prepared as one touch electrode.

In some embodiments, any two first conductive regions 121 do not intersect, and there is a space between adjacent two first conductive regions 121. In some embodiments, the minimum spacing between two adjacent first conductive regions 121 (as shown in d in fig. 1) may be understood as the minimum separation distance between two adjacent first conductive regions 121. The spacing between two adjacent first conductive regions 121 affects the utilization of the conductive film 100 and the subsequent fabrication of the touch electrode. For example, too small a space between two adjacent first conductive regions 121 may cause difficulty in manufacturing the leads of the touch electrode, or even failure to manufacture two leads within the space, resulting in failure to manufacture two touch electrodes, which further results in lower utilization of the conductive film 100. For another example, the space between two adjacent first conductive regions 121 is too large, which may result in waste and lower utilization of the conductive film 100.

In some embodiments, in order to improve the utilization of the conductive film 100 and facilitate the subsequent preparation of the touch electrode (or lead), the minimum spacing between two adjacent first conductive regions 121 is 200mm-350mm. In some embodiments, the minimum spacing between adjacent two first conductive regions 121 may be 220mm-330mm. In some embodiments, the minimum spacing between adjacent two first conductive regions 121 may be 240mm-310mm. In some embodiments, the minimum spacing between adjacent two first conductive regions 121 may be 260mm-290mm. In some embodiments, the minimum spacing between adjacent two first conductive regions 121 may be 200mm-330mm. In some embodiments, the minimum spacing between adjacent two first conductive regions 121 may be 200mm-300mm. In some embodiments, the minimum spacing between adjacent two first conductive regions 121 may be 200mm-250mm.

In some embodiments, the ratio of the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 to the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be not less than 5. In some embodiments, the ratio of the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 to the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be not less than 10. In some embodiments, the ratio of the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 to the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be not less than 15. In some embodiments, the ratio of the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 to the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be not less than 20. In some embodiments, the ratio of the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 to the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be not less than 25. In some embodiments, the ratio of the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 to the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be not less than 30. In some embodiments, the ratio of the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 to the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be not less than 35. In some embodiments, the ratio of the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 to the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be not less than 40. In some embodiments, the ratio of the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 to the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be not less than 45. In some embodiments, the ratio of the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 to the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be not less than 50.

In some embodiments, the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 may be 5Ω/≡150 Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 may be 10Ω/≡140 Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 may be 15Ω/≡130 Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 may be 20Ω/≡120 Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 may be 25Ω/≡110Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 may be 30Ω/≡100 Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 may be 35 Ω/≡90 Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 may be 40Ω/≡80 Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 may be 45Ω/≡70 Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 may be 50Ω/≡60 Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the surface resistance of the first conductive region 121 may be 5Ω/∈s, 20Ω/∈s, 50Ω/∈s, 80Ω/∈s, 100deg.OMEGA/∈s, 120Ω/∈s, or 150Ω/∈s, or the like.

In some embodiments, the second conductive region 122 may have a sheet resistance of 0.1 Ω/≡10 Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be 0.5 Ω/≡9 Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be 1Ω/≡8Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be 1.5 Ω/≡7Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be 2Ω/≡6Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be 2.5 Ω/≡5 Ω/≡. In some embodiments, the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be 3Ω/≡4Ω/≡. In some embodiments of the present invention, in some embodiments, the second conductive region 122 may have a sheet resistance of 0.1 Ω/≡o, 1 Ω/≡o 2Ω/≡5 Ω/≡8 Ω/≡or 10Ω/≡etc.

By setting the ratio of the area resistance of the first conductive region 121 to the area resistance of the second conductive region 122 to be not less than 5, the conductivity of the second conductive region 122 is significantly better than that of the first conductive region 121, and the second conductive region 122 can be used to form a lead in a subsequent process. While the surface resistance of the first conductive region 121 may be 5 Ω/∈150 Ω/∈and the surface resistance of the second conductive region 122 may be 0.1 Ω/∈10 Ω/∈for the touch electrode, the higher the transmittance of the touch pattern region, the better the lower the haze, and the touch electrode lead region has no requirement for optical performance, but the higher the conductivity is. Therefore, the first conductive area 121 can design the hollowed-out grid as much as possible to improve the optical performance of the first conductive area 121 on the premise of ensuring the transmission of the touch graphic signal.

In some embodiments, the visible light transmittance of the first conductive region 121 is greater than the visible light transmittance of the second conductive region 122. The yellow etching may increase the visible light transmittance of the first conductive region 121, and by setting the visible light transmittance of the first conductive region 121 to be greater, the function of forming a touch pattern in the first conductive region 121 may be ensured. While the visible light transmittance of the second conductive region 122 that is not etched by yellow light is small, but this means that the conductive performance of the conductive layer 120 is not affected, and it is possible to ensure that the second conductive region 122 has good conductive performance.

In some embodiments, the visible light transmittance of the first conductive region 121 may be 80% -92%. In some embodiments, the visible light transmittance of the first conductive region 121 may be 80% -90%. In some embodiments, the visible light transmittance of the first conductive region 121 may be 83% -88%. In some embodiments, the visible light transmittance of the first conductive region 121 may be 84% -86%. In some embodiments, the visible light transmittance of the first conductive region 121 may be 80%, 85%, 90%, or 92%.

In some embodiments, the visible light transmittance of the second conductive region 122 may be 20% -85%. In some embodiments, the visible light transmittance of the second conductive region 122 may be 30% -80%. In some embodiments, the visible light transmittance of the second conductive region 122 may be 40% -75%. In some embodiments, the visible light transmittance of the second conductive region 122 may be 50% -70%. In some embodiments, the visible light transmittance of the second conductive region 122 may be 60% -65%. In some embodiments, the visible light transmittance of the second conductive region 122 may be 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, or 80%.

Through setting up the visible light transmittance of first electrically conductive region 121 and can be 80% -92%, the visible light transmittance of second electrically conductive region 122 can be 20% -85%, the visible light transmittance of first electrically conductive region 121 sets up the basic demand that can guarantee the touch electrode region to the luminousness, and the second electrically conductive region 122 that is used for electrically conductive also can the visible light that passes through for second electrically conductive region 122 fretwork obtains the inside electrically conductive gridline 1212 of first electrically conductive region 121 and also can the visible light that passes through, therefore avoid traditional solid (light-proof) electrically conductive gridline to appear moire or the outward appearance problem of scattering point in later stage concrete application, increased the luminousness of first electrically conductive region 121 simultaneously, optical performance obtains promoting.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the hollowed-out lattice 1211 is formed by etching the conductive layer 120 by yellow etching. The conductive layer 120 that is not yellow etched is conductive grid lines 1212.

The ratio S of the sum of the areas of the plurality of hollowed-out lattices 1211 to the area of the first conductive area 121 affects the conductivity and the optical performance of the first conductive area 121. For example, a ratio S of the sum of the areas of the plurality of hollowed-out lattices 1211 to the area of the first conductive area 121 is too small, which may result in poor optical performance (e.g., lower light transmittance, higher haze) of the first conductive area 121. For another example, the ratio S of the sum of the areas of the plurality of hollowed-out lattices 1211 to the area of the first conductive area 121 is too large, which may result in poor conductivity of the first conductive area 121. Therefore, in some embodiments, in order to improve the optical performance and the electrical conductivity of the first conductive region 121, the ratio S of the sum of the areas of the plurality of hollowed-out lattices 1211 to the area of the first conductive region 121 needs to meet the preset requirement.

In some embodiments, the ratio S of the sum of the areas of the plurality of hollowed-out lattices 1211 to the area of the first conductive area 121 may be greater than or equal to 60% and less than or equal to 97%.

Conductive gridlines 1212 can be used to construct ultra-fine sensing circuit paths for touch pattern electrodes. In some embodiments, the conductive gridlines 1212 are conductive pathways formed by a plurality of overlapping nanowires. In some embodiments, the conductive grid lines 1212 may be rectilinear, curvilinear, wavy, or the like. In some embodiments, the shape of the mesh formed by the conductive mesh lines 1212 (which may also be understood as the shape of the hollowed-out lattice 1211) may be polygonal. For example, triangular, diamond-shaped (as shown in fig. 2), square, rectangular, etc. In other embodiments, the shape of the mesh formed by the conductive mesh lines 1212 (which may also be understood as the shape of the hollowed-out lattice 1211) may be elliptical, circular, or irregular. In some embodiments, the grid (also known as hollowed-out grid 1211) formed by the conductive grid lines 1212 may be arranged in an array. In some embodiments, the conductive grid lines 1212 may form a grid of one or more shapes. For example, any combination of circles and polygons.

In some embodiments, the width of the conductive grid lines 1212 (shown as w in fig. 3) may be 3 μm-30 μm. In some embodiments, the width of the conductive grid lines 1212 may be 5 μm-28 μm. In some embodiments, the width of the conductive grid lines 1212 may be 8 μm-27 μm. In some embodiments, the width of the conductive grid lines 1212 may be 10 μm-25 μm. In some embodiments, the width of the conductive grid lines 1212 may be 12 μm-23 μm. In some embodiments, the width of the conductive grid lines 1212 may be 15 μm-20 μm. In some embodiments, the width of the conductive grid lines 1212 may be 3 μm, 5 μm, 10 μm, 15 μm, 20 μm, 25 μm, or 30 μm. Since the conductive grid lines 1212 can also transmit visible light (for example, the transmittance is greater than 50%), when the width of the conductive grid lines 1212 is in the range of 3 μm-30 μm, the ultra-fine sensing circuit channel of the touch pattern electrode can be constructed, the difficulty of yellow etching can be reduced, and the efficiency of yellow etching can be improved.

It will be appreciated that the structure of the second conductive region 122 is the same as the structure of the conductive layer (i.e., the conductive grid lines 1212) in the first conductive region 121 that is not yellow etched. Fig. 4 can also be understood as a D-D cross-sectional view of the conductive grid lines of fig. 3.

In some embodiments, a conductive layer that is not yellow etched (e.g., conductive grid lines 1212 as shown in fig. 2 and 3 or conductive layers as shown in fig. 4) may include conductive nanolayers 123 and conductive protective layers 124. The hollowed-out lattice 1211 may be understood as being formed by etching the conductive nanolayer 123 and the conductive protective layer 124 by yellow etching.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, the conductive nanolayer 123 may be located below the conductive protective layer 124. In some embodiments, the conductive nanolayer 123 and the conductive protective layer 124 may be mixed (and may also be understood as not layering) to form the conductive layer 120 that is not yellow-etched.

In some embodiments, the conductive nano-layer 123 may include at least one of a nano-metal layer or a nano-metal wire layer. In some embodiments, where conductive nano-layer 123 includes a nano-metal layer and a nano-metal wire layer, the nano-metal layer may be located above or below the nano-metal wire layer. In some embodiments, the thickness of the nano-conductive layer 123 may be 100nm-500nm. In some embodiments, the thickness of the nano-conductive layer 123 may be 150nm-450nm. In some embodiments, the thickness of the nano-conductive layer 123 may be 200nm-400nm. In some embodiments, the thickness of the nano-conductive layer 123 may be 250nm-350nm.

In some embodiments, the nano-metal layer may include at least one of nano-gold, nano-silver, nano-copper, nano-platinum, nano-palladium, nano-aluminum, nano-tin, nano-lead, or nano-titanium. In some embodiments, the nano-metal layer may include a film layer structure made by magnetron sputtering of nano-metals (e.g., at least one of nano-gold, nano-silver, nano-copper, nano-platinum, nano-palladium, nano-aluminum, nano-tin, nano-lead, or nano-titanium). The nano metal or its alloy has an absorption effect on light of a specific wavelength band, and thus, the nano metal layer can not only adjust the chromaticity of the conductive nano layer 121, but also increase the conductivity of the manufactured conductive film 100. In some embodiments, the nano-metal layer may have a thickness of 3nm to 10nm. In some embodiments, the nano-metal layer may have a thickness of 4nm-9nm. In some embodiments, the nano-metal layer may have a thickness of 5nm-8nm. In some embodiments, the thickness of the nano-metal layer may be 6nm-7nm.

In some embodiments, the nanowire layer may include at least one of a nano silver wire, a nano gold wire, a nano copper wire, a nano platinum wire, a nano aluminum wire, a nano titanium wire, or a nano tin wire. In some embodiments, the nanowire layer may include a film layer structure made by coating nanowire ink. In some embodiments, the nanowire contained in the nanowire ink may include at least one of a nanowire, a nanogold wire, a nanowire copper wire, a nanowire platinum wire, a nanowire aluminum wire, a nanowire titanium wire, or a nanowire tin wire.

The conductive protective layer 124 may protect the conductive nanolayer 123 from corrosion. In some embodiments, the conductive protective layer 124 may include at least one of a polymer layer, a metal oxide layer, or a graphene layer.

In some embodiments, the polymer layer may include a film layer structure obtained by coating a protective liquid containing a polymer and then drying and curing. In some embodiments, the polymer-containing protective liquid may include, but is not limited to, one or more of aliphatic urethane acrylate, aromatic urethane acrylate, urethane methacrylate, diallyl phthalate, epoxy acrylate, and epoxy methacrylate. In some embodiments, when the conductive nano-layer 123 and the conductive protection layer 124 are layered (e.g., the conductive nano-layer 123 is located below the conductive protection layer 124), the thickness of the polymer layer may be 0.5nm-10nm. In some embodiments, the polymeric layer may have a thickness of 1nm to 9nm. In some embodiments, the polymeric layer may have a thickness of 2nm to 8nm. In some embodiments, the polymeric layer may have a thickness of 3nm to 7nm. In some embodiments, the polymeric layer may have a thickness of 4nm to 6nm. In some embodiments, the polymeric layer may have a thickness of 4.5nm to 5nm. In some embodiments, the polymeric layer may have a thickness of 0.5nm, 1nm, 3nm, 5nm, 7nm, 9nm, or 10nm.

In some embodiments, the metal oxide layer may include a film layer structure obtained by magnetron sputtering of a metal oxide. In some embodiments, the metal oxide may include, but is not limited to, indium Tin Oxide (ITO). In some embodiments, the thickness of the metal oxide layer may be 10nm-50nm when the conductive nanolayer 123 is layered with the conductive protective layer 124 (e.g., the conductive nanolayer 123 is positioned below the conductive protective layer 124). In some embodiments, the metal oxide layer may have a thickness of 15nm-45nm. In some embodiments, the metal oxide layer may have a thickness of 20nm-40nm. In some embodiments, the metal oxide layer may have a thickness of 25nm-35nm. In some embodiments, the metal oxide layer may have a thickness of 28nm-30nm. In some embodiments, the metal oxide layer may have a thickness of 10nm, 20nm, 30nm, 40nm, or 50nm.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, for different conductive protection layers 124 (for example, polymer layers or metal oxide layers), different thicknesses of the conductive protection layers 124 may be set, so that not only the weather resistance of the manufactured conductive film 100 may be improved, but also the difficulty of yellow etching may be reduced, and the efficiency of yellow etching may be improved.

By etching the conductive layer 120 using a yellow light etch, the yellow light etch can etch away the conductive nanolayer and the conductive protective layer 124 more effectively, which can result in the first conductive region of the conductive film having excellent optical properties (e.g., higher light transmittance, lower haze).

It should be noted that the above description of the conductive film is for the purpose of illustration and description only, and does not limit the scope of application of the present application. Various modifications and alterations to the conductive film will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the teachings of the present application. However, such modifications and variations are still within the scope of the present application.

One of the embodiments of the present specification provides a method for manufacturing a conductive film. The method may comprise the steps of:

step S1, preparing a conductive layer on a base film.

In some embodiments, the conductive layer may include a conductive nanolayer. The conductive nano-layer may include at least one of a nano-metal layer or a nano-metal wire layer.

In some embodiments, the nano-metal may be sputtered by magnetron to form a nano-metal layer. In some embodiments, the nanowire layer may be formed by coating nanowire ink. For example, the nanowire ink may be coated on a base film (e.g., PET base film, CPI base film) in a roll-to-roll coating manner to produce the nanowire layer. The solid content of the nanowire ink can be understood as the mass fraction of the nanowire in the nanowire ink. In some embodiments, the nanowire ink may have a solids content of 0.08% to 1.0%. In some embodiments, the diameter of the nanowire may be 10nm to 50nm. In some embodiments, the length of the nanowire may be 10 μm to 40 μm.

In some embodiments, the conductive layer may further include a conductive protective layer. In some embodiments, the conductive protective layer may include at least one of a polymer layer, a metal oxide layer, or a graphene layer. In some embodiments, preparing the conductive protective layer may include coating a protective solution containing a polymer on the conductive nano layer, and drying to obtain the polymer layer. In some embodiments, preparing the conductive protective layer may include forming a metal oxide layer by magnetron sputtering a metal oxide on the conductive nanolayer. In some embodiments, preparing the conductive protective layer may include obtaining a graphene layer by coating a graphene oxide solution on the conductive nanolayer, drying and reducing.

In some embodiments, where the conductive nanolayer and the conductive protective layer are not layered, preparing the conductive layer on the base film may include mixing the nanowire ink and the protective liquid and then coating the mixture on the base film.

In some embodiments, when the conductive nano-layer and the conductive protective layer are layered, preparing the conductive layer on the base film may include preparing a nano-wire layer on the base film and preparing the conductive protective layer on the nano-wire layer.

And S2, yellow etching the conductive layer to obtain a conductive film, wherein the conductive layer comprises a first conductive region which is etched by yellow to form a conductive grid structure and a second conductive region which is not etched by yellow, and the second conductive region surrounds the first conductive region.

In some embodiments, in step S2, a photoresist may be coated (e.g., by a roll-to-roll apparatus) over the base film and the conductive layer that is not yellow etched in a yellow light environment, and the photoresist may be dried to obtain a film material. In some embodiments, the photoresist thickness after drying is 1.2 μm to 1.8 μm. In some embodiments, a negative photosensitive dry film material of a predetermined thickness (e.g., 10 μm to 30 μm) may also be pressed on the conductive layer. The film material is protected from light during storage, transfer or transportation. In some embodiments, transferring the photoresist coated film through an exposure to a pattern on a film may include continuous exposure or sheet exposure. The pattern on the film may be a polygonal mesh image (e.g., square mesh pattern, diamond mesh pattern, etc.). The pattern on the film matches the pattern formed by the conductive grid structure.

In some embodiments, the exposed film may be developed with a developer solution on DES (DES is an abbreviation for development), etching, stripping, to give a grid pattern, and the developed film may be transferred to an oven for baking. In some embodiments, the developer may be 0.8wt% to 0.9wt% KOH developer, or 0.7 to 1.2wt% sodium carbonate solution. In some embodiments, the baking temperature of the oven may be 80 ℃ to 120 ℃. In some embodiments, the baking time of the oven may be 60s to 300s.

In some embodiments, an etching process and a film-removing process may be performed on the DES line to obtain a conductive film. The etching solution can be hydrochloric acid-nitric acid system, ferric chloride system, ferric nitrate-nitric acid system, phosphoric acid-nitric acid-acetic acid system, etc., and the film removing solution is NaOH aqueous solution, etc.

In some embodiments, the first conductive region manufactured by the above method may have a visible light transmittance of 80% to 92%, a haze of 0.8% to 4.0%, and an area resistance of 5 Ω to 150 Ω.

For the description of the base film, the conductive layer, the conductive nano layer, the nano metal layer, the conductive protection layer, the polymer layer, the metal oxide layer, the first conductive region, the second conductive region, and the conductive film, reference may be made to other parts of the present specification (e.g., fig. 1 to 4 and related descriptions thereof), and the description thereof will not be repeated here.

The preparation of the conductive film by the yellow etching method can enable the first conductive area of the conductive film to have excellent optical performance. For example, the visible light transmittance of the first conductive region may reach 80% -92%, and the haze of the conductive film may reach 4.0% or less. Compared to laser etching, the embodiment of the present specification can improve the production efficiency of the conductive film by preparing the conductive film (e.g., the first conductive region) having the above-described specific structure by yellow etching, and is suitable for mass production on a large scale.

It should be noted that the above description of the method of producing the conductive film is for illustration and description only, and does not limit the scope of application of the present application. Various modifications and variations of the method of making the conductive film may be made by those skilled in the art under the guidance of the present application. However, such modifications and variations are still within the scope of the present application.

One of the embodiments of the present disclosure also provides a touch electrode. The touch electrode comprises the conductive film. In some embodiments, the touch electrode may include a touch pattern and a lead. The touch pattern may be formed on a first conductive region of the conductive film, and the lead may be formed on a second conductive region of the conductive film. Since the first conductive region of the conductive film has excellent optical performance, the touch electrode also has excellent optical performance.

One of the embodiments of the present disclosure also provides a method for manufacturing a touch electrode using the foregoing conductive film. The method may include: preparing a touch pattern of a touch electrode in the first conductive area through laser etching; and preparing a lead of the touch electrode in the second conductive area through laser etching. According to the embodiment of the specification, the preparation of the touch pattern and the lead of the touch electrode can be completed at one time by adopting laser etching, the traditional operations such as silk screen silver paste and the like are not needed, the production process of the touch electrode can be simplified, and the preparation efficiency of the touch electrode is improved.

In some embodiments, the visible light transmittance of the touch electrode may be 80% -92%.

In some embodiments, the haze of the touch electrode may be 0.8% to 4.0%.

It should be noted that the above description of the touch electrode and the preparation method thereof is only for illustration and description, and does not limit the application scope of the present application. Various modifications and variations of the touch electrode and the method of making the same may be made by those skilled in the art under the guidance of the present application. However, such modifications and variations are still within the scope of the present application.

Table 1 is related experimental data of the conductive film prepared according to the aforementioned preparation method. It should be noted that table 1 does not list all relevant parameters.

Table 1 example 1-example 5 and comparative example alignment table

Table 1 example 1-example 5 and comparative example alignment table (follow-up)

As can be seen from table 1, the transmittance of the first conductive region of the conductive film prepared according to the conductive film preparation method (yellow etching) in the above-described embodiment can be 88% or more, and the haze of the first conductive region can be 3.2% or less. It should be noted that, each parameter in the above table is only a parameter record of a single experimental data, and does not necessarily mean that all the above parameters are required to be adopted, so that the effect of improving the light transmittance and the haze of the first conductive region of the conductive film can be achieved. For example, when the base film and the conductive layer surface resistance which has not been subjected to yellow etching are different from the parameters recorded in examples 1 to 3 in the above table, the transmittance of the first conductive region of the conductive film prepared according to the above-described method for preparing a conductive film can also be 85% or more, and the haze can also be less than 3.2%.

The possible beneficial effects of the embodiment of the application include but are not limited to: (1) The first conductive area of the conductive film can be used for preparing the touch pattern of the touch electrode, the second conductive area can be used for preparing the lead of the touch electrode, the preparation of the touch electrode can be facilitated, meanwhile, the preparation of the touch pattern and the lead of the touch electrode can be completed at one time by adopting laser etching, the traditional operations such as silk screen silver paste are not needed, the production process of the touch electrode can be simplified, and the preparation efficiency of the touch electrode is improved. (2) The first conductive region of the conductive film has excellent optical properties, wherein visible light transmittance can be 80% -92% and haze is 0.8% -4.0%; (3) Compared with laser etching, the embodiment of the present specification prepares a conductive film (e.g., a first conductive region) having a specific structure by yellow etching, can improve the production efficiency of the conductive film, and is suitable for mass production on a large scale; (4) The touch electrode prepared by the conductive film has excellent optical performance, wherein the light transmittance is 80-92%, and the haze is 0.8-4.0%; it should be noted that, the advantages that may be generated by different embodiments may be different, and in different embodiments, the advantages that may be generated may be any one or a combination of several of the above, or any other possible advantages that may be obtained.

While the basic concepts have been described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing detailed disclosure is by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting. Although not explicitly described herein, various modifications, improvements, and adaptations to the present disclosure may occur to one skilled in the art. Such modifications, improvements, and modifications are intended to be suggested within this specification, and therefore, such modifications, improvements, and modifications are intended to be included within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Meanwhile, the specification uses specific words to describe the embodiments of the specification. Reference to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and/or "some embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is associated with at least one embodiment of the present description. Thus, it should be emphasized and should be appreciated that two or more references to "an embodiment" or "one embodiment" or "an alternative embodiment" in various positions in this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, certain features, structures, or characteristics of one or more embodiments of the present description may be combined as suitable.

Likewise, it should be noted that in order to simplify the presentation disclosed in this specification and thereby aid in understanding one or more inventive embodiments, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. This method of disclosure, however, is not intended to imply that more features than are presented in the claims are required for the present description. Indeed, less than all of the features of a single embodiment disclosed above.

Finally, it should be understood that the embodiments described in this specification are merely illustrative of the principles of the embodiments of this specification. Other variations are possible within the scope of this description. Thus, by way of example, and not limitation, alternative configurations of embodiments of the present specification may be considered as consistent with the teachings of the present specification. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present specification are not limited to only the embodiments explicitly described and depicted in the present specification.

Claims

1. A conductive film, characterized in that the conductive film comprises a base film and a conductive layer, the conductive layer is covered on the base film,

the conductive layer includes a first conductive region and a second conductive region, wherein,

the first conductive region comprises a conductive mesh structure; the conductive grid structure comprises a plurality of hollow spaces and conductive grid lines;

the second conductive area is arranged around the first conductive area, and the second conductive area is communicated with the conductive grid lines; the area resistance of the first conductive area is larger than the area resistance of the second conductive area.

2. The conductive film of claim 1, wherein the conductive layer has at least two of the first conductive regions thereon and the second conductive region is between adjacent two of the first conductive regions.

3. The conductive film according to claim 2, wherein,

the at least two first conductive areas are arranged in an array manner;

the first conductive region is circular or polygonal in shape.

4. A conductive film according to claim 2, wherein the minimum spacing between two adjacent first conductive regions is 200mm-350mm.

5. The conductive film of claim 1, wherein the conductive layer comprises a conductive nanolayer comprising at least one of a nano-metal layer or a nano-metal wire layer, wherein,

the nano metal layer comprises at least one of nano gold, nano silver, nano copper, nano platinum, nano palladium, nano aluminum, nano tin, nano lead or nano titanium;

the nano metal wire layer comprises at least one of nano silver wires, nano gold wires, nano copper wires, nano platinum wires, nano aluminum wires, nano titanium wires or nano tin wires.

6. The conductive film of claim 1, wherein,

the ratio of the area resistance of the first conductive area to the area resistance of the second conductive area is not less than 5;

the surface resistance of the first conductive area is 5Ω/≡150 Ω/≡and the surface resistance of the second conductive area is 0.1Ω/≡10 Ω/≡.

7. The conductive film of claim 1, wherein,

the visible light transmittance of the first conductive region is greater than the visible light transmittance of the second conductive region;

the visible light transmittance of the first conductive area is 80% -92%, and the visible light transmittance of the second conductive area is 20% -85%.

8. The conductive film of claim 1, wherein,

the conductive mesh structure is formed from the conductive layer by yellow light etching.

9. A method of producing a conductive film, the method comprising:

preparing a conductive layer on the base film; and

etching the conductive layer to obtain the conductive film, wherein,

the conductive layer comprises a first conductive area which is etched to form a conductive grid structure and a second conductive area which is not etched;

the conductive grid structure comprises a plurality of hollow spaces and conductive grid lines; the second conductive area surrounds the first conductive area, and the second conductive area is communicated with the conductive grid lines; the area resistance of the first conductive area is larger than the area resistance of the second conductive area.

10. The method of manufacturing of claim 9, wherein etching the conductive layer comprises:

The first conductive region including the conductive mesh structure is formed on the conductive layer by yellow light etching.

11. A touch electrode comprising the conductive film according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the touch electrode comprising a touch pattern and a lead, wherein,

the touch control pattern is formed in the first conductive area;

the lead is formed in the second conductive region.

12. A method for manufacturing a touch electrode, characterized in that the conductive film according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is used, the method comprising:

preparing a touch pattern of the touch electrode in the first conductive area through laser etching; and

and preparing a lead of the touch electrode in the second conductive area through laser etching.