Breakthrough Improvements in Touchscreen Production
A new manufacturing process allows touchscreens to be flexible, curved, 3-D or wearable.
Heraeus recently announced that, in collaboration with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), it has developed an improved mass-manufacturing process for its Clevios™-based films used in touch panels and sensors for a variety of electronics devices. This process will reportedly enable companies to use Clevios-based films to produce touchscreens with greater functionality, including the ability to be flexible, curved, 3-D or wearable.
The collaboration involved researching the application of Clevios PEDOT conductive polymer-coated films (provided by EOC/Nanya Plastics and Eternal Materials Co.) to fully functional 7-in. touch panels. Optimum parameter sets with wide process windows were determined for all of the processing steps, including sensor patterning, silver trace printing, FPC bonding, and touch sensor film lamination. Process run cards and quality control steps were implemented, and statistical analysis was performed to characterize the process. The touch panels produced were fully functional; five-point multi-touch and pilot production suggested high yields. In addition, a new fine-line low-temperature silver paste, LT Silver® P optimized for Clevios touch sensors, was used for the silver trace screen-printing.