Multi-via structures for touchscreens

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10521049-B2
Application number	US-201816144911-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 27, 2018
Priority date	Sep 29, 2017
Publication date	Dec 31, 2019
Grant date	Dec 31, 2019

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a touch screen including a first electrode layer, a second electrode layer, and a third electrode layer. The touch screen can include shield-sensor vias connecting the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer and shield-shield vias connecting the first electrode layer and the third electrode layer, for example. The shield-sensor vias can be placed in a bond pad region of the touch screen, which can further include connections between one or more routing traces connected to one or more touch electrodes and touch or other circuitry further included in the electronic device. The shield-shield vias can be placed in an outer region located around an inner region of the touch screen. In some examples, one or more routing traces can include diverted portions to maintain a threshold distance between the routing traces and the one or more shield-shield vias.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A touch sensor panel comprising:
a first electrode layer comprising a first shielding electrode;
a second electrode layer comprising one or more touch electrodes coupled to one or more routing traces; a third electrode layer comprising a second shielding electrode;
a bond pad region comprising a plurality of connections to the one or more routing traces, the connections in the bond pad region different from connections between the one or more routing traces and the one or more touch electrodes;
a plurality of vias comprising:
one or more first vias electrically coupling the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, the one or more first vias placed within the bond pad region; and
one or more second vias electrically coupling the first electrode layer and the third electrode layer, wherein the first electrode layer and the third electrode layer are disposed above and below the second electrode layer, respectively.

2. The touch sensor panel of claim 1 , wherein the one or more routing traces are coupled to touch sensing circuitry by way of the connections in the bond pad region.

3. The touch sensor panel of claim 1 , wherein:
each of the one or more routing traces comprises a first conductive portion in an inner region of the touch sensor panel and a second conductive portion in an outer region of the touch sensor panel, the outer region located around the inner region, wherein:
the first conductive portions have a lower conductivity than the second conductive portions, and
the one or more second vias are located in the outer region.

4. The touch sensor panel of claim 3 , wherein:
the one or more routing traces comprises a first routing trace coupled to a first touch electrode,
the first touch electrode is a first distance from one of the one or more second vias,
the first conductive portion of the first routing trace is longer than the first distance such that the first routing trace is separated from the one of the one or more second vias by at least a threshold distance.

5. The touch sensor panel of claim 3 , wherein:
the one or more routing traces comprises a first routing trace coupled to a first touch electrode,
the first touch electrode is a first distance from one of the one or more second vias,
the first routing trace further comprises a third conductive portion, the one of the one or more second vias placed between the third conductive portion and the second conductive portion,
the first conductive portion of the first routing trace comprises a diverted portion connected to the second conductive portion and the third conductive portion such that the first routing trace is separated from the one of the one or more second vias by at least a threshold distance.

6. The touch sensor panel of claim 3 , wherein the first conductive portions include ITO and the second conductive portions include copper.

7. The touch sensor panel of claim 1 , further comprising:
an inner region, the inner region including the one or more touch electrodes; and
a first opaque mask around the inner region, the first opaque mask comprising one or more notches, wherein the one or more second vias are placed in the one or more notches of the first opaque mask.

8. The touch sensor panel of claim 7 , further comprising:
a cover material located on an opposite side of the first electrode layer than the second electrode layer; and
a second opaque mask placed on the cover material, the second opaque mask having an interior edge and an exterior edge, the interior edge located further from the one or more touch electrodes than an interior edge of the first opaque mask.

9. The touch sensor panel of claim 7 , wherein:
one or more of the first electrode layer, the second electrode layer, and the third electrode layer include one or more tabs extending outward at radial locations of the touch sensor panel having the one or more notches of the first opaque mask.

10. The touch sensor panel of claim 1 , further comprising:
a passivation layer placed on the first electrode layer and second electrode layer such that the first electrode layer is between the passivation layer and the second electrode layer, wherein:
the first electrode layer includes a first hole,
the second electrode layer includes a second hole,
the passivation layer includes a third hole larger than the first hole,
the first hole, second hole, and third hole overlap one another, and
at least one of the one or more first vias placed within the first hole, second hole, and third hole comprises an endcap in contact with the first electrode layer, the endcap overlapping a region of the first electrode layer exposed by the third hole in the passivation layer.

11. The touch sensor panel of claim 1 , further comprising:
a passivation layer placed on the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer such that the second electrode layer is located between the passivation layer and the first electrode layer; and
a conformal layer on the second electrode layer and the passivation layer, wherein:
the first electrode layer includes a first hole,
the second electrode layer includes a second hole,
the passivation layer includes a third hole larger than the second hole,
the first hole, second hole, and third hole overlap one another,
one of the one or more first vias placed within the first hole, the second hole, and the third hole comprises an endcap in contact with the second electrode layer,
the second electrode layer comprises an exposed region between the endcap and the passivation layer, and
the conformal layer completely overlaps the exposed region of the second electrode layer.

12. The touch sensor panel of claim 1 , wherein:
the one or more second vias are oval vias having an extended structure in one dimension.

13. A method of sensing touch at a touch sensor panel, the method comprising:
shielding noise using a first shielding electrode placed on a first electrode layer;
sensing touch using one or more touch electrodes placed on a second electrode layer;
shielding noise using a second shielding electrode placed on a third electrode layer;
connecting, using one or more routing traces included in the second electrode layer, the one or more touch electrodes to one or more bond pad regions;
electrically coupling, using one or more first vias placed in the one or more bond pad regions, the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer;
electrically coupling, using one or more second vias placed outside the bond pad region, the first electrode layer and the third electrode layer; and
driving the first, second, and third electrode layers to a same potential,
wherein the first electrode layer and the third electrode layer are disposed above and below the second electrode layer, respectively.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
sensing touch using touch sensing circuitry coupled to the one or more routing traces by way of one or more connections within the one or more bond pad regions.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
routing one or more signals from the one or more touch electrodes using the one or more routing traces coupled to the one or more touch electrodes, each routing trace comprising a first conductive portion in an inner region of the touch sensor panel and a second conductive portion in an outer region of the touch sensor panel, the outer region around the inner region, wherein:
the first conductive portion has a lower conductivity than the second conductive portion, and
the one or more second vias are located in the outer region.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Schultz David Sheldon
• Sharma Prithu
• Gaubert Zachary M

Classifications

• G06F3/0412

  Digitisers structurally integrated in a display · CPC title

• G06F2203/04107

  Shielding in digitiser, i.e. guard or shielding arrangements, mostly for capacitive touchscreens, e.g. driven shields, driven grounds · CPC title

• G06F3/0445

  using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer · CPC title

• G06F2203/04103

  Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices · CPC title

• G06F3/0443

  using a single layer of sensing electrodes · CPC title