Apple Inc.

Jeffrey M Weisse

Chun-Hao Tung

Wenqing Dai

Ji Hun Choi

Karan S Jain

Zhou Lu

Sung Yul Chu

Disclosed herein is a touch sensor panel that includes a substrate that includes a bending portion, and a plurality of electrodes formed in a first layer on a first surface of the substrate, the plurality of electrodes forming first electrodes and second electrodes and the plurality of electrodes defining an active area for touch sensing. The touch sensor panel further includes a plurality of routing traces formed in the first layer on the first surface of the substrate in a border area outside the active area and formed from the first material (copper), a plurality of bridges formed in a second layer, the plurality of bridges connecting groups of the plurality of electrodes to form the first electrodes and formed from a second material (silver), and sensing circuitry connected to the substrate and to the plurality of routing traces at a location after the bending portion.

Touch sensor panel with reduced dimensions and cross-coupling

Touch screens with ultra-thin stack-ups can provide for a lower profile device, can improve the optical image on the display by reducing the display to cover glass distance, and can reduce the weight of the device. In some examples, the thickness of the touch screen stack-up can be reduced and/or the border region reduced, by removing the flex circuit connection from the stack-up. A flexible substrate can be used to enable routing of touch electrodes to touch circuitry. In some examples including a shield layer, the thickness of the touch screen stack-up can be reduced by routing the shield layer to a shield electrode on the touch sensor panel. The shield layer can then be routed to touch sensing circuitry via the flexible substrate. In some examples, the touch sensor panel or a portion of thereof can be integrated with the polarizer.

Ultra-thin touch sensors

Growing community of inventors

Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Jeffrey M Weisse