Low-resistance transparent film targets touch panels, antennas, heaters
The new generation of this film material, Raybird, employs proprietary particle dispersion and photosensitive polymer design technologies. Its processes are simpler than sputtering or vapor deposition for copper or other metal film electrodes. Raybird metal mesh electrodes is 4 micrometers or less thick, matching stringent reliability standards for automotive applications. Manufacturers have thus employed this material in car navigation systems, whose displays are getting increasingly larger.
Toray recognized the need to further reduce resistance to deliver higher sensitivity for contactless touch panels and accommodate the increased electrodes of bigger displays. It thereby improved its particle dispersion technology to pack nano-conductive particles more densely. This reduced sheet resistance by almost 90%, to just two ohms per square, around the same as metal mesh, with a metal mesh pattern with visible light transmittance exceeding 90%.
The European Union mandates a touch panel reflectance of no more than 0.15% to enhance safety. Toray attained a reflectance of under 0.10%, suppressing glare and improving visibility, by using a proprietary photosensitive black material to develop a wire blackening process that does not compromise low resistance and fine electrodes formability.
Toray looks for Raybird material incorporating these technological advances to replace metal mesh in electrodes material because of its low resistance reflection, flexibility, and outstanding reliability. Potential applications other than touch panels include transparent 5G antennas and transparent heaters, which require low resistance, visibility, and reliability. Because the electrical resistance of Raybird remains unchanged even after repeated bending, Toray also targets applications in flexible touch sensors and diverse other advanced devices.
https://www.electronics.toray/en/
