Modeling and analysis of touch on flexible ultra-thin touch sensor panels for AMOLED displays employing finite element methods

• Published in: Microsystem technologies : sensors, actuators, systems integration actuators, systems integration, 2017-11, Vol.23 (11), p.5211-5220
• Main Authors: Chou, Kuo-Yu, Chao, Paul C.-P., Chen, Chuan-Xin, Wu, Chang-Xian, Huang, Sheng-Chieh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Electronics and Microelectronics; Engineering; Instrumentation; Mechanical Engineering; Nanotechnology; Technical Paper
• ISSN: 0946-7076; 1432-1858
• DOI: 10.1007/s00542-016-3241-4

The work employs the finite element method (FEM) to model the touch on the flexible ultra-thin touch sensor panel for analyzing touch characteristics and signals. Touch sensor panel readout circuits typically depend on touch signals to determine whether the touch sensor panel is touched or not. However, the ultra-thin touch sensor panel encountered a problem which cannot correctly recognize touch points on this type of touch sensor panel (TSP) on active-matrix organic light emitting diodes (AMOLED) displays since its electrical characteristics are different from the one of the conventional TSP. The modeling techniques for the flexible ultra-thin touch sensor panel on an AMOLED display is used to analyze touch signals from the influence of the thickness of top over layer of the flexible ultra-thin TSP and to observe the variations of mutual capacitance from touch on the flexible ultra-thin TSP. When the flexible ultra-thin touch sensor panel with the thickness of the top over layer less than the threshold thickness of the top over layer is on multi-touch, the phenomenon of the ghost points are generated. The simulation to find the threshold thickness of the top over layer based on the FEM model is conducted, and the simulation results show the top layer thickness should be larger than 107 µm to eliminate the ghost points. Furthermore, a new solution that is an optimization of the electrode pattern of transmitters and receivers in the ultra-thin touch sensor panel to further minimize the threshold thickness of the top over layer of TSP without changing the physical structure of TSP is proposed. The results conducted by using this proposed solution show that TSP top over layer threshold thickness can be reduced to 65 µm without appearance of the ghost points.