Laser scribing of indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films deposited on various substrates for touch panels

In this study, a Nd:YAG laser with wavelength of 1064 nm is used to scribe the indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films coated on three types of substrate materials, i.e. soda-lime glass, polycarbonate (PC), and cyclic-olefin-copolymer (COC) materials with thickness of 20 nm, 30 nm, and 20 nm, respectively. The effect of exposure time adjusted from 10 μs to 100 μs on the ablated mark width, depth, and electrical properties of the scribed film was investigated. The maximum laser power of 2.2 W was used to scribe these thin films. In addition, the surface morphology, surface reaction, surface roughness, optical properties, and electrical conductivity properties were measured by a scanning electron microscope, a three-dimensional confocal laser scanning microscope, an atomic force microscope, and a four-point probe. The measured results of surface morphology show that the residual ITO layer was produced on the scribed path with the laser exposure time at 10 μs and 20 μs. The better edge qualities of the scribed lines can be obtained when the exposure time extends from 30 μs to 60 μs. When the laser exposure time is longer than 60 μs, the partially burned areas of the scribed thin films on PC and COC substrates are observed. Moreover, the isolated line width and resistivity values increase when the laser exposure time increases.