Disclosure of Invention
Problems to be solved by the invention
When the scribing process is performed by the filament formation of the laser process, a large force is required to separate the glass substrate along the scribe line. Therefore, when the scribe line is separated, chipping, cracking, and the like are likely to occur, and the yield is reduced.
The invention aims to process a glass substrate in a manner of easy subsequent separation when forming a scribing line on the glass substrate by laser processing.
Means for solving the problems
Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments will be described as means for solving the problem. These means may be combined arbitrarily as required.
A scribing method according to an embodiment of the present invention is a method for scribing a glass substrate, and includes the following steps.
The scribing line forming step is a step of forming a scribing line by intermittently performing internal processing of the glass substrate in a planar direction by a pulse of the laser device.
And a scribe line forming step of forming a scribe line along the glass substrate by intermittently performing internal processing of the glass substrate in a planar direction by a pulse of a laser device.
In this method, when a fracture line is formed, the structure of a processed portion is broken in the glass substrate, and an impact is applied to the scribe line. Due to this impact, cracking occurs in the scribe line or crack development occurs. As a result, separation of the scribe line becomes easy.
In the breaking line forming step, the breaking line may be formed at a position different from the scribing line in a plan view.
In this method, the impact on the scribe line can be sufficiently increased by setting the disintegration of the structure so as not to reach the scribe line.
The break line may be formed substantially parallel to the scribe line.
In this method, the impact can be given to the scribe line as a whole.
In the scribe line forming step and the break line forming step, the light condensing state may be different.
In this method, the scribe line can be formed in a condensed state in which sufficient impact can be applied to the scribe line in the scribe line forming step.
In the scribe line forming step and the break line forming step, the light condensing state can be changed by operating the lens.
In this method, the scribe line and the break line can be processed by 1 laser device, and thus the manufacturing cost is reduced.
In the scribe line forming step and the break line forming step, the condensed state can be changed by modulating the spatial light.
In this method, the scribe line and the break line can be processed by 1 laser device, and thus the manufacturing cost is reduced.
Another aspect of the invention provides a scribing apparatus including: a laser device; and a control unit for causing the laser device to execute the scribing method.
Effects of the invention
In the case of the scribing method and the scribing apparatus of the present invention, when forming the scribing line on the glass substrate by laser processing, the processing can be performed in such a manner that the subsequent separation is easy.
Detailed Description
1. Embodiment 1
(1) Is formed integrally
Fig. 1 shows an overall configuration of a laser processing apparatus 1 for cutting a glass substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a laser processing apparatus according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
The laser processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus for performing full-cut processing on a glass substrate G.
The glass substrate G is made of soda glass and has a thickness of 1.1 to 3mm, for example, 1.8 mm.
The laser processing apparatus 1 includes a laser device 3. The laser device 3 includes: a laser oscillator 15 for irradiating a glass substrate G with laser light; and a laser control section 17. The laser oscillator 15 is, for example, a picosecond laser having a wavelength of 340 to 1100 nm. The laser control unit 17 can control the driving of the laser oscillator 15 and the laser power.
The laser device 3 includes a transmission optical system 5 that transmits laser light to a mechanical drive system described later. The transmission optical system 5 includes, for example, a condenser lens 19, a plurality of mirrors (not shown), a prism (not shown), and the like.
The laser processing apparatus 1 includes a drive mechanism 11, and the drive mechanism 11 changes a condensing angle of the laser light by moving a position of the lens in an optical axis direction.
The laser processing apparatus 1 has a processing table 7 on which a glass substrate G is placed. The machining table 7 is moved by the table driving unit 13. The table driving unit 13 includes a moving device (not shown) that moves the processing table 7 in the horizontal direction with respect to the bed (not shown). The moving device is a known mechanism having a guide rail, a motor, and the like.
The laser processing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 9. The control section 9 is a computer system having a processor (e.g., CPU), a storage device (e.g., ROM, RAM, HDD, SSD, etc.), and various interfaces (e.g., a/D converter, D/a converter, communication interface, etc.). The control unit 9 executes a program stored in a storage unit (corresponding to a part or all of a storage area of the storage device) to perform various control operations.
The control unit 9 may be configured by a single processor, but may be configured by a plurality of processors independent for respective control.
The controller 9 can control the laser controller 17. The control unit 9 can control the drive mechanism 11. The control unit 9 can control the stage driving unit 13.
Although not shown, a sensor for detecting the size, shape, and position of the glass substrate G, a sensor and a switch for detecting the state of each device, and an information input device are connected to the control unit 9.
(2) Scribing method
A scribing method by the laser processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to fig. 2 to 6. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the glass substrate according to embodiment 1. Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a glass substrate. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the glass substrate for explaining a state of the pulse processing. Fig. 5 is a schematic plan view of the glass substrate in the scribing line forming process. Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a glass substrate in a broken line forming process.
(2-1) general description
The scribing method includes the following steps.
The scribe line forming step is to intermittently perform the internal processing of the glass substrate G in the planar direction by the pulse L1 of the laser apparatus 3, thereby forming the scribe line 31 (see fig. 3 to 5 in particular).
After the scribe line forming step, the inside of the glass substrate G is intermittently processed in the planar direction by the pulse L2 of the laser apparatus 3, thereby forming the scribe line 33 along the scribe line 31 (see fig. 3 to 4 and 6 in particular).
In the scribe line forming step, a processing mark extending long along the optical axis is formed in the glass substrate G at the laser irradiated portion. The processing mark extends between the surfaces of the glass substrates G.
In the above-described breaking line forming step, a partial processing mark is formed inside the glass substrate G at the laser irradiated portion.
In this method, when the fracture line 33 is formed, the structure of the processed portion is broken in the glass substrate G, and an impact is applied to the scribe line 31. Due to this impact, a crack is generated or developed in the scribe line 31. As a result, the scribe line 31 is easily separated.
(2-2) detailed description
In fig. 2, the glass substrate G has a ring-shaped scribe line 31, and a break line 33 is formed outside the scribe line 31. The breaking line may be formed inside the scribing line. The scribe line and the break line may have other shapes than a ring shape.
As shown in FIG. 4, the pitch D1 of the pulse irradiation position S1 constituting the scribe line 31 is in the range of 1 to 6 μm. In addition, the pitch D2 of the pulse irradiation positions S2 constituting the broken line 33 is shorter than the pitch D1. Specifically, the pitch D2 is in the range of 0.5 to 3 μm.
Specifically, in the breaking line forming step, the breaking line 33 is formed at a position different from the scribe line 31 in a plan view. Therefore, by setting the disintegration of the structure so as not to reach the scribe line 31, the impact on the scribe line 31 can be sufficiently increased by the formation of the break line 33.
More specifically, the break line 33 is formed substantially parallel to the scribe line 31. Therefore, by forming the break line, the impact can be given to the scribing line 31 as a whole. However, the two are not necessarily partially or entirely parallel. The breaking line does not need to correspond to all the scribe lines, and may be formed to correspond to only a necessary portion of the scribe line.
The reason why the scribing line 31 is easily separated by processing the breaking line 33 is as follows. That is, when the break line 33 is formed near the scribe line 31, the structure of the processed portion is broken in the glass substrate G, and impact is generated on the scribed portion. Due to this impact, cracks are generated in the scribe portion, and separation of the scribe line 31 becomes easy.
The distance D3 between the scribe line 31 and the break line 33 is, for example, 45 μm. The distance D3 is preferably in the range of 5 to 70 μm, and more preferably 30 to 60 μm. The distances D3 may not all be the same, i.e., break lines may be formed at a plurality of different distances relative to the scribe line.
If the distance is too short, the range of the applied impact becomes narrow, and the disintegration of the structure reaches the scribe line 31, so that a part of the scribe line is disintegrated, and the impact on the scribe line 31 becomes small. Therefore, separation of the scribing line 31 becomes difficult.
If the distance is too long, the range of the impact is too wide, and the impact on the scribe line 31 is reduced.
More specifically, the light-condensing state is different between the scribe line forming step and the break line forming step. As a result, the break line 33 can be formed in a condensed state that can provide sufficient impact to the scribe line 31 in the break line forming step.
For example, the processing conditions of the scribing line 31 are as follows.
1) Pulse energy: 400 μ J (preferably 200 μ J or more)
2) Processing the distance: 4 μm (preferably 1 to 6 μm)
In this case, the beam waist of the pulse L1 is located inside the glass substrate G. According to the above results, a processing mark extending from the upper surface to the lower surface of the glass substrate G was formed.
The processing conditions of the fracture line 33 are as follows.
1) Pulse energy: 150 μ J (preferably 100 μ J or more)
2) Processing the distance: 1 μm (preferably, in the range of 0.5 to 3 μm)
In this case, the focal point of the pulse L2 is located at the middle in the thickness direction of the glass substrate G, and the pulse energy is small and the light collection angle is large compared to the processing conditions for the scribe line 31. According to the above results, a partial processing mark was formed in the middle of the glass substrate G in the thickness direction.
In order to change the light converging angle, the light converging state is changed by the lens operation by the driving mechanism 11 in the scribing line forming process and the breaking line forming process. Therefore, the scribe line 31 and the break line 33 can be processed by 1 laser device 3, and thus the manufacturing cost is reduced.
(3) Examples of the invention
A plurality of experimental examples will be described with reference to fig. 7 to 11. Fig. 7 is a photograph of a cross section along a scribe line of the reference example. Fig. 8 and 11 are cross-sectional views along the scribing line of the comparative example. Fig. 9 to 11 are photographs of a cross section along the scribe line of the embodiment.
Fig. 7 shows a reference example, which is an example in which only scribe lines are formed. That is, no fracture line was formed, and thus no processing mark due to the fracture line was observed.
FIG. 8 shows a comparative example, where the distance D3 is 0 μm. In this case, the disintegration of the structure reaches the scribe line, and a part of the scribe line disintegrates. As a result, dividing the scribe line becomes difficult.
Fig. 9 shows embodiment 1 with a distance D3 of 35 μm. A processing mark generated by the formation of the fracture line appears on the cut surface. The plurality of processing marks extend long in the vertical direction.
Fig. 10 shows embodiment 2 with a distance D3 of 45 μm. The machining mark generated by the formation of the fracture line appears on the cut surface. The plurality of machining marks are shorter in the vertical direction than in example 1.
Fig. 11 shows embodiment 3 with a distance D3 of 50 μm. In this case, the machining mark formed by the fracture line does not appear on the cut surface.
2. Embodiment 2
In the scribe line forming step and the break line forming step, the condensed state can be changed by modulating the spatial light.
This embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a schematic view of a laser processing apparatus according to embodiment 2.
The laser processing apparatus 1A includes a spatial light modulator 21 for modulating laser light emitted from the laser apparatus 3. The Spatial Light Modulator 21 may be, for example, a reflective type Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) which may be a reflective Liquid Crystal (LCOS). The spatial light modulator 21 modulates the laser light incident from the horizontal direction and reflects the laser light downward.
The laser processing apparatus 1A includes a driving unit 23. The driving unit 23 applies a predetermined voltage to each pixel electrode in the spatial light modulator 21 to cause the liquid crystal layer to display a predetermined modulation pattern, thereby modulating the laser light as desired by the spatial light modulator 21. Here, the modulation pattern displayed on the liquid crystal layer is derived in advance based on, for example, the position where the machining mark is to be formed, the wavelength of the laser beam to be irradiated, the material of the object to be machined, the refractive index of the transmission optical system 5 or the object to be machined, and the like, and is stored in the control unit 9.
In this method, since the scribe line and the break line can be processed by 1 laser device 3, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
3. Embodiment 3
As a modification of embodiment 1, embodiment 3 in which the pitch of the fracture line is changed will be described. Other conditions are the same as those in embodiment 1.
In this embodiment, the pitch D1 of the pulse irradiation positions S1 constituting the scribe line 31 is in the range of 1 to 6 μm. Further, unlike embodiment 1, the pitch D2 of the pulse irradiation positions S2 constituting the fracture line 33 is about the same as the pitch D1. Specifically, the pitch D2 is in the range of 1 to 6 μm.
In this embodiment, the distance D3 between the scribe line 31 and the break line 33 is in the range of 5 to 300 μm. The above range is preferably 30 to 60 μm or 100 to 190 μm, for example. The distances D3 may not all be the same, i.e., break lines may be formed at a plurality of different distances relative to the scribe line.
For example, the processing conditions of the scribe line 31 are as follows.
1) Pulse energy: 667 μ J
2) Processing the distance: 4 μm (processing speed 600mm/s, repetition frequency 150kHz)
In this case, the beam waist of the pulse L1 is located inside the glass substrate G. According to the above results, a processing mark extending from the upper surface to the lower surface of the glass substrate G was formed.
The processing conditions of the fracture line 33 are as follows.
1) Pulse energy: 667 μ J
2) Processing the distance: 4 μm (processing speed 600mm/s, repetition frequency 150kHz)
In this case, the focal point of the pulse L2 is located at the middle of the glass substrate G in the thickness direction, and the pulse energy is small and the light collection angle is large compared to the processing conditions for the scribe line 31. According to the above results, a partial processing mark was formed in the middle of the glass substrate G in the thickness direction.
In the above embodiment, the same effects as those of embodiment 1 are obtained.
4. Other embodiments
While one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, the plurality of embodiments and modifications described in the present specification may be arbitrarily combined as needed.
In the above-described embodiments 1 and 2, the scribe line and the break line are formed using the common laser device 3, but a dedicated laser device may be used. In this case, a picosecond laser may be used for forming the scribe line, and a picosecond or nanosecond laser may be used for forming the break line.
In the above embodiment, the scribe line and the break line are formed by irradiation with the pulsed laser light, but instead of this, a group of pulsed laser light that oscillates in a burst mode may be irradiated.
Industrial applicability
The present invention can be widely applied to a method and an apparatus for forming a scribing line by intermittently performing internal processing of a glass substrate in a planar direction using pulses of a laser apparatus
Description of the symbols
1: laser processing device
3: laser device
5: transmission optical system
7: processing table
9: control unit
11: driving mechanism
13: stage driving part
15: laser oscillator
17: laser control unit
19: condensing lens
21: spatial light modulator
23: driving part
31: scribing line
33: line of rupture