EP4267338A1

EP4267338A1 - Method for separating a workpiece

Info

Publication number: EP4267338A1
Application number: EP21836382.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jonas Kleiner; Daniel FLAMM; Malte Kumkar; Michael Wendt
Original assignee: Trumpf Laser und Systemtechnik GmbH
Current assignee: Trumpf Laser und Systemtechnik Se
Priority date: 2020-12-22
Filing date: 2021-12-07
Publication date: 2023-11-01
Also published as: WO2022135912A1; CN116723909A; US20230373034A1; KR20230117226A; DE102020134751A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for separating a workpiece (1), wherein material of the workpiece (1) is removed along a separating line (3) by means of a laser beam (20) comprising ultrashort laser pulses of an ultrashort pulse laser (50), wherein the material of the workpiece (1) is transparent to the wavelength of the laser beam (20) and has a refractive index of between 2.0 and 3.5, more preferably between 2.5 and 3.5, and the workpiece (1) is separated along the indentation (4) that arises as a result of the removal of the material, in a separating step.

Description

Process for cutting a workpiece

technical field

The present invention relates to a method for separating a workpiece by means of a laser beam comprising ultra-short laser pulses of an ultra-short-pulse laser.

State of the art

In recent years, the development of lasers with very short pulse lengths, especially pulse lengths of less than a nanosecond, and high average powers, especially in the kilowatt range, has led to a new type of material processing. The short pulse length and high pulse peak power or the high pulse energy of a few 100 pJ can lead to non-linear absorption of the pulse energy in the material of a workpiece, so that materials that are actually transparent or essentially transparent for the laser light wavelength used can also be processed.

A particular area of application for such laser radiation is cutting and processing in front of workpieces. In this case, the laser beam is preferably introduced into the material with vertical incidence, since reflection losses on the surface of the material are then principally minimized. However, the separation of materials with a high refractive index still represents an unsolved problem, in particular because the large difference in refractive index between the surrounding medium and the material of the workpiece leads to a strong aberration of the laser beam and thus no targeted energy deposition into the material can take place .

Presentation of the invention

Proceeding from the known prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for separating a workpiece. The object is achieved by a method for separating a workpiece with the features of claim 1. Advantageous developments result from the dependent claims, the description and the figures.

Accordingly, a method for separating a workpiece is proposed, wherein material of the workpiece is removed along a separating line by means of a laser beam comprising ultra-short laser pulses of an ultra-short pulse laser, wherein the material of the workpiece is transparent to the wavelength of the laser beam and has a refractive index between 2.0 and 3, 5, preferably between 2.5 and 3.5, and the workpiece is separated in a separating step along a notch created by the removal of the material

The ultra-short pulse laser provides ultra-short laser pulses. In this case, ultra-short can mean that the pulse length is between 500 picoseconds and 10 femtoseconds, for example, and in particular between 10 picoseconds and 100 femtoseconds. The ultra-short laser pulses move in the beam propagation direction along the laser beam formed by them.

A transparent material is understood herein to mean a material that is essentially transparent to the wavelength of the laser beam of the ultrashort pulse laser. The terms "material" and "transparent material" are used interchangeably here - the material mentioned here is therefore always to be understood as material that is transparent to the laser beam of the ultrashort pulse laser.

When the laser beam falls at an angle from a surrounding medium, such as air, onto the surface of the transparent material, the laser beam is refracted at the angle of refraction. Here, the angle of incidence and the angle of refraction are linked to each other via the refractive index of the material of the workpiece and the surrounding medium by Snell's law of refraction.

Further properties of the laser beam reflected and refracted at the surface are given by the Fresnel equations. The Fresnel equations describe the polarization-dependent transmission and reflection behavior of the laser beam on the surface. In particular, the law of reflection must be taken into account, which states that when the laser beam hits the surface of the material perpendicularly, the following applies to the degree of reflection: For example, with a refractive index of the material of n=2.5 and with a refractive index of air n=1 at the surface of the material, 18% of the incident laser intensity is already reflected. Accordingly, the material of the workpiece can be transparent for the wavelength of the laser, but it can still be the case that the laser beam is only weakly coupled into the material due to the so-called Fresnel reflections and is correspondingly weakly transmitted through the material.

When an ultrashort laser pulse is focused into a material of the workpiece, the intensity in the focus volume can result in non-linear absorption by, for example, multiphoton absorption and/or electron avalanche ionization processes. This non-linear absorption leads to the generation of an electron-ion plasma, which can induce permanent structural changes in the material of the workpiece when it cools down.

The material modifications caused by ultrashort laser pulses in transparent materials are divided into three different classes, see K. Itoh et al. "Ultrafast Processes for Bulk Modification of Transparent Materials" MRS Bulletin, vol. 31 p.620 (2006): Type I is an isotropic refractive index change; Type II is a birefringent refractive index change; and type III is a so-called void or hollow space, which is produced by so-called micro-explosions. The material modification produced depends on laser parameters such as the pulse duration, the wavelength, the pulse energy and the repetition frequency of the laser, on the material properties such as the electronic structure and the thermal expansion coefficient, as well as on the numerical aperture (NA) of the focussing.

The voids (cavities) of the Type 111 modifications can be generated with a high laser pulse energy, for example. The formation of the voids is attributed to an explosive expansion of highly excited, vaporized material from the focus volume into the surrounding material. This process is also known as a micro-explosion. Because this expansion occurs within the bulk of the material, the micro-explosion leaves a less dense or hollow core (the void) surrounded by a densified shell of material. Due to the compression at the impact front of the microexplosion, stresses arise in the transparent material, which can lead to spontaneous cracking or can promote cracking.

In particular, a micro-explosion close to the surface can cause the

Material come, so that the material is effectively removed near the surface. The education a void inside a material and the deflagration of the material on the surface have the same cause. In particular, "close to the surface" can mean both the proximity to the upper surface (here "top") and to the lower surface (here "bottom") of the workpiece relative to the beam propagation direction.

With high repetition rates of the laser, the material cannot cool down completely between the pulses, so that the heat present in the material increases from pulse to pulse. For example, the repetition frequency of the laser can be higher than the reciprocal of the heat diffusion time of the material, so heat accumulation can take place in the focal zone by successive absorption of laser energy until the melting temperature of the material is reached. In addition, due to the thermal transport of the heat energy into the areas surrounding the focus zone, a larger area than the focus zone can be melted and vaporized, resulting in material removal.

Due to the high refractive index of the material, the surface of the material is particularly heavily stressed, so that material is removed there.

The material is removed along a parting line with the effects mentioned above. The parting line describes the line of impact of the laser beam on the surface of the workpiece. By means of a feed, for example, the laser beam and the workpiece are shifted relative to one another at a feed rate, so that the laser pulses hit the surface of the workpiece at different locations as time progresses. Displaceable relative to one another means here that both the laser beam can be displaced translationally relative to a stationary workpiece and that the workpiece can be displaced relative to the laser beam. It may also be the case that both the workpiece and the laser beam move. While the workpiece and laser beam are moved relative to each other, the ultra-short pulse laser emits laser pulses into the material of the workpiece at its repetition frequency.

The ultra-short laser pulses thus produce a material removal along the dividing line, so that the sum of the material removal results in a notch on the material surface.

As a result, the material on the surface is specifically damaged or weakened, so that a predetermined breaking point of the workpiece occurs along the notch. With a subsequent separating step, the workpiece can accordingly be separated particularly easily along the separating line. The separating step may include a mechanical separation and/or an etching process and/or a thermal impact and/or a self-separation step.

A thermal impact can be, for example, heating of the material or the parting line. For example, the dividing line can be heated locally using a continuous wave CO2 laser, so that the material in the area of the introduced material weakness expands differently compared to the untreated or unmodified material. However, it can also be the case that thermal stress is implemented by means of a stream of hot air, or by baking on a hot plate, or by heating the material in an oven. In particular, temperature gradients can also be applied in the separation step. The cracks favored by the weakening of the material experience crack growth as a result, so that a continuous and non-jammed separating surface can form, through which the parts of the workpiece are separated from one another.

A mechanical separation can be produced by applying a tensile or bending stress, for example by applying a mechanical load to the parts of the workpiece separated by the dividing line. For example, a tensile stress can be applied when opposite forces act on the parts of the workpiece separated by the dividing line in the material plane at one force application point each pointing away from the dividing line. If the forces are not aligned parallel or antiparallel to one another, this can contribute to the development of bending stress. As soon as the tensile or bending stresses exceed the binding forces of the material, the workpiece is separated. In particular, a mechanical change can also be achieved by a pulsating effect on the part to be separated. For example, a lattice vibration can be generated in the material by an impact. The deflection of the lattice atoms can also generate tensile and compressive stresses that can trigger cracking. In particular, such a method can also be referred to overall as a “write and break” method, in which a material is typically first scratched and then broken in a targeted manner along the defined dividing line.

The material can also be separated by etching with a wet-chemical solution, with the etching process preferentially attaching the material to the targeted weakening of the material. By preferentially etching the weakened portions of the workpiece, this results in parting of the workpiece along the parting line. In particular, a so-called self-separation can also be carried out by targeted crack guidance through the orientation of the material removal in the material. The formation of cracks from material removal to adjacent material removal enables the two parts of the workpiece to be separated over the entire surface without having to carry out a further separation step.

This has the advantage that an ideal cutting method can be selected for the respective material of the workpiece, so that a cutting of the workpiece is accompanied by a high quality of the cutting edge.

With a single pass along the parting line, a notch can be formed on the upper side and/or the underside of the workpiece due to the removal of the material.

It can thereby be achieved that the workpiece can be separated particularly easily with the separating step.

For example, the laser beam can be introduced into the material in such a way that the upper side is in the focal zone of the laser beam. As a result, an indentation is preferably introduced into the upper side of the material. For example, the laser beam can also be introduced into the material in such a way that the underside is in the focal zone of the laser beam. As a result, an indentation is preferably introduced into the underside of the material.

However, it can also be the case that an indentation is made simultaneously in both the upper side and the lower side, so that the laser beam only has to pass over the workpiece once.

The refractive index difference between the surrounding medium and the material of the workpiece can be greater than 1.5.

As described above, according to Fresnel's formulas, the refraction and reflection of the laser beam depend on the refractive indices of the surrounding medium and the material of the workpiece. In this case, however, the surrounding medium does not have to be air, but can also be another material, for example glass. The large difference in refractive index ensures that the refractive properties of the laser beam lead to material removal close to the surface during the transition from the surrounding medium to the material of the workpiece. The material may contain or be silicon, or be silicon carbide SiC, or contain silicon carbide.

Silicon carbide is transparent in the visible and infrared spectral range, but has a refractive index of n>2.5. This leads to large reflection losses, although the material is transparent to the wavelength of the laser.

For example, the workpiece can be a silicon wafer that is to be separated into chips.

The workpiece can have a thickness between 100 μm and 2000 μm, preferably 700 μm. For example, the workpiece can have a material thickness of 500 μm. In this case, the workpiece can also comprise different material layers, that is to say have a layer system. In particular, each layer of material can be transparent to the wavelength of the laser. As a result, processed and treated wafer systems can also be separated using the process.

The material removal can be composed of a superficial material area removal and a localized depth of material removal, wherein the depth of the localized removal of material can have a width of more than 10 pm perpendicular to the parting line and a depth of more than 1 m.

In this way it can be achieved that the material stresses are gradually directed in the depth direction of the material and thus a smoother separating surface can be produced with the separating step.

A localized depth of material erosion has, for example, a diameter of a few micrometers, approximately between 1 m and 20 pm, while the depth of erosion is between 0.1 pm and 5 pm. On the other hand, a surface removal of material has, for example, a diameter of 5 to 10 mm and an removal depth of 0 to 10 μm. As a result, the localized depth of material removal is limited to a small diameter at a greater depth of material, while the surface removal of material is limited to a large diameter and a small depth of material.

If the material modifications overlap along the parting line, the diameter can be measured perpendicular to the parting line. In the case of separate material modifications, on the other hand, the diameter can also be the maximum diameter of the material removal. The laser beam can be a non-diffracting laser beam and can have a focal zone that is elongated in the direction of beam propagation, preferably a focal zone that is elongated and variable in length in the direction of beam propagation.

Non-diffracting rays and/or Bessel-like rays are to be understood in particular as rays in which a transverse intensity distribution is propagation-invariant. In particular, in the case of non-diffracting rays and/or Bessel-type rays, a transverse intensity distribution is essentially constant along a longitudinal direction and/or direction of propagation of the rays.

A transversal intensity distribution is to be understood as meaning an intensity distribution which lies in a plane oriented perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction and/or direction of propagation of the beams. In addition, the focal zone is always understood to be that part of the intensity distribution of the laser beam that is greater than the modification threshold of the material. The word focal zone makes it clear that this part of the intensity distribution is provided in a targeted manner and that an intensity increase in the form of the intensity distribution is achieved by focusing.

With regard to the definition and properties of non-diffracting rays, reference is made to the book "Structured Light Fields: Applications in Optical Trapping, Manipulation and Organization", M. Wördemann, Springer Science & Business Media (2012), ISBN 978-3-642-29322- 1 referenced. This is expressly and fully referred to.

Accordingly, non-diffracting laser beams have the advantage that they can have a focal zone that is elongated in the direction of beam propagation and that is significantly larger than the transverse dimensions of the focal zone. In particular, a material removal that is elongated in the beam propagation direction can be generated in this way in order to ensure easy separation of the workpiece.

In particular, non-diffracting beams can be used to generate elliptical non-diffracting beams that have a non-radially symmetrical transverse focal zone. For example, elliptical quasi-non-diffracting rays have a main maximum that coincides with the center of the ray. The center of the ray is given by the place where the main axes of the ellipse intersect. In particular, elliptical quasi non-diffracting beams can result from the superimposition of several intensity maxima, in which If only the envelope of the intensity maxima involved is elliptical. In particular, the individual intensity maxima do not have to have an elliptical intensity profile.

The diameter of the transverse focal zone can be less than 5 pm and/or the length of the longitudinal focal zone can be greater than 50 pm and/or the length of the longitudinal focal zone can be less than 1.2 times the material thickness.

Due to the small diameter, particularly clean separating surfaces can be produced with the separating step, since the material removal and thus the targeted material weakening can be oriented particularly precisely on the separating line. Due to the large longitudinal focal zone, a large depth of material removal is achieved in particular, so that the material is weakened in particular along the dividing line and the later dividing surface is specified particularly precisely. If the longitudinal focal zone is greater than 1.2 times the material thickness, then notches can be made in the top and bottom of the workpiece in a particularly simple manner.

The focal zone, which is elongated in the direction of beam propagation, can penetrate the upper side of the workpiece and/or penetrate the lower side of the workpiece and/or penetrate both sides.

As a result, the material can be weakened in a targeted manner along the dividing line, so that a simple dividing can be realized by the dividing step.

Because the elongated focus zone only penetrates the top side of the workpiece, a notch can preferably be produced in the top side. Because the elongated focal zone only penetrates the underside of the workpiece, a notch can preferably be produced on the underside. In particular, an elongated focal zone can also produce a notch on the top and bottom if the length of the elongated focal zone is longer than the material thickness.

The non-diffracting beam can be generated by an axicon, a diffractive optical element or a reflective or refractive free-form optical surface.

The beam shaping optics can be designed, for example, as a diffractive optical element (DOE), a free-form surface or an axicon or a microaxicon, or contain a combination of several of these components or functionalities. If the beam shaping optics forms a non-diffracting laser beam from the laser beam in front of the processing optics, then the Focusing of the processing optics, the insertion depth of the focus zone into the material can be determined. However, the beam-shaping optics can also be designed in such a way that the non-diffracting laser beam is only generated by imaging with the processing optics.

A diffractive optical element is set up to influence the incident laser beam in one or more properties in two spatial dimensions. A diffractive optical element is a fixed component that can be used to produce a specific non-diffractive laser beam from the incident laser beam. Typically, a diffractive optical element is a specially shaped diffraction grating, whereby the incident laser beam is brought into the desired beam shape by the diffraction.

An axicon is a conically ground optical element that forms a non-diffracting laser beam from an incident Gaussian laser beam as it passes through. In particular, the axicon has a cone angle a', which is calculated from the beam entry surface to the lateral surface of the cone. As a result, the edge rays of the Gaussian laser beam are refracted to a different focal point than rays close to the axis. This results in particular in a focus zone that is elongated in the beam propagation direction.

The non-diffracting beam can be translated into the workpiece through a telescope.

A telescope is an optical structure or processing optics that enables the laser beam to be imaged or, together with the beam-shaping optics, makes a non-diffracting beam available in or on the material. In particular, such a telescope can have an enlarging and/or reducing effect.

In particular, part of the optical functionality of the telescope can be integrated into the beam shaping optics. For example, the axicon can have a spherically ground rear side so that it combines beam shaping functionality with a lens effect.

Enlarging and/or reducing the laser beam or its transverse intensity distribution allows the laser beam intensity to be distributed over a large or small focal zone. The intensity is adjusted by distributing the laser energy over a large or small area, so that it is possible to choose between modification types I, II, and III, in particular by enlarging and/or reducing the size.

In particular, an increased or decreased material removal can also be realized by increasing or reducing the non-radially symmetrical transverse intensity distribution will. In addition, the optical system can be adapted to the given processing conditions by enlarging or reducing it, so that the device can be used more flexibly.

The pulse duration of the ultra-short laser pulses can be between 100 fs and 100 ns, preferably between 100 fs and 10 ps, and/or the average laser power can be between 1 W and 1 kW, preferably 50 W, and/or the wavelength can be between 300 nm and 1500 nm, preferably 1030 nm and/or the laser pulses can be individual laser pulses or be part of a laser burst, with a laser burst comprising between 1 and 20, preferably between 1 and 4 laser pulses and/or the repetition rate of the individual laser pulses and/or laser bursts can be 100 kHz and/or the pulse or burst energy can be between 10pJ and 50mJ.

This makes it possible to set the optimal processing parameters for each material.

The workpiece and the laser beam can be moved relative to one another at a feed rate, with the feed rate preferably being between 0.05 m/s and 5 m/s.

By moving the laser beam and the workpiece relative to each other, the material can be removed along the parting line.

In particular, such a feed can be achieved with an axle device. For example, an axis device is an XYZ table that can be translated along all spatial axes. However, it can also be the case that the axis device can also be rotated about certain axes, so that particularly high-quality round and/or curved separating lines can be produced.

The laser pulses or laser bursts can be introduced into the material at a spatially constant distance.

In the case of curved or angular feed trajectories, it can make sense to reduce the feed rate locally. With a constant repetition frequency of the laser, however, this can lead to neighboring material modifications overlapping or the material being unintentionally heated and/or melted. For this reason, control electronics can regulate the pulse output depending on the relative position of the laser beam and the workpiece. For example, the feed device can have a position-resolving encoder that measures the position of the feed device and the laser beam. Based on the location information, the pulse output of a laser pulse can be triggered in the ultra-short pulse laser via a corresponding triggering system of the control electronics.

In particular, computer systems can also be used to implement the triggering of the pulse. For example, the locations of the laser pulse emission can be determined for the respective dividing line before the material is processed, so that an optimal distribution of the laser pulses along the dividing line is ensured.

This ensures that the distance between the material modifications is always the same, even if the feed rate varies. In particular, this also means that a uniform parting surface can be produced and the parting surface has a high surface quality.

Brief description of the figures

Preferred further embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail by the following description of the figures. show:

Figure 1A, B is a schematic representation of the method;

FIG. 2A, B, C shows a schematic representation of a separation step;

Figure 3A, B, C another schematic representation of the method;

Figure 4A, B is a micrograph of an indented material;

FIG. 5 shows another micrograph of an indented material;

FIG. 6 shows a micrograph of a layer system separated by the method;

Figure 7A,B is a schematic representation of a non-diffracting beam;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic representation of the device for carrying out the method; and

Figure 9A, B another schematic representation of the device. Detailed description of preferred exemplary embodiments

Preferred exemplary embodiments are described below with reference to the figures. Elements that are the same, similar or have the same effect are provided with identical reference symbols in the different figures, and a repeated description of these elements is sometimes dispensed with in order to avoid redundancies.

FIG. 1A schematically shows a workpiece 1, the material of which has a high refractive index NM. A laser beam 2 is brought onto the workpiece 1 and is focused in such a way that the partial laser beams 20 of the laser beam 2 fall on the upper side 10 of the workpiece 1 at an angle of incidence α. Here, the laser beam 2 falls, for example, from the air with a refractive index of NL = 1 on the surface 10 of the workpiece 1.

The workpiece 1 is in particular transparent to the wavelength of the laser beam 2. The laser beam 2, or its partial laser beams 20, is thus refracted according to the Fresnel formulas as a function of the refractive indices NM, NL and the angle of incidence α.

For example, the material of the workpiece 1 is silicon carbide with a refractive index of NM=2.5. In particular, the refractive index difference between the material of the workpiece 1 and the surrounding medium is then greater than 1.5, so that the refractive effect is particularly large. The material of the workpiece 1 can have a material thickness D between D=100 μm and D=2000 μm, approximately D=700 μm.

In the material of the workpiece 1, a non-diffracting laser beam 2 is formed, for example due to the conically tapering partial laser beams 20, which has a focal zone 22 that is elongated in the direction of beam propagation. The elongated focal zone 22 penetrates the top 10 and the bottom 12 of the material of the workpiece 1. In the elongated focal zone 22, the material of the workpiece 1 is vaporized by non-linear absorption effects, so that material is removed from the top 10 and the bottom 12.

It is also possible that the non-linear absorption effects result in a surface modification, for example deformation or material removal, on the upper side 10 so that there is no ideal non-diffracting beam 2 at least in the area close to the surface. However, after penetrating the area close to the surface, the non-diffracting laser beam 2 can then form, for example, due to self-healing effects. In the In the description, the laser beam 2 is nevertheless described as a non-diffracting beam 2, taking such surface effects into account.

FIG. 1B shows that the material is removed along the parting line 3 . For this purpose, the workpiece 1 and the laser beam 20 can be moved relative to one another with a feed rate V between V=0.05 m/s and V=5 m/s. Because the material of the workpiece 1 is weakened in a targeted manner along the dividing line 3, a predetermined breaking point is formed along the dividing line 3, along which the workpiece 1 can be separated in a subsequent separating step.

In particular, the pulse duration of the ultra-short laser pulses can be between 100 fs and 100 ns, preferably between 100 fs and 10 ps, and/or the average laser power can be between 1 W and 1 kW, preferably 50 W, and/or the wavelength can be between 300 nm and 1500 nm, preferably 1030 nm and/or the laser pulses can be individual laser pulses or be part of a laser burst, with a laser burst comprising between 1 and 20, preferably between 1 and 4 laser pulses and/or the repetition rate of the individual laser pulses and/or laser bursts can be 100 kHz and/or the pulse or Burst energy can be between 10pJ and 5mJ.

Based on the repetition rate R of R=100kHz, for example, together with the feed rate V, the distance between the points of impact of the laser pulses can be estimated at 0.5pm to 50pm.

In this case, the laser beam 20 can have a focal zone 22, the diameter of which is smaller than 5 μm perpendicular to the direction of beam propagation. As a result, the material removed by the laser beam 20 can be oriented precisely on the parting line 3 . In addition, the different laser pulses can be superimposed or spatially overlap, so that there is an accumulation of heat in the material of the workpiece 1, as a result of which the material of the workpiece 1 is weakened. On the other hand, however, it is also possible for the laser pulses to be separated so far from one another that the material of the workpiece 1 is perforated along the dividing line 3 only on the surface.

FIG. 1A also shows that the length of the focal zone 22 of the laser beam 20, which is elongated in the beam propagation direction, is greater than the material thickness D. In particular, the focal zone 22 of the laser beam that is drawn in is 800 μm long, so that it is greater than 50 μm, but also smaller than 1.2 times the material thickness D. This ensures that the laser beam 20 in connection with the feed V notches both on the top and the bottom of the material of the workpiece 1 can generate. In particular, this ensures that the elongated focal zone 22 penetrates the top 10 and the bottom 12 .

A possible separation step is shown in FIG. 2, which includes the application of a mechanical load to the material of the workpiece 1. In particular, FIG. 2A shows that the indentations 4 were made by the non-diffracting laser beam 20 of FIG. 1A both on the upper side 10 and the lower side 12 .

A bending stress, for example, can be applied as a mechanical force to the parts 100, 102 of the workpiece 1 to be separated. Bending stress can cause compression of the material of the workpiece 1 at the top 10 towards the indentation 4 while the material of the workpiece 1 at the bottom 12 is stretched away from the indentation. This creates a voltage gradient which is directed from the bottom 12 to the top 10 . As soon as the material stresses along the stress gradient are greater than the binding forces of the material of the workpiece 1, the material of the workpiece 1 relaxes, forming a crack which, for example, runs from the notch 4 in the upper side 12 to the notch 4 in the lower side 12 of the material of the workpiece 1 runs. This state of the material of the workpiece 1 is shown in FIG. 2B. FIG. 2C shows the subsequent state in which the parts 100, 102 of the workpiece are isolated and separated. The workpiece 1 was accordingly separated along the parting line 3 .

Such a separating step can in particular also be implemented by applying a thermal gradient, for example by irradiating the notches 4 with a CO2 continuous-wave laser. Alternatively, it is also possible to etch the material of the workpiece 1 in a chemical bath along the indentations 4, the targeted weakening of the material making the material of the workpiece 1 selectively etchable. A further possibility is that the material stress exceeds the binding forces as a result of the targeted material weakening with type III modifications, so that the workpiece 1 self-separates. In any case, however, the weakening of the material along the separating line 3 determines the direction of the separating process.

FIG. 3A shows the method in which the focal zone 22 of the laser beam 20 is shorter than the material thickness D and a notch 4 is produced only in the upper side 10 of the material of the workpiece 1 . However, the notch 4 in the upper side 10 of the workpiece is sufficient to bring about a targeted weakening of the material, so that the workpiece 1 can be separated along the separating line 3 in one separating step. This is exemplary in the Figures 3B, C show where the parts 100, 102 of the workpiece 1 are separated by a separating step.

FIG. 4A shows a micrograph of the upper side 10 of a workpiece 1, which has been exposed to a non-diffracting laser beam 20. FIG. 4B shows the associated height profile along the y-direction. It can be clearly seen that the indentation 4 is composed of a localized depth of material removal 40 and a surface removal of material 42 on the surface. The surface removal of material 42 can be part of the surface modification discussed above. In this case, the depth of the respective removal is calculated from the original surface 10 of the workpiece 1 . Thus, in the present case, a depth of material removal 40 of 2.5 pm results, while the removal of material surface 42 has a depth of removal of 1.5 pm. In addition, the material surface removal 42 has a diameter or cross section of 80 μm, while the material depth removal measures only 20 μm in cross section.

The deep material removal 40 and the material surface removal 42 come about when the laser beam 20 hits the upper side 10 of the material of the workpiece 1 . A material surface removal 42 is then first realized over the entire width of the laser beam 20 . However, the material surface ablation 42 and the edges occurring at the edge of the ablation act as a shield--also due to the high refractive index of the material. As a result, the formation of the non-diffracting laser beam is shifted to lower-lying material layers, so that it is only there that the elongated focal zone 22 and thus the material depth ablation 40 are formed.

The shape of the notch 4 can also reflect the intensity distribution of the laser beam 20 or the shape of the focal zone 22 . Since the formation of a notch 4 is based on non-linear absorption effects, as described above, the central laser beam part can, for example, form notches 4 particularly effectively, while partial laser beams close to the edge cannot do this.

Furthermore, it is shown in FIGS. 4A, B that the indentation on the upper side 10 of the material is continuous. Accordingly, in the present case, the feed rate or the repetition rate of the laser was so high that laser pulses introduced adjacent to each other overlap and thus produce a continuous predetermined breaking point on the upper side 10 of the workpiece 1 . In particular, the notch 4 could accordingly also be produced in a single method step. The perforation of a material of a workpiece 1 along a dividing line 3 is shown in FIG. The laser pulses were introduced into the workpiece material at a distance of 50 pm. The distance between the laser pulses can result in particular from the repetition frequency R of the laser and the feed rate V. The superficial material removal takes the form of concentric diffraction rings, with the strength of the material removal increasing towards the center. In this area, the material surface removal 42 merges into the localized depth of material removal 40 .

FIG. 6 shows that the workpiece 1 can also comprise a layer system made from different materials 1A-1D. In particular, by using a non-diffracting laser beam 20 whose focal zone 22 is longer than the entire material thickness D, i.e. the sum of all material thicknesses of the workpiece 1, the ablation threshold can also be reached in the transition area between the layers 1A-1D. The removal threshold is the intensity threshold above which the material of the workpiece 1 is removed and can be increased or at least changed due to the chemical interface conditions. In particular, each material layer can have a refractive index between 2.0 and 3.5.

FIG. 7A shows the transverse intensity distribution or the focal zone 22 of a non-diffracting laser beam 20. The non-diffracting laser beam 20 is a so-called Bessel-Gaussian beam, the transverse intensity distribution in the x-y plane being radially symmetrical, so that the intensity of the non-diffracting laser beam 20 depends only on the radial distance from the optical axis. In particular, the diameter of the transverse intensity distribution is less than 5 pm. FIG. 7B shows the longitudinal beam cross section, ie the longitudinal intensity distribution. The longitudinal intensity distribution shows an elongated region of high intensity, about 3mm in size. The longitudinal extent of the focal zone 22 is thus significantly greater than the transverse extent.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the device 5 for carrying out the method. In this case, the laser pulses are provided by the ultra-short pulse laser 50 and guided by beam-shaping optics 52 . The laser beam 20 is directed onto the material 1 by the beam-shaping optics 52, for example by a telescope system 54 or another type of processing optics.

In the example shown, the beam shaping optics 52 are an axicon in order to shape the incident laser beam 20 into a non-diffracting laser beam 20 . However, other elements can be substituted for the axicon to produce a non-diffractive laser beam. Generates the axicon a conically tapering laser beam 20 from the preferably collimated input beam 20. The beam-shaping optics 52 can also impose a non-radially symmetrical intensity distribution or focus zone 22 on the incident laser beam 20. The laser beam 20 can finally be imaged in the material 1 via a telescope optics 54, which here consists of two lenses 540, 542, with the image being able to be an enlarging or a reducing image. However, it is also possible for parts of the telescope optics 54 , in particular the first lens 540 , to be integrated into the beam shaping optics 52 .

FIG. 9A shows a feed device 6 which is set up to move the processing optics 54 and the material 1 in a translatory manner along three spatial axes XYZ. The laser beam 20 of the ultra-short pulse laser 50 is directed onto the material 1 by processing optics 54 . In this case, the material 1 is arranged on a bearing surface of the feed device 6 , the bearing surface preferably neither reflecting nor absorbing the laser energy that the material does not absorb nor strongly scattering it back into the material 1 .

In particular, the laser beam 20 can be coupled into the processing optics 54 by a beam guidance device 56 . Here, the beam guiding device 56 can be a free-space path with a lens and mirror system, as shown in FIG. 9A. However, the beam guidance device 56 can also be a hollow-core fiber with coupling-in and coupling-out optics, as shown in FIG. 9B.

In the present example in FIG. 9A , the laser beam 20 is directed towards the material 1 by a mirror construction and introduced into the material 1 by the processing optics 54 . The laser beam 20 causes a material removal in the material 1 . The processing optics 54 can be moved and adjusted relative to the material with the feed device 6 so that, for example, a preferred direction or an axis of symmetry of the transverse intensity distribution of the laser beam 20 can be adapted to the feed trajectory and thus the dividing line 4 .

In this case, the feed device 6 can move the material 1 under the laser beam 20 with a feed rate V, so that the laser beam 20 notches the workpiece 1 along the desired parting line 3 . In particular, in the shown FIG. 9A, the feed device 6 has a first axis system 60, with which the material 1 can be moved along the XYZ axes and, if necessary, rotated. In particular, the feed device 6 can also have a workpiece holder 62 which is set up to hold the material 1 . The feed device 6 can in particular also be connected to control electronics 64 , the control electronics 64 converting the user commands of a user of the device into control commands for the feed device 6 . In particular, predefined cutting patterns can be stored in a memory of the control electronics 64 and the processes can be automatically controlled by the control electronics 64 .

The control electronics 64 can in particular also be connected to the ultra-short pulse laser 50 . The control electronics 64 can request or trigger the output of a laser pulse or laser pulse train. The control electronics 64 can also be connected to other components mentioned and thus coordinate the material processing.

In particular, a position-controlled pulse triggering can be implemented in this way, with an axis encoder 600 of the feed device 6 being read out, for example, and the axis encoder signal being able to be interpreted by the control electronics 64 as location information. It is thus possible for the control electronics 64 to automatically trigger the delivery of a laser pulse or laser pulse train if, for example, an internal adder unit that adds the distance covered reaches a value and resets itself to 0 after it has been reached. For example, a laser pulse or laser pulse train can be emitted automatically into the material 1 at regular intervals.

Since the feed rate V and the feed direction and thus the dividing line 3 can also be processed in the control electronics 64, the laser pulses or laser pulse trains can be emitted automatically.

The control electronics 64 can also use the measured speed and the fundamental frequency made available by the laser 2 to calculate a distance or location at which a laser pulse train or laser pulse should be emitted. In this way it can be achieved in particular that the material modifications 5 in the material 1 do not overlap or that the laser energy is emitted uniformly along the dividing line 3 .

Since the laser pulses or pulse trains are emitted in a position-controlled manner, there is no need for time-consuming programming of the cutting process. In addition, freely selectable process speeds can be easily implemented. As far as applicable, all individual features that are presented in the exemplary embodiments can be combined with one another and/or exchanged without departing from the scope of the invention.

workpiece

10 top

12 bottom

2 laser beam

20 partial laser beams

3 dividing line

4 notch

40 material depth removal

42 Material surface removal

5 device

50 ultrashort pulse lasers

52 beam shaping optics

54 telescope system

56 Beam Guidance Optics

6 feed device

60 axis system

62 workpiece holder

64 control electronics

Claims

22 claims

1 . Method for separating a workpiece (1), in which material of the workpiece (1) is removed along a separating line (3) by means of a laser beam (20) comprising ultra-short laser pulses from an ultra-short-pulse laser (50), the material of the workpiece (1) being transparent to the wavelength of the laser beam (20) and has a refractive index between 2.0 and 3.5, preferably more between 2.5 and 3.5, and the workpiece (1) along a notch (4) resulting from the removal of the material is separated in one separation step.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the separating step comprises a mechanical separation and/or an etching process and/or a thermal treatment and/or a self-separation step.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in a single pass along the dividing line (3) by the removal of the material of the workpiece (1) a notch (4) on the top (10) and / or the bottom ( 12) of the workpiece (1) is formed.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the removal of the material of the workpiece (1) is composed of a superficial material removal (42) and a localized depth of material removal (40), the localized depth of material removal (40) having a width of more than 10 pm perpendicular to the parting line (3) and has a depth of more than 1 pm.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the refractive index difference between the surrounding medium and the material of the workpiece (1) is greater than 1.5.

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the material of the workpiece (1) contains silicon or is silicon, or silicon carbide is SiC or contains silicon carbide.

7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the workpiece (1) has a thickness (D) between 100 μm and 2000 μm, preferably 700 μm.

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the laser beam (20) is a non-diffracting laser beam and has an elongated focal zone (22) in the beam propagation direction, preferably an elongated focal zone (22) variable in length in the beam propagation direction.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that

- the diameter of the transversal focal zone (22) is less than 5 pm and/or

- the length of the longitudinal focal zone (22) is greater than 50 pm and/or

- The length of the longitudinal focal zone (22) is less than 1.2 times the material thickness (D).

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the focal zone (22) elongated in the direction of beam propagation penetrates the upper side (10) of the workpiece (1) and/or the lower side (12) and/or sides (10, 12) penetrates.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the non-diffracting laser beam is generated by an axicon, a diffractive optical element or a reflective or refractive optical free-form surface.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the non-diffracting laser beam is transferred through a telescope (54) into the workpiece (1).

13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that

- the pulse duration of the ultra-short laser pulses is between 100 fs and 100 ns, preferably between 100 fs and 10 ps, and/or

- The average laser power is between 1 W and 1 kW, preferably 50W

- the wavelength is between 300 nm and 1500 nm, preferably 1030 nm and/or

- The laser pulses are individual laser pulses or are part of a laser burst, a laser burst comprising between 1 and 20, preferably between 1 and 4 laser pulses and/or

- the repetition rate of the individual laser pulses and/or laser bursts is 100 kHz and/or

- the pulse or burst energy is between 10pJ and 50mJ.

14. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the workpiece (1) and the laser beam (20) relative to each other with a Feed speed (V) are moved, the feed speed (V) is preferably between 0.05m / s to 5m / s. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the laser pulses or laser bursts are introduced into the material of the workpiece (1) at a spatially constant distance.