JP2006150642A - Cell and cell manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem wherein the waste piece part between a plurality of cells is wasteful because a plurality of the cells are arranged so as to leave a predetermined distance from the end parts of the cells adjacent to each other to be provided on a mother substrate, many cells can not be arranged on the other substrate, production efficiency is bad and, in a dividing and cutting method using a cemented carbide wheel, there are many troubles such as the occurrence of microchips (minute chips or cracks) or the like after division and cutting. <P>SOLUTION: By providing the seal member of the cells adjacent to each other to the mother substrate in common, more cells can be taken from the mother substrate of the same size than before. Further, since the region just above the seal member provided in common is divided and cut by a laser dividing and cutting means, a dividing cutting number can be reduced and the time required in a dividing and cutting process can be shortened. Further, a plastic deformation region is not produced in a divided and cut part or microchips (minute chips or minute cracks) are not produced in this divided and cut part and a product yield is enhanced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cell for manufacturing a substrate by cleaving a mother substrate with a laser cleaving means and a method therefor, and more particularly, to optimally cleave a cell in which more substrates such as a liquid crystal panel, PDP, organic EL, or FED are adjacent. And a method of manufacturing the cell.

In the production of a liquid crystal panel, two large mother substrates are bonded together with a sealing member, and the large substrates are cut into small cells for production. As a method of cleaving into this small cell, there is a scribe break method described in Patent Document 1.

FIG. 8 shows a mother board shown in FIG. 5 of Patent Document 1. On this mother board, a plurality of cells are separated by a sealing member on the outer periphery, and a plurality of cells are spaced apart from adjacent cells by a certain distance. Prepare. This method of cleaving the mother board is to create a scribe groove so that the same position is formed from the front surface and the back surface of the mother board with a carbide wheel directly above the sealing member of the mother board, and then the impact is applied to the vicinity of the scribe groove by a break means. In this method, the mother substrate is cleaved along the cutting line for each planned cutting line by a series of processes for developing cracks by applying force.

In the process of bonding the two glass substrates, a thermosetting resin is applied to the glass substrate as a sealing member so as to have a width of, for example, 0.4 to 0.5 mm, and the two glass substrates are aligned and overlapped. And can be bonded together by baking under pressure. The width of the seal at this time is expanded to about 1.5 mm. In the cleaving method of this document, since the cleaving is performed along a position 0.8 mm from the outermost periphery of the cell, that is, substantially along the center line of the sealing member, the sealing member of the cell is about 0.7 mm. Furthermore, in such a mechanical cleaving method using a carbide wheel, the cleaved portion becomes a fragile and fragile plastic deformation region (high density region). Therefore, the cleaved portion needs to be polished, and the seal portion is polished. It is necessary to provide an extra portion (polishing margin) of about 0.04 mm, for example, which is removed by the cutting.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the cleaving method by the laser cleaving means shown in FIG. In this method, the brittle nonmetallic main body 1 (mother substrate) is heated to a temperature lower than its softening point by irradiation with a radiation beam (laser light), and the heated target region on the intended crack line (scheduled cutting line). Cleaving the brittle non-metallic body 1 by directing the flow of the fluid refrigerant (water cooling means) to the heating surface region 3 located at a certain distance away from 2 (laser irradiation spot) in the rearward direction with respect to the moving direction It is.

A conventional cell manufacturing method will be described with reference to FIG. In the conventional cell manufacturing method, a series of processes in which a break groove is generated on a plurality of planned cutting lines provided on a mother substrate by the laser cutting means and the carbide wheel described above and is cut by the breaking means This is a method of manufacturing a cell that is cleaved every time (referred to as a scribe break method).
JP 2003-255362 A Japanese Patent No. 3027768

  In the mother board described in Patent Document 1, since a plurality of cells are arranged with a predetermined distance from the end of adjacent cells, the cut off part between the cells is useless, and the mother board Many cells could not be placed on the top, resulting in poor production efficiency.

In the conventional cleaving method in which the carbide member is cleaved right above the sealing member, microchips (small chips or minute cracks) are generated in the cleaved portion due to the residual stress in the plastic deformation region generated in the cleaved portion. As a result, the sealing member peels off and a hole is formed in the sealing portion, and there is a possibility that the liquid crystal leaks in the subsequent liquid crystal injection step, and the sealing portion cannot be made thin. As a result, there is a problem that the cell size becomes larger than the display size.

Further, residual strain caused by partial tensile stress generated when the seal member is cured is generated inside the glass substrate. When such a glass substrate is cleaved by the above-mentioned carbide wheel, the residual strain inside the glass substrate is not symmetrical, so that a problem that the cleaved trajectory cannot be cleaved such as a cleaved locus is likely to occur.

In addition, in this cleaving method using a carbide wheel, a plastic deformation region is generated in the cleaved surface, so that there is little variation in the strength of the cell produced by cleaving, but the average value of the strength is low, and the cell edge Damage is likely to occur. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to grind the cleaved part after cleaving, and this process takes a very long time, and shavings are generated as particles. There are many inconveniences such as the need to provide a part to be polished.

In the conventional cell manufacturing method, the cell is manufactured by cleaving and breaking the mother substrate by the scribe / break method for each breaking line on both the front and back surfaces of the mother substrate. (Hereinafter referred to as the first direction), when a strip-shaped mother substrate provided with a plurality of cells is manufactured by cleaving by the scribe / break method, and further cleaving into individual cells by the scribe / break method In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, there is a problem that the breaking line called chipping is curved at the breaking end portion of the cell. This chipping causes a problem that a product failure is caused by cutting the wiring of the terminal portion on the cell, and a problem that cannot be stored in a case for making a final product.

  In the cell of the present invention, two substrates are bonded to each other at a predetermined distance via a seal member, and an upper portion of the seal member is formed by laser means from a mother substrate in which adjacent cells share the seal member. It has at least one end to be cleaved. This sealing member may be a thermosetting resin or a known sealing member such as a UV resin that cures when irradiated with UV light. Further, since the sealing member is applied very thinly on the substrate, two glass substrates bonded to the upper part of the sealing member by the laser cutting means, that is, directly above (below) by the sealing member, are placed on the same cutting line. Simultaneously with the cleaving, the sealing member is also cleaved.

The laser cleaving means used in the present invention comprises scribe means, break means, and moving means for moving the scribe means and break means relative to the mother substrate. The scribing means includes an initial crack means, a laser irradiation means, and a water cooling means. The initial crack means is to generate a crack (crack) at a cleaving start point on a cleaving line on a glass substrate by irradiating a laser beam or by a mechanical method such as a diamond wheel, The laser has 4 times higher harmonics than Nd: YAG. The types of laser by the laser irradiation means are carbon dioxide laser (wavelength 10.6 μm), excimer laser (ArF, KrF) (wavelength 193 to 249 μm), UV laser having a wavelength of 400 nm or less, Nd: YAG double harmonic, YVO4 This is means for irradiating a GreenYAG laser (wavelength 532 nm) such as a laser. The water-cooling means is a method in which water and compressed air, nitrogen, or the like is singly or mixed with a nozzle, a tube, or the like, and injected or sprayed onto a heated portion of the glass substrate in a liquid or mist form. The break means may be an irradiation means such as a carbon dioxide laser similar to the laser irradiation means, or a means for applying pressure to the cleaved portion.

The moving means for moving the laser cleaving means relative to the mother board includes a slide part that moves linearly by a linear motor or the like by rotating a ball screw by a motor, and a slide part that can linearly move. It consists of a linear motion guide that supports By providing a plurality of such moving means, it is possible to move freely within the horizontal plane. In the present invention, it may be used for moving the mother substrate or the laser cleaving means by the moving means and for moving the mother substrate and the laser cleaving means.

A procedure for cleaving a certain (one) scheduled cutting line by the laser cleaving means used in the present invention will be described below. First, the initial crack means generates a crack at the cleaving start point on the planned cutting line of the mother substrate (here, the cleaving stage start point indicates a minute distance from the end of the mother substrate where cleaving is started), Next, a process of generating a series of scribing that heats and relatively moves on the cleavage line of the mother substrate by the laser irradiation means, and then cools and relatively moves the portion heated by the water cooling means. Then, the cell can be manufactured by cleaving the mother substrate by the break means after performing the cutting on the mother substrate. The laser cleaving means used in the present invention can cleave any part such as a part directly above the sealing member of the mother board and a part without the sealing member.

A method for producing a cell by cleaving the mother substrate with the above laser cleaving means will be described below. In this cell manufacturing method, an initial crack generation process and a scribing process are continuously performed for each planned cutting line in the first direction in a mother substrate plane in which two substrates are bonded to each other by a seal member at a predetermined distance. After performing the initial crack generation process, the scribe process, and the break process continuously for each planned cutting line in the second direction in the mother board plane, the scribe groove is already formed. It is a manufacturing method of the cell which cleaves a mother board by performing a breaking process to a cleaved planned line of the 1st direction formed. In addition, a 1st direction and a 2nd direction show two different directions orthogonal, for example.

In the foregoing, a method has been described in which a cell is manufactured by cleaving either one of the front surface or the back surface of a mother substrate in which two substrates are bonded to each other by a seal member at a certain distance by laser cleaving means. On the other hand, the manufacturing method of the cell which cuts the mother board after turning one side of the mother board as usual and then cleaves the other surface according to the present invention will be described below.

In the cell manufacturing method of the present invention, first, as in the conventional cell manufacturing method, a mother substrate in which two substrates are bonded to each other by a sealing member at a predetermined distance is formed on the surface of the mother substrate by the laser cleaving means. The initial crack generation step for each cutting line for each of the cutting lines provided in parallel with the first direction in the mother board surface and the second direction orthogonal to the first direction on the planned cutting line set to Then, the substrate on the surface of the mother substrate is cleaved by continuously performing the scribe process and the break process. Thereafter, the mother substrate of the present invention is turned over, and the initial crack generation process and the scribing process are continuously performed for each breaking line for each of the planned cutting lines in the first direction in the back surface of the mother board. For each planned cutting line in the second direction in the back surface of the substrate, the initial crack generation process, the scribe process, and the breaking process are successively performed for each breaking line, and the back surface of the mother substrate is cut. This is a method for manufacturing a cell in which a mother substrate is cleaved by performing a break process for each cleaving line in the first direction. In addition, the manufacturing method of the cell by the conventional cleaving method is a well-known method of cleaving by the thermal shock of the heat | fever which irradiated the laser beam, for example, the method of mechanically cleaving with a carbide wheel.

In the present invention, by sharing the end portion (seal member) of the cell adjacent to the mother substrate, it is possible to eliminate an extra portion discarded between the cells. As a result, it is possible to save resources and to take more cells from the same size mother board as before. Moreover, since the center of the sealing member shared by the adjacent cells is cleaved, the number of cleaves can be reduced, thereby shortening the time required for the cleaving process.

Further, since the cleaving is performed by the laser cleaving means, a plastic deformation region or a microchip (a minute chip or a minute crack) is not generated in the cleaved portion, and the product yield is improved. Also, peeling of the seal due to the plastic deformation region or microchip (a phenomenon in which the sealing member peels off due to a horizontal crack on the contact surface between the sealing member and the glass substrate) is created, and a hole is formed in the sealing portion, and liquid crystal is injected later. There is no longer a problem of liquid crystal leaking in the process. For this reason, the seal portion can be made thin, and the size of the cell itself can be reduced without changing the display size.

Further, the cleaving by the laser cleaving means is less likely to bend the trajectory of the cleaving because the residual strain at the cleaving is symmetrical as compared with a physical cleaving method, for example, using a carbide wheel. Since the cleaved portion by the laser cleaving means does not generate a plastic deformation region or a microchip, it is not damaged even when an external impact is applied. In other words, the strength of the cell increased, and the possibility of cracking during the transfer to the next process was reduced. In the cleaving method using the laser cleaving means, particles are not generated, so that the working environment can be kept clean. The polishing step performed by the conventional cleaving method using a carbide wheel and the step of cleaning dust generated by the polishing step can be omitted.

In the cell manufacturing method according to the present invention, the scribe groove is generated on all the planned cutting lines on the mother substrate and then cut by the break means, so that the cutting line is prevented from being bent (chipping) near the end of the cutting line. be able to.

Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 denotes a mother board, and the mother board 1 includes a plurality of cells 2 arranged side by side. Reference numeral 3 denotes an injection port for injecting liquid crystal into the cell 2, 4 denotes a seal member for bonding the glass substrates 5 and 6, and 7 denotes a terminal member. The cell 2 includes the seal member 4 on the outer periphery other than the injection port 3 portion. The cell 2 of the present embodiment has a substantially rectangular shape, and shares the sealing member 4 on the side other than the one side having the terminal member 7 with the adjacent cell 2. The size of the mother substrate 1 is indicated by the vertical _{(L A)} × horizontal _{(S A)} in the following Table 1-3.

FIG. 2 shows a conventional mother board 1 having the same size as that of FIG. 1, and is shown for comparison of the number of cells 2 that can be arranged. The mother board 1 includes a plurality of cells 2 separated by a certain distance (4 mm). The end material 8 between the cell 2 and the cell 2 is a portion discarded after cleaving.

3 and 4 show the cell 2 of the present invention and the conventional one, and the size of the cell 2 is shown in English. The size of the mother board 1 shown in the figure is vertical (L _A ) × horizontal (S _A ), the size of the cell 2 is vertical (L _B ) × horizontal (S _B ), and the width of the terminal member is Z (In this embodiment, it is 4 mm). The width of the sealing member is T, and this is shared by the adjacent cells 2, so that the width of the sealing member of the cell 2 after cleaving is half that of T / 2. Note that reference numeral 9 in the figure denotes a planned cutting line on the mother board, and the mother board is cut along this breaking line.

Tables 1 to 3 show the numbers of cells 2 that can be manufactured for each mother board 1 having different sizes.
In the table, (L _A ), (S _A ), (L _B ), (S _B ), and (T) are alphanumeric characters representing each part of the cell shown in FIG. Note that “vertical number” and “horizontal number” in the prior art and the present invention indicate the number of cells 2 of the size shown on the left on the mother machine plate 1, and the “total number” refers to a single mother substrate 1. This shows the quantity of cells 2 that can be taken.

  FIG. 5 shows a laser cleaving means 10 for cleaving a cell according to the present invention. The procedure for cleaving the mother substrate 1 by the laser cleaving means 10 will be described below. First, a YAG pulsed laser beam having a wavelength of 266 nm is irradiated to the cleaving start point 13 on the cleaving planned line 12 of the mother substrate 1 by the initial crack means denoted by reference numeral 11 (irradiation spot is indicated by reference numeral 14 in the figure). Local initial cracks 15 (cracks) are generated. Next, the scribing means 16 irradiates the mother substrate 1 with a carbon dioxide laser beam having a wavelength of 10.6 μm (an irradiation spot is indicated by reference numeral 17 in the figure), and the moving means 18 causes the laser irradiation spot 17 to be irradiated. After the mother substrate 1 is heated by moving on the planned cutting line 12 of the mother substrate 1, water is injected from the tip of the nozzle 20 of the water cooling means 19 to cool the heated portion, thereby generating a scribe groove 21 on the mother substrate 1. To do. Finally, carbon dioxide laser light having a wavelength of 10.6 μm is irradiated onto the mother substrate 1 by the break means 22 (irradiation spots are indicated by reference numeral 23 in the figure), and cracks are generated in the thickness direction of the mother substrate 1. To break it up. The laser cleaving means 10 of the present embodiment is provided with a moving means 18 that moves relative to the mother substrate 1, and the moving means 18 causes the initial crack means 11, the scribe means 16, the water cooling means 19, and the break. It is possible for the means 22 to move simultaneously.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure for manufacturing a cell by cleaving the mother substrate 1 by laser cleaving means. FIG. 6A shows the planned cutting line 12 in the first direction 24 and the second direction 25 on the surface of the mother board. FIG. 6B shows a crack generated at the cleaving start point of the cleaved line by the laser cleaving means (not shown) for each cleaved line in the first direction 24 and the second direction 25 on the surface of the mother substrate in FIG. 6A. 2 is a breaking line 26 showing a locus cut along the scribe groove by the initial crack generation step, the scribe step for progressing the crack, and the scribe step.

FIG. 7 shows a state in which the mother substrate 1 is turned upside down after being cleaved in the first direction 24 and the second direction 25 on the surface of the mother substrate 1 according to FIG. 6. The mother board 1 in FIG. 7A shows the scribe groove 21 generated by the scribe process through the initial crack generation process in the first direction 24, and the cutting planned line 12 set in the second direction 25 is shown. Show. FIG. 7B shows a strip-shaped mother board 1 obtained by cleaving the mother board 1 by a breaking process through an initial crack generation process and a scribing process on the planned cutting line 12 in the second direction 25 on the mother board. Is shown. Reference numeral 27 denotes an end portion cleaved by the laser cleaving means. FIG. 7C shows a cell 2 manufactured by cleaving the strip-shaped mother substrate 1 by performing a breaking process along the scribe groove 21 in the first direction shown in FIG. 6B. This cell comprises at least one outer peripheral edge 2 which is cleaved by laser cleaving means.

It is a perspective view which shows the mother board | substrate of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the conventional mother board | substrate. It is a top view which shows the cell of this invention. It is a top view which shows the conventional cell. It is a perspective view which shows the laser cleaving means of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing method of the cell of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing method of the cell of this invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the mother board of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows irradiation of the laser of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the conventional cell.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mother board 2 Cell 3 Inlet 4 Seal member 5 and 6 Glass board 7 Terminal member 8 End material 9 Cut planned line 10 Laser cleave means 11 Initial crack means 12 Cut planned line 13 Cut start point 14 Irradiation spot 15 (Initial) crack 16 Scribing means 17 Irradiation spot 18 Moving means 19 Water cooling means 20 Nozzle 21 Scribing groove 22 Breaking means 23 Irradiation spot 24 First direction 25 in the mother substrate plane 25 Second direction in the mother substrate plane 26 Break line 27 End

Claims (9)

  In a cell that is arranged side by side on a mother substrate in which two substrates are bonded to each other at a predetermined distance, at least one end portion that cleaves the upper portion of the seal member shared with an adjacent cell by a laser cleaving means A cell characterized by that. The laser cleaving means comprises a scribing means, a breaking means, and a moving means for moving the scribing means and the breaking means relative to a mother substrate,
The scribing means,
An initial crack means for generating a crack at the cleaving start point of the cleaving line on the mother board;
Laser means for heating the mother substrate;
Water cooling means for cooling a portion on the mother substrate heated by the laser means;
Consisting of:
The cell according to claim 1, further comprising at least one end portion to be cleaved by the laser cleaving means. 3. The cell according to claim 1, wherein the break means of the laser cleaving means is a carbon dioxide gas laser and has at least one end portion to be cleaved by the laser cleaving means. An initial crack generating step for generating a crack at a cutting start point on a planned cutting line by using the laser cutting means, and a scribing step for propagating the crack. And in the manufacturing method of the cell to be cleaved by the cleaving method consisting of the breaking process of cleaving the mother substrate,
After setting the planned cutting line on the straight line including the upper part of the sealing member of the mother board,
About the planned cutting line in the first direction in the mother board plane, after performing a series of steps consisting of an initial crack generation process and a scribing process for each cutting line,
For each planned breaking line in the second direction in the mother board plane, after cleaving the back of the mother board by performing a series of steps consisting of an initial crack generating process, a scribe process, and a breaking process for each breaking line,
A method for manufacturing a cell in which a mother substrate is cleaved by performing a breaking process for each cleaving line on a first-direction cleaving line on the back side of the mother substrate. An initial crack generating step for generating a crack on a planned cutting line by using the laser cutting means, a scribe step for causing the crack to propagate, and a mother substrate. In the manufacturing method of the cell to be cleaved by the cleaving method comprising the breaking step of cleaving
After setting the planned cutting line on the straight line including the upper part of the sealing member of the mother board,
For each of the split planned lines provided in parallel with each of the first direction in the mother board surface and the second direction orthogonal to the first direction, an initial crack generating process, a scribe process, and a break for each of the split lines After cleaving the substrate on the mother substrate surface by continuously performing the process,
For each planned breaking line in the first direction in the backside of the mother board, after performing the initial crack generation process and the scribing process for each breaking line,
About each planned breaking line in the second direction in the back side of the mother board, the initial crack generating process, the scribe process, and the breaking process are continuously performed for each breaking line, and the mother board back face is cleaved.
A method for manufacturing a cell in which a mother substrate is cleaved by performing a breaking process for each cleaving line on a first-direction cleaving line on the back side of the mother substrate.   6. The method for manufacturing a cell according to claim 4, wherein the initial crack generation step generates a crack at a cleaving start point on a planned cutting line of the mother substrate by the initial crack means.   The cell manufacturing method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the initial crack generating step is to generate a crack by irradiating a laser at a cutting start point on a planned cutting line of a mother substrate by an initial crack means. Method. The scribing step is a step of generating a series of scribing that heats and relatively moves the cleaved line of the mother substrate by the laser irradiation means, and cools the heated portion and relatively moves by the water cooling means. The method of manufacturing a cell according to claim 4 or 5, wherein   6. The method of manufacturing a cell according to claim 4, wherein, in the breaking step, a laser is applied to the mother substrate by the breaking means.

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