JP2011025286A - Laser beam machining method, laser beam machining device, and solar panel manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a laser beam machining method which inspects conditions of a substrate to be carried in a laser machining place, such as fracture or bending (warpage), adjusts the posture of a glass substrate based on the results of inspection, and performs laser beam machining in an optimal state. <P>SOLUTION: In carrying the substrate in the laser machining position, the substrate is air-levitated. Accordingly, the front and back of the substrate are reversed so that the bending (warpage) of the substrate is convex downward. When the substrate is air-levitated in such a state that the bending (warpage) is convex downward, the substrate is satisfactorily levitated and does not come into contact with a stage. Since the substrate is likely to be bent in an external direction of a surface of a film formed by a film forming device before the laser beam machining, the film surface side may be located to face downward. Alternatively, a method may be adopted in which images around four corners of the substrate are acquired, the direction of bending of the substrate (either upward or downward convex) is detected based on the acquired images around the four corners, and, based on the detection results, the substrate is positioned so that the bending (warpage) of the substrate is convex downward. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser processing method, a laser processing apparatus, and a solar panel manufacturing method for processing a thin film or the like on a substrate using laser light, and in particular, a laser processing method and a laser processing apparatus for performing laser processing according to the state of a substrate. In addition, the present invention relates to a solar panel manufacturing method.

  Conventionally, in a solar panel manufacturing process, a transparent electrode layer, a semiconductor layer, and a metal layer are sequentially formed on a translucent substrate (glass substrate), and each layer is processed into a strip shape with laser light in each step after the formation. A solar panel module has been completed. When forming a scribe line with a laser beam, the laser beam is usually irradiated onto a glass substrate that moves at a constant speed. Thereby, it is possible to form a scribe line having a stable depth and line width. In such a method of manufacturing a solar panel (photoelectric conversion device), a substrate that is a glass substrate must be accurately aligned in the laser processing apparatus. As a method for aligning a glass substrate, a method as described in Patent Document 1 is known.

JP 2001-232486 A

  In the device described in Patent Document 1, the substrate is abutted and fixed at a predetermined position using a positioning pin that moves up and down in a state where the glass substrate is placed. However, when manufacturing a solar panel, scribe lines are formed on a thin film on a glass substrate at a pitch of 10 mm, for example. The scribe line has a line width of about 30 μm, and is composed of three lines such that the distance between the lines is about 30 μm. Therefore, in positioning by abutment as in Patent Document 1, sufficient accuracy cannot be obtained, and the lines overlap each other, making it difficult to form a desired scribe line. Conventionally, the glass substrate is aligned, but the glass substrate itself has not been inspected for chipping or bending (warping), so a solar panel module is attached to the glass substrate having chipping or bending (warping). There was a problem of being formed. In addition, because the laser processing apparatus employs an air levitation stage for transporting the glass substrate, the glass substrate has an upwardly curved bend (warp), which is compared to the flying height of the air levitation stage. If it is large, the peripheral edge of the glass substrate may not be sufficiently lifted during conveyance of the glass substrate and may contact the stage. At this time, in the worst case, the glass substrate may be damaged by the impact of contact with the stage.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and inspects a state such as bending (warping) of a substrate carried into a laser processing location, and adjusts the posture of the glass substrate accordingly, thereby optimizing the state. The present invention provides a laser processing method, a laser processing apparatus, and a solar panel manufacturing method that can perform laser processing.

  The first feature of the laser processing method according to the present invention is that when the substrate is bent (warped), the substrate is turned upside down so that the substrate is bent downward (warped). The substrate is brought into the air floating position at the processing position by the laser beam. Processing with laser light is performed by irradiating the processing surface of the substrate substantially perpendicularly with laser light emitted from a laser generator. Therefore, if the substrate is bent (warped), it is difficult to perform accurate processing, which may cause a problem in the quality of the solar panel module. Therefore, in the present invention, since the air is floated when the substrate is carried into the processing position, the substrate is turned upside down so that the substrate is bent downward (warped). By performing air levitation with the substrate bent (warped) as a downward projection, the substrate is sufficiently lifted and does not contact the stage. In addition, by performing suction along with air levitation during processing, the bending (warping) of the glass substrate is forced by the domino effect, and the bending (warping) can be reduced. Adjustment of autofocus is achieved by reducing the bending (warping). The amount can be reduced. Further, it is known that bending (warping) of the substrate tends to bend in the outer direction of the film surface formed by the film forming apparatus, so that the film surface side previously formed by the film forming apparatus is lowered. You may control to become the side.

  A second feature of the laser processing method according to the present invention is that in the laser processing method according to the first feature, images near the four corners of the substrate are acquired, and the substrate is bent (warped) based on the image. This state is detected, and in accordance with the detected state, the substrate is turned upside down so that the bending (warpage) of the substrate is convex downward. This is because the image near the four corners of the substrate is acquired, and based on the acquired image near the four corners, it can be detected whether the substrate is bent in a convex or bent direction (warping). Accordingly, the substrate is turned upside down so that the bending (warping) of the substrate is convex downward. Since the relative positional relationship between the camera means for acquiring images near the four corners of the board and the board is a known value set in advance, the positions of the vertices are shifted in the images of the four corners. In such a case, it is possible to detect the degree of bending (warping) of the substrate based on the amount of deviation.

  A third feature of the laser processing method according to the present invention is that in the laser processing method according to the second feature, a state of bending (warping) of the substrate is detected and an image of the outer peripheral edge of the substrate is acquired. In other words, the lack of the outer peripheral edge of the substrate is detected based on the image. In this method, an image of the vicinity of the four corners of the substrate is acquired and an image of the outer peripheral edge of the substrate is also acquired, and a chip on the outer peripheral edge of the substrate is detected based on the image. In order to acquire an image of the outer peripheral edge of the substrate, an image acquiring means that moves along the outer peripheral edge of the substrate may be provided. In this case, one or a plurality of image acquisition means may be moved along the outer peripheral edge of the substrate.

  According to a fourth aspect of the laser processing method of the present invention, in the laser processing method according to the first, second, or third feature, when the substrate is aligned at the processing position, the laser beam is used. When the first processing is completed, an image of a portion including both the shape change portion of the substrate and the edge of the substrate formed by the first processing is obtained, and the image is used as the ID of the substrate. The data and the front / back flag are stored, and the alignment process is performed based on the ID data and the front / back flag when performing the second and subsequent processing. In laser processing, alignment processing is performed in each step. In the present invention, when the first processing by the laser beam is completed, an image of a portion including both the shape change portion and the edge of the substrate formed by the processing is acquired, and the image is used as the ID data of the substrate. And the front and back flags, and are used for the alignment process before and after the next processing. For example, in the case of solar panel manufacturing, an image of a location including both the scribe line formed by laser processing and the substrate edge is acquired, and alignment processing is performed before laser processing based on the acquired image. did. Since the image includes both of the shape change portion and the substrate edge portion, there is an effect that the image recognition processing becomes easy. As a result, alignment can be performed accurately without providing alignment marks on the substrate.

  A first feature of the laser processing apparatus according to the present invention is that when the substrate is bent (warped), the substrate is turned upside down so that the substrate is bent downward (warped). Carry-in means for floating and carrying air to a processing position by laser light, holding means for holding the substrate carried in by the carry-in means, and applying predetermined laser processing to the substrate held by the holding means And a laser beam irradiation means to be applied. This is an invention of a laser processing apparatus that realizes the first feature of the laser processing method.

  According to a second aspect of the laser processing apparatus of the present invention, the laser processing apparatus according to the first aspect is acquired by the image acquisition unit that acquires images near the four corners of the substrate and the image acquisition unit. Detection means for detecting the state of bending (warping) of the substrate based on the image, and bending (warping) of the substrate is convex downward according to the state of the substrate detected by the detecting means. And a front / back reversing means for reversing the front / back of the substrate. This is an invention of a laser processing apparatus that realizes the second feature of the laser processing method.

  According to a third aspect of the laser processing apparatus of the present invention, in the laser processing apparatus according to the second feature, the image acquisition unit acquires images near the four corners of the substrate and the outer peripheral edge of the substrate. An image is acquired, and the detecting means is to detect the lack of the outer peripheral edge of the substrate based on the image of the outer peripheral edge. This is an invention of a laser processing apparatus using the one described in the third feature of the laser processing method.

  According to a fourth aspect of the laser processing apparatus of the present invention, in the laser processing apparatus according to the first, second, or third characteristics, the first processing is completed when the first processing with the laser beam is completed. A second image acquisition means for acquiring an image of a portion including both the shape change portion of the substrate and the edge of the substrate formed by processing; and the image acquired by the second image acquisition means. Is stored as ID data and front / back flags of the substrate, and control means for controlling alignment processing by the alignment means based on the ID data and front / back flags when performing the second and subsequent processing. That is. This is an invention of a laser processing apparatus that realizes the first, second, or third feature of the laser processing method.

  The solar panel manufacturing method according to the present invention is characterized in that the laser processing method according to any one of the first feature to the fourth feature or the first feature to the fourth feature is any one of the first feature to the fourth feature. A solar panel is manufactured using the laser processing apparatus described. This is to manufacture a solar panel using any one of the laser processing method or the laser processing apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to inspect the state such as bending (warping) of the substrate carried into the laser processing location and adjust the attitude of the glass substrate accordingly to perform laser processing in an optimum state. There is.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the laser processing apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the process area part of FIG. 1 which performs the process of a scribe line. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the optical system member of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the 1st detection optical system member of FIG. 2, and a 2nd detection optical system member. It is a block diagram which shows the detail of a process of the control apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the pulse missing determination means of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform output from the high-speed photodiode of FIG. It is the figure which looked at the optical system member of FIG. 2 from the lower side (board | substrate side). It is a figure which shows the relationship between the rotation amount of an optical system member, and the pitch width of a scribe line. It is a figure which shows an example of the board | substrate detection camera system provided in the alignment part of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example in case the board | substrate detection camera system of FIG. 1 detects the glass substrate which has a downward convex curve (warp). It is a figure which shows an example in case a board | substrate detection camera system detects the glass substrate which has an upward convex curve (warp). It is a figure which shows another example of the board | substrate detection camera system provided in the alignment part of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the alignment camera system provided in the alignment part of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the alignment part before the scribing process of the 2nd time or later, respectively. It is a figure which shows the Example of the loop system of the solar panel manufacturing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows another Example of the return system of the solar panel manufacturing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the Example of the double side system of the solar panel manufacturing apparatus which concerns on this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a laser processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This laser processing apparatus performs a laser beam processing (laser scribing) process of a solar panel manufacturing apparatus. The laser processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured so that alignment sections for performing alignment processing are provided at two positions on both sides of the laser processing station, and the alignment processing can be performed simultaneously during the laser processing to shorten the waiting time. is there.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a return method of a solar panel manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. This manufacturing apparatus includes a carry-in / out robot station 141 and a laser processing station 101. The roller conveyor 121 sequentially conveys the glass substrates 1x to 1z between a film forming apparatus (not shown) and a manufacturing apparatus that performs laser scribing processing. The carry-in / out robot station 141 carries in and temporarily holds the glass substrate 1x formed by the previous film forming apparatus (not shown) conveyed on the roller conveyor 121 as a glass substrate 1m, and the glass substrate. A front / back reversing mechanism 143 for reversing the front and back of 1 m is provided, and the laser processing station in which the glass substrate 1 m is turned upside down so that the content of the laser processing and the glass substrate 1 m bend downward (warp). 101. At this time, the loading / unloading robot station 141 transports the glass substrate 1m that has been turned upside down or not turned upside down to the laser processing station 101 as well as the glass substrate 1m that has been turned upside down or not turned upside down. The roller is conveyed to the right end position of 101 and then conveyed to the laser processing station 101. The loading / unloading robot station 141 directly receives the glass substrate processed by the laser processing station 101 by the front / back reversing mechanism unit 143 or receives the glass substrate 1r received at the right end position of the laser processing station 101 up to the front / back reversing mechanism unit 143. The glass substrate after the roller processing or air levitation conveyance and laser processing by the front / back reversing mechanism unit 143 is carried out to the roller conveyor 121 with the front / back reversed or the front / back reversed.

  The laser processing station 101 forms a scribe line on the thin film on the glass substrate carried in from the carry-in / out robot station 141. The alignment units 102 and 104, the gripper units 106 and 108, the gripper driving unit 110, the processing area unit 112 is provided. The alignment unit 102 receives the glass substrate 1m on the front / back reversing mechanism unit 143 of the carry-in / out robot station 141, aligns the received glass substrate 1n to a predetermined position, and performs a scribing process in the processing area unit 112. The glass substrate 1n is carried out to the front / back reversing mechanism unit 143 of the carry-in / out robot station 141. On the other hand, the alignment unit 104 receives a glass substrate 1r that is a glass substrate that has been turned upside down or not turned upside down by the front / back reversing mechanism unit 143 of the carry-in / out robot station 141 and that has been conveyed by roller or air floating up to the right end. The received glass substrate is aligned at a predetermined position, and the glass substrate 1 q that has been subjected to the scribing process in the processing area unit 112 is carried out to the right end position of the loading / unloading robot station 141.

  The gripper unit 106 holds the glass substrate 1 o that has been aligned by the alignment unit 102. The gripper unit 108 holds the glass substrate 1 q that has been aligned by the alignment unit 104. The gripper driving unit 110 synchronizes the glass substrate held by the gripper units 106 and 108 with the laser light of the processing area unit 112 and moves between the glass substrate 1o and the dotted glass substrate 1p during laser processing. The processing area part 112 performs processing of a predetermined scribe line by irradiating the glass substrates 1o and 1q held by the gripper part 106 or the gripper part 108 and carried by air levitation with laser light. FIG. 1 shows a state in which predetermined scribe line processing is performed while moving the glass substrate 1o held by the gripper portion 106 in a state where the glass substrate 1o is floated to the position of the glass substrate 1q indicated by a dotted line.

  An example of the operation of the return type solar panel manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 will be described. First, the glass substrate 1x transported from the film forming apparatus of the previous stage via the roller conveyor 121 is temporarily held as a glass substrate 1m on the front / back reversing mechanism unit 143 by the carry-in / out robot station 141, where the front / back is reversed. Or reversed. The glass substrate 1m that has been turned upside down or not turned upside down is conveyed to the alignment unit 102 of the laser processing station 101, where it is subjected to alignment processing. The alignment-treated glass substrate 1n is held by the gripper unit 106 and is air-lifted and moved to the processing area unit 112 as the glass substrates 1o and 1p, and processing of a predetermined scribe line is performed. On the other hand, at the time of alignment processing of the alignment unit 102 and processing of the processing area unit 112, the next glass substrate 1y conveyed through the roller conveyor 121 is transferred onto the front / back reversing mechanism unit 143 by the loading / unloading robot station 141. It is temporarily held as the substrate 1m, and is turned upside down or not turned upside down. The glass substrate 1m that is turned upside down or not turned upside down is conveyed as a glass substrate 1r to a right end position corresponding to the alignment unit 108 of the laser processing station 101. The glass substrate 1r is transferred to the alignment unit 108 of the laser processing station 101, where it is aligned. The glass substrate 1q that has been subjected to the alignment process is held by the gripper unit 108, and waits until the processing of the glass substrate that has been held by the gripper unit 106 and carried by air levitation is completed.

  When the laser processing on the glass substrate held by the gripper unit 106 is completed, the glass substrate 1o held by the gripper unit 106 is moved from the position of the glass substrate 1n through the alignment unit 102 to the front / back reversing mechanism unit 143. It is temporarily held as a glass substrate 1m, and is transferred onto a roller conveyor 121 in order to be transferred to the next film forming apparatus with the front and back reversed or without being reversed. On the other hand, when the glass substrate 1o held by the gripper unit 106 moves up and air as the glass substrate 1n on the alignment unit 102, the glass substrate 1q held by the gripper unit 108 becomes a processing area as the glass substrates 1o and 1p. The air levitates and moves to the section 112, and a predetermined scribe line is processed. In the return-type solar panel manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1, the waiting time and the like due to the alignment processing are greatly reduced by alternately repeating the above processing. Further, even if any one of the alignment units fails, the process can be continued by the other alignment unit.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the processing area portion of FIG. 1 that performs the processing of the scribe line. The processing area portion includes the pedestal 10, the XY table 20, the gripper portion 106, the laser generator 40, the optical system member 50, the linear encoder 70, the control device 80, the detection optical system member, and the like. An XY table 20 that is driven and controlled along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction (XY plane) of the pedestal 10 is provided on the pedestal 10.

  The XY table 20 is controlled to move in the X direction and the Y direction. In addition, although a ball screw, a linear motor, etc. are used as a drive means of the XY table 20, these illustration is abbreviate | omitted. On the upper side of the XY table 20, a glass substrate 1 to be laser processed is held by a gripper unit 106. A slide frame 30 that slides in the Y-axis direction while holding the optical system member 50 is provided on the base 10. The XY table 20 is configured to be rotatable in the θ direction about the Z axis. Note that when the amount of movement in the Y-axis direction can be sufficiently secured by the slide frame 30, the XY table 20 may be configured to only move in the X-axis direction. In this case, the XY table 20 may have an X-axis table configuration. In FIG. 2, the alignment units 102 and 104 are not shown.

  The slide frame 30 is attached to a movable table provided at four corners on the base 10. The slide frame 30 is controlled to move in the Y direction by this moving table. A vibration isolation member (not shown) is provided between the base plate 31 and the moving table. A laser generator 40, an optical system member 50, and a control device 80 are installed on the base plate 31 of the slide frame 30. The optical system member 50 is configured by a combination of a mirror and a lens, and divides the laser beam generated by the laser generator 40 into four lines and guides it onto the glass substrate 1 on the XY table 20. Note that the number of divisions of the laser light is not limited to four, but may be two or more.

  The linear encoder 70 includes a scale member provided on the side surface of the X-axis movement table of the XY table 20 and a detection unit attached to the gripper unit 106. The detection signal of the linear encoder 70 is output to the control device 80. The control device 80 detects the moving speed (moving frequency) of the gripper unit 106 in the X-axis direction based on the detection signal from the linear encoder 70, and controls the output (laser frequency) of the laser generator 40.

  As illustrated, the optical system member 50 is provided on the side surface side of the base plate 31 and is configured to move in the Y-axis direction along the side surface of the base plate 31. The tip of the optical system member 50 is rotatable around the Z axis. A galvanometer mirror 33 for guiding laser light emitted from the laser generator 40 to the optical system member 50 is provided on the base plate 31. The galvanometer mirror 33 uses two motors (rotary encoders) to scan the XZ two-dimensional area with laser light. The galvanometer mirror 33 is composed of a two-axis type (X, Z), and is composed of two motors and a mirror attached to the motor. The galvano control device 331 includes a driver and a power source for moving the motor, a microcomputer for controlling them, and the like.

  The mirrors 34 and 35 are provided on the optical system member 50 and are interlocked with the slide movement of the optical system member 50. The laser light emitted from the laser generator 40 is reflected toward the mirror 34 by the galvano mirror 33, and the laser light toward the mirror 34 is reflected toward the mirror 35 by the mirror 34. The mirror 35 guides the reflected laser light from the mirror 34 into the optical system member 50 through a through hole provided in the base plate 31. The laser light emitted from the laser light generating device 40 may have any configuration as long as the laser light is configured to be introduced from above into the optical system member 50 through a through hole provided in the base plate 31. It may be. For example, the laser generator 40 may be provided on the upper side of the through hole, and the laser beam may be directly guided to the optical system member 50 through the through hole.

  The beam sampler 332 is provided on the optical system member 50 between the galvanometer mirror 33 and the reflection mirror 34 so as to move along with the sliding movement of the optical system member 50. The beam sampler 332 is an element that samples a part of the laser beam (for example, about 10% of the laser beam or less) and branches and outputs it to the outside. The quadrant photodiode 333 is arranged so as to receive a part of the laser beam (sampling beam) branched by the beam sampler 332 in the vicinity of the center of the light receiving surface. Four types of output signals corresponding to the intensity of the laser light detected by the quadrant photodiode 333 are output to the galvano control device 331. The galvano control device 331 controls the two motors 33xy and 33yz of the galvano mirror 33 in real time according to the four types of output signals from the four-division photodiode 333. The motor 33xy controls the reflected laser beam of the galvanometer mirror 33 to rotate in a plane parallel to the upper surface (XY plane) of the base plate 31, and the motor 33zy controls the reflected laser beam of the galvanometer mirror 33 to the base plate 31. Is controlled in real time so as to rotate and move in a plane parallel to a plane (YZ plane) orthogonal to the upper surface of the.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the optical system member 50. Although the actual configuration of the optical system member 50 is complicated, the illustration is simplified here for the sake of simplicity. FIG. 3 is a view of the inside of the optical system member 50 as viewed from the −X axis direction of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the base plate 31 has a through hole 37 for introducing the laser beam reflected by the mirror 35 into the optical system member 50. A phase type diffractive optical element (DOE) 500 that converts laser light having a Gaussian intensity distribution into laser light having a top hat intensity distribution is provided directly below the through hole 37.

  The laser light converted into laser light having a top hat intensity distribution (top hat beam) by the DOE 500 is branched into a reflected beam and a transmitted beam by the half mirror 511, and the reflected beam is transmitted toward the right half mirror 512. Advances toward the reflective mirror 524 in the downward direction. The beam reflected by the half mirror 511 is further branched into a reflected beam and a transmitted beam by the half mirror 512, and the reflected beam travels toward the lower reflecting mirror 522, and the transmitted beam travels toward the right reflecting mirror 521. The beam that has passed through the half mirror 512 is reflected by the reflection mirror 521, and is irradiated onto the glass substrate 1 through the condensing lens 541 in the downward direction. The beam reflected by the half mirror 512 is reflected by the reflection mirrors 522 and 523 and is irradiated onto the glass substrate 1 through the condensing lens 542 in the downward direction. The beam transmitted through the half mirror 511 is reflected by the reflection mirror 524 and travels in the left direction. The beam reflected by the reflection mirror 524 is branched into a reflection beam and a transmission beam by the half mirror 513, the reflection beam proceeds toward the reflection mirror 526 in the downward direction, and the transmission beam proceeds toward the reflection mirror 528 in the left direction. The beam reflected by the half mirror 513 is reflected by the reflecting mirrors 526 and 527 and is irradiated onto the glass substrate 1 through the condensing lens 543 in the downward direction. The beam that has passed through the half mirror 513 is reflected by the reflection mirror 528, and is irradiated onto the glass substrate 1 through the condensing lens 544 in the downward direction.

  The top hat beam converted by the DOE 500 is transmitted and reflected by the above-described half mirrors 511 to 513 and the reflection mirrors 521 to 528 and guided to the condenser lenses 541 to 544. At this time, the optical path lengths from the DOE 500 to the condenser lenses 541 to 544 are set to be equal. That is, the optical path length from when the beam reflected by the half mirror 511 passes through the half mirror 512 and is reflected by the reflection mirror 521 to reach the condenser lens 541, and the beam reflected by the half mirror 511 is the half mirror 512 and the reflection mirror 522. , 523, the optical path length until reaching the condenser lens 542, and the beam transmitted through the half mirror 511 are reflected by the reflection mirror 523, the half mirror 513, the reflection mirrors 526 and 527, respectively, and enter the condenser lens 543. The optical path length until the beam reaches the condensing lens 544 is reflected by the reflection mirror 523, reflected by the reflection mirror 523, reflected by the reflection mirror 528, and reaches the condenser lens 544, respectively. Are equal distances. As a result, even if the DOE 500 is disposed immediately before the beam is branched, the laser light having the top hat intensity distribution can be similarly guided to the condenser lenses 541 to 544. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the case where the optical path lengths are completely matched has been described. However, the optical path lengths can be slightly different as long as the top hat intensity distribution of the laser light can be maintained.

  The shutter mechanisms 531 to 534 block the emission of laser light when the laser light emitted from the condenser lenses 541 to 544 of the optical system member 50 is detached from the glass substrate 1. The autofocus length measuring systems 52 and 54 are constituted by a detection light irradiation laser and an autofocus photodiode (not shown), and from the surface of the glass substrate 1 in the light irradiated from the detection light irradiation laser. The reflected reflected light is received, and the condensing lenses 541 to 544 in the optical system member 50 are driven up and down in accordance with the amount of reflected light to adjust the height relative to the glass substrate 1 (the focus of the condensing lenses 541 to 544). To do. The focus adjustment drive mechanism is not shown.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the first detection optical system member and the second detection optical system member. The first detection optical system member includes a condenser lens height measurement system 26 and a focus and optical axis adjustment CCD camera 28. In FIG. 4, the condenser lens height measuring system 26 and the focus and optical axis adjusting CCD camera 28 are shown in an overlapping manner, so that they are distinguished by reference numerals. When the height from the glass substrate 1 to the lower surfaces on both sides of the optical system member 50 is adjusted by the autofocus length measuring systems 52 and 54 shown in FIG. 3, the height of the lower surface of the optical system member 50 should be the same. However, the height from the glass substrate 1 to each of the condensing lenses 541 to 544 is not necessarily the same. Therefore, in this embodiment, the condenser lens height measuring system 26 is attached to one of the side surfaces in the X-axis direction of the XY table 20 (the side surface in the −X-axis direction of the XY table 20 in the figure), and the glass substrate The height from 1 to each of the condensing lenses 541 to 544 is measured. A signal corresponding to the height of each of the condenser lenses 541 to 544 detected by the condenser lens height measuring system 26 is output to the control device 80. The control device 80 determines whether or not the height from the glass substrate 1 to each of the condenser lenses 541 to 544 is appropriate. The arrangement (height) of the condenser lenses 541 to 544 is adjusted according to the length measurement result of the condenser lens height measuring system 26. In this case, the arrangement (height) of the condenser lenses 541 to 544 can be adjusted manually or automatically. If the height of the lower surface of the optical system member 50 is measured using the condensing lens height measuring system 26, the autofocus length measuring systems 52 and 54 can be omitted. .

  The focus and optical axis adjusting CCD camera 28 is one of the side surfaces in the X-axis direction of the XY table 20 (the side surface in the −X-axis direction of the XY table 20 in the figure), and is a condensing lens height measuring system. 26 adjacent positions (neighboring). The CCD camera 28 for focus and optical axis adjustment associates the positions of the XY table 20 and the respective condensing lenses 541 to 544 of the optical system member 50 and is installed so that the sky side of the XY table 20 can be seen. . The image captured by the focus and optical axis adjusting CCD camera 28 is output to the control device 80. The control device 80 determines whether or not the optical axis of the laser light emitted from each of the condenser lenses 541 to 544 is appropriate. In other words, the focus and optical axis adjusting CCD camera 28 can directly observe the laser light emitted from the respective condensing lenses 541 to 544 of the optical system member 50. By imaging this, the control device 80 Can determine whether the focus and the optical axis of each of the condenser lenses 541 to 544 are appropriate. Further, when each optical system related to the laser light such as the laser generator 40 and the optical system member 50 is replaced, the images before and after the replacement are acquired and digitized, so that the focus and optical axis after the replacement are obtained. Adjustment can be performed easily. Further, in the case of a plurality of heads, variation can be appropriately adjusted by acquiring and digitalizing images of the respective laser beams.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the second detection optical system member includes beam samplers 92 and 93, a high-speed photodiode 94, and an optical axis inspection CCD camera 96. The beam samplers 92 and 93 are provided in the optical path of laser light introduced into the optical system member 50. In this embodiment, it is provided between the laser generator 40 and the reflection mirror 33. The beam samplers 92 and 93 are elements that sample a part of the laser beam (for example, about 0.4% or less of the laser beam) and branch out the output. The high-speed photodiode 94 is disposed so as to receive a part (sampling beam) of the laser beam branched and output by the beam sampler 92 near the center of the light receiving surface. An output signal corresponding to the intensity of the laser light detected by the high speed photodiode 94 is output to the control device 80. The optical axis inspection CCD camera 96 is arranged so as to receive a part (sampling beam) of the laser beam branched and output by the beam sampler 93 near the center of the light receiving surface. The image captured by the optical axis inspection CCD camera 96 is output to the control device 80. The optical axis inspection CCD camera 96 may capture an image indicating the position of the laser light irradiated to the high-speed photodiode 94 and output the image to the control device 80.

  The control device 80 detects the moving speed (moving frequency) of the gripper unit 106 in the X-axis direction based on the detection signal from the linear encoder 70, controls the output (laser frequency) of the laser generator 40, and is a high-speed photodiode. 94 and the signal output from the optical axis inspection CCD camera 96 are used to detect missing pulses of the laser light emitted from the laser generator 40, or based on the amount of optical axis deviation of the laser light. The emission conditions are controlled, and the arrangement of the reflection mirrors 33 to 35 for introducing the laser light in the optical system member 50 is feedback-controlled.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing details of processing of the control device 80 of FIG. The control device 80 includes a branching unit 81, a missing pulse determining unit 82, an alarm generating unit 83, a reference CCD image storage unit 84, an optical axis deviation measuring unit 85, a laser controller 86, a lens displacement measuring unit 87, and a lens height adjustment. It comprises means 88, irradiation laser state inspection means 89, and irradiation laser adjustment means 8A.

  The branching unit 81 branches the detection signal (clock pulse) of the linear encoder 70 and outputs it to the laser controller 86 at the subsequent stage. The pulse missing determination means 82 receives an output signal (diode output) corresponding to the laser light intensity from the high-speed photodiode 94 and a detection signal (clock pulse) output from the branching means 81, and based on this, the laser light Determine missing pulses. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the missing pulse determination means 82 of FIG. 6A is an example of a detection signal (clock pulse) output from the branching means 81, and FIG. 6B is an output signal corresponding to the laser beam intensity output from the high-speed photodiode 94 (diode). FIG. 6C shows an example of an alarm signal output by the missing pulse determination means 82 when a missing pulse is detected.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the pulse missing determining means 82 determines whether or not the diode output value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th by using the falling edge of the clock pulse from the branching means 81 as a trigger signal. When the diode output value is smaller than the threshold value Th, a high level signal is output to the alarm generating means 83. The alarm generating unit 83 notifies the outside of the alarm indicating that a pulse missing has occurred when the signal from the pulse missing judging unit 82 changes from a low level to a high level. The alarm is notified by various methods such as image display and pronunciation. The occurrence of an alarm allows the operator to recognize that a pulse drop has occurred. If this alarm occurs frequently, it means that the performance of the laser generator has deteriorated or has reached the end of its life.

  The reference CCD image storage means 84 stores a reference CCD image 84a as shown in FIG. The reference CCD image 84a shows an image in a state where the laser beam is received at the center of the light receiving surface of the CCD camera 96 for optical axis inspection. The optical axis inspection CCD camera 96 outputs an inspection image 85a as shown in FIG. The optical axis deviation amount measuring means 85 captures the inspected image 85a from the optical axis inspection CCD camera 96, compares it with the reference CCD image 84a, measures the optical axis deviation amount, and calculates the deviation amount by the laser. Output to the controller 86. For example, when an image such as the inspected image 85a shown in FIG. 5 is output from the optical axis inspection CCD camera 96, the optical axis deviation measuring means 85 compares the X axis and the Y axis. The amount of direction deviation is measured and output to the laser controller 86. The laser controller 86 introduces the laser beam into a device related to the optical axis of the laser beam, that is, the emission condition of the laser generator 40 and the optical system member 50 so that the inspected image 85a and the reference CCD image 84a coincide. The arrangement and the like of the reflecting mirrors 33 to 35 are adjusted by feedback.

  The lens displacement amount measuring means 87 inputs a signal corresponding to the height of each of the condenser lenses 541 to 544 detected by the condenser lens height measuring system 26, and the height of each of the condenser lenses 541 to 544 is determined. It is determined whether it is within the allowable range or greatly deviated from this allowable range, and a control signal indicating how much the height of the condensing lenses 541 to 544 that are largely deviated should be adjusted is the lens height adjustment It outputs to the means 88. The lens height adjusting unit 88 adjusts the arrangement of the condenser lenses 541 to 544 in accordance with a control signal from the lens displacement amount measuring unit 87. When there is no height adjustment mechanism for the condensing lenses 541 to 544, the lens height adjusting unit 88 selects any of the condensing lenses 541 to 544 based on a control signal from the lens displacement amount measuring unit 87. The adjustment information may be transmitted to the operator (visual display, voice pronunciation, etc.).

  The irradiation laser state inspection unit 89 captures the image 89a from the CCD camera 28 for focus and optical axis adjustment, measures the shift amount of the focus and the optical axis based on this, and outputs the shift amount to the irradiation laser adjustment unit 8A. To do. For example, when an image 89a as shown in FIG. 5 is output from the focus and optical axis adjusting CCD camera, the irradiation laser state inspection unit 89 uses the circular outline 89b (the condensing lens 541 in the image 89a). The line of the focus circle 89c (small circle in the image 89a) is detected on the basis of (a line corresponding to the outer edge of .about.544), and light is detected based on whether or not the focus circle 89c is located substantially at the center of the contour line 89b. The amount of deviation of the axis in the X-axis and Y-axis directions is measured and output to the irradiation laser adjusting means 8A. The irradiation laser state inspection unit 89 measures the size (area) of the focus circle 89c, and outputs the focus position based on the size (area) to the irradiation laser adjustment unit 8A. The irradiation laser adjusting unit 8A is configured to detect the half mirrors 511 to 513 and the reflection mirrors 521 to 528 in the optical system member 50 based on the signal corresponding to the optical axis shift amount and the focus position from the irradiation laser state inspection unit 89. Feed back and adjust the placement. The lens height adjusting unit 88 and the irradiation laser adjusting unit 8A may be omitted, and the laser controller 86 may have these functions.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the optical axis misalignment measuring unit 85 inspects the optical axis misalignment of the laser beam and the missing pulse determining unit 82 inspects the missing pulse during laser processing (scribe processing) has been described. As shown in FIG. 4, the pulse state of the laser beam may be inspected based on the output waveform from the high-speed photodiode 94. For example, in FIG. 7, the pulse width and the pulse height of the laser light may be measured, and an alarm may be generated when an abnormality occurs in these. The pulse width of the laser light is normal when the period during which the output waveform from the high-speed photodiode 94 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is within a predetermined range, and when it is larger or smaller than this range, the pulse width is abnormal. And outputs an alarm. The pulse height of the laser beam is normal when the maximum value of the output waveform from the high-speed photodiode 94 is within the allowable range, and when it is larger or smaller than this allowable range, the pulse height is abnormal. Judge and output an alarm. As described above, since the laser light is always sampled, the quality of the laser light such as the pulse width and the pulse height (power) can be managed in real time. If the above-described pulse omission occurs frequently, it can be determined that the laser generator 40 is deteriorated or has a lifetime.

  FIG. 8 is a view of the optical system member of FIG. 2 as viewed from the lower side (substrate side). FIG. 8 shows a part of the optical system member 50 and the base plate 31. FIG. 8A is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the optical system member 50 and the base plate 31 shown in FIG. 2, and as shown in the figure, the end surface of the optical system member 50 (upper end portion in the figure) and the base are shown. The end surface (upper end portion in the figure) of the plate 31 coincides. FIG. 8B is a view showing a state in which the optical system member 50 is rotated about 30 degrees counterclockwise with respect to the base plate 31 with the center of the through hole 37 as the rotation axis. FIG. 8C is a view showing a state in which the optical system member 50 is rotated about 45 degrees counterclockwise with respect to the base plate 31 with the center of the through hole 37 as the rotation axis.

  In the solar panel manufacturing apparatus according to this embodiment, the optical system member 50 is configured to be freely rotatable with the center of the through hole 37, which is a laser light introduction hole, as the rotation axis. That is, the rotation of the optical system member 50 that is a branching unit is controlled with the traveling direction of the vertical laser light traveling from the reflecting mirror 35 of FIG. 3 through the DOE 500 toward the half mirror 511 as the central axis. This makes it possible to variably control the angle θ formed by the laser beam branching direction and the relative movement direction of the laser beam with respect to the substrate (vertical direction in FIG. 8). In addition, although the existing techniques, such as a ball screw and a linear motor, are used as a rotational drive means of the optical system member 50, these illustration is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 8, even when the angle between the laser beam branching direction and the laser beam scanning direction (vertical direction in FIG. 8) is variably controlled, the DOE 500 rotates relative to the relative movement direction of the laser beam. It is configured not to. That is, by using the DOE 500, the irradiation shape of the laser light shows an irradiation shape like a dotted square as shown in the condensing lenses 541 to 544 in FIG. Therefore, when the DOE 500 is rotated together with the rotation control of the optical system member 50, the dotted squares in the condenser lenses 541 to 544 also rotate according to the rotation amount. When the laser beam is scanned and irradiated in this state, square corners are positioned on both side ridge lines of the scribe line, and the ridge line shows a wavy shape. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8B and FIG. 8C, scanning is performed by adopting a configuration in which the DOE 500 is not rotated even if the rotation of the optical system member 50 is controlled as in this embodiment. The direction (vertical direction in FIG. 8) and the left and right sides of the dotted square in the condenser lenses 541 to 544 coincide with each other, and both sides of the scribe line can be formed very smoothly, and the optical system member 50 is rotated. Thus, even when the pitch of the scribe lines is appropriately controlled, it is possible to form a scribe line having a smooth ridge line. In the above-described embodiment, the case where only one DOE is provided in the optical path of the laser beam has been described. However, the DOE may be provided immediately before each condensing lens after branching. Even in this case, each DOE needs to be configured not to rotate even if the rotation of the optical system member 50 is controlled. The DOE 500 can be made independent of the rotation of the optical system member 50 by being directly connected to the base plate 31 in a form separated from the optical system member 50.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the rotation amount of the optical system member and the pitch width of the scribe line. 9A shows a state where the optical system member 50 is not rotated as shown in FIG. 8A, and FIG. 9B shows a state where the optical system member 50 is rotated about 30 degrees as shown in FIG. 8B. FIG. 9C shows the state of the scribe line when the laser scribing process is performed with the optical system member 50 rotated about 45 degrees as shown in FIG. 8C. If the pitch of the scribe line in the case of FIG. 9A is P0, the pitch P30 in the case of FIG. 9B is P0 × cos 30 °, and the pitch P45 in the case of FIG. 9C is P0 × cos 45 °. Become. As described above, the solar panel manufacturing apparatus according to this embodiment can appropriately adjust the pitch width of the scribe line to a desired value by appropriately adjusting the rotation angle of the optical system member 50.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the substrate detection camera system provided in the alignment units 102 and 104 in FIG. FIG. 10A is a side view showing the relationship between the glass substrate and the substrate detection camera, and FIG. 10B is a top view thereof. The alignment units 102 and 104 are provided with a substrate detection camera system and an alignment camera system to detect a glass substrate and perform alignment processing thereof. The substrate detection cameras 65 to 68 acquire images near the four corners of the glass substrate 1 from the upper side when the glass substrate 1 that is airborne and conveyed is placed on the alignment units 102 and 104. In FIG. 10, the state immediately before the glass substrate 1 is placed on the alignment units 102 and 104, held by the gripper units 106 and 108, floats in the X-axis direction, and is introduced into the laser processing station 10. Show. Images 65 a to 68 a shown in FIG. 10B are images near the four corners of the glass substrate 1 acquired by the substrate detection cameras 65 to 68. Since the relative positional relationship between the substrate detection cameras 65 to 68 is a known value set in advance, as shown in the images 65 a to 68 a, the vertexes at the four corners of the glass substrate 1 that are not bent or warped are the substrate detection camera 65. It is set so as to be located near the center of the imaging range of .about.68. Therefore, when the positions of the vertices are deviated in the images 65a to 68a, the bending (warping) of the glass substrate 1 can be detected based on the deviation amount. Further, it is possible to detect a chip near the four corners of the glass substrate 1 based on the images 65a to 68a. Note that chipping of each side of the glass substrate 1 can be detected by moving the substrate detection cameras 65 to 68 along the respective sides of the glass substrate 1.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the substrate detection camera system in FIG. 1 detects a glass substrate having a downward convex curve (warpage). In FIG. 11, the same components as those in FIG. 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. FIG. 11 is different from FIG. 10 in that the glass substrate 1f that is air levitated and conveyed has a downward convex curve (warp). When the glass substrate 1f having a downward convex curve (warp) is placed on the alignment units 102 and 104, the vertexes of the four corners of the glass substrate 1f are on the center side of the glass substrate 1f in the substrate detection cameras 65-68. Images 65b to 68b in a state of being shifted to are picked up. Moreover, as shown in these images 65b-68b, since two parallel edge lines according to the magnitude | size of bending (warping) can be confirmed near each vertex of the four corners of the glass substrate 1f, in this case, the glass substrate It is possible to detect that 1f is placed in a state of being air-levitated on the alignment units 102 and 104 in a convex state.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the substrate detection camera system detects a glass substrate having an upward convex curve (warp). In FIG. 12, since the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same structure as FIG.10 and FIG.11, the description is abbreviate | omitted. FIG. 12 is different from FIGS. 10 and 11 in that the glass substrate 1g has an upward convex curve (warp). The glass substrate 1g having an upwardly convex bend (warpage) is difficult to air levitate even if it attempts to air levitate on the alignment portions 102 and 104, and as shown in FIG. It is mounted in a state of barely touching the surface of 104. Further, the substrate detection cameras 65 to 68 capture images 65c to 68c in a state where the four corners of the glass substrate 1g are shifted to the center side of the glass substrate 1g as in FIG. 11B. In the images 65c to 68c, unlike the case of FIG. 11B, only one edge line can be confirmed near each vertex of the four corners of the glass substrate 1g. Therefore, in this case, it is possible to detect that the glass substrate 1g is placed in a state in which the glass substrate 1g is convex upward and cannot be floated on the alignment units 102 and 104.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of the substrate detection camera system provided in the alignment units 102 and 104 in FIG. In the embodiment of FIG. 10, the substrate detection cameras 65 to 68 are provided in the upper part near the four corners of the substrate 1, but in this embodiment, the two substrate detection cameras 65 and 68 are paired with the glass substrate 1. It is located above the corner. In FIG. 13A, in a state where the glass substrate 1 is placed on the alignment units 102 and 104, the glass substrate 1 indicated by the dotted line moves to the right side as indicated by the arrow from the position, and the glass substrate 1 indicated by the solid line. (Position where the substrate detection cameras 65 and 68 are positioned above the diagonal of the glass substrate 1). When the glass substrate 1 moves, the substrate detection camera 68 acquires an image of the side 12 of the moving glass substrate 1. Then, at the end of the substrate movement, the substrate detection cameras 65 and 68 acquire images of apexes near the diagonal of the glass substrate 1 (images 65a to 65c and 68a to 68c in FIGS. 10 to 12). With the glass substrate 1 stopped, the substrate detection cameras 65 and 68 move along the dotted arrows as shown in FIG. 13B. When the substrate detection cameras 65 and 68 are moved, the substrate detection camera 65 acquires an image of the side 13 of the glass substrate 1, and the substrate detection camera 68 acquires an image of the side 14 of the glass substrate 1. At the end of the movement of the substrate detection cameras 65 and 68, the substrate detection cameras 65 and 68 acquire images of vertices near another diagonal of the glass substrate 1 (images 66a to 65c and 67a to 67c in FIGS. 10 to 12). . With the substrate detection cameras 65 and 68 stopped, this time the glass substrate 1 is moved to the right as indicated by the arrow as shown by the dotted line, as shown in FIG. Move to the position of the glass substrate 1. When the glass substrate 1 moves, the substrate detection camera 65 acquires an image of the side 15 of the moving glass substrate 1. As in the case of FIGS. 10 to 12, the images 65 a to 68 a, 65 b to 68 b, 65 c to 68 c and each side of the substrate 1 are used by the above-described series of operations using the two substrate detection cameras 65 and 68. Images can be acquired. As a result, the direction of bending (warping) of the glass substrate 1 and chipping of each side of the substrate 1 can be detected based on the images 65a to 68a, 65b to 68b, and 65c to 68c. Note that the substrate detection cameras 65 and 68 may be returned to the initial positions shown in FIG. 13A after the series of detection operations, or the reverse operation may be performed without returning them.

  As described above, the substrate detection camera system using the substrate detection cameras 65 to 68 has the glass substrate placed on the alignment units 102 and 104 with a convex curve (warp) or a convex downward. It is detected whether it is placed with a bend (warp), and when it is placed with an upward convex bend (warp) as shown in FIG. The glass substrate is returned to the top so that the glass substrate is placed with a convex curve (warp) downward, with the front and back being reversed or not being reversed. If the glass substrate is placed with a convex curve (warp), the peripheral edge of the glass substrate cannot be sufficiently lifted when the glass substrate is transported and comes into contact with the stage. In the worst case, the glass substrate is placed on the stage. Since there exists a possibility of damaging with the impact which contacted, as mentioned above, it is preferable to make it mount by a downward convex curve (warp) about a glass substrate. In addition, if the glass substrate is placed with a convex bend (warp) downward, it is sucked together with the air levitation during processing, so the bend (warp) of the glass substrate is forced by the domino effect and the bend (warp) is reduced. By reducing the bending (warping), the amount of autofocus adjustment can be reduced. Therefore, in a glass substrate having a bend (warp), it is preferable to place the glass substrate with a downward bend (warp). Note that the glass substrate is bent (warped) because it tends to bend in the outer direction of the film surface formed by the film forming apparatus, so that the film surface side previously formed by the film forming apparatus is set downward. You may do it. FIGS. 11 to 13 show an example in which the substrate warpage state is detected by the alignment camera, but the distance between the substrate and the alignment camera unit is measured in the units of the alignment cameras 65 to 68 although not shown in the figure. You may make it measure the curvature of a board | substrate by mounting a unit.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of an alignment camera system provided in the alignment units 102 and 104 in FIG. The alignment camera system acquires images near both ends (front and rear edges in the X-axis direction) of the glass substrate 1. An image acquired by the alignment camera system is output to the control device 80. The control device 80 stores the image from the alignment camera system in the database unit together with the ID data of the glass substrate 1 and the front and back flags, and uses them for the subsequent alignment processing of the glass substrate 1. The front / back flag stores “0” when indicating the front side of the board, and “1” when indicating the back side. FIG. 14 shows an example of the alignment unit before the first scribe process, and FIG. 15 shows an example of the alignment part before the second and subsequent scribe processes. First, as shown in FIG. 14, with the glass substrate 1 placed, the lower edge of the left end of the glass substrate 1 is used as the positioning pin 21, and the left edge of the lower end of the glass substrate 1 is used as the positioning pin. 22, the right edge of the lower end of the glass substrate 1 is abutted against the positioning pins 23 to position the glass substrate 1 at a predetermined position. In this state, the transparent electrode layer on the glass substrate 1 is irradiated with laser light, and a scribing process is executed. As a result of the initial scribing process, scribing lines are formed on the glass substrate 1 with a pitch of about 10 mm.

  FIG. 14 shows one scribe line 25 near the center of the substrate among the plurality of scribe lines. Images 27a and 29a in the vicinity of both ends of the scribe line 25, that is, the positions 27 and 29 including both the scribe line 25 and the edge of the glass substrate 1, are acquired by the alignment camera system described above. As can be seen from the images 27a and 29a, since both the image of the scribe line 25 and the image of the shape of the edge of the glass substrate 1 are included in the image, the image recognition process is facilitated. The acquired images 27a and 29a are sequentially stored in the database means 75 by the control device 80 together with the ID data of the glass substrate 1 and the substrate front / back flag “0”. After acquiring the data on the front surface of the substrate, the front and back surfaces of the glass substrate 1 are reversed and the image data is also acquired on the back surface of the substrate in the same manner, and the database means 75 together with the ID data of the glass substrate 1 and the substrate front and back flag “1”. Are stored in sequence.

  As shown in FIG. 14, when the acquisition process of the images 27a and 29a is completed after the scribing process by the laser processing is completed, a process for forming a semiconductor layer on the transparent electrode layer is performed in the next film forming apparatus. It is. After the semiconductor layer forming process is completed, the glass substrate 1 is subjected to the same scribing process using laser light as described above. Prior to the second scribing process, an alignment process is performed as shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 15, the substrate detection camera system using the substrate detection cameras 65 to 68 causes the glass substrate to be placed on the alignment units 102 and 104 with a downward convex curve (warp), and then the alignment described above. In the state where the glass substrate 1 is placed in the same manner as the processing, the lower edge of the left end of the glass substrate 1 is used as the positioning pin 21, and the left edge of the lower end of the glass substrate 1 is used as the positioning pin 22. The right edge of the lower end of the glass substrate 1 is abutted against the positioning pins 23 to position the glass substrate 1 at a predetermined position. In this state, images 27b and 29b in the vicinity of both ends of the scribe line 25, that is, locations 27 and 29 including both the scribe line 25 and the edge of the glass substrate 1 are acquired by the alignment camera system. On the other hand, the control device 80 reads out the images 27 a and 29 a corresponding to the ID data and the front and back flags of the glass substrate 1 from the database means 75. The control device 80 compares the read images 27a and 29a with the images 27b and 29b acquired by the alignment camera system, and controls the X axis, the Y axis, and the θ axis so that they match. An accurate alignment process is performed.

  As shown in FIG. 15, when the alignment process by the comparison process of the images 27a and 29a and the images 27b and 29b is completed, the scribing process by the laser beam is executed at a position about 30 μm away from the previous scribe line 25. When this scribing process is completed, a process for forming a metal layer on the semiconductor layer is performed by the next-stage film forming apparatus. Again, the substrate is carried into the laser processing apparatus, alignment processing similar to that shown in FIG. 15 is performed, and scribing processing using laser light is similarly performed on the glass substrate 1. Thereby, three scribe lines are formed on the glass substrate 1.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a loop system of the solar panel manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 16, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. The manufacturing apparatus differs from that in FIG. 1 in that the alignment unit 104 existing in the laser processing station 101 of the manufacturing apparatus in FIG. 1 is omitted, and the loading / unloading robot station 142 is transported in one direction from the right side to the left side in the figure. It is a point to do. Therefore, in the manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 16, the glass substrate 1m carried into the front / back reversing mechanism unit 143 is subjected to alignment processing by the alignment unit 102 as the glass substrate 1n. Thereafter, predetermined processing is performed in the processing area portion 112 as the glass substrates 1o and 1p. The processed glass substrate 1q is transported from the laser processing station 101 to the right end of the loading / unloading robot station 142 as a glass substrate 1r, and from there is transported as a glass substrate 1m to the front / back reversing mechanism unit 143, where the front / back is reversed or front / back. It is carried out to the roller conveyor 121 without being inverted. In the manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 16, alignment processing is performed by the alignment unit 102 during laser processing. When the gripper unit 106 immediately transports the glass substrate to the carry-in / out robot station 142 after the laser processing is completed, the gripper 106 is moved to the alignment unit 102 to hold the glass substrate and perform the same laser processing. That is, the glass substrate moves in a loop on the manufacturing apparatus. Accordingly, the tact time is slightly larger than that in the case of FIG. 1, but it is only necessary to provide one front / back reversing mechanism 143, and the apparatus can be simplified.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the return method of the solar panel manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 17, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. This manufacturing apparatus is different from that shown in FIG. 1 in that the handling arm type substrate transport robot 146 is used to carry in and out the glass substrate to and from the roller conveyor 121 and the front / back reversing mechanism 143. Therefore, in the manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 17, the glass substrate 1x is carried from the roller conveyor 121 to the front / back reversing mechanism unit 143, and is transferred to the alignment unit 102 as the glass substrate 1n without performing front / back reversing or front / back reversing. Alternatively, the substrate transfer robot 146 is used to transfer the glass substrate 1r to the right end of the load / unload robot station 144 again. In the laser processing station 101, as in FIG. 1, alignment processing is performed by the alignment units 102 and 104 on both sides to perform laser processing. The front / back reversing mechanism may be provided separately on the glass substrate 1r, or the front / back reversing mechanism 143 is omitted and another front / back reversing mechanism is provided between the roller conveyor 121 and the loading / unloading robot station 144. You may do it.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a double side system of the solar panel manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. In this embodiment, glass substrates are carried in and out from both sides of the laser processing station 101 having the alignment units 102 and 104 of FIG. In FIG. 18, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. The manufacturing apparatus is different from that shown in FIG. 1 in that roller conveyors 121 and 122 are provided on both sides of the laser processing station 101, and front and back reversing mechanisms 147 and 148 are provided on the roller conveyors 121 and 122, respectively. . Therefore, in the manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 18, the alignment units 102, 148 are sequentially passed from the roller conveyors 121, 122 on both sides to the glass substrates 1 x 1, 1 x 2, 1 y 1, 1 y 2, 1 z 1, 1 z 2 in order. It is carried in / out 104. As in FIG. 1, the laser processing station 101 performs laser processing on the glass substrates aligned by the alignment units 102 and 104 on both sides. If the front / back reversing mechanism portion is unnecessary, the front / back reversing mechanism portions 147 and 148 may be omitted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where an image including a scribe line formed on the glass substrate 1 is acquired as a result of the first scribe process has been described. However, the image is formed on the glass substrate 1 as a result of the second scribe process. An image including the two scribe lines thus obtained may be acquired, and alignment processing may be performed using the acquired image. Moreover, although the above-mentioned embodiment demonstrated the case where an alignment camera system and the board | substrate detection cameras 65-68 were provided separately, the movement mechanism as shown in FIG. 68 functions may also be used.

In the above-described embodiment, only the occurrence of missing pulses is observed, but by acquiring and storing the coordinate data (position data) of the location where the missing pulses have occurred, it is possible to perform a scribe line repair process. It becomes.
In the above-described embodiment, a part of the laser beam (sampling beam) branched and output by the beam sampler 93 is directly received using the CCD camera 96 for optical axis inspection, and the optical beam is processed by image processing. The case where the deviation is inspected has been described. An image showing a state where the laser beam is received at the center of the light receiving surface of the high-speed photodiode 94 is acquired as an inspection image by the CCD camera 96 for optical axis inspection or the split type photodiode. Thus, the optical axis deviation may be inspected.
In the above-described embodiment, the case of inspecting the optical axis deviation and the missing pulse of the laser beam has been described. However, the state of the laser beam is inspected by appropriately combining the optical axis deviation, the missing pulse, the pulse width, and the pulse height. You may make it do.
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the laser beam is irradiated from the surface of the glass substrate 1 on which the thin film is formed to form the scribe line (groove) in the thin film is described. However, the laser beam is irradiated from the back surface of the glass substrate 1. And you may make it form a scribe line in the thin film of the substrate surface.
In the above-described embodiment, the solar panel manufacturing apparatus has been described as an example. However, the present invention can also be applied to an apparatus that performs laser processing, such as an EL panel manufacturing apparatus, an EL panel correction apparatus, and an FPD correction apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Glass substrate 1f, 1g, 1x-1z, 1m-1r ... Glass substrate 10 ... Laser processing station 10a ... Alignment part 10b ... Gripper part 10c ... Gripper drive part 10d ... Processing area part 10 ... Base 101 ... Laser processing station 102 , 104 ... Alignment section 106, 108 ... Gripper section 110 ... Gripper drive section 112 ... Processing area section 121 ... Roller conveyors 12, 13, 14, 15 ... Side 141 ... Loading / unloading robot station 143 ... Front / back reversing mechanism section 20 ... XY table 30 ... Slide frame 31 ... Base plate 33 ... Galvano mirror 331 ... Galvano control device 332 ... Beam sampler 333 ... Quadrant photodiode 33xy, 33yz ... Motor 34, 35 ... Reflection mirror 37 ... Through hole 40 ... Laser generator 50 ... Optical System member 500... Phase type diffractive optical element (DOE)
511 to 513, half mirrors 521 to 528, reflection mirrors 531 to 534, shutter mechanisms 541 to 544, condensing lenses 52, 54, length measuring system 60 for autofocus, alignment camera devices 65 to 68, and substrate detection cameras 65a to 68a , 65b to 68b, 65c to 68c ... image 70 ... linear encoder 80 ... control device 81 ... branching means 82 ... pulse missing judging means 83 ... alarm generating means 84 ... reference CCD image storage means 85 ... optical axis deviation amount measuring means 86 ... Laser controller 87 ... lens displacement measuring means 88 ... lens height adjusting means 89 ... irradiation laser state inspection means 8A ... irradiation laser adjustment means 92 and 93 ... beam sampler 94 ... high-speed photodiode 96 ... CCD camera for optical axis inspection

Claims (9)

  When the substrate is bent (warped), the substrate is turned upside down so that the substrate is bent downward (warped), and then the substrate is floated to the processing position by the laser beam. A laser processing method characterized by the above.   2. The laser processing method according to claim 1, wherein an image in the vicinity of the four corners of the substrate is acquired, a bending (warping) state of the substrate is detected based on the image, and the bending of the substrate is detected according to the detected state. A laser processing method, wherein the substrate is turned upside down so that (warp) is convex downward.   The laser processing method according to claim 2, wherein a state of bending (warping) of the substrate is detected, an image of the outer peripheral edge of the substrate is acquired, and a chip of the outer peripheral edge of the substrate is detected based on the image. And a laser processing method.   4. The laser processing method according to claim 1, wherein when the substrate is aligned at the processing position, the first processing is completed when the first processing by the laser beam is completed. Further, an image of a portion including both the shape change portion of the substrate and the edge of the substrate is acquired, and the image is stored as ID data of the substrate and a front / back flag, and the second and subsequent processings are performed. In some cases, the alignment process is performed based on the ID data and the front and back flags. When there is a bend (warp) in the substrate, carry-in means for air levitation to the processing position by the laser light after turning the substrate upside down so that the bend (warp) of the substrate is convex downward;
Holding means for holding the substrate carried in by the carry-in means;
And a laser beam irradiating means for irradiating the substrate held by the holding means with a laser beam to perform a predetermined processing.   The laser processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein an image acquisition unit that acquires images near the four corners of the substrate, and a state of bending (warping) of the substrate is detected based on the image acquired by the image acquisition unit. And a front / back reversing means for reversing the front and back of the substrate so that the bending (warping) of the substrate is convex downward according to the state of the substrate detected by the detection means. Characteristic laser processing equipment   The laser processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image acquisition unit acquires an image near the four corners of the substrate and acquires an image of an outer peripheral edge of the substrate, and the detection unit is based on the image of the outer peripheral edge. And detecting a chip in the outer peripheral edge of the substrate. 8. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the first processing by the laser beam is completed, the shape change portion of the substrate and the edge of the substrate formed by the first processing. Second image acquisition means for acquiring an image of a location including both of
Storage means for storing the image acquired by the second image acquisition means as ID data and front and back flags of the substrate;
And a control means for controlling an alignment process by the alignment means based on the ID data and the front and back flags when performing the second and subsequent machining processes.   A solar panel is manufactured by using the laser processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 or the laser processing apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8. Method.

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