KR101134937B1 - Laser irradiation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laser irradiation apparatus, comprising a plurality of laser beam sources for generating a laser beam, a beam divider for branching the laser beam of the laser light source in a plurality of paths, and a plurality of laser beams branched by the beam divider And a laser head which receives a laser beam from the optical fiber and irradiates the object to be processed. Therefore, the laser beam generated from the laser light source can be branched to a large number so as to minimize the loss, the size of the device required for the branching of the laser beam can be reduced, and the branched laser beam can be accurately irradiated at a desired position. Has the effect of facilitating configuration.

Laser beam, laser light source, beam divider, laser head, beam split,

Description

Laser Irradiation Device {LASER IRRADIATION APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a laser irradiation apparatus that can reduce the size of the device required for branching the laser beam, and facilitates the configuration of the device for accurately irradiating the branched laser beam to the desired position.

In general, a solar cell is a device that converts light energy into electrical energy using properties of a semiconductor.

Among such solar cells, a thin-film solar cell is manufactured by forming a front electrode on a substrate such as glass, a semiconductor layer on the front electrode, and a back electrode on the semiconductor layer, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The manufacturing method is as follows.

1A to 1F are cross-sectional views sequentially illustrating a manufacturing process of a thin film solar cell in which unit cells are connected in series according to an exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the front electrode layer 12a is formed on the glass substrate 11 using the transparent conductive material, and then laser scribing using a laser irradiation apparatus as shown in FIG. 1B. The front electrode 12 is formed by removing a predetermined portion by scribing.

As shown in FIG. 1C, the semiconductor layer 13a and the transparent conductive layer 14a are sequentially formed on the front surface of the glass substrate 11, and as shown in FIG. 1D, laser scribing using a laser irradiation apparatus. As a result, predetermined portions of the semiconductor layer 13a and the transparent conductive layer 14a are removed to form the contact portion 15 for inter-electrode connection. The contact portion 15 forms the semiconductor layer pattern 13 and the transparent conductive layer pattern 14.

As shown in FIG. 1E, the back electrode layer 16a is formed on the front surface of the glass substrate 11, and as shown in FIG. 1F, the back electrode layer 16a is formed by laser scribing using a laser irradiation apparatus. By removing a predetermined portion of the solar cell to form a separator 17 for separating the solar cell into a unit cell, the rear electrode 16 is formed by the separator 17.

Such a conventional thin-film solar cell is configured to be divided into a plurality of unit cells and connected in series by three laser scribing processes using a laser irradiation apparatus.

The laser irradiation apparatus is used to process not only the solar cell as described above, but also to form a desired pattern by irradiating a laser beam to a light guide plate of a back light unit used in a liquid crystal display (LCD), Furthermore, in the process of forming various types of patterns such as electrodes of flat panel displays (FPD), such as liquid crystal displays or plasma display panels (PDP), black matrices, color filters, barrier ribs, and thin film transistors. Can be used.

Such a laser irradiation apparatus performs laser processing by irradiating a laser beam generated from a laser light source and transmitted by an optical system to a workpiece by a laser head.

As described above, the laser irradiation apparatus according to the related art needs to diverge the laser beam from the laser light source in order to use the laser beam from a plurality of laser beams for quality, efficiency or economical efficiency of the machining operation on the workpiece. In this case, the efficiency of the loss of the laser beam is decreased, and the size of the device is increased due to the components necessary for branching the laser beam. I had a problem that was not easy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and even when the laser beam is diverged from the laser light source, the laser beam can be minimized and the size of the device can be reduced. Makes it easy to configure the device for accurate irradiation.

A laser irradiation apparatus according to the present invention is a laser irradiation apparatus for irradiating a laser beam to a workpiece, comprising: a laser light source for generating a laser beam, a beam divider for branching the laser beam of the laser light source in a plurality of paths, and a beam divider It includes a plurality of optical fibers provided to transmit each of the laser beams for branching, and a laser head for receiving the laser beam from the optical fiber and irradiates the target object.

The present invention can be used to branch the laser beam generated from the laser light source in a number of ways to minimize the loss, to reduce the size of the device required for the branching of the laser beam, and to precisely irradiate the branched laser beams to the desired position It has the effect of making it easy to construct.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

2 is a perspective view showing a laser irradiation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the laser irradiation apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a laser light source 110 for generating a laser beam, a beam divider 120 for branching the laser beam into a plurality of paths; Optical fibers 130 for transmitting each of the laser beams branched by the beam divider 120, and a laser head 140 for receiving the laser beam from the optical fiber 130 and irradiating the object to the object, respectively. It may include.

The laser light source 110 irradiates a laser beam that is determined according to a material or a pattern for forming the object to be processed. Lasers with wavelengths can be used.

The beam divider 120 branches the laser beam generated from the laser light source 110 into multiple paths, and includes, for example, a plurality of beam splitters 121 arranged to branch the laser beam into multiple paths. can do. The beam splitter 121 is, for example, a component for dividing the laser power at 50:50 and may be composed of two channels.

The laser irradiation apparatus 100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further include a mirror module 150 installed between the laser light source 110 and the beam divider 120.

The mirror module 150 adjusts the traveling direction of the laser beam generated from the laser light source 110 and incident on the beam divider 120.

The optical fiber 130 is provided in plural to transmit each of the laser beams branched by the beam divider 120, and transmits each of the laser beams branched by the beam divider 120 to the laser head 140. In addition, the optical fiber 130 may be an optical fiber having a core of various forms, such as circular, square.

Laser irradiation apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the optical power control unit 160 and beam divider to adjust the power of the laser beam branched by the beam divider 120 to be incident on the optical fiber 130 The body 120 may further include a body 170 to which the optical power control unit 160 is installed.

The optical power control unit 160 may adjust the power of the laser beam in a range of 10 to 90%, and a λ / 2 waveplate for changing the polarization direction of the laser beam and a polarizer for polarizing the laser beam. ) May be included.

The main body 170 has a plurality of adjustments in which a laser beam branching from the beam divider 120 is irradiated to the inner side of the main chamber 171 where the beam divider 120 is installed, and an optical power control unit 160 is installed. The chamber 172 may be provided, and a connection 173 for focusing the laser beam into the optical fiber 130 may be provided by connecting the optical fiber 130 to each of the control chambers 172.

Laser irradiation apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a shutter (180) installed between the optical power control unit 160 and the optical fiber 130. The shutter 180 opens and closes a path for the laser beam whose power is adjusted from the optical power adjusting unit 160 to be incident on the optical fiber 130. For this, the shutter 180 may be installed inside the control chamber 172, for example. The furnace solenoid may be used to mechanically block or open the path of the laser beam.

The laser head 140 is composed of a plurality of so as to be connected to each of the optical fiber 130, respectively receiving a laser beam from the optical fiber 130, and focusing the received laser beam for processing such as scribing (scribing) to the object to be processed It is installed to investigate each.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the laser head 140 is connected to an end of the optical fiber 130 and a collimator 141 for converting a laser beam transmitted through the optical fiber 130 into parallel light, and a collimator ( 141 is mounted, the head body 142 for providing the movement path 142a of the laser beam transmitted from the collimator 141, and the first and second half mirrors 143 and 144 respectively installed on the movement path 142a. And a photographing unit 145 installed on the side of the head body 142 and installed to monitor the object 1 by the first half mirror 143, and on the side of the head body 142. In addition, the illumination unit 146 is installed to irradiate light to the object 1 by the second half mirror 144 and the head body 142 is installed for focusing the laser beam on the side from which the laser beam is emitted. It may include a focus lens 147.

The laser head 140 flat-top profile a beam expander (not shown) for adjusting the size and divergence angle of the laser beam, and a circular laser beam having a Gaussian profile. a beam homonizer or beam shaper (not shown) for converting a laser beam having a circular or square shape having a profile, and a beam slit for mechanically adjusting the size of the laser beam. C) and a project window 148 installed at the end.

The photographing unit 145 is connected to the head body 142 by a tube 145a, and a cut-off filter 145b and a tube lens 145c are installed in the tube 145a. In addition, the lighting unit 146 may be used, for example, halogen (LED) or a light emitting diode (LED).

On the other hand, the laser head 140 is installed to irradiate a laser beam upwards to the lower side of the workpiece 1 to process the bottom surface of the workpiece 1 as in the present embodiment shown in FIG. As described above, it may be installed to irradiate a laser beam downward on the upper side of the object to be processed so as to process the upper surface of the object.

Laser irradiation apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a variable position stage 190 is installed a plurality of laser head 140 to be movable in the horizontal and vertical direction.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the variable position stage 190 includes a horizontal guide 191 that is horizontally installed, a vertical guide 192 that is horizontally movable along the horizontal guide 191, and a vertical guide. It may include a fixing bracket 193 that is fixed to the vertical movement along the 192 and the laser head 140 is installed, and bolts or screws for fixing the vertical guide 192 on the horizontal guide 191 It may further include a fastening member, such as a bolt or screw for fixing the fixing bracket 193 on the fastening member or the vertical guide 192.

The horizontal guide 191 may be slidably coupled to move the vertical guide 192 in the horizontal direction, or the guide rail 191a may be horizontally formed to be slidably coupled to move the vertical guide 192 in the horizontal direction. .

The vertical guide 192 may be slidably coupled so that the fixing bracket 193 may move in the vertical direction, or the guide rail 192a may be formed to be vertically slidably coupled so that the fixing bracket 193 may move in the vertical direction. .

Referring to the operation of the laser irradiation apparatus according to the present invention having such a configuration as follows.

The laser beam generated from the laser light source 110 is controlled by the mirror module 150 to be directed to the main chamber 171 of the main body 170, and the laser beam irradiated to the main chamber 171 is a beam. The beam splitter 121 of the divider 120 is branched into a plurality and irradiated to the inside of the adjustment chamber 172, respectively.

The laser beams irradiated to the control chamber 172 are respectively controlled by the optical power control unit 160 to focus the optical fiber 130 through the connection unit 173 by opening the shutter 180. As a result, it is transmitted to the laser head 140.

The laser beam transmitted to the laser head 140 is irradiated to the processing object 1 such as a solar cell to perform laser processing. At this time, the processing object 1 illuminated by the lighting unit 146 can be monitored through the photographing unit 145.

On the other hand, the laser head 140 is possible to change the position in the horizontal and vertical direction by the variable position stage 190, thereby facilitating alignment with the object (1) or the processing position.

According to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, the laser beam generated from the laser light source can be used in a plurality of branches to minimize the loss, and the size of the device required for branching the laser beam due to the use of the beam divider and the optical fiber And facilitates the construction of the device to precisely irradiate the branched laser beams to the desired position.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. And will be included in the described technical idea.

1A to 1F are cross-sectional views sequentially illustrating a manufacturing process of a thin film solar cell in which unit cells are connected in series according to a conventional embodiment;

2 is a perspective view showing a laser irradiation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,

3 is a cross-sectional view showing the laser head of the laser irradiation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,

4 is a perspective view showing a laser head and a variable stage of a laser irradiation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

110: laser light source 120: beam divider

121: beam splitter 130: optical fiber

140: laser head 141: collimator

142: head body 142a: moving passage

143: first half mirror 144: second half mirror

145: recording unit 145a: tube

145b: Cutoff Filter 145c: Tube Lens

146: lighting unit 147: focus lens

148 project window 150 mirror module

160: optical power control unit 170: main body

171: main chamber 172: adjustment chamber

173: connection portion 180: shutter

190: variable position stage 191: horizontal guide

191a: guide rail 192: vertical guide

192a: guide rail 193: fixing bracket

Claims (9)

A laser irradiation apparatus for irradiating a laser beam to a workpiece, A laser light source for generating a laser beam, A beam divider for branching the laser beam of the laser light source into a plurality of paths; A plurality of optical fibers provided to transmit each of the laser beams branched by the beam divider; Receiving a laser beam from the optical fiber and includes a laser head for irradiating the object to each, The laser head, A collimator connected to an end of the optical fiber and converting a laser beam transmitted through the optical fiber into parallel light; A head body mounted with the collimator and providing a movement path of the laser beam transmitted from the collimator; First and second half mirrors respectively provided on the moving passages; A photographing unit installed at a side of the head body and installed to monitor a processing object by the first half mirror; Is installed on the side of the head body, the illumination unit is installed to irradiate light to the object to be processed by the second half mirror; Focus lens installed on the side from which the laser beam is emitted from the head body Laser irradiation apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1, The mirror module is installed between the laser light source and the beam divider, and adjusts the traveling direction of the laser beam incident to the beam divider. Laser irradiation apparatus further comprising a. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The beam divider, Multiple beamsplitters arranged to branch the laser beam into multiple paths Laser irradiation apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1, Optical power control unit for adjusting the power of the laser beam branched by the beam divider to be incident on the optical fiber Laser irradiation apparatus further comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein A laser beam branching from the beam divider is irradiated to the inner side of the main chamber in which the beam divider is installed, and a plurality of control chambers in which the optical power control unit is installed are provided, and the optical fiber is connected to each of the control chambers. Body with connection part Laser irradiation apparatus further comprising a. The method according to claim 4 or 5, A shutter installed between the optical power control unit and the optical fiber and opening and closing a path of a laser beam Laser irradiation apparatus further comprising a. delete The method of claim 1, It further comprises a variable position stage that the laser head is installed in a plurality of movable in the horizontal and vertical directions, The variable position stage, A horizontal guide installed horizontally, A vertical guide fixed vertically to move horizontally along the horizontal guide; The laser irradiation device is fixed to the vertical movement along the vertical guide, comprising a fixing bracket is installed the laser head. The method of claim 1, The laser head, A laser irradiation apparatus installed to irradiate a laser beam upwards to the lower side of the object to be processed so as to process the lower surface of the object, or to irradiate a laser beam downwards to the upper side of the object to be processed the upper surface of the object. .

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