TW202001977A - Plasma system for substrate edge treatment and treatment method using the plasma system - Google Patents

Abstract

A plasma system for substrate edge treatment and treatment method using the plasma system is disclosed. The plasma system includes a plasma source which has at least one plasma generating unit, and a carrier apparatus which is used to transport at least one substrate moving relative to the plasma source to access a plasma working area. The substrate has a region of interest. The plasma source provides a plasma jet to the region of interest in the plasma working area and the flow direction of the plasma jet is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate. The substrate moves into the plasma working area and the plasma source provides a thermal gradient heat source and a reactive chemical components to the region of interest of the substrate to heat the edge of the substrate and modify its profile.

Description

Plasma system for processing substrate edge defects and processing method using the system

The invention relates to a plasma system for processing substrate edge defects and a processing method using the system, in particular to a method for using plasma to deal with the edge of a flat plate, using plasma heat source gradient and chemical composition to repair substrate edge defects to remove the substrate Plasma system for edge defects and treatment method using the system.

According to the above, the substrates used in various technical fields have many forms, and the materials include, for example, glass, wafers, ceramics, and metals. However, no matter what kind of material, after cutting, more or less will produce defects on the edge, including cracks, unevenness, and burrs, so it must be repaired to improve the strength or quality of the substrate.

Taking a glass substrate as an example, when the substrate is cut, many cracks will be generated on the edge. At present, it is generally processed by edging to make large cracks into small cracks, but because the cracks still exist, even small, when the substrate is bent, It is easy to break from the crack.

As for the conventional technical methods of strengthening glass substrates by heating, such as heating display panels, due to the large area, the heating machine must be very large and must be heated to the melting point of the panel, causing the entire substrate to soften and bend. In theory, If only the edge of the substrate is heated to prevent the entire substrate from softening, the middle of the substrate must be kept at a low temperature. However, at present, there is no such technology.

In addition, although the method of using plasma to strengthen glass can be seen, the purpose of this method is to strengthen the material of the whole glass, not to repair the defects of its edges. For some glass substrates, it is very difficult to cut after comprehensive strengthening treatment. Difficulties in processing.

Furthermore, in the manner of repairing the glass substrate by heating, the heating source is performed perpendicular to the surface of the substrate. This method for surface treatment of the substrate will cause a temperature difference between the directly heated surface of the substrate and the opposite bottom surface, and there will be problems of thermal deformation of the substrate and cracking caused by stress.

Or if a chemical agent is used to strengthen the glass substrate, the chemical agent will change the characteristics of the glass, and the high salt content is not feasible in some industries (such as the thin film transistor display industry), and the strengthened glass is cut again It is very difficult.

For the strengthening method of the edge of the glass substrate, there are four known documents including laser, flame gun, plastic coating and edging. The disadvantages include expensive, poor precision in the control area, and the need to consume a large amount of petrochemical gas. Heterogeneous polymer (polymer) heat resistance and process compatibility issues, and strength has not yet met the requirements.

According to this, how can there be a "plasma system for processing substrate edge defects and a processing method using this system" for substrate edge processing to repair substrate edge defects and improve the strength of the processed substrate, which is urgently needed by those in the related technical fields Subject.

In one embodiment, the present invention provides a plasma system for processing substrate edge defects, including: a plasma source including at least one plasma generating unit; and a carrier device for transporting at least one substrate to move relative to the plasma source To enter and exit a plasma action area; wherein, the substrate has a to-be-processed area, the plasma source is provided in the plasma action area to provide a plasma beam to the area to be processed, and the traveling direction of the plasma beam is substantially parallel to the substrate surface.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method for processing substrate edge defects, comprising: providing a plasma source, the plasma source includes at least one plasma generating unit; and providing a carrier device to transport at least one substrate relative to the plasma The source moves, the direction of the plasma beam of the plasma source is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate, the substrate has at least one area to be processed; the substrate is moved into a plasma action area, and the temperature of the area to be processed is provided by the plasma source The heat source of the layer (Thermal gradient) and a reactive chemical component are used for heat treatment and modification of the edge of the substrate.

Please refer to FIG. 1A and FIG. 2, a plasma system 100 for processing substrate edge defects provided by the present invention includes a plasma source 10 and a carrying device 20.

The plasma source 10 includes a plasma generating unit 11 for providing a plasma beam 12.

The carrying device 20 is used to transport a substrate 30 to move relative to the plasma source 10 to enter and exit a plasma action area, as shown in FIG. 1A in the second direction F2; the plasma action area is also shown as the plasma beam 12 area. The carrying device 20 has a chuck 21 for clamping the substrate 30. In addition, the carrying device 20 may also be a vacuum adsorption device for vacuum adsorbing the substrate 30. The surface of the carrier device 20 facing the plasma source 10 is provided with an insulating layer 22.

The substrate 30 may be made of glass, wafer, ceramic, metal, or other materials. The substrate 30 has a side edge 31 facing the plasma beam 12, which is the area to be processed of the substrate 30. The plasma source 10 provides the plasma beam 12 to the area to be processed in the plasma active area.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the traveling direction of the plasma beam 12 (that is, the first direction F1A) is substantially perpendicular to the side edge 31 (that is, the second direction). In addition, please refer to FIG. 1B. The traveling direction of the pulp beam 12 (that is, the first direction F1B) and the side edge 31 have an angle θ. The angle θ is greater than 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees, but does not include 90 degrees. The angle θ in this embodiment is less than 90 degrees. However, regardless of the embodiment of FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B, the front view structure is as shown in FIG. 2, in other words, the arrangement of the plasma beam 12 of the present invention only needs to meet the following principles: the traveling direction of the plasma beam 12 is substantially parallel to the substrate The surface of 30 is aligned with the geometric center of the side edge 31. The movement direction of the plasma source 10 is parallel to the tangent direction of the side edge 31 of the substrate 30 (that is, the second direction F2 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B). /-0.02 cm; the angle θ between the plasma beam 12 and the side edge 31 of the substrate 30 can be within a range greater than 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees.

Please refer to FIG. 1A and FIG. 2. With the aforementioned structure, the extension line of the central axis C2 of the plasma beam 12 and the geometric center C1 of the side edge 31 of the substrate 30 is in a collinear state, and the plasma beam 12 can be controlled In addition, the distance between the substrate 30 and the relative speed of movement make the plasma beam 12 contact with the substrate 30 to cause a thermal gradient to repair the defect of the side edge 31. For example, there is a distance P between the side edge 31 and the plasma source 10, and the distance P may be 0.2 cm to 1.5 cm. There is a spacing Q between the chuck 21 and the plasma source 10, the spacing Q is greater than the spacing P, and the difference between the spacing Q and the spacing P is greater than 0.3 cm. The moving speed of the substrate 30 relative to the plasma source 10 is 0.1 cm/sec to 5 cm/sec.

To repair the side edge 31, the plasma generating unit 11 is ignited to generate the plasma beam 12, and then heated to the melting point of the substrate 30, for example, if the substrate 30 is glass, the melting point is about 800 to 1500 degrees Celsius; The plasma beam 12 will be separated by the side edge 31 to form two symmetrical plasma beams 121 and 122 (as shown in FIG. 2 ), which may form a coating effect on the opposite surfaces 32 and 33 of the side edge 31 and the substrate 30 Then, the temperature of the plasma beam 12 is gradually reduced with the distance from the outlet, thereby forming a temperature gradient, which can control a specific temperature in a very small processing range, that is, the plasma source 10 provides the area to be processed A heat source with thermal gradient (ie plasma beam 12) and a reactive chemical component are used to heat-treat and modify the edge of substrate 30 (ie side edge 31) so that side edge 31 can Was patched. Since the surface of the carrier device 20 facing the plasma source 10 is provided with an insulating layer 22, the flow direction of the plasma beam 12 can be avoided, so that the plasma beam 12 can completely act on the side edge 31.

As for the type of plasma source 10, it is designed and matched according to the type of substrate 30. For example, the conventional plasma source 10 can be divided into vacuum and constant-pressure plasma, and according to different principles, there are dozens of different types of constant-pressure plasma. The morphology and the extremely large plasma temperature range do not all serve as the plasma source used in this technology. This plasma source uses alternating current, and can be used to repair defects of different types of substrates through voltage source and parameter settings. In addition, regarding the working gas used in the plasma source 10, in addition to price considerations, depending on the type of the actual substrate 30, air or a working gas with a different gas ratio may be used. Different gas compositions will affect the processing morphology and substrate stress. For example, clean compressed air (CDA), nitrogen (N ₂ ), or a mixture of nitrogen (N ₂ ), argon (Ar), hydrogen (H ₂ ), oxygen (O ₂ ), and helium (He) are currently used The gas composition ratio is adjusted according to different types of substrate 30.

As shown in FIG. 3, the plasma source 10A of a plasma system 100A for processing edge defects of a substrate provided by the present invention includes two rows of plural plasma generating units 11A in a linear equidistant array, and the substrate 30A has respective plasma Two straight side edges 31A of the generating unit 11A. The traveling direction (that is, parallel to the first direction F1) of the plasma beam 12A generated by each plasma generating unit 11A can be substantially perpendicular to the side edge 31A and aligned with the geometric center of the side edge 31A (the configuration can be referred to 1A), or, the traveling direction of the plasma beam 12A generated by each plasma generating unit 11A has an angle with the side edge 31A and is aligned with the geometric center of the side edge 31A (for its arrangement, refer to FIG. 1B Shown). The distance D1 between each plasma generating unit 11A and the side edge 31A is the same.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 shows that a row of plural plasma generating units 11A can be respectively provided on the opposite side edges 31A of the substrate 30A. In addition, only one row of plural plasma generating units 11A can be provided to process one of the substrates 30A For the side edge 31A, if both side edges 31A of the substrate 30A need to be processed, as long as one side edge 31A of the substrate 30A is processed, the substrate 30A can be reversed to the other side edge 31A.

Please refer to FIG. 4. The plasma source 10B of a plasma system 100B for processing substrate edge defects provided by the present invention includes a plurality of plasma generating units 11B. The substrate 30B is circular with a round side edge 31B. The plasma generating unit 11B is an arc-shaped (or circular) equidistant array, and the traveling direction of the plasma beam 12B generated by each plasma generating unit 11B is substantially toward the side edge 31B and aligned with the geometric center of the side edge 31B 1A), the plasma beam 12B may or may not face the center C of the substrate 30B. In other words, if the plasma beam 12B faces the center C of the substrate 30B, it is equivalent to the plasma beam 12B being perpendicular to the substrate 30B side Edge 31B (similar to the aspect of FIG. 1A), and if the plasma beam 12B does not face the center C of the substrate 30B, there is an angle between the plasma beam 12B and the side edge 31B of the substrate 30B (similar to the aspect of FIG. 1B) . The distance D1 between each plasma generating unit 11B and the side edge 31B is the same. When the substrate 30B rotates with its center C, the defect of the side edge 31B can be repaired by the plasma beam 12B.

In the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, all plasma generating units 11A, 11B can be ignited according to the required control, or they can be ignited at intervals, or only partially ignited. Taking FIG. 3 as an example, when all the plasma generating units 11A are ignited, as long as the substrate 30A is controlled to move the distance D2 between two adjacent plasma generating units 11A, the entire side edge 31A of the substrate 30A can be repaired. If the side edge 31A of the substrate 30A is only partially defective, the plasma generating unit 11A at the corresponding position may be ignited. In addition, all the plasma generating units 11A of each array in FIG. 3 can be disposed on a base (not shown in the figure), thus forming a whole, which can reduce the pitch distance error caused by the assembly of the plasma generating unit 11A; the same reason, All the plasma generating units 11B of FIG. 4 can be disposed on a base (not shown in the figure) to form a whole.

Please refer to FIG. 1A (or FIG. 1B), FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, according to a plasma system for processing substrate edge defects provided by the present invention shown in FIG. 1A (or FIG. 1B) and the above description, the diagram can be summarized 6 shows a flow 200 of a method for processing substrate edge defects of the present invention, which includes: Step 202: Setting a plasma source 10, the plasma source 10 includes at least one plasma generating unit 11; Step 204: Setting a carrier device 20 to Conveying at least one substrate 30 to move relative to the plasma source 10, the traveling direction (first direction F1A) of the plasma beam 12 of the plasma source 10 is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate 30, the substrate 30 has at least one area to be processed; step 206: Move the substrate 30 into a plasma action area A1. The plasma source 10 provides a heat source with a temperature gradient (the thermal gradient) and a reactive chemical component in the area to be processed. The edge of the substrate 30 (that is, the side edge 31) is heat-treated and modified.

Please refer to FIG. 1A (or FIG. 1B) and FIG. 2, the plasma system for processing substrate edge defects provided by the present invention and the processing method using the system can be applied to substrates of different materials, such as glass and wafers , Ceramics, metals, etc. Taking the defect of glass substrate as an example, when the thickness of the substrate 30 is about 0.05 cm and the melting point is 800 degrees Celsius, air plasma can be used with a pitch P=0.5 cm, and the plasma beam 12 has a plasma power of 600 W. The substrate The moving speed of 30 is less than 2 cm/sec, and the side edge 31 of the substrate 30 can be melted to achieve the repair effect. The design of the pitch P depends on the glass transition temperature (Tg) point, thickness, and speed of the substrate 30. For example, the thicker the substrate 30, the more heat is required, so the pitch P must be reduced. In addition, when When the speed of the substrate 30 is slower, the side edge 31 of the substrate 30 receives more heat from the plasma beam 12. In actual operation, you can try it first to obtain the best pitch P and speed, and then judge the repair effect with the naked eye, or you can judge it with a microscope.

In summary, the plasma system for processing substrate edge defects and the processing method using the system provided by the present invention use plasma beam to repair the substrate edge, which can achieve precise and hierarchical temperature gradient and position control processing Therefore, it will not cause edge deformation due to over-processing, or affect the material of the substrate itself by conventional techniques for strengthening the substrate or difficult to cut because the substrate is strengthened. With the present invention, the characteristics of the edge of the substrate can be consistent with the characteristics inside the substrate, including the strength. Taking the glass substrate as an example, compared with the conventional edging treatment method, the bending strength of the glass substrate treated by the present invention has more than doubled, and after heating, it can be naturally cooled without additional cooling. deal with.

Although the present invention has been disclosed as above with examples, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person with ordinary knowledge in the technical field can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention shall be subject to the scope defined in the appended patent application.

100, 100A, 100B ‧‧‧ Plasma system for processing substrate edge defects 10, 10A, 10B ‧ ‧ ‧ plasma source 11, 11A, 11B ‧ ‧ ‧ plasma generation unit 12, 12A, 12B, 121, 122 ‧ ‧Plasma beam 20‧‧‧Bearing device 21‧‧‧Chuck 22‧‧‧Insulation layer 30, 30A, 30B ‧‧‧ Substrate 31, 31A, 31B ‧‧‧ Side edge 32, 33‧‧‧ Surface 200‧ ‧‧Process flow of substrate edge defects 204~206‧‧‧Step of process flow of substrate edge defects C1‧‧‧Geometric center C2‧‧‧Center axis D1, D2, P, Q‧‧‧Pitch F1, F1A , F1B‧‧‧ First direction F2‧‧‧ Second direction θ‧‧‧Angle

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a side view of an embodiment of a plasma system for processing substrate edge defects according to the present invention. The traveling direction of the plasma beam is perpendicular to the substrate side edge. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a side view of another embodiment of a plasma system for processing substrate edge defects according to the present invention. The traveling direction of the plasma beam is not perpendicular to the substrate side edge. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the embodiment of FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B. 3 is a schematic front view of another embodiment of a plasma system for processing substrate edge defects of the present invention. 4 is a schematic front view of another embodiment of a plasma system for processing substrate edge defects according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the steps of the method for processing substrate edge defects of the present invention.

no

100‧‧‧Plasma system for processing substrate edge defects

10‧‧‧Plasma source

11‧‧‧Plasma generation unit

12, 121, 122 ‧‧‧ plasma beam

20‧‧‧Bearing device

21‧‧‧Chuck

22‧‧‧Insulation

30‧‧‧ substrate

31‧‧‧Side edge

32, 33‧‧‧surface

C1‧‧‧Geometric Center

C2‧‧‧Central axis

P, Q‧‧‧spacing

F1‧‧‧First direction

Claims (29)

A plasma system for processing substrate edge defects, comprising: a plasma source including at least one plasma generating unit; a carrying device for transporting at least one substrate to move relative to the plasma source to enter and exit a plasma action area Wherein, the substrate has a region to be processed, the plasma source is provided in the plasma active area for the region to be processed with a plasma beam, and the traveling direction of the plasma beam is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate. The plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the carrier device has a chuck for clamping the substrate, and the carrier device is covered with an insulating layer facing the plasma source side. A plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the substrate has a side edge toward the plasma beam, the traveling direction of the plasma beam is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate and opposite According to the geometric center of the side edge, the movement direction of the plasma source is parallel to the tangent direction of the side edge of the substrate. The plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 3 of the patent application scope, wherein the traveling direction of the plasma beam is substantially perpendicular to the side edge. A plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the substrate has a side edge facing the plasma, and there is a distance P between the side edge and the plasma source, and the distance P is 0.2 cm to 1.5 cm. A plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 5 of the patent scope, wherein the chuck and the plasma source have a spacing Q, the spacing Q is greater than the spacing P, and the spacing Q and the spacing P The difference is greater than 0.3 cm. The plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the moving speed of the substrate relative to the plasma source is 0.1 cm/sec to 5 cm/sec. A plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the plasma source includes at least one row of plural plasma generating units arranged linearly, and the substrate has at least one facing the plural plasma generating units Side edge, the side edge of the substrate is a straight side edge, the traveling direction of the plasma beam generated by each plasma generating unit is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate and aligned with the geometric center of the side edge, the The movement direction of the plasma source is parallel to the tangent direction of the side edge of the substrate. The plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the traveling direction of the plasma beam generated by each of the plasma generating units is substantially perpendicular to the side edge. The plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 9 of the patent application scope, wherein the distance between each plasma generating unit and the side edge is the same. A plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 9 of the patent scope, wherein the plural plasma generating units are equidistant linear arrays. A plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 1 of the patent scope, wherein the plasma source includes a plurality of plasma generating units, the substrate is circular, and the plurality of plasma generating units are arranged in an arc, the substrate With a circular side edge, the traveling direction of the plasma beam generated by each plasma generating unit is substantially toward the side edge and aligned with the geometric center of the side edge. The plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 12 of the patent application scope, wherein the distance between each of the plasma generating units and the side edge is the same. A plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 12 of the patent application range, wherein the plural plasma generating units are equidistant arc arrays. The plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 12 of the patent application scope, wherein the plural plasma generating units are equidistant annular arrays. A method for processing substrate edge defects, comprising: setting a plasma source, the plasma source including at least one plasma generating unit; setting a carrier device to transport at least one substrate to move relative to the plasma source, the plasma source The traveling direction of the plasma beam is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate, the substrate has at least one area to be processed; the substrate is moved into a plasma active area, and the temperature gradient is provided by the plasma source to the area to be processed ( The thermal source of Thermalgradient) and a reactive chemical component are used for heat treatment and modification of the edge of the substrate. The method for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 16 of the patent application range, wherein the substrate has a side edge toward the plasma, and the traveling direction of the plasma beam is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate and aligned to the side The geometric center of the edge and the movement direction of the plasma source are parallel to the tangent direction of the side edge of the substrate. The method for treating substrate edge defects as described in Item 17 of the patent application range, wherein the traveling direction of the plasma beam is substantially perpendicular to the side edge. The method for processing substrate edge defects as described in Item 16 of the patent application range, wherein the substrate has a side edge facing the plasma, and the side edge and the plasma source have a pitch P, the pitch P is 0.2 cm To 1.5 cm. The method for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 19 of the patent application scope, wherein there is a distance Q between the chuck and the plasma source, the distance Q is greater than the distance P, and the difference between the distance Q and the distance P The value is greater than 0.3 cm. The method for treating substrate edge defects as described in Item 16 of the patent application range, wherein the moving speed of the substrate relative to the plasma source is 1 mm/sec to 50 mm/sec. The method for processing substrate edge defects as described in Item 16 of the patent application range, wherein the plasma source includes at least one row of plural plasma generating units arranged linearly, and the substrate has at least one side edge facing the plural plasma generating units , The side edge of the substrate is a straight side edge, the traveling direction of the plasma beam generated by each plasma generating unit is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate and aligned with the geometric center of the side edge, the plasma The moving direction of the source is parallel to the tangent direction of the side edge of the substrate. The plasma system for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 22 of the patent application scope, wherein the traveling direction of the plasma beam generated by each of the plasma generating units is substantially perpendicular to the side edge. The method for treating substrate edge defects as described in item 23 of the patent application scope, wherein the distance between each plasma generating unit and the side edge is the same. The method for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 23 of the patent application range, wherein the plural plasma generating units are equidistant linear arrays. The method for treating substrate edge defects as described in Item 16 of the patent application range, wherein the plasma source includes a plurality of plasma generating units, the substrate is circular, the plurality of plasma generating units are arranged in an arc, and the substrate has a circular shape In the shape of a lateral edge, the traveling direction of the plasma beam generated by each plasma generating unit is substantially toward the lateral edge and aligned with the geometric center of the lateral edge. The method for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 26 of the patent application scope, wherein the distance between each plasma generating unit and the side edge is the same. The method for processing substrate edge defects as described in item 26 of the patent application range, wherein the plural plasma generating units are equidistant arc arrays. The method for treating substrate edge defects as described in item 26 of the patent application range, wherein the plural plasma generating units are equidistant ring arrays.

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