Substrate cutting device and substrate cutting method

Abstract

This invention provides a substrate breaking device that utilizes thermal stress to break the substrate without causing damage to the break face, and effectively applies thermal stress to the scribe lines for breaking without the need for blowing a heat medium. The substrate breaking device of this invention includes a substrate support 1 for holding a substrate W with pre-processed scribe lines S, and a breaking rod 4 for contacting the scribe lines S of the substrate W. The contact surfaces between the breaking rod 4 and the substrate W are arranged in a manner where a plurality of warm regions H set to a first temperature T1 and a plurality of cold and hot regions L set to a second temperature T2 lower than the first temperature T1 are alternately adjacent, such that the warm and hot regions H and the cold and hot regions L simultaneously make surface contact along the scribe lines S to apply thermal stress for breaking.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a cutting apparatus and a cutting method for cutting a glass substrate with pre-formed grooves along its grooves. This invention is applicable to the processing of glass substrates for flat panel displays (FPDs) used in devices such as televisions, mobile terminals, and game consoles. [Previous Technology]

[0002] Conventionally, the substrate is cut by forming grooves on the surface of a glass substrate using a scribing wheel or a laser scribing process (scribing step), and then cutting along these grooves in the next step (cutting step). In this cutting step, the following methods are known: using a long, downward-conical break bar to press along the grooves of the substrate and bend the substrate into a V-shape for cutting (see, for example, Patent Document 1); or using a heating medium such as steam blown onto the grooves to generate thermal stress, causing cracks in the grooves to penetrate the substrate in the thickness direction to cut the substrate (see Patent Document 2), etc. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-120725. [Patent Document 2] WO2004 / 067243. [Summary of the Invention]

[0004] 〔The problem that the invention aims to solve〕

[0005] However, in the cutting method using a pressing blade-shaped cutting rod described in Patent Document 1, when the substrate is bent into a V-shape by pressing the upper surface of the substrate, the upper edges of adjacent cutting surfaces may interfere with each other due to the way the pressing load is applied, resulting in defects. Furthermore, this can lead to problems such as cracking on the substrate surface or deterioration of the end-face strength. In addition, the scribe line, which is the object to be cut, is basically straight like the cutting rod, and the cutting rod must be accurately aligned with the straight scribe line for cutting.

[0006] In contrast, the thermal stress separation method described in Patent Document 2 is superior because it separates the substrate without contact, thus avoiding the risk of damage caused by the pushing of the separated ends due to bending. However, since it transfers heat by blowing a heat medium such as steam towards the scribe line from a nozzle that is spatially separated from the scribe line, it suffers from poor heat utilization efficiency and is uneconomical. Furthermore, the blowing action agitates the atmospheric gas, which, if containing dust, could negatively impact product yield. In addition, the assembly structure of the heating mechanism with the heat source becomes complex and bulky.

[0007] Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned problems, the object of the present invention is to provide a substrate splitting apparatus and a substrate splitting method that employs thermal stress splitting without worrying about damage to the splitting end face, effectively applies thermal stress to the scribing track for splitting without the need for blowing a heat medium, and can be miniaturized. [Technical Means for Solving the Problems]

[0008] To achieve the above objective, the present invention employs the following technical means: the substrate splitting device of the present invention is a substrate splitting device for splitting a substrate with etched tracks along its etched tracks, comprising a substrate support for placing the substrate and a splitting rod for contacting the aforementioned etched tracks of the substrate. The contact surface between the splitting rod and the substrate is arranged such that a plurality of hot regions set to a first temperature and a plurality of cold and hot regions set to a second temperature lower than the first temperature are alternately adjacent, so that the aforementioned hot and hot regions and the aforementioned cold and hot regions simultaneously make surface contact along the aforementioned etched tracks for splitting.

[0009] According to the present invention, during the breaking process, the breaking rod is brought into contact with the scribe line of the substrate. Since the contact surface between the breaking rod and the substrate has an alternating arrangement of a warm region at a first temperature T1 and a cold region at a second temperature T2 (but T1 > T2), the warm and cold regions alternately contact along the scribe line, and through heat conduction, a high-temperature (T1) heating region and a lower-temperature (T2) cooling region alternately form within the scribe line on the substrate. As a result, compressive stress is generated in the heating region, and tensile stress is generated in the cooling region. A strong separating force is generated at the stress reversal boundary, which is intended to tear the scribe line, and the substrate is broken due to this separating force. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, although the cutting rod comes into contact with the substrate when cutting the substrate, it is sufficient to make surface contact in a way that generates heat conduction between the warm and cold areas of the substrate and the cutting rod. Since it is not necessary to press the cutting rod with pressure that bends the substrate, a high-quality end face without defects or other damage can be obtained on the cut surface. Furthermore, since thermal stress is applied to the substrate by heat conduction, problems such as dust flying that occur when cutting by blowing steam or the like do not occur.

[0011] Furthermore, according to the present invention, as long as the breaking rod makes surface contact with the substrate surface near the scribe line, the shape of the scribe line does not need to be limited to a straight line. Even if the scribe line contains curves, it can be broken while maintaining a high-quality end face.

[0012] In the above invention, each of the aforementioned heated and cold-hot regions of the aforementioned breaking rod can also be formed in a square plane and in a strip-shaped surface contact with the aforementioned substrate. In this way, when breaking a straight scribe line, by making the boundaries of adjacent square heated and cold-hot regions orthogonal to the scribe line and making them in equal contact, the separation force (the force that tears the scribe line) generated at the boundary portion is applied in a direction orthogonal to the scribe line, thereby effectively exerting the separation force.

[0013] In the above invention, the heat source of the aforementioned warm area can also be an electric heater, and the heat source of the aforementioned hot and cold area can also be a Peltier element. By using an electric heater as the heat source and a Peltier element as the hot and cold source, the size of the warm area or the hot and cold area can be freely designed to be miniaturized, and the set temperature of the warm area and the set temperature of the hot and cold area can be easily adjusted.

[0014] In the above invention, a heating heat-conducting element may be formed, which has a heating surface on its lower surface for forming the aforementioned heated region and has a heat source thereon, and a cooling heat-conducting element has a cooling surface on its lower surface for forming the aforementioned hot and cold region and has a heat source thereon. The aforementioned split rod is formed by arranging and installing a plurality of the aforementioned heating heat-conducting elements and the aforementioned cooling heat-conducting elements alternately on the frame of the aforementioned split rod. In this way, by increasing or decreasing the number of heat-conducting elements, split rods of different lengths can be easily assembled.

[0015] In the above invention, a frame for holding the cooling heat-conducting element in a position that allows it to be raised and lowered relative to the breaking rod may also be provided. The aforementioned up-and-down movement mechanism is configured such that when the breaking rod leaves the substrate and is in a suspended standby state, the hot and cold surfaces of the cooling heat-conducting element are positioned below the warm surface of the heating heat-conducting element. In this manner, when the breaking rod is in the standby position, since the hot and cold surfaces of the cooling heat-conducting element are away from the warm surface of the heating heat-conducting element, the cooling heat-conducting element is less susceptible to thermal effects from radiant or transferred heat from the heating heat-conducting element.

[0016] In the above invention, a mechanism may also be provided to hold the aforementioned heating heat-conducting element so that it can be raised and lowered relative to the frame of the aforementioned splitting rod within a range smaller than that of the aforementioned up-and-down moving mechanism, and when each of the heated surfaces of the aforementioned heating heat-conducting element contacts the substrate, the heated surfaces are adjusted to be positioned on the same plane. In this way, each heated surface can be in surface contact with the substrate in a position that is always aligned in a straight line, thereby achieving uniform heat transfer.

[0017] In the above invention, the aforementioned cooling heat-conducting element and heating heat-conducting element can also be formed in a way that allows them to be suspended vertically via a pin assembly and a guide hole in the part connected to the frame of the aforementioned split rod. In this way, it is possible to form a lifting mechanism with an extremely simple structure without the need for special lifting components such as cylinders.

[0018] Another viewpoint of the present invention is that the substrate cutting method is a substrate cutting method that cuts a substrate with etched grooves along its etched grooves, which includes the following steps: preparing cutting rods arranged in such a way that a hot region set to a first temperature and a cold and hot region set to a second temperature lower than the first temperature are alternately adjacent; and making the hot and hot regions of the cutting rods simultaneously make surface contact along the etched grooves of the substrate, thereby cutting along the etched grooves.

[0019] Furthermore, from another perspective, the substrate breaking method of the present invention involves keeping the aforementioned hot and cold regions in a position to move up and down on the frame of the aforementioned breaking rod, and first making the aforementioned hot and cold regions surface-to-surface with the aforementioned substrate, and then making the aforementioned hot and cold regions surface-to-surface with the aforementioned warm regions simultaneously, thereby performing the breaking.

Implementation Method

[0021] The following description focuses on the details of the present invention while referring to the drawings. FIG1 is a perspective view showing a substrate splitting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The substrate splitting apparatus A includes a horizontal substrate support 1 for placing a substrate W to be split. In this embodiment, the substrate support 1 is constructed as a conveyor belt and is formed such that the substrate W is placed horizontally and moved in the Y direction in FIG1.

[0022] Furthermore, a door-shaped frame 2 is provided across the aforementioned substrate support 1, and a long strip-shaped dividing rod 4 extending in the X direction is maintained on the beam (horizontal frame) 3 of the frame 2. The dividing rod 4 is configured to be able to move up and down toward the substrate support 1 via a lifting drive mechanism 5 such as an air cylinder, driven by a lifting shaft 6. It should be noted that, although the figure is omitted, the dividing rod 4 may also be configured to be mounted on the front end of a robotic arm and moved up and down by the movement of the robotic arm.

[0023] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, in the split rod 4, the heating heat-conducting element 7 with a hot surface 7a on its lower surface and the cooling heat-conducting element 8 with a cold surface 8a on its lower surface are adjacent and arranged in a straight line. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, heat-conducting units 9 having heating heat-conducting elements 7 are formed on the left and right sides of a cooling heat-conducting element 8, and a plurality of these heat-conducting units 9 are arranged into, for example, 10 units as shown in Figure 2, and installed into the frame 4a of the split rod 4. In this case, as shown in Figure 4(a), the heating heat-conducting elements 7, 7 on one side of two adjacent heat-conducting units 9 cooperate to form a hot region H, and the cooling heat-conducting elements 8 of each heat-conducting unit 9 form a cold region L, thereby arranging the hot region H and the cold region L alternately in a straight line. In addition, as shown in Figure 5, a heat-conducting unit 9' formed by arranging a cooling heat-conducting element 8' and a heating heat-conducting element 7' can be used to replace the heat-conducting unit 9.

[0024] The lower surfaces (hot surface 7a, cold surface 8a) of the heating heat-conducting element 7 and the cooling heat-conducting element 8 are formed as square planes, and are formed such that the breaking rod 4 makes surface contact with the substrate W when it descends. In this way, heat can be transferred through heat conduction, and the substrate W can be heated and cooled efficiently with minimal heat loss.

[0025] Each cooling heat-conducting element 8 of the split rod 4 uses a Peltier element, and the hot and cold surfaces 8a are cooled to a predetermined temperature by the cooling effect of the Peltier effect. In addition, an air supply path for air cooling and a heat dissipation space (fin) for releasing the heat generated by the Peltier element are provided on the upper part of the Peltier element (the heat dissipation side on the back of the element). In the embodiment, as shown in FIG2, compressed air introduced from the air supply inlet 10 is introduced into each heat-conducting unit 9 through a common conduit 11 and a branch pipe 12, and the cooling heat-conducting element 8 (Peltier element) is air-cooled.

[0026] Furthermore, the heating element 7 of the split rod 4 is internally wound with a heating wire (not shown) and is connected to a power source.

[0027] This explanation pertains to the set temperature T1 of the heating heat-conducting element 7 and the set temperature T2 of the cooling heat-conducting element 8. In this invention, the separating rod contacts the glass substrate being separated along the scribe line, and reverse thermal stress (compressive stress and tensile stress) is generated at the boundary between the hot region H and the cold region L to produce a strong separation force. Therefore, by providing a large temperature difference between the set temperatures of the heating heat-conducting element 7 and the cooling heat-conducting element 8, a stronger separation force can be generated. However, in substrates such as liquid crystal panels, the heatable temperature is limited by other materials (circuit, adhesive, etc.) disposed on the substrate, and the temperature must be set below the allowable temperature. Furthermore, regarding cooling, it is preferable to perform cooling within a non-condensing range. Therefore, the set temperatures T1 and T2 are set within the allowable temperature range of the substrate being processed. For example, the set temperature T2 of the cooling heat-conducting element 8 is set at 20°C, which is definitely above the dew point, and the set temperature T1 of the heating heat-conducting element 7 is set in the range of 110°C to 60°C, which is sufficiently higher than the above temperature.

[0028] Next, the cutting operation of the substrate W performed by the cutting device A described above will be explained. First, shallow groove-shaped scribings S are processed on the surface of the substrate W. Although the scribings S can be processed by mechanical scribing by pressing a scribing wheel against the substrate surface while rotating the scribing wheel, laser scribing can also be used to form the scribings instead of mechanical scribing.

[0029] Next, the substrate W with the scribe lines S formed thereon is placed on the substrate support 1. At this time, the scribe lines S to be separated are parallel to the elongated separating rod 4 and located directly below it.

[0030] Next, the breaking rod 4 is lowered, and the heated surface 7a (heated region H) of the heating element 7 and the cooled surface 8a (cooled region L) of the cooling element 8 on the lower surface are brought into surface contact with the substrate surface to heat and cool the contacted area on the substrate. Although the contact time varies depending on the thickness of the substrate, about 2 seconds is sufficient for a typical glass substrate. Since the breaking rod 4 is arranged with alternating hot regions H and cooled regions L through a plurality of heating elements 7 and cooling elements 8, as shown in FIG4(b), the substrate W is formed with a plurality of heating regions corresponding to the hot regions H and cooling regions corresponding to the cooled regions L alternating along the scribe line S. In this manner, compressive stress is generated in the scribe line S due to thermal expansion in the heating region of the substrate W, and tensile stress is generated in the cooling region due to thermal contraction. This compressive and tensile stress will simultaneously generate strong separation forces (forces that tear the scribe lines) at multiple adjacent boundary portions, thereby causing the cracks in the scribe line S to penetrate the thickness direction of the substrate W, resulting in the substrate W being completely broken along the scribe line S.

[0031] In the manner described above, after one scribe line S is cut off, the cutting rod 4 is raised and the substrate support 1 (conveyor belt) is moved so that the next scribe line S will be located directly below the cutting rod 4, thereby cutting the substrate W sequentially along the scribe line S using the same means as described above.

[0032] It should be noted that, in the above embodiment, although the segmentation of the scribe line S along the X direction of the substrate W has been described, when it is necessary to perform segmentation of the scribe line S along the Y direction, the substrate support 1 can be further extended, and a segmentation rod 4 facing the Y direction can be arranged above its downstream side, and the scribe line S in the Y direction can be segmented by the same means as described above. Furthermore, when the segmentation rod 4 is raised and lowered using a robotic arm, the scribe lines S in the X and Y directions can be segmented by changing the direction in which the segmentation rod 4 held by the robotic arm faces.

[0033] As described above, in the breaking device of the present invention, since a plurality of heating heat-conducting elements 7 and cooling heat-conducting elements 8 are formed by mounting them into the breaking rod 4, it can be miniaturized with an appearance similar to that of a conventional knife-shaped breaking rod. Furthermore, since the heating heat-conducting elements 7 and cooling heat-conducting elements 8 are in contact with the substrate W and transfer heat through thermal conduction, thermal stress can be efficiently generated within the substrate with minimal heat loss. Also, as shown in the above embodiment, since a heat-conducting unit 9 comprising a cooling heat-conducting element 8 and a heating heat-conducting element 7 is formed, and a plurality of such heat-conducting units 9 are combined to form the breaking rod 4, breaking rods 4 of different lengths can be easily assembled by increasing or decreasing the number of heat-conducting units 9.

[0034] In the above embodiment, although the substrate W is broken by contacting the breaking rod 4 with the substrate W only once, the position of the breaking rod 4 can be shifted to contact the substrate W again using the method described below. That is, the breaking rod 4 is configured to move in the X direction along the scribe line S, and after the first contact, the breaking rod 4 is moved along the scribe line S such that the hot and cold surfaces 8a of the cooling heat-conducting element 8 are opposite to the heated area heated in the previous contact, and the warm surfaces 7a of the heating heat-conducting element 7 are opposite to the cooled area, and the breaking rod 4 is lowered again to make contact. In this way, the compressive stress caused by thermal expansion and the tensile stress caused by thermal contraction can occur in the same area, so as to break the substrate W more effectively. However, in this case, the width L1 of the heated area (and the corresponding warm area) and the width L2 of the cooled area (and the corresponding hot and cold area) must be set to the same size.

[0035] (Second Embodiment of the Breaking Rod) Figures 6 to 8 show modified embodiments of the breaking rod 4 of the present invention. In this modified embodiment, the cooling heat-conducting element 8 and the heating heat-conducting element 7 are individually formed and alternately arranged. The cooling heat-conducting element 8 and the heating heat-conducting element 7 are each separated by a predetermined interval L3 to mitigate the thermal effects caused by heat transfer or the effects caused by radiant heat, thereby reducing heat loss. Although the specific details will be described later, when the hot and cold surfaces 8a and the warm surface 7a are located on the same plane, the interval is set to be 0.5 mm or more so as not to cause a reduction in the temperature gradient caused by direct contact between the hot and cold surfaces 8a and the warm surface 7a.

[0036] In this modified embodiment, when the breaking rod 4 leaves the substrate W and is in a suspended state (standby position), as shown in FIG6(a), it is formed such that the hot and cold surfaces 8a of the cooling heat-conducting element 8 can move in a stepped manner below the warm surface 7a of the heating heat-conducting element 7. Then, when the breaking rod 4 descends, as shown in FIG6(b), it is formed such that the hot and cold surfaces 8a of the cooling heat-conducting element 8 first contact the upper surface of the substrate W, and then the warm surface 7a of the heating heat-conducting element 7 is positioned on the same plane as the hot and cold surfaces 8a and both simultaneously contact the substrate W.

[0037] Specifically, as shown in FIG7, a pair of vertical support plates 14 are provided in the frame 4a of the split rod 4 and are connected and fixed by the horizontal rail 13. The support plate 14 serves as a mechanism for moving the cooling heat conduction element 8 up and down, and the cooling heat conduction element 8 is held in a manner in which it can be suspended relative to the support plate 14 and moved up and down.

[0038] In detail, the support plate 14 is provided with a guide hole 15, and the pin assembly 16 installed on the cooling heat conduction element 8 is fitted in such a way that it can only slide in the vertical direction along the guide hole 15. In this way, when the breaking rod 4 is in a suspended state (standby position), due to the weight of the cooling heat conduction element 8, the pin assembly 16 will move downward until it contacts the lower side of the guide hole 15, and the hot and cold surfaces 8a of the cooling heat conduction element 8 will be located at a position lower than the warm surface 7a of the heating heat conduction element 7.

[0039] On the other hand, when the breaking rod 4 descends and the warm surface 7a of the heating element 7 is in contact with the substrate W, the pin assembly 16 will move upward until it approaches the upper side of the guide hole 15, so that the hot and cold surface 8a of the cooling element 8 and the warm surface 7a of the heating element 7 will be in contact with the substrate W and located on the same plane.

[0040] It should be noted that although the modified embodiment also has an air exhaust nozzle or pipe for air cooling installed inside the cooling heat-conducting element 8, which is the same as the embodiment in FIG2, the illustration is omitted here for ease of explanation.

[0041] Furthermore, the heating heat-conducting element 7 is suspended on the split rod 4 via the connecting bracket 17. Specifically, the connecting bracket 17 is provided with a pair of vertical mounting plates 19 having guide holes 18. By screwing the pin assembly 21 into the screw holes 20 on the support plates 14 of the adjacent cooling heat-conducting elements 8 located at both ends of the guide holes 18, the heating heat-conducting element 7 is held in a suspended state by the pin assembly 21 (see Figures 7 and 8). At this time, the pin assembly 21 moves slightly along the guide holes 18 and can only move in the vertical direction, serving as a vertical adjustment mechanism for the heating heat-conducting element 7. The amount of movement of this vertical adjustment mechanism is only a small amount compared to the amount of vertical movement of the cooling heat-conducting element 8, and can be adjusted to a degree that can counteract the flatness loss (e.g., about 1 mm) when the heated surface 7a contacts the substrate W due to mechanical errors during installation or assembly. By means of the up-down adjustment mechanism, each heated surface 7a can always be in the same plane position to make surface contact with the substrate W, so that heat can be transferred evenly.

[0042] The operation will now be explained. When the breaking rod 4 of the above structure moves downward from the raised standby position (suspended position), the hot and cold surfaces 8a of the cooling heat-conducting element 8, which descends due to its own weight, first contact the substrate W and cool the cooling area of ​​the substrate W (see Figure 4(b)). Next, the heating heat-conducting element 7 descends and the warm surface 7a contacts the heating area, so that the heating of the heating area performed by the warm surface 7a and the cooling of the cooling area performed by the hot and cold surfaces 8a are performed simultaneously. At this time, since the time from the contact between the hot and cold surfaces 8a and the substrate W until the contact between the warm and cold surfaces 7a can be adjusted by adjusting the speed at which the breaking rod 4 moves downward or by controlling the downward movement to pause once after the hot and cold surfaces 8a contact, the contact time can be adjusted according to the thermal conductivity or thickness of the substrate W to cool the contact portion with an appropriate cooling time.

[0043] As a result, since the cooling of the cooling area performed by the hot and cold surfaces 8a can be reliably performed, and through the tensile stress generated by thermal contraction in the cooling area and the compressive stress generated by thermal expansion in the heating area, a strong separation force is generated at the boundary to tear the scribe line S, so the substrate W can be completely separated with high precision along the scribe line S.

[0044] In this modified embodiment, when the separating rod 4 leaves the substrate W and is in a suspended state (standby position), since the cooling heat conduction element 8 is separated by the position of the cold and hot surface 8a of the cooling heat conduction element 8 being lower than the warm surface 7a of the heating heat conduction element 7 in a stepped manner, the cooling heat conduction element 8 is less susceptible to the heat effects of radiation or heat transfer from the heating heat conduction element 7. This improves the cooling efficiency of the cooling heat conduction element 8 in standby mode and reduces the heat loss between the cold and hot heat conduction element 8 and the heating heat conduction element 7, thereby achieving the effect of saving energy.

[0045] Although representative embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate modifications and changes can be made within the scope of achieving its purpose without departing from the scope of the invention claims. [Industrial Applicability]

[0046] The present invention relates to a cutting device and a cutting method applicable to cutting glass substrates with etched grooves along the etched grooves. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0020] [Fig. 1] is a perspective view showing a breaking device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Fig. 2] is a perspective view showing the interior of the breaking rod in the above-described breaking device. [Fig. 3] is a perspective view showing a heat-conducting unit (heat-conducting element for heating and heat-conducting element for cooling) installed on the breaking rod. [Fig. 4] is an explanatory diagram showing the correspondence between the hot and cold regions in the breaking rod and the heating and cooling regions formed on the substrate. [Fig. 5] is a perspective view showing other configurations of the heat-conducting unit. [Fig. 6] is a front view showing another embodiment of the breaking rod of the present invention. [Fig. 7] is a perspective view showing the installation state of the heat-conducting element for cooling and the heat-conducting element for heating in the breaking rod shown in Fig. 6. [Fig. 8] is a partially enlarged front view showing the breaking rod shown in Fig. 6.

Claims

1. A substrate cutting apparatus for cutting a substrate with etched grooves along the etched grooves, comprising: The substrate support is used to hold the aforementioned substrate; The cutting rod is used to contact the aforementioned scribe lines of the aforementioned substrate; the contact surfaces of the cutting rod and the aforementioned substrate are arranged in such a way that a plurality of warm regions set to a first temperature and a plurality of cold and hot regions set to a second temperature lower than the aforementioned first temperature are alternately adjacent; the aforementioned warm and hot regions and the aforementioned cold and hot regions simultaneously make surface contact along the aforementioned scribe lines to perform cutting.

2. The substrate breaking device as described in claim 1, wherein each of the aforementioned hot and cold regions of the aforementioned breaking rod is formed in a manner that is respectively square-plane and makes strip-shaped surface contact with the aforementioned substrate.

3. The substrate breaking device as described in either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the heat source of the aforementioned hot region is an electric heater, and the heat source of the aforementioned cold region is a Peltier element.

4. The substrate splitting device as described in either claim 1 or claim 2, comprising: a heating heat-conducting element having a heating surface for forming the aforementioned heated region on its lower surface and having a heat source thereof; and a cooling heat-conducting element having a cooling surface for forming the aforementioned hot and cold region on its lower surface and having a heat source thereof; the aforementioned splitting rod is formed by arranging a plurality of the aforementioned heating heat-conducting elements and the aforementioned cooling heat-conducting elements alternately and mounting them on the frame of the aforementioned splitting rod.

5. The substrate cutting device as described in claim 4, comprising: a vertical moving mechanism for holding the aforementioned cooling heat-conducting element in a position that allows it to be raised and lowered relative to the aforementioned frame of the aforementioned cutting rod; the aforementioned vertical moving mechanism is formed such that when the aforementioned cutting rod leaves the aforementioned substrate and is in a suspended standby state, the aforementioned hot and cold surfaces of the aforementioned cooling heat-conducting element are positioned below the aforementioned warm surface of the aforementioned heating heat-conducting element.

6. The substrate cutting device as described in claim 5 is provided with: an up-down adjustment mechanism for holding the aforementioned heating heat-conducting element so that it can be raised and lowered relative to the aforementioned frame of the aforementioned cutting rod within a range smaller than the aforementioned up-down movement mechanism; when each of the aforementioned heated surfaces of the aforementioned heating heat-conducting element comes into contact with the aforementioned substrate, the aforementioned heated surfaces are adjusted to be in a position where they are on the same plane.

7. The substrate splitting device as described in claim 6, wherein the aforementioned up-and-down moving mechanism of the aforementioned cooling heat-conducting element and the aforementioned up-and-down adjusting mechanism of the aforementioned heating heat-conducting element are formed in such a way that they can be suspended up and down via a pin assembly and a guide hole at the portion connected to the aforementioned frame of the aforementioned splitting rod.

8. A substrate splitting method, comprising the steps of splitting a substrate having etched grooves along the etched grooves: A breaking rod is prepared, wherein the breaking rod is arranged in such a way that a warm area set to a first temperature and a cold area set to a second temperature lower than the first temperature are alternately adjacent; and along the aforementioned scribe line on the aforementioned substrate, the aforementioned warm area and the aforementioned cold area of ​​the breaking rod are simultaneously brought into surface contact, thereby performing the breaking.

9. The substrate breaking method described in claim 8 involves maintaining the aforementioned hot and cold regions so that they can move up and down on the frame of the breaking rod, and first bringing the aforementioned hot and cold regions into surface contact with the aforementioned substrate, and then bringing the aforementioned hot and cold regions into surface contact with the aforementioned warm and hot regions simultaneously, thereby performing the breaking.

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