Joint cutting method and joint cutting device

Abstract

The invention provides a joint cutting method and a joint cutting device, the method is applied to a waveguide chip with a joint cutting mark, and the method comprises the following steps: based on the joint cutting mark of a first surface of the waveguide chip, setting a slotting area of a second surface of the waveguide chip, the projection of the kerf mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip is located in the slotting area; fixing the slotted waveguide chip on a slotted substrate, wherein the projection of the slotted area on the slotted substrate is located in the slotted area of the slotted substrate; and based on the joint cutting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip, performing joint cutting on the waveguide chip to form a fine joint on the waveguide chip.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of optical communication technology, and in particular to a slitting method and a slitting device. Background Art

[0002] Integration is the development trend of optical communication devices, and the basic structure of optical communication integrated devices is the optical waveguide structure. In practical applications, in order to achieve communication purposes, the optical waveguide structure needs to be cut; for example, in the athermal packaging solution of the arrayed waveguide grating, the waveguide cutting method is used to compensate for the change of wavelength with temperature. However, when the waveguide structure is cut, on the one hand, the width of the cut is required to be narrow to reduce the cut loss, and on the other hand, the inner side of the cut is required to be smooth and flat without too many gaps or broken edges.

[0003] Although the above problem is solved by cutting grooves on the back of the waveguide chip in the related art, this method cannot improve the cutting accuracy of the waveguide chip, which is not conducive to improving the temperature compensation effect of the waveguide chip. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, the main purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a slitting method and a slitting device.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a slitting method, the method being applied to a waveguide chip having slitting marks, the method comprising:

[0006] Based on the slit mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip, a slotted area on the second surface of the waveguide chip is set, wherein the projection of the slit mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip is located inside the slotted area;

[0007] Fixing the grooved waveguide chip on the slit substrate, wherein the projection of the grooved area on the slit substrate is located inside the slit area of ​​the slit substrate;

[0008] The waveguide chip is cut based on the cutting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip to form a thin slit on the waveguide chip.

[0009] Optionally, setting the slotted area on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the slit mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip comprises:

[0010] Selecting a reference mark of the waveguide chip at an edge of the waveguide chip based on the slit mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip;

[0011] Determining relative position information between the reference mark and the slit mark;

[0012] Based on the relative position information and the reference mark, a groove is opened on the second surface of the waveguide chip to form the grooved area, the depression depth of the groove is less than the thickness of the waveguide chip, and the groove width of the groove is greater than the slit width of the waveguide chip.

[0013] Optionally, the step of opening a groove on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the relative position information and the reference mark comprises:

[0014] Based on the reference mark and the relative position information, a first mark is selected on the second surface of the waveguide chip, and a projection of the slit mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip coincides with the first mark;

[0015] Based on the preset kerf width, determine the target slot width of the slotting area;

[0016] The groove having the target groove width is set with the first mark as the center point.

[0017] Optionally, the waveguide chip is a planar waveguide chip; the relative position information at least includes: a relative distance;

[0018] The selecting a first mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the reference mark and the relative position information comprises:

[0019] Determine a positioning line where the reference mark is located, wherein the positioning line is parallel to a straight line where the slit mark is located;

[0020] Moving the positioning line by the relative distance in a direction close to the slit mark in the waveguide chip;

[0021] The position of the first mark is determined based on the position of the moved positioning line.

[0022] Optionally, the waveguide chip comprises: a slab waveguide and a single-mode waveguide connected to the slab waveguide, and the slab waveguide is inclined relative to the single-mode waveguide;

[0023] The relative position information at least includes: relative distance and relative angle;

[0024] The selecting a first mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the reference mark and the relative position information comprises:

[0025] Based on the relative angle, the positioning line where the reference mark is located is rotated, wherein the rotated positioning line is parallel to the straight line where the slit mark is located;

[0026] Moving the positioning line by the relative distance in a direction close to the slit mark in the slab waveguide;

[0027] The position of the first mark is determined based on the position of the moved positioning line.

[0028] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0029] determining an alignment mark on the slitting substrate based on a projection of the reference mark on the slitting substrate;

[0030] Based on the alignment mark and the relative position information, a slitting area on the slitting substrate is selected, and a first distance between the alignment mark and the slitting area is less than or equal to a second distance between the reference mark and the slotting area.

[0031] Optionally, selecting a slitting area on the slitting substrate based on the alignment mark and the relative position information includes:

[0032] Based on the alignment mark and the relative position information, a second mark is selected on the slitting substrate, and a projection of the slitting mark on the slitting substrate coincides with the second mark;

[0033] The slitting area is selected with the second mark as the center point, and the area width of the slitting area is greater than the target groove width of the groove area.

[0034] Optionally, the slit substrate is a temperature compensation substrate; the method further includes:

[0035] Under the influence of temperature change, the temperature compensation substrate fixed to the waveguide chip drives the waveguide chips on both sides of the slit to move relatively, so as to compensate for the change of the refractive index of the waveguide chip caused by temperature, thereby causing the shift of the central wavelength.

[0036] Optionally, selecting a reference mark of the waveguide chip at an edge of the waveguide chip based on the slit mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip further includes:

[0037] If the waveguide chip is of an irregular shape, a cutting line corresponding to the waveguide chip is determined based on the slit marks, wherein the cutting line does not intersect with a line connecting a plurality of the slit marks;

[0038] Based on the cutting line, cutting the waveguide chip to obtain a waveguide chip of a regular shape;

[0039] The reference mark is selected at the edge of the regularly shaped waveguide chip.

[0040] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a slitting device, the device comprising:

[0041] A slotting component, the slotting component is used to set a slotting area on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the slotting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip, and the projection of the slotting mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip is located inside the slotting area;

[0042] A fixing component, wherein the fixing component is used to fix the slotted waveguide chip on the slotted substrate, wherein the projection of the slotted area on the slotted substrate is located inside the slotted area of ​​the slotted substrate;

[0043] A slitting assembly is used to slit the waveguide chip based on the slitting marks on the first surface of the waveguide chip to form fine slits on the waveguide chip.

[0044] The disclosed embodiment sets a slotted area on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the slotting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip, so that the projection of the slotting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip on the second surface of the waveguide chip is located inside the slotted area of ​​the waveguide chip; and fixes the slotted waveguide chip on a slotting substrate, so that the projection of the slotted area on the slotting substrate is located inside the slotting area of ​​the slotting substrate, thereby making the projection of the slotting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip on the slotting substrate also located inside the slotting area of ​​the slotting substrate; finally, based on the slotting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip, slotting is performed on the waveguide chip to form a fine slot on the waveguide chip, so as to improve the slotting accuracy of the waveguide chip, reduce the slotting loss of the waveguide chip, and enhance the temperature compensation effect of the waveguide chip. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] Figure 1 is a schematic flow chart of a slitting method according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0046] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a waveguide structure according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0047] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a linear waveguide chip according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0048] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a tilted waveguide chip according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0049] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure of a waveguide chip according to an exemplary embodiment Figure 1 ;

[0050] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure of a waveguide chip according to an exemplary embodiment Figure 2 ;

[0051] Figure 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an irregularly shaped linear waveguide chip according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0052] Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of an irregularly shaped inclined waveguide chip according to an exemplary embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] To make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the specific technical solution of the invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The following embodiments are used to illustrate the present disclosure, but are not used to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0054] The present disclosure provides a slitting method. Figure 1 is a schematic flow chart of a slitting method according to an exemplary embodiment. Figure 1 As shown; the method is applied to a waveguide chip having a slitting mark, and the slitting method comprises:

[0055] In step S1, a slotted area on the second surface of the waveguide chip is set based on the slotting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip, and the projection of the slotting mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip is located inside the slotted area;

[0056] In step S2, the grooved waveguide chip is fixed on a slit substrate, and the projection of the grooved area on the slit substrate is located inside the slit area of ​​the slit substrate;

[0057] In step S3, the waveguide chip is cut based on the cutting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip to form a thin slit on the waveguide chip.

[0058] Here, the shape of the slit mark is determined according to the waveguide chip actually used. For example, the slit mark can be in the shape of a straight line, a cross, etc.

[0059] It should be explained that, due to the groove area being set on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the slit mark, the local thickness of the waveguide chip is reduced. Therefore, in the place where the local thickness is reduced, a finer blade with a thinner slit can be used to slit the waveguide chip, so that a narrow slit width can be obtained, and a narrow slit is more easily formed, so that the insertion loss of the waveguide chip after slitting is smaller.

[0060] In addition, by providing a slotted area on the second surface of the waveguide chip, it is also possible to prevent the blade from directly contacting the slitting substrate during the slitting of the waveguide chip, thereby preventing the blade from cracking and the waveguide chip from collapsing.

[0061] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, after the second surface of the waveguide chip is grooved, the grooved waveguide chip can be fixed on the slitting substrate; it should be explained that the waveguide chip needs to be fixed on the slitting substrate before slitting. On the one hand, it can assist the slitting process of the waveguide chip and prevent the waveguide chip from flying off. On the other hand, it can ensure the integrity of the waveguide chip pattern after slitting, thereby ensuring that the function of the waveguide chip remains basically unchanged.

[0062] Here, the material of the slit substrate can be a silicon wafer, a glass wafer, a ceramic wafer or a metal wafer, wherein the thermal expansion coefficient of the slit substrate material is smaller than the thermal expansion coefficient of the waveguide chip. The embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the material of the slit substrate.

[0063] The fixing method between the waveguide chip and the slit substrate can be set according to actual needs. For example, the fixing of the grooved waveguide chip and the slit substrate can be achieved by bonding.

[0064] Here, there are many methods for bonding and fixing the waveguide chip and the slit substrate, such as hot melt bonding, adhesive bonding or solvent bonding, etc., which are not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0065] A slitting area can be determined on the slitting substrate, so that the slitting substrate and the waveguide chip can be fixed based on the slitting area and the slotted area of ​​the waveguide chip, so that the projection of the slotted area on the slitting substrate is located within the slitting area.

[0066] For example, a glue application area can be selected at a position other than the slit area of ​​the slit substrate using a glue dispensing device, and glue can be applied in the glue application area to facilitate fixing the waveguide chip on the slit substrate. Compared with manual glue application, the use of a glue dispensing device can improve glue dispensing efficiency and consistency.

[0067] It can be understood that the present disclosure sets a slotted area on the second surface of the waveguide chip, and when the waveguide chip is fixed to the slitting substrate, the projection of the slotted area on the slitting substrate is located within the slitting area of ​​the slitting substrate. On the one hand, it can ensure that the projection of the slitting mark of the waveguide chip on the slitting substrate is located within the slitting area, and on the other hand, it ensures the uniformity of the adhesive between the waveguide chip and the slitting substrate.

[0068] In some embodiments, the pasting process of the waveguide chip and the slit substrate may include the following steps: first, before pasting, the surface of the waveguide chip should be gently wiped with a dust-free spray or a clean cotton gauze to ensure that its surface is clean and free of impurities; second, use a dropper or a brush to evenly apply the thermal conductive glue on the glue-coated area to avoid the formation of voids or pits; finally, place the waveguide chip on the slit substrate so that the second surface of the waveguide chip completely covers the slit substrate.

[0069] In the disclosed embodiment, an automatic chip mounter can be used to paste the waveguide chip and the slit substrate. The waveguide chip is sucked by the suction nozzle of the automatic chip mounter and placed on the slit substrate after the glue is applied, thereby improving the pasting accuracy and pasting efficiency of the waveguide chip and the slit substrate.

[0070] Based on the cutting marks on the first surface of the waveguide chip, the waveguide chip is cut. Here, there are many methods for cutting the waveguide chip, such as laser cutting, water cutting or circular blade cutting, etc., which are not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0071] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the slit mark is used to indicate the position to be cut on the waveguide chip, so that when the waveguide chip is cut, the slit can be cut based on the slit mark to form a gap.

[0072] In some embodiments, when performing the slitting operation, a glass cover or a silicon wafer may be covered at the slitting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip, thereby reducing the chip edge collapse caused by the surface slitting due to the groove area set on the second surface of the waveguide chip.

[0073] The slitting method proposed in the present disclosure has high slitting accuracy, good consistency, and high efficiency, and can be applied to the slitting process of all waveguide structures.

[0074] For example, Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a waveguide structure according to an exemplary embodiment. Figure 2 As shown, the structure 10 includes two periodic segmented waveguides 102 , a slotted waveguide 101 and a slotted mark 103 , wherein the two periodic segmented waveguides 102 are symmetrical about the slotted waveguide 101 .

[0075] The slot loss of this periodically segmented waveguide (PSW) structure is particularly sensitive to the slotting accuracy. The smaller the slot width is and the closer the slot position is to the middle of the slotted waveguide, the smaller the slot loss is.

[0076] Based on the slitting method disclosed in the present invention, the PSW structure is slit, which can ensure the slitting loss of the PSW structure and facilitate its mass production.

[0077] The disclosed embodiment sets a slotted area on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the slotting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip, so that the projection of the slotting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip on the second surface of the waveguide chip is located inside the slotted area of ​​the waveguide chip; and fixes the slotted waveguide chip on a slotting substrate, so that the projection of the slotted area on the slotting substrate is located inside the slotting area of ​​the slotting substrate, thereby making the projection of the slotting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip on the slotting substrate also located inside the slotting area of ​​the slotting substrate; finally, based on the slotting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip, slotting is performed on the waveguide chip to form a fine slot on the waveguide chip, so as to improve the slotting accuracy of the waveguide chip, reduce the slotting loss of the waveguide chip, and enhance the temperature compensation effect of the waveguide chip.

[0078] Optionally, setting the slotted area on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the slit mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip comprises:

[0079] Selecting a reference mark of the waveguide chip at an edge of the waveguide chip based on the slit mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip;

[0080] Determining relative position information between the reference mark and the slit mark;

[0081] Based on the relative position information and the reference mark, a groove is opened on the second surface of the waveguide chip to form the grooved area, the depression depth of the groove is less than the thickness of the waveguide chip, and the groove width of the groove is greater than the slit width of the waveguide chip.

[0082] Based on the slit mark, a reference mark is selected at the edge of the waveguide chip. It should be explained that the selection of the reference mark is determined according to the specific structural size of the waveguide chip. In order to ensure that the reference mark does not change during the packaging process of the waveguide chip, a reference mark can be selected at the edge of the waveguide chip to facilitate the reference of the grooved area on the second surface of the waveguide chip.

[0083] Here, the reference mark includes at least: a reference point, a reference line and / or a reference angle.

[0084] Determining the position information between the reference mark and the slit mark, it is understandable that the spatial position information between the slit mark and the reference mark can be obtained by geometric calculation.

[0085] Based on the reference mark and the relative position information, a groove is opened on the second surface of the waveguide chip. It can be understood that after determining the spatial position information between the reference mark and the cutting mark, the groove marking point can be selected based on the reference mark and the spatial position information, and the groove can be opened with a fixed step length with the groove marking point as the starting point.

[0086] In some embodiments, based on the reference mark and the relative position information, a first groove marking point is selected on the second surface of the waveguide chip, and a groove is opened with a fixed step length in a direction close to or away from the reference mark with the first groove marking point as the starting point, so that the projection of the cutting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip on the second surface of the waveguide chip is located inside the groove area.

[0087] A groove is opened on the second surface of the waveguide chip to form a groove area. It should be explained that the depth of the groove can be set according to the thickness of the waveguide chip. If the depth of the groove is too deep, it will cause chip collapse or cracking during the cutting process. If the depth of the groove is too shallow, the chip thinning effect cannot be achieved.

[0088] In some embodiments, the depth of the groove may be L times the thickness of the waveguide chip, where 1 / 10 <L<1。

[0089] Similarly, if the width of the groove is too narrow or too wide, it may also cause cracking or collapse of the first surface of the chip during the cutting process. In order to ensure that the waveguide chip is not easily broken, the depth and width of the groove can have a suitable ratio.

[0090] In some embodiments, the ratio of the depth of the groove to the width of the groove is M:N, where 1 <M<5,5<N<10。

[0091] In the disclosed embodiment, a reference mark of the waveguide chip is selected at the edge of the waveguide chip based on the slitting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip; the relative position information between the reference mark and the slitting mark is determined; based on the relative position information and the reference mark, a groove is opened on the second surface of the waveguide chip to form a slotted area; on the one hand, the projection of the slitting mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip is located inside the slotted area, thereby improving the slitting accuracy of the waveguide chip; on the other hand, the slotted area is provided to reduce the local thickness of the waveguide chip, so that a finer blade can be used for slitting, thereby reducing the insertion loss caused by slitting.

[0092] Optionally, the step of opening a groove on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the relative position information and the reference mark comprises:

[0093] Based on the reference mark and the relative position information, a first mark is selected on the second surface of the waveguide chip, and a projection of the slit mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip coincides with the first mark;

[0094] Based on the preset kerf width, determine the target slot width of the slotting area;

[0095] The groove having the target groove width is set with the first mark as the center point.

[0096] It should be noted that the present disclosure generates a first center line with a first mark, and opens a groove with a fixed step length toward both ends of the first center line to obtain a groove with a target groove width.

[0097] The projection of the slit mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip coincides with the first mark. It can be understood that the projection of the slit mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip is located at the center of the groove.

[0098] Here, in order to ensure the chip index of the waveguide chip after slitting, the slit width is generally required to be within 30 microns, so as to ensure that the loss of the waveguide chip will not increase significantly.

[0099] In some embodiments, the slit width is 30 microns, and the target groove width can be selected as 600 microns, that is, the range of the translation distance corresponding to the first mark is [d-300, d+300] microns. Since the target groove width is much larger than the thickness of the blade, it is necessary to groove the second surface of the waveguide chip multiple times. With the straight line where the first mark is located as the center line, grooves are gradually opened at both ends with a step length of 300 microns to obtain a target groove with a groove width of 600 microns.

[0100] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, based on the reference mark and the relative position information, a first mark is selected on the second surface of the waveguide chip so that the projection of the slit mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip coincides with the first mark, and a groove with a target groove width is set with the first mark as the center point; the projection of the slit mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip is located at the center of the slit area, thereby further improving the slit accuracy of the waveguide chip.

[0101] Optionally, the waveguide chip is a planar waveguide chip; the relative position information at least includes: a relative distance;

[0102] The selecting a first mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the reference mark and the relative position information comprises:

[0103] Determine a positioning line where the reference mark is located, wherein the positioning line is parallel to a straight line where the slit mark is located;

[0104] Moving the positioning line by the relative distance in a direction close to the slit mark in the waveguide chip;

[0105] The position of the first mark is determined based on the position of the moved positioning line.

[0106] Here, the relative distance refers to the distance between a straight line where the slit mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip is located and a positioning line where a reference mark selected at the edge of the waveguide chip is located.

[0107] For example, Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a linear waveguide chip according to an exemplary embodiment. Figure 3 As shown, considering the protection of the slab waveguide 202 and the slit mark 103, the size of the chip 201 is larger than that of the slab waveguide 202. At the same time, the size of the chip 201 is larger than that of the slab waveguide 202, which is also convenient for selecting reference marks.

[0108] against Figure 3 For the linear slab waveguide shown in the figure, point A is selected as a reference point at the edge of the slab waveguide, AB is selected as a reference line, and a distance d between a straight line 203 where a slit mark 103 is located and the reference line AB is determined, so that the reference line AB can coincide with the straight line 203 after being translated by a distance d in a direction close to the slit mark 103 of the slab waveguide.

[0109] Similarly, if Figure 3 As shown, point A is selected as a reference point at the edge of the slab waveguide, AC is selected as a reference line, and the relative position relationship between the straight line 203 and the reference line AC is determined, so that the reference line AC rotates 90° counterclockwise around the reference point A to reach the position of the reference line AB, and then translates a distance d in the direction of the slit mark 103 close to the slab waveguide to coincide with the straight line 203.

[0110] In some embodiments, after obtaining the position information of the slit mark and the reference mark, the waveguide chip can be moved along Figure 3 The reference line AB shown is flipped to the second surface of the waveguide chip, and the reference line AB is translated by a distance d in a direction close to the slit mark to locate the position of the first mark, so as to facilitate setting of the slotted area.

[0111] Similarly, the first mark can also be Figure 3 The reference line AC shown in the figure is used for positioning. The reference line AC should first be rotated 90° clockwise around the reference point A, and then translated a distance d in the direction close to the slit mark, so that the projection of the slit mark in the groove area coincides with the first mark.

[0112] Here, the directional relationship between the reference mark of the waveguide chip and the slit mark of the waveguide chip is opposite to the directional relationship between the reference mark of the waveguide chip and the first mark of the slotted area, but the rotation angle of the reference mark and the moving distance of the reference mark along the direction close to the slit mark of the waveguide chip are consistent.

[0113] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a first mark is selected on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the reference mark and the relative position information, and the relative position information includes the relative distance, so that the relative position information between the reference mark and the slit mark of the linear waveguide chip and the relative position information between the reference mark and the first mark are consistent, thereby improving the slit accuracy of the linear waveguide chip.

[0114] Optionally, the waveguide chip comprises: a slab waveguide and a single-mode waveguide connected to the slab waveguide, and the slab waveguide is inclined relative to the single-mode waveguide;

[0115] The relative position information at least includes: relative distance and relative angle;

[0116] The selecting a first mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the reference mark and the relative position information comprises:

[0117] Based on the relative angle, the positioning line where the reference mark is located is rotated, wherein the rotated positioning line is parallel to the straight line where the slit mark is located;

[0118] Moving the positioning line by the relative distance in a direction close to the slit mark in the slab waveguide;

[0119] The position of the first mark is determined based on the position of the moved positioning line.

[0120] For example, Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a tilted waveguide chip according to an exemplary embodiment. Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 1 , when the planar waveguide is tilted at an angle θ, not only a reference point and a reference line should be selected, but also a reference angle should be selected.

[0121] Figure 4 The array waveguide grating includes not only a slab waveguide but also a single-mode waveguide, and the single-mode waveguide is connected to the slab waveguide, which is similar in shape to the input waveguide and input slab waveguide (or output waveguide and output slab waveguide) of the array waveguide grating. Figure 4 For the medium waveguide chip, since the chip shape is relatively regular, point D can be directly selected as the reference point, DF can be selected as the reference line, and a straight line 302 can be made at D. The straight line 302 is parallel to the straight line 301 where the slit mark 103 is located, and the spacing between the two parallel lines is d, and the angle between the straight line and DE is θ, so that the reference line DF rotates counterclockwise around the reference point D by 90°+θ, and then translates a distance d in the direction close to the slit mark 103 to coincide with the straight line 301 where the slit mark 103 is located.

[0122] Similarly, if Figure 4 As shown, DE is selected as the reference line, so that the reference line DE rotates counterclockwise by θ around the reference point D, and then translates a distance d in the direction close to the slit mark 103 to coincide with the straight line 301 where the slit mark 103 is located.

[0123] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a first mark is selected on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on a reference mark and relative position information, and the relative position information includes a relative distance and a relative angle, so that the relative position information between the reference mark and the slit mark of the inclined waveguide chip and the relative position information between the reference mark and the first mark are consistent, thereby improving the slit accuracy of the inclined waveguide chip.

[0124] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0125] determining an alignment mark on the slitting substrate based on a projection of the reference mark on the slitting substrate;

[0126] Based on the alignment mark and the relative position information, a slitting area on the slitting substrate is selected, and a first distance between the alignment mark and the slitting area is less than or equal to a second distance between the reference mark and the slotting area.

[0127] Here, the alignment mark includes at least: an alignment point and / or an alignment line.

[0128] The first distance between the alignment mark and the slitting area is less than or equal to the second distance between the reference mark and the slotting area. It should be explained that since the domain width of the slitting area is greater than the slot width of the slotting area, the slitting area is selected on the slitting substrate based on the second distance and the alignment mark, so that the first distance between the alignment mark and the slitting area is less than or equal to the second distance, thereby ensuring that the projection of the slotting area on the slitting substrate is located within the slitting area.

[0129] In some embodiments, a first seam marking point can be selected on the seam substrate through the alignment mark and the relative position information, and based on the first seam marking point, a seam area including the first seam marking point can be selected. When a first distance between the alignment mark and the selected seam area is less than or equal to a second distance between the reference mark and the slot area, and a domain width of the selected seam area is greater than a slot width of the slot area, a target seam area is obtained. Thus, a projection of the seam mark on the seam substrate is located inside the target seam area, and a projection of the slot area on the seam substrate is also located inside the target seam area.

[0130] In the disclosed embodiment, an alignment mark is selected based on the projection of a reference mark on a slitting substrate, and relative position information between the reference mark and the slitting mark is obtained. Then, based on the alignment mark and the relative position information, a slitting area on the slitting substrate is selected so that the projection of the slitting mark on the slitting substrate is located inside the slitting area, so as to improve the slitting accuracy of the waveguide chip.

[0131] Optionally, selecting a slitting area on the slitting substrate based on the alignment mark and the relative position information includes:

[0132] Based on the alignment mark and the relative position information, a second mark is selected on the slitting substrate, and a projection of the slitting mark on the slitting substrate coincides with the second mark;

[0133] The slitting area is selected with the second mark as the center point, and the area width of the slitting area is greater than the target groove width of the groove area.

[0134] In some embodiments, based on Figure 3 The projection of the reference point A shown on the slit substrate selects the alignment point and Figure 3 The projections of the reference lines AB and AC on the slit substrate are shown to select the alignment lines.

[0135] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, during manual alignment, the alignment efficiency of the waveguide chip and the slit substrate is low. The waveguide chip can be clamped by a clamping tool to improve the alignment efficiency.

[0136] It should be explained that the present disclosure can be based on the reference point and reference line of the reference mark, and vertically stacked with the alignment point and alignment line of the alignment mark, so that the reference point coincides with the alignment point, and the reference line coincides with the alignment line, so as to improve the pasting consistency of the waveguide chip and the slit substrate.

[0137] Based on the alignment mark and the relative position information, a second mark is selected on the slit substrate. It can be understood that the relative position information of the slit mark and the reference mark, that is, the relative distance and / or relative angle, is first determined, the reference mark is projected on the slit substrate, the alignment mark is obtained, and finally the alignment mark is moved on the slit substrate by a relative distance and / or rotated by a relative angle to position the second mark.

[0138] With the second mark as the center point, the slitting area is selected. It can be understood that a second center line is generated with the position of the second mark, and the slitting area is selected with a fixed step length toward both ends of the second center line, so that the projection of the slitting mark of the waveguide chip on the slitting substrate is located at the center of the slitting area.

[0139] For example, Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure of a waveguide chip according to an exemplary embodiment Figure 1 ,like Figure 5 As shown, a slitting area can be selected at the position where the slitting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip is projected onto the slitting substrate. A second groove 403 is opened in the slitting area, and the projection of the groove 402 on the second surface of the waveguide chip on the second groove 403 is located inside the second groove 403, and the concave direction of the groove 402 on the second surface of the waveguide chip is opposite to the concave direction of the second groove 403.

[0140] The second groove here, on the one hand, can prevent the groove on the second surface of the waveguide chip from being too shallow, causing part of the glue to adhere to the groove on the second surface of the waveguide chip during the bonding process of the waveguide chip; on the other hand, it can prevent the waveguide chip or the blade from being damaged during the cutting process of the waveguide chip.

[0141] For example, Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure of a waveguide chip according to an exemplary embodiment Figure 2 ,like Figure 6 As shown, when the waveguide chip and the slit substrate are pasted with high precision, the groove 402 is only provided on the second surface of the waveguide chip, and no second groove is provided in the slit area.

[0142] In some embodiments, the groove width of the groove area on the second surface of the waveguide chip can be 600 microns, and the domain width of the slit area of ​​the slit substrate can be 1200 microns. After the waveguide chip and the slit substrate are pasted together, it is not convenient to observe the pasting situation with naked eyes, and the pasting situation can be checked by visual inspection equipment, that is, by observing whether the groove area is located in the middle of the slit area through the visual inspection equipment.

[0143] In the disclosed embodiment, a second mark is selected on the slitting substrate based on the alignment mark and the relative position information, and a slitting area is selected with the second mark as the center, so that the projection of the slitting mark on the slitting substrate is located at the center of the slitting area, thereby further improving the slitting accuracy of the waveguide chip.

[0144] Optionally, the slit substrate is a temperature compensation substrate; the method further includes:

[0145] Under the influence of temperature change, the temperature compensation substrate fixed to the waveguide chip drives the waveguide chips on both sides of the slit to move relatively, so as to compensate for the change of the refractive index of the waveguide chip caused by temperature, thereby causing the shift of the central wavelength.

[0146] Taking the arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) chip as an example, according to the working principle of the AWG, when the input planar waveguide is divided into two and the two move relative to each other, the wavelength of each channel of the AWG will change.

[0147] In the disclosed embodiment, the temperature compensation device is used as a slit substrate and is pasted and fixed to the waveguide chip, so that the waveguide chip after slitting will move relative to each other, causing the central wavelength of the waveguide chip to change, thereby compensating for the refractive index change of the waveguide chip caused by temperature, which in turn causes the shift of the central wavelength.

[0148] Optionally, selecting a reference mark of the waveguide chip at an edge of the waveguide chip based on the slit mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip further includes:

[0149] If the waveguide chip is of an irregular shape, a cutting line corresponding to the waveguide chip is determined based on the slit marks, wherein the cutting line does not intersect with a line connecting a plurality of the slit marks;

[0150] Based on the cutting line, cutting the waveguide chip to obtain a waveguide chip of a regular shape;

[0151] The reference mark is selected at the edge of the regularly shaped waveguide chip.

[0152] It should be noted that the slit mark may be located at the edge of an irregularly shaped waveguide chip. If the waveguide chip is cut directly, the slit mark is easily damaged, affecting the slit process of the waveguide chip. Therefore, the cutting line corresponding to the waveguide chip can be determined based on the position of the slit mark, so that the cutting line does not intersect with the connecting line of multiple slit marks, thereby ensuring the integrity of the slit mark of the waveguide chip and the slit surface of the waveguide chip.

[0153] Here, the direction of the cutting line may be parallel or non-parallel to the light transmission direction of the waveguide chip, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this, as long as a waveguide chip with a regular shape can be obtained after cutting the waveguide chip.

[0154] For example, Figure 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an irregularly shaped linear waveguide chip according to an exemplary embodiment. Figure 7 As shown, the shape of the planar waveguide chip is irregular, and the chip can be cut into the following shapes without destroying the planar waveguide: Figure 3 Specifically, the bottom edge of the planar waveguide can be used as a reference line, and the irregular shape of the waveguide chip 503 can be removed, such as to point A, and the irregular shape of the waveguide chip can be cut off, and finally cut into the following Figure 3 The regular shape shown facilitates the selection of the groove area on the second surface of the waveguide chip.

[0155] As another example, Figure 8 is a schematic structural diagram of an irregularly shaped inclined waveguide chip according to an exemplary embodiment. Figure 8 As shown, the shape of the waveguide chip is irregular. The single-mode waveguide in the middle can be used as a reference line, and the irregular portion 603 of the waveguide chip can be cut off by translating downward a certain distance, such as to point D, and finally cut into the following Figure 4 The regularly shaped waveguide chip shown.

[0156] In the disclosed embodiment, by cutting an irregularly shaped waveguide chip into a regularly shaped waveguide chip, it is advantageous to select a slotted area on the second surface of the waveguide chip, thereby laying a foundation for improving the cutting accuracy of the waveguide chip.

[0157] The present disclosure also provides a slitting device, the slitting device comprising:

[0158] A slotting component, the slotting component is used to set a slotting area on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the slotting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip, and the projection of the slotting mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip is located inside the slotting area;

[0159] A fixing component, wherein the fixing component is used to fix the slotted waveguide chip on the slotted substrate, wherein the projection of the slotted area on the slotted substrate is located inside the slotted area of ​​the slotted substrate;

[0160] A slitting assembly is used to slit the waveguide chip based on the slitting marks on the first surface of the waveguide chip to form fine slits on the waveguide chip.

[0161] In the disclosed embodiment, the slotting component, the fixing component and the slitting component are integrated into a slitting device, which can execute the above-mentioned slitting method, thereby improving the efficiency of the gluing process, the patch process and the slitting process, and improving the degree of automation of the slitting device.

[0162] The slitting method and slitting device described in the examples of the present disclosure are only taken as examples of the embodiments described in the present disclosure, but are not limited to this. As long as the slitting method and slitting device are involved, they are within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0163] It should be understood that "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" mentioned throughout the specification means that specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" appearing throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present disclosure, the size of the serial number of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present disclosure. The serial numbers of the embodiments of the present disclosure are for description only and do not represent the advantages and disadvantages of the embodiments.

[0164] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element.

[0165] The above is only an embodiment of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure, which should be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A slitting method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a waveguide chip having a slit mark, and the method comprises: Based on the slit mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip, a slotted area on the second surface of the waveguide chip is set, wherein the projection of the slit mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip is located inside the slotted area; Fixing the grooved waveguide chip on the slit substrate, wherein the projection of the grooved area on the slit substrate is located inside the slit area of ​​the slit substrate; The waveguide chip is cut based on the cutting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip to form a thin slit on the waveguide chip.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of setting a slotted area on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the slotting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip comprises: Selecting a reference mark of the waveguide chip at an edge of the waveguide chip based on the slit mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip; Determining relative position information between the reference mark and the slit mark; Based on the relative position information and the reference mark, a groove is opened on the second surface of the waveguide chip to form the grooved area, wherein the depression depth of the groove is less than the thickness of the waveguide chip, and the groove width of the groove is greater than the slit width of the waveguide chip.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The step of opening a groove on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the relative position information and the reference mark comprises: Based on the reference mark and the relative position information, a first mark is selected on the second surface of the waveguide chip, and a projection of the slit mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip coincides with the first mark; Based on the preset kerf width, determine the target slot width of the slotting area; The groove having the target groove width is set with the first mark as the center point.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The waveguide chip is a planar waveguide chip; the relative position information at least includes: a relative distance; The selecting a first mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the reference mark and the relative position information comprises: Determine a positioning line where the reference mark is located, wherein the positioning line is parallel to a straight line where the slit mark is located; Moving the positioning line by the relative distance in a direction close to the slit mark in the waveguide chip; The position of the first mark is determined based on the position of the moved positioning line.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The waveguide chip comprises: a slab waveguide and a single-mode waveguide connected to the slab waveguide, and the slab waveguide is inclined relative to the single-mode waveguide; The relative position information at least includes: relative distance and relative angle; The selecting a first mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the reference mark and the relative position information comprises: Based on the relative angle, the positioning line where the reference mark is located is rotated, wherein the rotated positioning line is parallel to the straight line where the slit mark is located; Moving the positioning line by the relative distance in a direction close to the slit mark in the slab waveguide; The position of the first mark is determined based on the position of the moved positioning line.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: determining an alignment mark on the slitting substrate based on a projection of the reference mark on the slitting substrate; Based on the alignment mark and the relative position information, a slitting area on the slitting substrate is selected, and a first distance between the alignment mark and the slitting area is less than or equal to a second distance between the reference mark and the slotting area.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The step of selecting a slitting area on the slitting substrate based on the alignment mark and the relative position information includes: Based on the alignment mark and the relative position information, a second mark is selected on the slitting substrate, and a projection of the slitting mark on the slitting substrate coincides with the second mark; The slitting area is selected with the second mark as the center point, and the area width of the slitting area is greater than the target groove width of the groove area.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The slit substrate is a temperature compensation substrate; the method further includes: Under the influence of temperature change, the temperature compensation substrate fixed to the waveguide chip drives the waveguide chips on both sides of the slit to move relatively, so as to compensate for the change of the refractive index of the waveguide chip caused by temperature, thereby causing the shift of the central wavelength.

9. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The selecting a reference mark of the waveguide chip at the edge of the waveguide chip based on the slit mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip further includes: If the waveguide chip is of an irregular shape, a cutting line corresponding to the waveguide chip is determined based on the slit marks, wherein the cutting line does not intersect with a line connecting a plurality of the slit marks; Based on the cutting line, cutting the waveguide chip to obtain a waveguide chip of a regular shape; The reference mark is selected at the edge of the regularly shaped waveguide chip.

10. A slitting device, applied to the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The device comprises: A slotting component, the slotting component is used to set a slotting area on the second surface of the waveguide chip based on the slotting mark on the first surface of the waveguide chip, and the projection of the slotting mark on the second surface of the waveguide chip is located inside the slotting area; A fixing component, wherein the fixing component is used to fix the slotted waveguide chip on the slotted substrate, wherein the projection of the slotted area on the slotted substrate is located inside the slotted area of ​​the slotted substrate; A slitting assembly is used to slit the waveguide chip based on the slitting marks on the first surface of the waveguide chip to form fine slits on the waveguide chip.

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