Substrate sub-elements for preparing and / or performing separation of substrate element

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for preparing and / or carrying out a separation of a substrate element into at least two substrate sub-elements along a separation surface, and to substrate sub-elements, in particular produced by and / or by means of the method according to the invention.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of patent application 202110250572.5 filed on March 8, 2021, and entitled “Method for preparing and / or performing separation of substrate elements and substrate sub-elements”. Technical Field

[0002] The invention relates to a method for preparing and / or carrying out the separation of a substrate element along a separation plane into at least two substrate sub-elements and also to a substrate sub-element which is and / or can be produced using the method according to the invention. Background Art

[0003] In glass manufacturing and processing, as well as in related fields, it is often necessary to separate substrate elements, such as glass elements, in particular glass sheets, along a precisely defined separation plane. For example, in order to make the resulting substrate sub-elements compatible with each other after separation from other components, it is essential to maintain the contour of the previously defined separation plane.

[0004] In addition to a clean separation surface, specifications often also require a high strength of the separation surface (e.g. edge). The reason for this is that the substrate sub-elements, such as in particular the glass sub-elements, are overall less sensitive to external influences because their separation surfaces have a high strength. This way, external damage to the interface can be completely or at least partially avoided to a certain extent, and any defects that may exist can be completely or at least partially prevented from propagating into the interior of the material.

[0005] Here, the following common methods for carrying out the separation process are known to the person skilled in the art: for example, thermal laser beam separation (TLS) by using a CO2 laser, mechanical scribing, laser scribing or laser-based thermal cutting (laser-based thermal shock cutting). The latter aims to continue to produce the initial crack in the substrate element by means of the thermomechanical stresses usually generated by the CO2 laser. However, all these methods have in common that the contour of the crack in the material cannot be controlled or can only be controlled insufficiently.

[0006] A laser perforation method is also known to the person skilled in the art, which removes individual regions of the substrate element to be separated along the desired separation plane using a laser within the framework of an ultrashort pulse laser (USP) process.

[0007] FIG. 1a shows a situation known from the prior art in a top view, and FIG. 1b shows the same situation in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the view of FIG. 1a . FIGS. 1a and 1b show a substrate element comprising a substrate body 3, wherein the substrate body 3 comprises a substrate material. For example, the substrate element 1 can be a glass element, the substrate body 3 can be a glass body, and the substrate material can be glass. The substrate element 1 is to be prepared so that it can be separated along a separation plane, which in FIG. 1b is located in the plane of the figure and extends through the center point of the circular cavity 5. For this purpose, laser perforation is usually performed using a USP laser system, which generates a linear focus 7 in the substrate material. Thus, the substrate material can be removed at the desired locations so that a plurality of cavities 5 or hollow spaces like perforations are formed in the substrate element 1 or the substrate body 3.

[0008] Finally, the pre-processed substrate element 1 is separated along the perforation lines formed by the perforations by, for example, mechanical breaking or dividing.

[0009] However, it has been shown that the contour of the crack line and therefore the contour of the separation surface in the substrate material can only be controlled with difficulty with this method. It can be observed that the crack line can deviate from the perforation line during the press-breaking and extend away from the perforation line, so that the separation surface does not correspond to the actual desired contour. The forces required for the press-breaking are also usually relatively high. And the greater the force required, the more likely it is that the press-breaking process itself will cause new damage to the substrate material.

[0010] To a certain extent, by increasing the number of perforations along the separation surface and thereby reducing the distance between adjacent cavities, the profile of the separation surface can be better controlled. As a result, the required breaking force can also be reduced. However, according to surprising observations, it can be seen that once the distance between the cavities drops below a certain value, the force required for subsequent breaking is no longer reduced, but on the contrary increases again. This is usually accompanied by the cancellation of the linear focus at least sometimes and / or in a segmented manner, so that sometimes and / or in a segmented manner no cavity is produced. Moreover, the control of the breaking process is also reduced. This will limit the distance to be further reduced to below a certain value. This value corresponds approximately to ten times the maximum extension size of the cavity in the cross section perpendicular to the main extension direction of the cavity.

[0011] It has also been found that substrate subelements separated along perforation lines often have separation surfaces (edges) of only low strength.

[0012] It is known that accompanying the perforation process, (micro) cracks are formed in the substrate material around the cavity. In addition to the basically desired cracks, which are located in the desired separation area and support the subsequent separation process, cracks with other orientations are also formed. The latter manifest themselves as preliminary damage to the substrate element and subsequently lead to a reduction in the edge strength of the separated substrate sub-element. A suitable choice of laser parameters depends on the material properties and can in principle influence the extent of this and other material damage. For example, the number and length of the cracks can be controlled to a certain extent. However, a trade-off must be made between the subsequent separability and the previous damage.

[0013] In other words, the general situation can also be described as follows: Due to the nonlinear interaction between the USP laser pulse and the substrate material along the focal line, a microchannel (typically less than 1 μm in diameter) is formed in the substrate, wherein the substrate material is pressed into the interior of the edge region of the channel and thus leads to compression there. Microcracks appear radially around the channel (depending on the pulse power). If pulse trains are used (i.e. the channel is hit by multiple pulses in a short time), the area around the channel is destroyed by a large number of longer microcracks. If the spacing (i.e. the distance between adjacent microchannels) is large compared to the diameter of the hole and the length of the microcracks, adjacent microchannels can be generated without optical and mechanical influence on their respective precursors. As the spacing decreases, part of the beam energy is initially shielded by the previously generated microchannel, which affects the formation of the current microchannel. In addition, if the spacing is further reduced, two adjacent microcrack systems weaken the remaining web between the currently emerging microchannel and its adjacent precursor, causing this web to break and press the material into the previously formed microchannel, where the material melts again or re-adheres to the previous channel due to the high power density. The separability of perforation lines with short spacing produced in this way is therefore significantly worse than an unbiased observer would actually expect. Summary of the invention

[0014] The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a method by which a substrate element can be separated in a simple but still safe and reliable manner, or a separation can be prepared, wherein the contour of the separation surface can be predetermined as accurately as possible and any work required for the press break can be reduced as much as possible. At the same time, the edge strength of the substrate subelement should also be increased. A further object of the present invention is to provide a substrate subelement which comprises side surfaces (edges) with a high strength level.

[0015] According to a first aspect of the present invention, the object is achieved by a method for preparing and / or performing separation of a substrate element into at least two substrate sub-elements along a separation plane, the method comprising the following steps:

[0016] Providing the substrate element, the substrate element comprising at least one substrate body, the substrate body comprising at least one substrate material;

[0017] controlling at least one line focus in the substrate body such that substrate material of the substrate body is removed and / or displaced at least locally along a separation plane at least in sections,

[0018] Therein, the linear focus represents at least one focus of at least one light beam, wherein the light beam is formed in the form of a beam with an asymmetrical beam supply at least in the region of the linear focus.

[0019] The invention is therefore based on the surprising finding that cavities can be reliably formed in a substrate material with uniform high quality if the light beam is not influenced by the already formed cavities. The inventors have recognised that such influences from directly adjacent cavities can be particularly effectively prevented by reducing or completely eliminating these lateral components of the light beam used, which would otherwise "collide" with the already formed cavities. However, due to the use of large digital devices, in the case of the formation of conventional linear foci, partial light beams often have a pronounced lateral component and therefore a correspondingly high "risk of collision".

[0020] According to the teaching of the invention, the characteristic of a beam with asymmetric beam supply with reduced or eliminated lateral partial beams is achieved in a particularly simple and effective manner. To this end, the focal line is no longer supplied with energy in a rotationally symmetrical manner along a conical surface (for example with the aid of a beam shaping optical device) but in an asymmetric manner. In other words, compared with conventionally used beams, the beam is shaped in such a way that it does not have any components that can coincide with already formed cavities. This ensures that the beam is largely unaffected by already formed cavities and that a particularly high-quality perforation line can be formed, since the linear focus can be formed with consistent high quality over the entire thickness of the substrate element.

[0021] With regard to the beam supply or energy supply, the term "asymmetric" is to be understood in this context as meaning "non-rotationally symmetric". This means that other forms of symmetry are not excluded. For example, an Airy beam has mirror surfaces parallel to the plane in which its curved profile lies.

[0022] The proposed method therefore contributes to improving the separation process and its effect or to the preparation for separation in a particularly rational manner, since the control of the contour of the separation surface is significantly improved by reducing the breaking force and the edge strength is increased.

[0023] However, at the same time, the method according to the invention can also be implemented using conventional means and thus integrated into existing facilities without causing any problems. In particular, the method for cutting a substrate to size and forming a substrate cutout can be operated in a particularly effective manner and achieve very good results.

[0024] Thus, preferably, the invention makes it possible to separate or provide for substrate elements - in particular transparent and / or brittle substrate elements, such as glass elements - in particular glass plates or glass panels, glass ceramic elements - in particular glass ceramic plates or glass ceramic panels, and / or silicon elements - in particular silicon wafers, even with a large thickness of more than 0.6 mm, in particular with a thickness of between 0.6 mm and 10 mm, preferably between 0.6 mm and 5 mm or between 3 mm and 5 mm, even more preferably between 0.6 mm and 3 mm, even more preferably between 0.6 mm and 2 mm, or most preferably between 0.6 mm and 1.5 mm. Alternatively or additionally, the thickness of the substrate element is greater than 1 mm, greater than 5 mm or greater than 10 mm. For example, the thickness of the substrate element can be from 1 mm to 50 mm, from 1 mm to 40 mm, from 1 mm to 30 mm, from 1 mm to 20 mm or from 1 mm to 15 mm. Furthermore, with the present invention, it is certainly possible to utilize only a few passes (i.e. relative displacement from the substrate element to the laser), for example 2 to 10 passes, but it is also certainly possible to separate the substrate element, or to prepare for this, with only one pass. This enables a very efficient process.

[0025] The method can generally be applied to transparent, brittle substrate elements such as glass, glass ceramics, silicon and sapphire, which makes the method particularly universally applicable.

[0026] In other words, in principle, the method according to the invention makes it possible to process the substrate elements in a first step by producing modifications such as perforations, i.e., for example tubular channels. In a further step, the glass elements can be separated by applying mechanical and / or thermal stresses in the material, or closed inner / outer contours can be produced. The inner contour is preferably produced by an etching process. However, in principle, it is also possible to produce the outer contour, for example, by subsequent etching. In general, the channels formed in the first step, for example by cracks or by removing material, are connected by the method used in the further step.

[0027] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in case of an asymmetric beam there is an asymmetric arrangement of parts of the beam, but of course several beam paths are generally not used for an asymmetric beam supply.

[0028] Here, it can be understood by those skilled in the art that the linear focus must be substantially formed within the substrate body. This includes the case where the linear focus is completely formed within the substrate body, that is, no linear focus is formed outside the substrate body. Then, the linear focus is preferably formed up to the surface of the substrate body within the substrate body, or the linear focus is formed at a certain distance from the corresponding surface within the substrate body, for example, a distance of at most 2 μm, at most 1 μm, or at most 0.5 μm. However, of course, it also includes the case where the linear focus is indeed formed within the substrate body but also extends outside the substrate body. In fact, this is actually the preferred case.

[0029] If substrate material of the substrate body is at least partially removed and / or displaced along the separation plane at least in sections, this is preferably done by a line focus. In other words, the line focus removes or displaces substrate material of the substrate body at least in sections along the separation plane by controlling the line focus within the substrate body.

[0030] In a preferred embodiment, the substrate element embodies or comprises a glass element in the form of a glass panel.

[0031] It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that if something happens "along" the separation plane, such as removal of substrate material of the substrate body, the separation plane does not necessarily have to be completely present at that point in time, since the separation plane is only completely formed after the substrate element is separated into two substrate sub-elements. This is the planned separation plane.

[0032] Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, the method may alternatively or additionally comprise the step of determining a planned separation plane of the substrate element.

[0033] All that is related to the separation plane in the substrate element that has not yet been separated is related to the planned separation plane. For example, controlling the line focus includes that substrate material of the substrate body is at least partially removed and / or displaced along the planned separation plane at least in sections.

[0034] With the proposed method, the contour of the crack line and therefore of the separation surface in the substrate material can be controlled particularly reliably. The required breaking force can also be reduced, which avoids further damage during breaking, since the individual cavities can be positioned closer to one another. The strength of the separation surface can also be increased, in particular since few or even no cracks are introduced by this method.

[0035] Alternatively or additionally, it may also be provided that, with an asymmetric light speed supply, (i) energy is provided in an asymmetric form and the energy is designed such that: in a region of the substrate material that has not been previously modified, for example, preferably on the side of the substrate material facing away from the previous cavity, the centroid of the energy distribution region lies in at least one plane perpendicular to the plane in which the light beam propagates; (ii) a partial beam of the light beam only enters from one half or a part of a half space; (iii) wherein the polar angle p of the light beam is 0° < p < 90°, and / or a partial beam of the light beam is within an azimuthal angle range of less than 180°, preferably between 85° and 100°, particularly between 90° and 95°; (iv) a partial beam of the light beam only enters from a selected direction such that the partial beam of the light beam does not propagate through a region where the substrate material in the substrate body has been removed and / or displaced and / or the substrate material has been compressed; (v) the light beam has at least one mirror plane parallel to the plane in which the light beam propagates; (vi) the term "asymmetric" should be understood as "non-rotationally symmetric", that is, in particular, other symmetry methods are not excluded; and / or (vii) in each plane parallel to at least one surface of the substrate element and / or in each plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the light beam, a partial beam of the light beam only enters from one quadrant or only from two quadrants.

[0036] If preferably the energy is supplied in an asymmetric form such that: in a region of the material that has not been previously modified, that is, on the side of the material facing away from the previous cavity, the centroid of the energy distribution region lies in a plane perpendicular to the direction of light beam propagation, then the linear focus can be particularly effectively prevented from being affected by the existing cavity.

[0037] Due to the asymmetric energy supply, that is, the asymmetric light beam supply, it can be achieved that: when viewed in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis, the laser energy no longer focuses along the focal line in a rotationally symmetric manner from all directions.

[0038] Therefore, the term "(not) from all directions" refers to the component in the transverse plane (i.e., in the plane perpendicular to the optical axis). The component along the optical axis always points in the propagation direction of the laser beam.

[0039] The polar angle p of both the Airy beam and the Bessel beam is 0° < p < 90°. Here, the polar direction is defined as the propagation direction of the centroid of the laser beam, or the polar axis is defined as parallel to the optical axis.

[0040] In the case of the Airy beam, the interval width of the azimuthal angle of the partial beam is less than 180°, for example, between 90° and 95°. Or in other words: when observed in polar coordinates, the azimuthal angle no longer covers 360°, that is, no longer covers all directions, but only covers a part of it.

[0041] In a preferred embodiment, there may be a curved focal line. In such cases, experts refer to an "accelerating beam".

[0042] The partial beam can extend in half of the half-space or in a portion of the half-space, which ensures that the partial beam always extends in a region of the material which remains untreated.

[0043] Preferably, for an asymmetric beam feed, the partial beams and their directions of incidence are viewed in a plane, wherein the plane preferably extends perpendicularly to the plane in which the beam propagation takes place.

[0044] Alternatively or additionally, it can also be provided that the light beam comprises at least one laser beam, that the light beam is formed as an Airy beam or a Bessel beam at least in the region of the linear focus, and / or that the laser energy is focused along the focal line of the linear focus.

[0045] Airy beams are particularly suitable for asymmetric / lateral beam feeding. Bessel beams are particularly suitable for symmetric / radial beam feeding.

[0046] Airy beams or Bessel beams can also be generated particularly easily and efficiently.

[0047] For example, a Gaussian beam can be used as a starting basis, which is then shaped into a Bessel beam by using appropriate optics (e.g., a conical lens).

[0048] A Gaussian beam can be used as the output beam of the Airy beam. A cubic phase is then applied to the Gaussian beam, for example with the aid of a phase mask such as a DOE or SLM or with the aid of a cylindrical lens. The beam with the cubic phase is then imaged, for example, using a microscope lens. In other words, the Airy beam can be obtained in the form of an image of a beam with a cubic phase, which is generated directly by the phase mask (DOE or SLM) or by a device with a cylindrical lens. In other words or in other words, the Airy beam is generated here in the form of a Fourier transform of a cubic phase. In order to form a Fourier transform with a planar phase, i.e. in order to achieve optimal propagation before and after the Fourier plane, the cubic phase is preferably imparted in the "front focal plane", i.e. the focal plane in front of the imaging optics. The Fourier plane corresponds to the back focal plane of the imaging optics.

[0049] Alternatively or additionally, it may also be provided that controlling the linear focus comprises: successively forming a linear focus in different local areas of the substrate material, whereby the substrate material in each of these local areas is removed and / or displaced respectively, in particular the substrate material is compressed into a part of the substrate body surrounding each local area; wherein preferably each local area extends along a straight path, in particular in at least one first specific cross-section of the substrate element, the first specific cross-section preferably being a plane extending perpendicular to the separation surface, perpendicular to the optical axis of the light beam and / or parallel to at least one first surface of the substrate element.

[0050] By selecting different local areas of the substrate material for forming the line-shaped focus, the contour and structure of the perforation can be determined in a targeted manner. In particular, this allows the selection of discrete locations within the substrate body or substrate material at which the perforation is to be formed.

[0051] In order to form a straight separating surface, the individual partial regions can be selected such that they extend along a straight path.

[0052] Here, it will be understood by a person skilled in the art that, in principle, the local area of ​​substrate material may be larger than the area occupied by the line focus in the substrate material. The local area is determined by the removal and / or displacement of substrate material by the line focus in this area. For example, substrate material may be displaced mainly within the substrate body and substrate material may be removed mainly in the surface area of ​​the substrate body.

[0053] Alternatively or additionally, it can also be provided that the linear focus and / or the local area are selected so that the maximum extension size of the local area in the first specific cross section is between 0.2μm and 200μm, preferably between 0.2μm and 100μm, more preferably between 0.2μm and 50μm, even more preferably between 0.3μm and 20μm, even more preferably between 0.3μm and 10μm, and most preferably 0.7μm.

[0054] If the extent of the partial region and therefore of the region from which material is removed or displaced is suitably chosen, a particularly advantageous perforation line can be obtained for subsequent separation, for example by mechanical breaking.

[0055] Alternatively or additionally, it can also be provided that the center-to-center distance of adjacent local areas in the first specific cross-section, in particular along the above-mentioned path, corresponds to between 1 and 500 times, preferably between 1 and 100 times, more preferably between 1 and 50 times, even more preferably between 1 and 10 times, more preferably between 1 and 50 times, even more preferably between 1 and 10 times, even more preferably between 1.1 and 5 times, and / or the center-to-center distance is between 0.1μm and 500μm, preferably between 0.2μm and 400μm, even more preferably between 0.2μm and 200μm, even more preferably between 0.2μm and 100μm, even more preferably between 0.2μm and 50μm, more preferably between 0.4μm and 20μm, even more preferably between 1μm and 7μm, and most preferably between 1μm and 3μm.

[0056] By selecting the distance between adjacent partial areas according to the extent of the partial areas, particularly low forces are sufficient to separate the substrate elements. This produces particularly low additional damage to the substrate material. This in turn supports a particularly high strength of the separation surface. However, by specifying the distance as an absolute term, particularly advantageous separation properties can be achieved.

[0057] Alternatively or additionally, it may also be provided that controlling the linear focus comprises: successively generating linear focuses in different effective areas of the substrate element, in particular in the substrate body, so that the substrate material arranged in these effective areas is removed and / or displaced, in particular the substrate material is compressed into a part of the substrate body surrounding the respective effective areas, and wherein the distance between the respective effective areas is selected so that at least adjacent effective areas at least partially overlap, thereby forming a continuous channel free of substrate material in the substrate material along the separation surface; wherein preferably the respective effective area, in particular in at least one second specific cross-section of the substrate element, extends along a straight path, and the second specific cross-section is preferably a plane extending perpendicular to the separation surface, perpendicular to the optical axis of the light beam and / or parallel to at least one second surface of the substrate element.

[0058] By similarly nesting different active areas to form a linear focus, and since the entire substrate material present in the active area is removed or displaced, respectively, it is even possible to separate the substrate elements directly along the separation plane. This makes an additional mechanical breaking step unnecessary.

[0059] In order to form a straight separating surface, the individual active regions can be selected such that they extend along a straight path.

[0060] The aforementioned "channels" advantageously allow both inner and outer parts to be separated. This means that inner parts can also be removed from the substrate. For example, a circular opening can be removed from a (cubic) substrate so that a hole is formed in the substrate. Depending on whether the hole is an inner or outer contour, mechanical breaking and / or etching can be used. Especially for inner contours, mechanical breaking cannot usually be used.

[0061] Here, it can be understood by those skilled in the art that the effective area can generally be larger than the area occupied by the linear focus. The effective area is determined based on the fact that the substrate material is removed or displaced in the area by the linear focus. Accordingly, it is obvious that each effective area does not have to be completely filled with substrate material, but only the substrate material contained therein is removed or displaced.

[0062] In one embodiment, the second specific cross-section of the substrate element is the same as the first specific cross-section of the substrate element.

[0063] In one embodiment, the second surface of the substrate element is the same as the first surface of the substrate element.

[0064] Alternatively or additionally, it can also be provided that the linear focus and / or the effective area are selected so that the maximum extension size of the effective area in the second specific cross section is between 0.2μm and 200μm, preferably between 0.2μm and 100μm, more preferably between 0.2μm and 50μm, even more preferably between 0.3μm and 20μm, even more preferably between 0.3μm and 10μm, and most preferably 0.7μm.

[0065] If the extent of the active regions, ie the regions in which material is removed or displaced, is chosen appropriately, the "channels" can be pushed forward particularly effectively through the substrate material. The larger the individual active regions are chosen, the fewer the number of nested active regions that are necessary.

[0066] Alternatively or additionally, it can also be provided that the center-to-center distance of each adjacent effective area in the second specific cross-section, in particular along the path, corresponds to between 0.01 and 1.0 times, preferably between 0.01 and 0.5 times, the maximum extension dimension of the effective area in the second specific cross-section, and / or the center-to-center distance is between 0.002μm and 200μm, preferably between 0.002μm and 100μm, more preferably between 0.002μm and 50μm, even more preferably between 0.002μm and 10μm, even more preferably between 0.002μm and 1μm, and most preferably between 0.005μm and 0.3μm.

[0067] By selecting the distance between adjacent active areas according to the extension size of the active areas, channels can be formed within an optimized processing time. In addition, a particularly high strength of the separation surface can be achieved in this way. However, by specifying an absolute term for the distance, particularly advantageous separation properties can be achieved.

[0068] Alternatively or additionally, it can also be provided that at least the local area and / or the effective area extends in a segmented manner in the substrate material in a tubular, cylindrical and / or curved shape, in particular in a crescent shape in at least one cross section, and / or preferably extends from the first or second surface of the substrate body to the surface of the substrate body opposite to this surface, extending through the entire thickness range of the substrate body enclosed by the two surfaces.

[0069] In a preferred embodiment, the active region and / or the partial region extends in a direction parallel to the separating surface and / or perpendicular to a main extension direction of the separating surface and / or of the path.

[0070] In a preferred embodiment, a local tangent line of the active area and / or of the partial area lies in a plane defined by the curved line focus.

[0071] Alternatively or additionally, it may also be provided that controlling the linear focus comprises moving a substrate element relative to at least one light beam and / or the linear focus so that a linear focus can preferably be formed at least in different local areas and / or effective areas, in particular sequentially or continuously.

[0072] Since the substrate element is moved relative to the light beam, a line focus can be formed in the respective partial area and / or active area in a particularly simple and reliable manner. Thus, although the apparatus and optics required for generating the light beam can be changed in principle, they do not have to be changed. Thus, after each relative movement of the substrate element, a line focus can be similarly re-formed, which is located each time in a new partial area or active area due to the movement of the substrate element. Alternatively, it is also possible to continuously form the line focus while the substrate element is moved relative to each other. This variant is preferably suitable for forming a channel, that is to say for completely separating the substrate elements.

[0073] In a preferred embodiment, the geometry of the light beam is repositioned and / or adjusted.

[0074] Those skilled in the art know that it is not possible to continuously form a linear focus in the case of a pulsed laser, but in the sense of the present invention, a linear focus formed using such a laser can be formed "continuously at different local areas and / or effective areas." Therefore, this means that the position where the linear focus is formed changes continuously.

[0075] Alternatively or additionally, it may also be provided that the light beam (i) has a wavelength between 300 nm and 1500 nm, in particular a wavelength of 343 nm, 355 nm, 515 nm, 532 nm, 1030 nm or 1064 nm, (ii) has a wavelength within the transparency range of the substrate material, and / or (iii) is emitted from at least one pulsed laser, in particular an ultrashort pulsed laser, whose pulse duration is between 200 fs and 50 ps, ​​preferably between 500 fs and 10 ps; whose number of pulses in a pulse train is between 1 and 10, preferably 4; whose repetition frequency is between 1 kHz and 4 GHz, preferably 40 MHz; and / or whose pulse energy is between 80 μJ / mm and 300 μJ / mm, preferably 100-230 μJ / mm, in particular 180 μJ / mm.

[0076] The line-shaped focus can be formed in a particularly robust and reliable manner using preferred parameters of the light beam or laser beam.

[0077] The high power density of USP lasers means that nonlinear effects of the substrate material can be exploited. In particular, the focus effect can be used, allowing for smaller cavities.

[0078] The pulse train is characterized in that, in a short time, for example, in a time window of less than 1 μs, preferably less than 0.1 μs or even less than 0.01 μs, several pulses follow one another, wherein the interval between two pulses is less than 50 ns. Generally, these pulses can also each have the same energy, in particular the pulse peak power.

[0079] Alternatively or additionally, it may also be provided that: at least when the substrate material is removed and / or displaced, the substrate element is at least partially surrounded and / or surrounded in a segmented manner by at least one fluid, and / or the substrate element is at least partially and / or in a segmented manner placed in the fluid, so that the fluid can take up the position of the removed or displaced substrate material; wherein preferably the light beam comprises at least one wavelength, the refractive index of the fluid for the wavelength of the light beam deviates by at most 30% from the refractive index of the substrate body, and / or the refractive index of the fluid is between 1.2 and 2.5; in particular the fluid comprises a liquid, the refractive index of the fluid deviates by at most 20%, 10%, 7%, 5%, 3% or 1% from the refractive index of the substrate body, and / or the refractive index of the fluid is between 1.2 and 2.1, preferably between 1.3 and 1.6.

[0080] It has been found that the observed increase in applied breaking force with decreasing distance between individual cavities may also be related to the fact that the formation of one cavity may result in the filling of a previously formed adjacent cavity with substrate material. This may be due to melting and resolidification of the substrate material, or the substrate material being compressed into the substrate body (or into the walls between adjacent cavities) when forming a new cavity and there being pressed into the adjacent cavity.

[0081] Due to the presence of fluid in the existing cavities, it is possible to successfully prevent these cavities from being completely or partially filled again with substrate material when new cavities are formed in the vicinity of these cavities. Since the fluid is incompressible, the existing cavities are obviously mechanically stabilized by the fluid. This effectively prevents the substrate material from being pressed into the existing cavities if new cavities are formed nearby. In other words, a reaction force is exerted on the material between the cavity being formed and the previous cavity.

[0082] Furthermore, by preventing the new cavity from being reduced by the previous cavity, it is observed that the prestressing of the edge of the separation surface is increased, resulting in a higher edge stability. The inventors explain this effect in that, since during the formation of the cavity, the material is increasingly pressed into the wall surrounding the cavity rather than into the adjacent cavity, radial compressive stress is exerted on the compacted wall. In the separated substrate sub-element, this then corresponds to a compression zone parallel to the separation surface, i.e. a compressive stress zone.

[0083] At the same time, the inventors have also found that surface effects in, for example, laser processes can be prevented or at least reduced by using a fluid. That is, when the surface of the substrate element is wetted by the fluid or the substrate element is entirely in the fluid, the threshold intensity for plasma ignition on the substrate surface is optimized. This greatly improves the homogeneity of the cavity over its entire length.

[0084] In addition, the fluid in the cavity can help to further reduce any possible further influence of the adjacent cavity on the linear focus. The closer the refractive index of the selected fluid is to that of the substrate material, the better the effect. The inventors suspect that the reason for this is that, with the right refractive index, there is less or even no energy loss at the interface.

[0085] If a fluid is present and fills the active area, for example, refraction and / or scattering of partial beams of the light beam on the free surface of the previous active area or the area near the linear focus can be significantly reduced. This allows the separation surface to be realized in a more targeted manner.

[0086] The use of a fluid is particularly effective when the refractive index is equal to or close to that of the substrate material.

[0087] Alternatively or additionally, it may also be provided that: (i) the substrate element comprises or is in the form of a glass element, a glass ceramic element, a silicon element and / or a sapphire element, and / or is formed at least in a segmented manner in the form of a plate and / or a wafer, in particular a silicon wafer; (ii) the substrate body comprises or is in the form of a glass body, a glass ceramic body, a silicon body and / or a sapphire body; and / or (iii) the substrate material comprises or consists of the following materials: glass, glass ceramic, silicon and / or sapphire.

[0088] According to the second aspect of the present invention, the object is achieved in the following way: a substrate sub-element is proposed, which is particularly manufactured using and / or can be manufactured using the method according to the first aspect of the present invention, and the substrate sub-element includes at least one main body, which includes at least one glass material, glass ceramic material and / or silicon, and has at least one side; wherein the side has a height-adjusted surface at least in a segmented manner; wherein the side has a surface roughness at least in a segmented manner so that the deviation of the surface caused by the surface roughness is 1 to 5 orders of magnitude smaller than the deviation of the surface caused by the height adjustment.

[0089] The invention is therefore based on the surprising finding that a high strength of the side surface can be achieved by similarly artificially introducing small irregularities. The inventors have recognized that a height adjustment leads to a stabilization of the side surface and also to an increase in the edge strength.

[0090] The inventors explain the reason for this positive behavior as: due to the height adjustment, a positive stress characteristic occurs in the body, which helps to increase the overall strength.

[0091] Those skilled in the art understand that in a preferred embodiment, the height or adjustment of the surface may extend in a direction perpendicular to the main extension direction of the surface.

[0092] Alternatively or additionally, it can also be provided that the height adjustment of the surface exhibits a wavy surface and / or the deviation of the surface caused by the height adjustment falls within a predetermined value range, in particular within a value range from 0.5μm to 100μm, preferably within a value range from 0.5μm to 50μm.

[0093] If the height adjustment of the surface results in undulations in the surface, particularly high strength values ​​can be achieved there.

[0094] The preferred range of values ​​can achieve a preferred high strength. It goes without saying that the above deviation describes the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the height.

[0095] Alternatively or additionally, it may also be provided that: (i) the above-mentioned side has a roughness depth RZ at least in a segmented manner, preferably an average roughness depth RZ, whose value is between 0.01 μm and 30 μm, preferably between 0.05 μm and 10 μm, and more preferably between 0.05 μm and 5 μm; (ii) the surface roughness is an average surface roughness; (iii) the deviation of the above-mentioned surface caused by the roughness depth is 1 to 5 orders of magnitude smaller than the deviation of the surface caused by height adjustment, preferably 2 or 3 orders of magnitude smaller; and / or (iv) the deviation of the surface caused by the surface roughness is 2 or 3 orders of magnitude smaller than the deviation of the surface caused by height adjustment.

[0096] Analogously to the height adjustment, a surface roughness or a roughness depth which is as low as possible has proven to be particularly advantageous for high strength, thereby resulting in a particularly stable and therefore easy-to-use substrate subelement.

[0097] Clearly, surface roughness and height adjustment belong to different scales, specifically, scales that differ by 1 to 5 orders of magnitude.

[0098] Alternatively or additionally, it can also be provided that the above-mentioned side is prestressed at least in sections, and / or along this side, the edge strength of the substrate sub-element, in particular the edge strength of the main body is greater than 100 MPa, preferably greater than 150 MPa, and / or the edge strength is variable or constant over the entire side.

[0099] Alternatively or additionally, it can also be provided that: the side is flat and / or curved, in particular on a macroscopic scale; in particular, preferably in at least one cross section perpendicular to the side, the side has a parabolic and / or circular profile and / or a profile according to a quartic equation, at least in sections.

[0100] Particularly advantageously, in the case of a curved side surface, forces acting on the side surface can be transferred, thereby increasing the stability of the side surface. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0101] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be described hereinafter, in which preferred embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings.

[0102] In the attached picture:

[0103] FIG. 1 a shows a top view of a processed substrate body in the prior art.

[0104] FIG. 1 b shows a cross-sectional view of a processed substrate body in the prior art.

[0105] Figure 2a A top view of a first substrate element is shown.

[0106] Figure 2b A cross-sectional view of a first substrate element is shown.

[0107] Figure 3a A top view of a second substrate element is shown, wherein the light beam is in a first configuration according to the prior art.

[0108] Figure 3b A top view of the second substrate element is shown, with the light beam in a second configuration.

[0109] Figure 4a A top view of a third substrate element is shown, with the light beams in a third configuration according to the prior art.

[0110] Figure 4b A top view of the third substrate element is shown, with the light beam in a fourth configuration.

[0111] Figure 5a showing a first cross-sectional view of a ray tracing model of an Airy beam in a first cross-section; and

[0112] Figure 5b A second cross-sectional view of the ray tracing model of the Airy beam in a second cross-section is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0113] Example

[0114] Figure 2a A top view of a rectangular disk-shaped first substrate element 101 (eg a glass element) is shown. The first substrate element 101 comprises a substrate body 103 (eg a glass body) comprising a substrate material, such as glass.

[0115] Figure 2b Perpendicular to Figure 2a The cross-sectional view extending from the top view shows the first substrate element 101 .

[0116] In order to prepare the first substrate member 101 so as to be able to Figure 2bThe method according to the invention provides that a linear focus 107 is controlled in a substrate body 103 so that the substrate material of the substrate body 103 is at least partially removed and / or displaced in a segmented manner along the defined separation plane. To this end, linear focuses 107 are successively formed in different local areas of the substrate material, thereby removing or displacing the substrate material of these local areas respectively. The local area corresponds to the area of ​​the cavity 105 in the previous substrate material. However, in the case where the material is not removed or displaced, the substrate body 103 may be modified, in particular damaged, around the cavity 105, for example, these may be changes in the refractive index.

[0117] exist Figure 2a In the plane of the graph, adjacent local regions have a center-to-center distance from each other that is greater than the maximum extension size of the local regions in the plane of the graph.

[0118] Thus, the linear focus 107 is formed by a laser beam, which in turn is formed in the region of the linear focus in the form of a beam with an asymmetric beam supply. With this asymmetric beam supply, the partial beam 109 of the light beam is incident only from selected directions, so that the partial beam 109 of the light beam does not propagate through regions in the substrate body 103 where substrate material has been removed and / or displaced and / or where substrate material has been compressed. In other words, in Figure 2a and Figure 2b In FIG. 1 , since the perforations are formed from left to right, part of the light beam 109 is incident only from the right side.

[0119] The wavelength of the laser beam is 1030 nm, which is within the transparent range of the substrate main body 103, and the laser beam is generated by an ultrashort pulse laser having a pulse length of 1 ps.

[0120] In one embodiment, the first substrate element 101 may be surrounded by a fluid while the substrate material is removed or displaced. Figure 2a and 2b (not shown) so that the fluid can take up the position of the removed or displaced substrate material. This means that once the substrate material is removed or displaced, the fluid can already take up its position. As a result, Figure 2a and 2b The cavity 105 shown will also be completely filled with fluid.

[0121] Therefore, in the present invention, an asymmetric beam supply is particularly advantageous. This is particularly evident in the presence of large-area lateral disturbances and / or refractive index differences. The asymmetric beam supply allows the part of the beam that forms the focus to be unaffected by such disturbances or refractive index differences, or to be affected only to a small extent.

[0122] For example, the invention may be used advantageously to remove material and / or displace substrate elements in the vicinity of a transition between two refractive indices.

[0123] refer to Figure 3a , 3b , 4a and 4b, the advantages of the proposed method compared with the conventional implementation are explained by considering different configurations of the beam in different situations.

[0124] to this end, Figure 3a and 3b Each shows a top view of the same second substrate element 201. The second substrate element 201 comprises a substrate body 203 (eg a glass body) comprising a substrate material, such as glass.

[0125] The substrate material of the substrate body 203 is locally removed and / or displaced, for example in order to prepare for the separation of the substrate element 201. To this end, a line focus 205 is formed in the glass material using a light beam so as to form a cavity in the substrate material. The line focus 205 is perpendicular to the Figure 3a and 3b The plane of the figure in FIG. 2 extends and is located near the edge 207 of the substrate element 201.

[0126] The edge 207 appears as a region between two refractive indices (at Figure 3a and 3b The transition portion is from the refractive index of the substrate material to the refractive index of the medium surrounding the substrate element 201).

[0127] exist Figure 3a In the embodiment, the beam is in a first configuration, which comprises a conventional beam supply with a linear focus 205 according to the prior art. Here, the linear focus 205 is formed by a partial beam 209, which (at Figure 3a ) from all directions. Therefore, some partial beams, namely Figure 3a Those light beams, shown as dashed lines, extend at least partially outside the substrate element 201. Since the refractive index changes at the edge 207, this can make the formation of the focus 205 more difficult, or even prevent the formation of the focus 205 altogether.

[0128] Here, the term "from all directions" refers to the components in the transverse plane (i.e. in the plane perpendicular to the optical axis). The components along the optical axis always point in the propagation direction of the laser beam. Or in other words: when viewed in polar coordinates, the azimuthal angles cover 360°, i.e. all directions, and the polar angles move within the focusing cone (as the maximum extension dimension) specified by the axicon.

[0129] exist Figure 3bIn the embodiment of the present invention, the beam is in a second configuration, which comprises an asymmetric beam supply according to the invention. The linear focus 205 is formed by a partial beam 209, which is formed by a partial beam 209 (in Figure 3b The plane of the diagram is incident only from a specific direction. Figure 3b The partial beam 209 of the case shown in FIG. 2 extends completely in the substrate element 201. This supports the formation of the focus 205 in a particularly effective manner. Thus, the asymmetric beam feed enables a stable focus to be formed near the edge 207.

[0130] The invention can also be used advantageously, for example, for removing material and / or displacing substrate elements in the vicinity of large-area lateral disturbances.

[0131] Figure 4a and 4b Each shows a top view of the same third substrate element 301. The third substrate element 301 comprises a substrate body 303 (eg a glass body) comprising a substrate material, such as glass.

[0132] The substrate material of the substrate body 303 is to be locally removed and / or displaced. To this end, a line focus 305 is formed in the glass material using a light beam so as to form a cavity in the substrate material. The line focus 305 is perpendicular to the Figure 4a and 4b 3 and is located in the vicinity of a perturbation 307 of the substrate element 301. The perturbation 307 here represents several modifications introduced into the substrate body 303, for example in the form of a change in the refractive index and / or a change in the removed glass material.

[0133] exist Figure 4a In FIG. 1 , the beam is shown in a third configuration, which comprises a conventional beam supply according to the prior art with a linear focus 305. The linear focus 305 is formed by a partial beam 309, which is formed by a linear focus 305. Figure 4a ) from all directions. Therefore, some partial beams, namely Figure 4a Those light beams shown with dashed lines in FIG. 3 at least partially propagate through the interference portion 307. This may make the formation of the focus 305 more difficult, or may even completely prevent the formation of the focus 305.

[0134] exist Figure 4b In FIG. 1 , the beams are shown in a fourth configuration, which comprises an asymmetric beam supply according to the invention. Here, the linear focus 305 is formed by a partial beam 309, which is formed by a partial beam 309 (in Figure 4b The incident light is incident only from a certain direction. Figure 4bIn the plane of the diagram of FIG. , the partial beam propagates only in the upper right quadrant. The partial beam 309 propagates in such a way that it does not propagate through the perturbation 307. This supports the formation of the focus 305 in a particularly effective manner. Thus, the asymmetric beam supply enables a stable focus to be formed near the perturbation 307.

[0135] In particular, in the case of densely placed many interference parts 307, such as the mentioned modification, the influence of the partial beam 309, in particular the influence of the shielding form, is very significant. Accordingly, in this case, an asymmetric beam supply is particularly advantageous. A special case of this application is the intersection of two lines, in particular a T-shaped intersection. Or in other words, the intersection of the modification extending along two lines. By appropriately selecting the beam supply, the present invention can also be preferably used for this purpose.

[0136] Thus, the first and third configurations respectively illustrate beams used in the prior art, and the associated disadvantages. These disadvantages can be overcome by selecting a beam according to the configurations of the invention, such as the second and fourth configurations.

[0137] Figure 5a A first cross-sectional view of a ray tracing model of an Airy beam at a first cross-section is shown. The first cross-section extends parallel to the separation plane of a hypothetical (e.g. cubic) substrate element. This means that the separation plane is located in the xz plane (at y=0) and intersects the complete curved focus. Figure 5a In the example, the linear focus has a maximum intensity in the region around its center, i.e. the point (x=0; z=0). The local regions or active regions correspond to the curved focus and also extend in a curved manner. In the case of the method according to the invention, adjacent local regions or active regions follow one another in the positive x direction.

[0138] Figure 5b A second cross-sectional view of the ray tracing model of the Airy beam in a second cross-section is shown. The second cross-section is perpendicular to the first cross-section and can be, for example, a surface of a hypothetical (cubic) substrate element or a plane extending parallel thereto within the substrate element. In the method according to the invention, adjacent local / active areas follow successively in the positive x-direction. Figure 5b The second cross section shown in the figure may be, for example, the first and / or second specific cross section according to the present invention. It is conceivable that both the first and second specific cross sections correspond to Figure 5b For example, it may be desirable that in the first or second specific cross section, i.e., in Figure 5b In the second cross section, adjacent partial areas or effective areas have a certain center-to-center distance between each other.

[0139] In the area around the point (x=0; y=0), Figure 5b The cross section in intersects the linear focus of the laser beam. In addition, in the region of positive x values, lateral partial beams of the laser beam can be seen. Figure 5b It can also be seen in FIG. 1 that the Airy beam has no lateral component towards negative x values. On the contrary, the method according to the invention supplies the beam in an asymmetric manner, that is, Figure 5b In the case of , the beam is supplied only from the portion of the half-space with a positive x-value. Therefore, when the line focus is relatively moved in the positive x-axis direction, no portion of the beam appears in the region of the previous cavity.

[0140] As mentioned above, with respect to the beam supply or energy supply, the term "asymmetric" in the present application should be understood as "non-rotationally symmetric". This means that other symmetries are not excluded. For example, the Airy beam described herein has mirrors parallel to the xz plane, such as Figure 5b shown.

[0141] The features disclosed in the above description, the claims and the drawings may be essential in various embodiments of the invention, both individually and in combination.

[0142] Reference numerals list

[0143] 1 substrate components

[0144] 3Substrate body

[0145] 5 Cavity

[0146] 7 Focus

[0147] 9 Partial Beam

[0148] 101 substrate components

[0149] 103 substrate body

[0150] 105 Cavity

[0151] 107 Focus

[0152] 109 Partial Beam

[0153] 201 substrate components

[0154] 203 substrate body

[0155] 205 Focus

[0156] 207 Edge

[0157] 209 Partial Beam

[0158] 301 substrate components

[0159] 303 substrate main body

[0160] 305 Focus

[0161] 307 Interference Department

[0162] 309 Partial Beam

Claims

1. A substrate subcomponent comprising at least one substrate body (103), the substrate body (103) comprising at least one glass material, glass ceramic material and / or silicon and having at least one side; wherein the side surface has a height-adjusted surface at least in sections; The side surface has a surface roughness at least in sections, so that the deviation of the surface caused by the surface roughness is 1 to 5 orders of magnitude smaller than the deviation of the surface caused by the height adjustment, wherein the side surface is flat and / or curved, and the side surface has a parabolic and / or circular profile and / or a profile according to a quartic equation at least in sections. 2 . The substrate sub-element according to claim 1 , wherein the height adjustment of the surface exhibits a wave-like surface, and / or a deviation of the surface caused by the height adjustment falls within a predetermined value range. 3 . The substrate sub-element according to claim 1 , wherein the height adjustment of the surface is manifested as a wavy surface, and / or the deviation of the surface caused by the height adjustment falls within a value range of 0.5 μm to 100 μm. 4 . The substrate sub-element according to claim 1 , wherein the height adjustment of the surface is manifested as a wavy surface, and / or the deviation of the surface caused by the height adjustment falls within a value range of 0.5 μm to 50 μm.

5. The substrate sub-element according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein (i) the side surface has, at least in sections, an average roughness depth RZ, the value of which is between 0.01 μm and 30 μm; (ii) the surface roughness is an average surface roughness; (iii) the side surface has, at least in sections, an average roughness depth RZ, the deviation of the surface caused by the average roughness depth being 1 to 5 orders of magnitude smaller than the deviation of the surface caused by the height adjustment; and / or (iv) The deviation of the surface caused by the surface roughness is 2 or 3 orders of magnitude smaller than the deviation of the surface caused by the height adjustment. 6 . The substrate sub-element according to claim 5 , wherein i) the side surface has, at least in sections, an average roughness depth RZ with a value between 0.05 μm and 10 μm.

7. The substrate sub-element according to claim 5, wherein i) the side surface has, at least in sections, an average roughness depth RZ with a value between 0.05 μm and 5 μm.

8. The substrate subelement of claim 5, wherein the deviation of the surface caused by the average roughness depth is 2 or 3 orders of magnitude smaller than the deviation of the surface caused by the height adjustment.

9. A substrate sub-element according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the side is prestressed at least in a segmented manner, and / or the edge strength of the substrate sub-element along the side is greater than 100 MPa, and / or the edge strength is variable or constant across the side.

10. The substrate sub-element according to claim 9, wherein the side surface is prestressed at least in sections and / or along the side surface the edge strength of the substrate body (103) is greater than 100 MPa.

11. The substrate subelement according to claim 9, wherein the side surface is prestressed at least in sections and / or along the side surface the substrate subelement has an edge strength of greater than 150 MPa.

12. The substrate sub-element of claim 1, wherein the side surfaces are flat and / or curved on a macroscopic scale.

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