Method for patterning surface of substrate body and substrate body

Abstract

To provide a method for preparing and / or carrying out patterning of the surface of a substrate body to reliably form a planned surface in the substrate body.SOLUTION: A method comprises exposing a substrate material 1 in at least one curved effective area 7a, 7b, and 7c to an electromagnetic field which in each of the at least one curved effective area causes a non-linear interaction between the electromagnetic field and the substrate material, and thus at least partially influencing the substrate material arranged in the curved effective area, where after the patterning of the distinguished surface, the distinguished surface comprises at least in certain areas at least one first curved profile which is at least partially determined and / or influenced by the curved shape of the at least one curved effective area, and where the nonlinear interaction causes at least one nonlinear absorption of the electromagnetic field in the substrate material 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for preparing and / or performing patterning of a surface of a substrate body.The present invention further relates to a substrate body.

[0002] prior art In order to process the starting substrate so that a predetermined surface such as a separation plane is formed, separation processes are known in the prior art, such as scratching and breaking, wheel cutting, laser-assisted thermal separation, i.e., mechanically damaging the substrate and inducing cracks by thermal stress fields in the material, as well as laser-assisted perforation separation, i.e., by filamentation along a contour followed by mechanical or thermal separation along the perforations.

[0003] However, these methods have the drawback that the desired target surface is often not achieved, sometimes due to pre-damage intentionally introduced into the substrate material, which cannot be adequately controlled.

[0004] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to ensure that a predetermined surface can be formed on a substrate body.

[0005] Description of the invention This problem is solved according to the invention in a first aspect by a method for preparing and / or carrying out the patterning of a defined or predeterminable characterized surface of a substrate body comprising a substrate material, the method comprising: The method includes exposing substrate material in at least one curved region of action to an electromagnetic field that causes a nonlinear interaction between the electromagnetic field and the substrate material in each of the at least one curved region of action, thereby at least partially affecting the substrate material disposed in the curved region of action; After patterning the characterized surface, the characterized surface has, at least in part area, at least one first curved profile that is at least partially determined and / or influenced by the curved shape of the at least one curved active area; The nonlinear interaction is solved by proposing that it causes at least one nonlinear absorption of the electromagnetic field in the substrate material.

[0006] This method is based on the surprising fact that the spatial extent of the electromagnetic field, and therefore the shape of the individual curved areas of action, can be used to predefine a predetermined surface, at least in its basic profile.

[0007] That is, the substrate material is exposed to an electromagnetic field, and in at least one region of the electromagnetic field, which is curved, a nonlinear interaction occurs between the electromagnetic field and the substrate material, resulting in the substrate material being at least partially affected in this curved region, referred to as the curved region of action.

[0008] Here, affected areas of the substrate material can be understood to mean, for example, volumetric modifications in the substrate material, which types of modifications can include cracks, cavities and / or changes in the structure of the substrate material, which in particular result in faster etching away (compared to unaffected substrate material).

[0009] In this case, for example, there may also be an interface between the affected and unaffected substrate material, which corresponds to the surface of the curved area of ​​action. This interface may extend entirely or partially into the substrate material. If a cavity is created by the nonlinear interaction, the interface may correspond to the surface of the cavity.

[0010] The unaffected substrate material therefore has a complementary shape to the curved active area, or in other words, the unaffected substrate material locally has a surface which interacts in a form-fitting manner with the surface of the affected area.

[0011] This surface of the unaffected substrate material can be exposed and / or further processed to provide a characterized surface while maintaining the imparted profile.

[0012] The spatial formation of curved regions of action is highly flexible due to the corresponding shape of the regions where the electromagnetic field can interact nonlinearly with the substrate material. Therefore, by controlling the regions of nonlinear interaction via the electromagnetic field, curved regions of action can be defined and controlled. As a result, characterized surfaces can be patterned not only outside the substrate body, but also entirely or partially within the substrate body.

[0013] In one embodiment, the nonlinear interaction is achieved by the electromagnetic field having an intensity that, at least in part, results in a nonlinear interaction with the substrate material, where the curved area of ​​action is in a volume region where there is a corresponding high intensity.

[0014] For example, the curved active area may be formed completely within the substrate, or may extend from at least one surface of the substrate into the substrate body, where the curved active area may extend to the other surface of the substrate body. Alternatively or additionally, the curved active area may intersect with another surface of the (unpatterned) substrate body, such as a side surface. The latter is particularly useful when it is desired to pattern the side surface of the substrate body. In this case, the curved active area may be formed within the substrate material so as to intersect, for example, three side surfaces of the unpatterned substrate body.

[0015] This method therefore makes it possible to particularly easily and efficiently prepare and / or carry out the patterning of a predetermined surface as a characterized surface of a substrate body, whereby the shape of the affected substrate material can be chosen almost arbitrarily: only a correspondingly shaped electromagnetic field needs to be provided, or can be provided, to which the substrate material is (locally) exposed and which can interact nonlinearly.

[0016] The term "patterning a characterized surface" is generally understood to mean creating a surface on a substrate body that did not exist prior to the modification. Patterning can be achieved, for example, by manipulating an existing surface to ultimately remove substrate material in the surface region of the existing surface, thereby creating a new surface as the characterized surface. Patterning can also be achieved, for example, by separating a portion of the substrate material from the substrate body along a predetermined surface, thus exposing a new surface as the characterized surface. Of course, there can be a smooth transition between still manipulating the existing surface and already separating a portion of the substrate material.

[0017] However, this difference is not essential in the following respect, since in both cases the shape of the curved area of ​​action influences the substrate material of the substrate body in order to (partially) determine or influence the interface profile between the affected and unaffected substrate material and thus the profile of a predetermined or characterized surface.

[0018] Therefore, the material to be removed to pattern the characterized surface can be removed from the original substrate body in a form other than powder. This method is also applicable to rooms requiring high cleanliness, such as clean rooms. For example, powders with particle sizes less than 10 nm exist.

[0019] In one embodiment, material is removed from the original substrate body to pattern the characterized surface.

[0020] In one embodiment, the material removed from the original substrate body to pattern the characterized surface is removed in whole or at least in part as a continuous piece of material from the original substrate body.

[0021] In this case, various types of characterized surfaces can be patterned, which makes it possible to provide substrate bodies suitable for a variety of uses.

[0022] For example, a nonlinear interaction can be induced only in one curved region of action. In this case, the substrate material is only affected in that region. For example, the affected substrate material can then be completely confined within the substrate material and not appear on the surface of the substrate body. Alternatively, the affected substrate material can appear on one or more surfaces of the substrate body, particularly two opposing surfaces. In this case, the affected substrate material extends from one surface to at least the other surface.

[0023] For example, nonlinear interactions can also be generated in a plurality of curved action areas, in each case influencing the substrate material, where the individual curved action areas can be, for example, consecutive, where the curved action areas can in each case be offset relative to one another and / or rotated around the main axis of the respective action area.

[0024] When a substrate material is affected in a curved area of ​​action, the shape of the curved area of ​​action (partially) determines or influences the first profile of the characterized surface. This is evident from the fact that the substrate material is affected in a curved volumetric area. The curved volumetric area has a surface that simultaneously interfaces with the unaffected substrate material. The surface area of ​​the unaffected substrate material and the surface area of ​​the volumetric area are exactly complementary (negative) to each other. Therefore, the shape of the curved area of ​​action can co-determine or influence the surface area of ​​the unaffected substrate material. As a result, the characterized surface is (partially) determined or influenced by the curved shape of the area of ​​action.

[0025] This method can optionally be carried out with further measures so that, overall, the characterized surface area is free of or only slightly susceptible to micro-cracks, resulting in a high initial strength of the characterized surface and therefore a very durable patterned substrate body.

[0026] This method does not require the application of mechanical stress when separating portions of the substrate material. Therefore, for example, the substrate body can be separated into two pieces or a recess can be removed from the substrate body without applying mechanical stress. Therefore, the substrate body is not stressed and is not damaged or particularly damaged.

[0027] Therefore, in the proposed method, the starting substrate can be processed in such a way that a defined or predeterminable surface, such as a separation surface, is formed as a characterized surface.

[0028] The invention therefore provides a substrate body whose surface, in particular its circumferential side surface, has a predetermined target surface at least in partial regions and which surface can also be etched as a whole, without the need to apply a stressful separation process.

[0029] As a result, characterized surfaces can be produced with great precision.

[0030] In particular, the proposed method does not require the application of a polishing process to the patterned surface, especially when the patterned surface is wholly or partly a side surface of a substrate body, which is not possible or only possible under difficult conditions, especially in the case of thin substrate bodies.

[0031] This is because the polishing process of the substrate surface, especially the side surfaces, requires high dimensional stability of the substrate and correspondingly a sufficient thickness to mechanically fix the substrate body to the polishing machine. Because the method does not require a polishing process, even very thin substrate bodies can be patterned.

[0032] In one embodiment, a nonlinear interaction between the electromagnetic field and the substrate material exists when nonlinear absorption of the substrate material occurs at least in the region of the curved region of action due to the electromagnetic field.

[0033] For example, the nonlinear interaction between the electromagnetic field and the substrate material may exhibit nonlinear absorption in the substrate material.

[0034] In one embodiment, the substrate body is or comprises glass, glass ceramic, silicon, or sapphire.

[0035] In one embodiment, the mechanical separation can be performed in a humid atmosphere and / or by CO2-Cleaven, which can be advantageously utilized to cause the substrate body to have bent or curved edges immediately after interaction with the electromagnetic field.

[0036] The electromagnetic field is adjusted within the curved region of action so as to induce a nonlinear interaction between the electromagnetic field and the substrate material therein, particularly within the entire curved region of action.

[0037] In one embodiment, the substrate material in at least one curved region of action is exposed to an electromagnetic field that causes a nonlinear interaction between the electromagnetic field and the substrate material in the curved region of action, resulting in at least a partial effect on the substrate material located in the curved region of action.

[0038] In one embodiment, nonlinear absorption of the electromagnetic field in the substrate material includes causing nonlinear absorption of a laser beam in the substrate material.

[0039] Alternatively or additionally, it may be contemplated that the substrate material is exposed to the electromagnetic field in a plurality of curved areas of action; Here, advantageously (i) the characterized surface has the same first curved profile in multiple regions, and in particular is determined or influenced by the curved shapes of the multiple curved working regions and / or has the first curved profile overall; and / or (ii) The curved active areas are selected to be arranged at a distance from one another, in particular in a cross-sectional plane of the substrate body, such that the centers or centroids of the intersections of the curved active areas with said cross-sectional plane extend along a straight line or along any, in particular circular, curve, and / or successive active areas have a distance from one another that is 30% to 100% or 100% to 200% of the maximum extent of the curved active areas in said cross-sectional plane.

[0040] The use of multiple curved active areas makes it particularly easy to provide an extended, characterized surface. This allows, for example, the extended side of a substrate body to be reliably patterned. In this case, the individual curved active areas may, for example, be continuous. The curved active areas may also be offset relative to one another in each case and / or rotated around the main axis of the respective active area. As a result, multiple continuous areas with affected substrate material can be produced, and the respective interfaces between the affected and unaffected substrate material can be exposed and / or further processed to form the characterized surface.

[0041] In one embodiment, the substrate material is exposed to the electromagnetic field in at least two curved areas of action. Advantageously, the characterized surface is determined or influenced by both curved areas of action, particularly in various locations. Thus, in one embodiment, a first curved profile can be achieved in multiple areas of the characterized surface by multiple curved areas of action.

[0042] In this case, the first curved profile can be determined or influenced by a portion of the curved active area, in particular a portion of its outer surface, and the degree to which the curved active area codetermines the first curved profile can be related to how closely the individual active areas are adjacent and how the affected substrate material is further processed.

[0043] In this case, the individual curved active areas may extend in the cross-sectional plane of the substrate body so as to be arranged along a straight line or any curved line, in particular a circular arc or a complete circle. For example, there may be a certain distance between the centers or centroids of consecutive common portions of the curved active areas located in the cross-sectional plane. This distance may be approximately 100% to 200%, preferably 110% to 150% or 140% to 180% of the maximum extent of the curved active areas in the cross-sectional plane. In this case, the curved active areas extend at a distance from one another by so-called web regions. This distance may also be 30% to 100%, preferably 50% to 70% or 60% to 80% of the maximum extent of the curved active areas in the cross-sectional plane. In this case, the curved active areas are nested, or in other words, the web regions have a negative width.

[0044] For example, existing, e.g., flat or otherwise shaped, lateral surfaces of a substrate body can be newly patterned. To this end, the substrate material can be affected in a curved area of ​​action that continues along the existing lateral surface. If not already done, further measures can then be taken to remove the affected material and completely form the characterized surface.

[0045] When multiple (identical) curved areas of influence are used to pattern a surface, as in this case, the characterized surface is determined or influenced in the same way by the curved areas of influence in multiple areas, and therefore the characterized surface also has the same first curved profile throughout.

[0046] In one embodiment, the first curved profile can be found repeatedly or continuously on the characterized surface. For example, for patterning the characterized surface, multiple curved working areas can be used that are spaced apart so that they do not overlap. In this case, it is advantageous to find the first curved profile on the characterized surface over the entire area where the curved working areas act.

[0047] For example, to pattern the characterized surface, several curved active areas can be used, which are arranged at a distance from one another so as to overlap one another. In particular, the overlap can be chosen to be very large, i.e., for example, 0.1% to 80%, advantageously 0.1% to 20%, advantageously 0.1% to 5%, advantageously 0.1% to 1% of the maximum extent of the curved active area in a plane perpendicular to the main extension of the curved active area. In this case, it is advantageous to find a continuous first curved profile on the characterized surface, since the greater the overlap, the more at each point on the characterized surface only the outermost extending part of the curved active area determines the shape of the characterized surface.

[0048] In one embodiment, the first curved profile extends perpendicular to the profile of the curved working area at a distance from each other.

[0049] For example, a rectangular or circular recess can be cut out of a cubic substrate body. Thereafter, two parts are present: the substrate body with the recess and the cut-out portion. For this purpose, the substrate material can be affected in a continuous curved area of ​​influence along a curve (definable in the cross-sectional plane of the substrate body), e.g., a rectangular or circular curve. If not already done, the affected material can then be removed by further measures, if necessary. By removing the affected material in each case, the characterized surface can be completely formed, and the cut-out portion can be separated from the substrate body, since there is no longer a connection between the substrate body and the cut-out portion.

[0050] According to one definition, the portion from which the recesses are cut can be the patterned substrate body. According to another definition, the portion cut out from the substrate body to be patterned can be the patterned substrate body.

[0051] In exactly the same way, by influencing the substrate material in successive curved areas of action along straight lines or curves of any shape (definable in the cross-sectional plane of the substrate body), the substrate body can be separated along a predetermined surface, thus forming a characterized surface, which further allows for a flexible control and adjustment of the profile of the separation surface along its main extension direction.

[0052] In this case, the entire characterized surface does not have to be determined or influenced by the shape of one or more curved active areas. For example, the substrate material affected in two adjacent curved active areas can be finally removed, thereby introducing two cavities into the substrate body. By connecting the two cavities, i.e., by removing the wall material between the cavities, the exposed surface can become part of the characterized surface.

[0053] Alternatively or additionally, influencing the substrate material comprises at least partially changing, in particular increasing or decreasing, one or more material properties, such as in particular the refractive index, etching rate and / or density of the substrate material, and / or It may be contemplated that influencing the substrate material comprises at least partially removing and / or excluding the substrate material from the curved area of ​​action, in particular compressing the substrate material into the surrounding substrate material.

[0054] By changing the substrate material in terms of its material properties during impact, it is possible to selectively select the substrate material to be removed by further action, for example to form a characterized surface or part thereof. Furthermore, the material properties can advantageously be used to remove the affected material at different rates by applying further action, depending on the degree of impact. As a result, it is even possible to spatially tailor the selectivity with which the affected material responds to further action.

[0055] In any case, the characterized surface can be properly identified by the different properties of the material and then revealed by appropriate measures. It is advantageous to have measures that affect different areas with different material properties. That is, measures that affect only the affected substrate material allow this material to be processed, for example, removed, after the effect has been achieved. Once the affected substrate material is removed, the substrate body will have a new surface at the removed location as at least a part of the characterized surface. This new surface is determined or influenced by the curved shape of the affected area.

[0056] By immediately removing or eliminating the substrate material during impact, patterning of the characterized surface can be carried out very efficiently. In this case, further measures may no longer be necessary. In this case, the new surface after impact will be identical to the characterized surface or part of it. However, it is of course also conceivable to nevertheless take further measures so that the new surface after impact will become the characterized surface or part of it at a stage after the further measures have been applied.

[0057] Compressing the removed material into the body of the substrate can improve the strength of the characterized surface, as compression into the substrate material in the area of ​​the surface to be patterned makes it denser and therefore more durable.

[0058] Alternatively or additionally, it may be provided that the characterized surface is formed by at least partially removing substrate material by impacting and / or by at least partially removing at least the affected substrate material by at least a subsequent etching process, in particular a wet chemical process, using an acid and / or alkaline liquid, advantageously using a potassium hydroxide solution as etching medium.

[0059] The affected substrate material can be advantageously removed by an etching process carried out after the impact. This allows a characterized surface to be provided particularly efficiently and purposefully. In this way, by selecting an etching technique and / or an etching medium, the affected substrate material can be purposefully removed. For example, the affected substrate material can be completely or partially etched away, while the unaffected substrate remains. Alternatively, a portion of the unaffected substrate material can also be etched away in partial regions.

[0060] In one embodiment, the etching process refers to isotropic etching of the substrate body, particularly the affected and / or unaffected substrate material.

[0061] In one embodiment, the etching process refers to wet and / or dry etching of the substrate body, in particular the affected and / or unaffected substrate material.

[0062] In this case, it is particularly advantageous to combine the etching process with the use of multiple curved active areas, and thus affected areas of the substrate material. In this way, the substrate material can be affected in multiple curved active areas. In this case, the individual curved active areas can be separated from one another, i.e., not initially connected to one another. For example, the individual active areas can be arranged parallel to one another at a distance in one direction. The area with the affected substrate material can then be removed by the etching process. By continuing the etching, the substrate material in the area between two active areas, i.e., the unaffected substrate material, can also be removed by the etching process. As a result, a connection can be formed between the individual active areas (exposed by etching).

[0063] If several action areas and thus influence portions extend from one surface to the other, then for example the substrate body will be separated into two parts at the same time.

[0064] If multiple action areas, and therefore affected areas, extend from one side to the other, for example, if the action areas extend near the original substrate edge face or extend further and terminate at that edge face, only the outer surface of the substrate body is formed.

[0065] That is, since at least affected substrate material is removed by the etching process, it is possible that unaffected substrate material may also be removed by the etching process.

[0066] If the affected area penetrates at least one substrate surface of the substrate body (i.e., if the affected area reaches at least one substrate surface), the affected substrate material can be etched away from the substrate body, for example, by so-called laser selective etching (so-called anisotropic etching). This takes advantage of the fact that, during etching, especially wet chemical etching, the affected area of ​​the substrate material is etched away from the substrate material more quickly than the unaffected area. If the affected area penetrates one side, in addition to the substrate material being uniformly removed from all substrate surfaces, the laser-modified area is etched away more quickly than the surrounding substrate material, creating a cavity (i.e., a one-sided opening) in the affected area of ​​the substrate material. If the affected area extends further and penetrates two, particularly opposing, surfaces, a curved through-hole ("via") can be created in this way. Advantageously, such a curved through-hole can be used as the basis for the subsequent metallization process to manufacture an interposer.

[0067] In one embodiment, the curved active area penetrates at least one of the surfaces of the substrate body, such as the first and / or second top surface.

[0068] Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the subsequent etching process represents laser activated etching of at least the affected substrate material.

[0069] As etching media for laser selective etching, for example, hydrofluoric acid (HF), sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and / or aqueous potassium hydroxide (KOH) can be used.

[0070] Advantageously, the etching process is carried out in an acidic and / or alkaline etching medium.

[0071] Advantageously, the etching process is carried out until the affected areas from which the substrate material has been removed are joined.

[0072] Advantageously, the etching process is carried out until the affected areas are joined.

[0073] When the average process power of the electromagnetic field (e.g. of the laser used) and thus the pulse energy increases, the area of ​​influence created (e.g. by the laser or its line focus) is no longer entirely or partially limited to changes in the density and refractive index of the substrate material, but also, for example, cavities introduced into the substrate material, which preferably emerge outward on one or more sides. Cavities emerging outward here mean that the cavities are accessible from the outside. If the cavities emerge outward on one side, they are accessible through one opening. If they emerge outward on two sides, they are accessible through two openings.

[0074] If such outwardly appearing cavities are present as a result of the impact, the etching medium penetrates into the cavities, and in an isotropic etching process, substrate material can be simultaneously removed from all surfaces of the substrate body, especially from the surfaces of the created cavities, thereby enlarging the diameter of the cavities. For example, a potassium hydroxide (KOH)-based etching process is applied for this purpose. An alkali-etched substrate surface, such as a glass surface, is characterized by the formation of dome-shaped depressions.

[0075] The cavities may be introduced, for example, in the form of curved holes in the substrate material, which for example emerge outward on two opposite sides. Advantageously, the curved holes are widened by an etching process, which may be the same etching process used to pre-remove the affected material and then seamlessly remove the unaffected material as part of a continuous etching process. Advantageously, the etching process is then carried out until adjacent cavities are interconnected.

[0076] In one embodiment, the affected substrate material is at least regionally and / or temporarily anisotropically etched.

[0077] In one embodiment, the affected substrate material is at least regionally and / or temporarily isotropically etched.

[0078] In one embodiment, the substrate material is affected and then at least the affected substrate material is anisotropically etched away, thereby forming cavities, in particular through-holes, in the substrate body. Optionally, by further etching, the unaffected substrate material between the through-holes can also be etched away at least in partial areas, thereby connecting the through-holes to one another at least in partial areas. In this case, these connecting surfaces can also be part of the similarly characterized surface.

[0079] In this case, it is particularly preferable that the characterized surface is height-adjusted at least in a partial area. For example, the surface may be configured domed at least in a partial area. This is achieved by removing (e.g., etching away) both the affected and unaffected substrate material to expose the characterized surface.

[0080] This height adjustment has been found to be advantageous as it contributes to increasing the strength of the characterized surface, and therefore in one embodiment the characterized surface preferably comprises, at least in partial regions, dome-shaped structures, such as dome-shaped depressions.

[0081] If there are multiple contiguous regions with affected substrate material, in one embodiment, the etching process is performed until the affected regions are not only open (i.e., the affected material is etched away in those regions), but also connected, such that the two substrate portions, e.g., an inner portion and an outer portion, can be simply separated without resorting to force.

[0082] Alternatively or additionally, it may be contemplated that the electromagnetic field is provided in the form of and / or by a curved line focus, in particular a laser beam, and / or the curved area of ​​action is determined by the shape of the line focus.

[0083] Providing an electromagnetic field in the form of a curved line focus is a particularly efficient solution, since line foci can be formed in many different shapes very easily, especially with a laser.

[0084] The laser beam using a line focus can be guided and controlled along its optical path by known means. The line focus can be adjusted and adapted by various measures, such as optical elements. This allows for the creation of an electromagnetic field within the substrate body that can assume any spatial shape that can be achieved by beam shaping or beam steering. Correspondingly, a nonlinear interaction with the substrate material can also occur in a correspondingly shaped region of the substrate body.

[0085] A laser beam with a line focus therefore provides a very flexible means to achieve nonlinear interactions between electromagnetic fields and the substrate body in a curved region of action, and in particular to achieve nonlinear absorption.

[0086] When processing substrates with lasers, it is generally necessary to distinguish between linear and nonlinear absorption processes. Linear absorption occurs when the material being processed is partially or completely absorbent at the wavelength of the laser used (e.g., the absorption of CO2 laser light in glass), allowing the strength of the interaction to be adjusted by the laser wavelength, laser energy, and pulse duration. Alternatively, there is a nonlinear absorption process, in which the material is initially non-absorbent in the range of the laser light used, i.e., transparent to the laser wavelength. However, by generating so-called ultrashort laser pulses (typical pulse lengths here range from 10 ps to 100 fs, especially from 1 ps to 100 fs), the laser generates a sufficiently high electromagnetic field in the substrate material, which induces a nonlinear change in the material properties of the substrate itself or its material, such as the refractive index, and thus the material's absorption characteristics. Above a threshold characterizing the material, the laser beam has a persistent effect on the material. The resulting localized changes in the material range from persistent changes in refractive index, changes in etching behavior (selective laser etching) to the generation of cracks or channels in the substrate, but in each case depend on the interplay between laser and material parameters and are limited to the region of the laser focus formed in the material.

[0087] For example, for a glass substrate, the threshold intensity at which a nonlinear change in material properties occurs is at least 10 13 W / cm 2 is.

[0088] In one embodiment, the substrate material comprises glass and the electromagnetic field is at least 10 13 W / cm 2 , advantageously at least 5×10 13 W / cm 2 , advantageously at least 10 14 W / cm 2 , most preferably at least 5×10 14 W / cm 2 Optionally, the electromagnetic field has a field strength of up to 10 16W / cm 2 It has a field strength of

[0089] In one embodiment, the curved region of action corresponds to a region where the line focus of the laser causes a nonlinear interaction with the substrate material, where the nonlinear interaction advantageously exhibits and / or is nonlinear absorption, thereby affecting the substrate material.

[0090] Due to the presence of a line focus, there are also electromagnetic fields in the associated curved region of action that cause nonlinear interactions.

[0091] In one embodiment, the nonlinear interaction between the electromagnetic field and the substrate material occurs within the entire curved region of action.

[0092] In one embodiment, the electromagnetic field corresponds to a line focus.

[0093] Alternatively or additionally, the laser beam is provided by an ultrashort pulse laser; adjusting and / or adapting the phase of the laser beam, in particular by using a combination of a spatial light modulator, a diffractive optical element and / or a plurality of cylindrical lenses; The laser beam is focused onto the substrate body, preferably using a microscope objective or a Fourier lens, preferably after adjusting or adapting the phase of the laser beam and / or forming a line focus, The line focus is that of an accelerated laser beam, in particular an Airy beam, The wavelength of the laser beam is 1064 nm, the microscope lens or Fourier lens has a focal length of 10-20 mm, and the cubic phase coefficient (laser parameter β) is 0.5 × 10 3 / m~5×10 3 / m, the diameter of the raw beam (laser parameter ω0) has a value of 1 mm to 10 mm, preferably 2.5 mm to 5 mm, the pulse width (laser parameter τ) has a value of 0.1 to 10 ps, ​​and the pulse energy (laser parameter E p) has a value of 1 to 1500 μJ, preferably 30 to 500 μJ, in particular 474 μJ, and / or the number of pulses in the burst (laser parameter N) has a value of 1 to 200, preferably 1 to 100, in particular 1 to 8, The spatial extent of the curved active areas, advantageously one of its length and / or its diameter, is adjusted and / or varied over time by varying the average power range of the laser and / or by varying the phase, in particular adjusting different extents for at least some of the curved active areas, and / or It may be contemplated that the spatial orientation of the curved active areas may be adjusted and / or varied over time by changing the tilt of the optical axis of the laser beam relative to the substrate surface, in particular relative to the normal of the substrate surface where the laser beam is incident on the substrate body, and in particular adjusting different orientations for at least some of the multiple curved active areas.

[0094] The phase of the laser beam affects the spatial shape of the electromagnetic field at the line focus, and thus the curved area of ​​action can be adjusted and adapted. Therefore, a combination of a spatial light modulator (SLM), a diffractive optical element and / or multiple cylindrical lenses, which can collectively adapt the phase of the laser beam, are suitable means to control the spatial shape of the electromagnetic field.

[0095] In principle, a possible setup for creating a curved active region according to the present invention and the corresponding spatially shaped electromagnetic field for this purpose can be designed as follows: A laser beam from an ultrashort pulse laser impinges on a spatial light modulator (SLM), which modifies the phase of the incident laser pulse by applying a phase, such as a cubic phase. The beam is then focused onto the substrate body to be patterned through a microscope objective and / or a Fourier lens. Depending on the phase distribution occurring after the spatial light modulator, the imaging objective produces a focal line that is no longer straight but curved, which leaves a spatially curved affected area of ​​the substrate material in the substrate body. In one embodiment, secondary peaks of the Airy beam can also be suppressed. The intensity ratio between the main focus and the remaining beams can be optimized (1.2 to 10). This can be achieved, for example, by non-radially symmetric apodization in the Fourier plane using an aperture.

[0096] In a preferred embodiment, instead of a spatial light modulator for purposefully varying the phase distribution, a diffractive optical element (DOE) is used to create a curved active area. For example, the element has a diameter of 5 to 15 mm, preferably 9 mm, and the DOE is located in the "front focal plane" of the microscope objective or Fourier lens. Advantageously, the SLM or DOE (i.e., generally speaking, the phase mask) has a working distance from the objective lens equal to the focal length of the lens and / or between 2 and 15 mm, preferably 5 mm. If the "front focal plane" of the microscope objective is located in the objective itself, in these cases, the smallest (construction-wise) distance is advantageously selected. Similar setups, for example 2f setups, may also be envisioned for SLMs. In a further embodiment, instead of a spatial light modulator or a diffractive optical element, a combination of cylindrical lenses is used to create the phase of the laser beam, in particular a cubic phase.

[0097] For example, an Airy beam is used here, which is particularly well suited for asymmetric / lateral beam delivery.

[0098] Pulse energy (laser parameter E p ) can be chosen to have a value of, for example, 300 μJ, the number of pulses in a burst (laser parameter N) can be chosen to have a value of, for example, 2, and / or the pulse width (laser parameter τ) can be chosen to have a value of, for example, 5 ps. Optionally, the optical system may have a focal length of f=10 mm and / or a beam expander with a magnification of 2.0 (especially for an input Gaussian beam with a diameter of 10 mm) may be provided.

[0099] Furthermore, Airy beams can be produced particularly easily and efficiently: for example, they can be obtained as the imaging of a beam with a cubic phase produced directly by a phase mask (DOE or SLM) or by a cylindrical lens setup.

[0100] By appropriate selection of the optical device (in particular the definition of the vertical distance between the focusing optics and the substrate material to be processed, i.e. the focal position and focal length), this method makes it possible to create curved areas of action through the substrate material, either internally or on one of the two major surfaces (bottom and / or top) or even on both major surfaces.

[0101] Advantageously, to create a line focus, in particular an accelerating beam, an SLM, a DOE and / or lens optics can be used, either as a single component or as an array of lenses, such as cylindrical lenses, to apply an appropriate phase function to the laser beam.

[0102] In one embodiment, the curved active areas are arranged in the substrate material at a predetermined distance from one another (i.e., with a so-called pitch) along a closed contour, for example, at a distance of 1 μm to 50 μm, preferably 1 μm to 10 μm, 10 μm to 30 μm, 20 μm to 40 μm, or 30 μm to 50 μm. Distances of 1 μm, 20 μm, or 50 μm may be advantageous. In this case, the alignment of the modifications can be controlled advantageously by optical tracking (mechanical tracking of a DOE or software-based phase distribution change) so that the inscribed structures are not tilted, or at least a convexly characterized surface is formed at a certain angle. Such curved active areas allow the definition of a new outer contour in a substrate body, such as a raw glass substrate. Optionally, additional cuts can be used to remove excess material along the intended contour, if necessary.

[0103] In one embodiment, the beam alignment is advantageously tracked at a constant angle relative to the target contour, either mechanically in the DOE or by software in the SLM.

[0104] In one embodiment, the surface patterning sequence is controlled to prevent undesired interactions, particularly shadowing, and advantageous interactions between successive influences are possible, with advantageous directions being tailored along the target contour.

[0105] Airy beams offer advantageous properties for delivering electromagnetic fields.

[0106] The spatial extent and / or strength of the nonlinear interaction can be tailored by selecting appropriate laser parameters.

[0107] Generally, when patterning an outwardly or inwardly facing surface (inner and / or outer surface), it is preferred that the alignment of the laser optics allows for the formation of a first curved profile that is convex inwardly (when patterning an inner surface) or outwardly (when patterning an outer surface). A combination of inner and outer surfaces is also possible with the method, especially in a single run.

[0108] In an embodiment, the curved area of ​​action or the specific shape of the affected substrate material is determined or determinable by the phase applied by the SLM and / or DOE.

[0109] It has proven particularly effective to adjust the spatial extent of the curved active region and thus the affected area of ​​the substrate material via the mean power range of the laser.

[0110] By varying, in particular increasing, the pulse energy of the laser pulse, in this case the laser power exceeds the threshold of the substrate material in a wider area of ​​the curved focal line, and thus the length of the curved active area or affected zone can be adjusted.

[0111] For example, by varying the 10 ps laser pulse in the average laser power range (e.g., with a power of 1 W to 500 W, advantageously 1 W to 40 W, in particular 2 W to 10 W, 10 W to 20 W, 20 W to 30 W or 30 W to 40 W, and / or a pulse energy of 1 μJ to 500 μJ, advantageously 30 μJ to 300 μJ) and / or by phase variation using a spatial light modulator, curved regions of action and thus varying lengths of the affected zone in the substrate material, e.g., glass, can be achieved.

[0112] For example, curved areas of action or areas of influence can be produced, in particular using the above-mentioned means, having a length of more than 0.1 mm to more than 3 mm, advantageously between 0.1 mm and 5 mm, in particular between 0.5 mm and 3 mm, and / or a maximum deviation from a straight focal line of 200 μm, advantageously between 10 μm and 80 μm, in particular between 20 μm and 80 μm. The curved profile of the area of ​​influence, and thus also ultimately the first curved profile of the characterized surface, is determined or influenced by a shape that can theoretically be predetermined by the phase function used.

[0113] Thus, in one embodiment, the length of the curved working region is adapted and / or varied over time by varying the pulse energy of the laser pulse.

[0114] By adapting the average power of the pulses, the extent of the electromagnetic field and thus the spatial extent of the curved area of ​​action can be influenced in a particularly targeted manner. The same applies to the phase change.

[0115] For example, the higher the power, the longer the length of the curved focal spot, and this power can therefore be used and / or controlled to adapt the focal spot and therefore the curved area of ​​action in its spatial extent.

[0116] For example, a stronger cubic phase will result in a longer and more curved focal length, and this phase can therefore be used and / or controlled to adapt the focal point and therefore the curved area of ​​action in its spatial extent.

[0117] In particular, when the substrate material is affected by the laser without being removed, the subsequent etching process is advantageous in embodiments. In this case, the amount of etching removal and / or the etching rate can be increased by performing individual influences in the curved area of ​​action not with individual pulses but with multiple pulses in a pulse group, i.e., so-called burst pulses. Therefore, in embodiments, it is preferred that the ultrashort pulse laser performs multiple pulses in one pulse group as burst pulses.

[0118] The proposed method thus makes it possible to provide a substrate having a predetermined (lateral) shape (thickness) and a predetermined surface, particularly the side surface, from a starting substrate, such as a glass or glass-ceramic substrate. For this purpose, the substrate material of the starting substrate can be impacted along a predetermined surface, for example with an ultrashort pulse (UKP) laser, within a curved area of ​​action of a predetermined shape, and then the affected area of ​​the substrate material can be selectively etched and thereby removed. In particular, etching can be performed until the thus-defined area is joined, after which two parts, for example an inner and an outer part, can be separated from each other without resorting to force.

[0119] Alternatively or additionally, it may be provided that at least during the nonlinear interaction, at least one auxiliary substrate body is arranged on the substrate body, with each curved area of ​​action and / or line focus extending at least partially within the auxiliary substrate body, and wherein advantageously, two or more auxiliary substrate bodies are arranged on the substrate body, in particular on opposite sides of the substrate body, with each curved area of ​​action and / or line focus extending at least partially within the two or more auxiliary substrate bodies.

[0120] Advantageously, the auxiliary substrate body is made of the same material as the substrate body.

[0121] By using such an auxiliary substrate body, abrasive components or effects on the exposed substrate surface can be avoided or at least significantly reduced when penetrated by the curved active area.

[0122] For example, in one embodiment, the substrate body to be patterned can be processed together with a ringed, bonded and / or ultrashort pulse welded auxiliary substrate body, initially creating only internal affected areas during processing, and then exposing these affected areas in a further processing step by removing the auxiliary substrate body (e.g., referred to as debonding).

[0123] The provision of an auxiliary substrate body therefore makes it possible to influence the substrate material in a particularly targeted manner and in accordance with the specified surface specifications, even in areas near the surface of the substrate body, since the auxiliary substrate body allows the curved area of ​​influence to extend beyond the substrate body without the profile of the curved area of ​​influence being impaired or significantly impaired, thus ensuring that the curved area of ​​influence does not deviate from the desired shape and spatially influences the substrate material in accordance with the specifications, even in areas near the surface of the substrate body.

[0124] In particular, if the auxiliary substrate body and the substrate body are made of the same material, a seamless, and in particular non-shifting, transition of the curved active area on the interface between the two bodies is guaranteed.

[0125] After the nonlinear interaction, the auxiliary substrate body can be removed from the substrate body, so that the actual substrate body with the affected substrate material is exposed again.

[0126] In other words, if the auxiliary substrate body is removed again after the nonlinear interaction, a clean affected area can be achieved in the substrate body up to the outer surface of the substrate body.

[0127] One or more auxiliary substrate bodies may be provided.

[0128] The auxiliary substrate body can be arranged around the substrate body so as to surround it on one or more sides.

[0129] The auxiliary substrate body ensures that accumulation of substrate material in the edge region of the characterized surface due to ablation effects is avoided.

[0130] Alternatively or additionally, at least one, advantageously a plurality and / or all of the at least one curved active area are completely confined within the substrate body, in particular at least during the nonlinear interaction, Here, it may be advantageously envisaged that the method further comprises removing material from the substrate body at least in a partial area, in particular along the main direction of extension of the curved active area within the substrate body, so that the affected substrate material in the confined curved active area is at least partially and / or partially accessible from the outside, in particular carrying out the removal of material from the substrate body by etching.

[0131] That is, the curved active area is entirely within the substrate body, thereby ensuring that ablation components or effects on both the original and the resulting surface of the substrate body are avoided.

[0132] In other words, with this proposed feature, the nonlinear interaction occurs only between the electromagnetic field and the substrate material within the substrate body, i.e., it is not accessible from the outside. As a result, the profile of the curved area of ​​action is not compromised or significantly impaired. This ensures that the curved area of ​​action does not deviate from the desired shape and spatially influences the substrate material according to specifications.

[0133] After the nonlinear interaction, substrate material can be removed from the substrate body up to (or beyond) the affected substrate material. For example, a corresponding etching process can be performed precisely and efficiently, which has proven advantageous for this purpose. In this way, a new surface, particularly different from the characterized surface, can be formed, for example, at least a new, at least temporary, upper surface of the substrate body. By removing the substrate material, the affected material region becomes accessible from the outside. As a result, for example, the affected substrate material can be subsequently removed to form the characterized surface, as described elsewhere.

[0134] In this way, the affected material area on the substrate can be very reliably defined, extending all the way to the surface of the final processed substrate body, which also results in a clean and well-defined surface.

[0135] For example, by removing material from the substrate body, at least one upper surface of the substrate body, preferably both upper surfaces, is altered, so to speak, that here a shift of the upper surface can occur, for example, along the main extension direction of the curved active area.

[0136] In this case, the main extension direction of the curved active area can, for example, extend perpendicular to the original and / or modified top surface of the substrate body.

[0137] Alternatively or additionally, the substrate material is exposed to an electromagnetic field in individual regions of a plurality of curved active regions, either sequentially or entirely or partially in parallel; exposing the entire substrate material within the curved area of ​​effect to the electromagnetic field simultaneously; the curved active area has in each case a maximum deviation from a straight profile of more than 20 μm, more than 40 μm, more than 60 μm, more than 80 μm or more than 100 μm; and / or It may be envisaged that the length of the curved active area is in each case greater than 0.1 mm, greater than 0.3 mm, greater than 0.5 mm, greater than 0.7 mm, greater than 1 mm, greater than 3 mm or greater than 5 mm.

[0138] By successively exposing the substrate material to the electromagnetic field in each curved active area, and thus successively influencing the substrate material in each area, patterning can be prepared or performed with minimal technical effort. In this case, if the electromagnetic field is provided using, for example, a line focus of a laser, only one laser is required. In this case, by moving the substrate body and the line focus relative to each other, successive line focuses can be formed in different curved active areas with great ease, and the substrate material can be influenced there.

[0139] Simultaneous exposure of the substrate material to the electromagnetic field in several (or even all) of the curved action areas allows the substrate material to be affected in a very time-efficient manner and thus allows the patterning to be prepared or performed in a shorter time. In this way, several lasers can be used in parallel to form line foci in each case on different positions of the substrate material and thus affect the substrate material in several curved action areas in parallel.

[0140] In this case, additionally, once the substrate material has been affected in the corresponding curved action areas, the substrate body can be moved relative to the multiple foci. In this way, the substrate material can be affected sequentially in parallel at multiple locations in each case. This allows for a particularly efficient patterning strategy. In particular, this procedure can also be scaled to larger substrates or larger-scale patterning processes, since in larger-scale operations, multiple curved action areas can be formed in parallel, for example by adding additional lasers, which in each case form additional line foci in the substrate material.

[0141] In the case of a laser, a line focus is formed in the substrate material, which determines the curved region of action: the region where the line focus induces an electromagnetic field in the substrate material is the curved region of action, specifically the portion of the electromagnetic field that interacts nonlinearly with the substrate material.

[0142] Of course, the line focus may also be partially present outside the substrate body, for example in a medium that at least partially surrounds the substrate body, such as a fluid, e.g., air or liquid, and / or in an auxiliary substrate body, but in this case the electromagnetic field is nevertheless also present within the substrate body, so that a curved area of ​​action can be defined in the substrate body, even if the curved area of ​​action continues in other media.

[0143] The method is flexible and allows the creation of curved working areas with a curvature and / or length adapted in each case, which can thus be made smaller or larger depending on the intended surface patterning.

[0144] The curved active area is preferably three-dimensionally formed in the substrate body. The curved active area preferably has a main extension direction within the substrate body. A central axis, which may itself have a curved profile, may be arranged through the curved active area. The length of this central axis corresponds to the length of the curved active area. This central axis has a start point and an end point in the substrate material. Advantageously, the start point and end point are in each case on the surface of the substrate body, for example, at the intersection of the substrate body and the curved active area. The maximum deviation of the curved active area is the maximum distance that a point on the central axis may have from a point on a line connecting the start point and end point of the central axis.

[0145] The spatial shape of the curved active area, i.e. the spatial shape of the affected substrate material, i.e. the shape of the characterized surface, depends on or is co-determined by this maximum deflection, which may also be called the profile stroke.

[0146] To adjust the maximum deviation or profile stroke, the numerical aperture of the focusing optics, A=n * sin(ALPHA) can be adjusted and / or adapted, where it can be said that in general the higher the numerical aperture of the collection optics, the shorter the focal length formed and, in the typical case of an Airy beam, the higher the curvature of the Airy beam near the focal point.

[0147] This means that in the case of a curved active area or characterized surface, the local curvature needs to increase as the thickness of the substrate body decreases in order to create an appreciable profile stroke on the characterized surface.

[0148] Therefore, the method can be used for processing / patterning thin substrate bodies, especially for patterning the side surfaces of the substrate bodies.

[0149] The thin substrate body preferably has a substrate thickness of 500 μm or less, 300 μm or less, or 100 μm or less, preferably in the range of 30 μm to 100 μm. Optionally, the thin substrate has a substrate thickness of 0.1 μm or more, 1 μm or more, 10 μm or more, 50 μm or more, or 100 μm or more.

[0150] Although it is possible to mechanically fix substrate bodies in the thickness range above 1 mm and polish their sides using conventional methods, this has not previously been possible for thin substrate bodies because the substrate bodies are (mechanically) unstable and there is a risk that the thin substrate body will be destroyed by cracking from the side due to the mechanical stresses induced during polishing.

[0151] By using this method, it is now possible for the first time to pattern the surface itself of a thin substrate body, in particular having a thickness of 500 μm or less, particularly the side surface, advantageously the circumferential side surface, of the substrate body, without using any force and therefore without the risk of destroying or otherwise affecting the substrate.

[0152] In one embodiment, the numerical aperture of the optical system used to focus the laser is adjusted as a function of the thickness of the substrate material, advantageously allowing the side surfaces of substrate bodies having a thickness of 500 μm or less and / or a thickness of 0.1 μm or more to be patterned as characterized surfaces.

[0153] In one embodiment, the characterized surface may have an adjustable slope. Optionally, this is achieved using a displaced and / or tilted Airy beam, particularly a vertically displaced or tilted Airy beam.

[0154] In this case, an Airy beam is advantageously used, the beam centroid of which is parallel to the optical axis / moving perpendicular to the substrate surface, e.g., a glass surface (angle 0°) and is distributed symmetrically in the middle of the substrate (along the propagation direction / substrate thickness), i.e., the beam reaches its maximum excursion exactly there (focus position). In the case of a displaced (non-tilted) Airy beam, the focus (and thus the point of maximum excursion) is located away from the center of the substrate (along the substrate thickness). In the case of a tilted Airy beam, the optical axis (as the locus of the beam centroid) is not parallel to the normal to the substrate surface.

[0155] In one embodiment, the existing surfaces of the substrate body, particularly the sides, are chamfered, particularly in multiple passes.

[0156] In one embodiment, the laser beam is a single Airy beam.

[0157] In one embodiment, the combination of the inner and outer surfaces is patterned and is advantageously used as a glass hinge for use in flexible mobile devices. This is understood to mean a patterned, usually strip-shaped, glass substrate with a maximum thickness of 200 μm, preferably 100 μm or less, particularly preferably 20 μm, consisting of an intermediate patterned area extending between two opposing edges of the substrate and two adjacent unpatterned areas. The recesses in the patterned areas created according to this method allow for reproducible bending around a bending axis perpendicular to the orientation of the glass strip.

[0158] Alternatively or additionally, (i) the substrate body is transparent, made of glass, and has a first top surface and / or a second top surface, advantageously extending parallel to and / or opposite to the first top surface; (ii) the thickness of the substrate body, advantageously measured between the first top surface and the second top surface, is 500 μm or less, advantageously 400 μm or less, more preferably 300 μm or less, more preferably 200 μm or less, more preferably 100 μm or less, more preferably 70 μm or less, more preferably 50 μm or less, more preferably 30 μm or less, and most preferably 10 μm or less; and / or (iii) After characterized surface patterning, 1. The characterized surface extends between a first upper surface and a second upper surface; 2. The characterized surface is at least partially connected to the first upper surface and / or the second upper surface; 3. At least one side of the substrate body, advantageously at least a portion of the circumferential side, has a characterized surface; 4. At least a portion of the surface of the through hole, which preferably extends from the first upper surface to the second upper surface, has a characterized surface, and the through hole is preferably formed by affecting and / or etching the substrate material; 5. At least one surface region of a cavity in the substrate body has a characterized surface, said cavity being advantageously accessible from the outside or completely enclosed in the substrate material, advantageously said cavity being formed by affecting and / or etching the substrate material; 6. The characterized surface is, at least in part, an inward-facing surface of the substrate body; and / or 7. It may be provided that the characterized surface is, at least in part area, an outward facing surface of the substrate body.

[0159] Previous methods have not been able to achieve satisfactory results in terms of efficiency and the strength of the formed surface, especially in the case of transparent substrate bodies. The present method can reliably pattern the surface of transparent substrate bodies.

[0160] The first and second upper surfaces clearly separate the substrate body, making it possible to reliably affect the substrate material.

[0161] In one embodiment, the first and / or second top surface is planar.

[0162] In one embodiment, the substrate body is cubic.

[0163] In one embodiment, the substrate body is transparent and has a first upper surface, a second upper surface, and a circumferential side surface that is curved along the thickness direction of the substrate body in at least a partial region.

[0164] The method is particularly well suited for patterning the surface of a thin substrate body, i.e. a substrate body having a small thickness, in particular a surface having an extension along the thickness of the substrate body, for example a preferably circumferential side surface of the substrate body.

[0165] For example, a cubic substrate body may have a small thickness. In this case, the substrate body may have only a small dimension in one direction corresponding to the small thickness, but the method may also allow for the patterning of a side surface or region thereof. Optionally, the side surface is a circumferential side surface.

[0166] In the present application, a substrate body is advantageously considered to be thin or have a small thickness if the thickness of the substrate material is less than or equal to 500 μm and / or greater than or equal to 10 μm.

[0167] If the characterized surface is connected to at least one upper surface, a particularly seamless transition between the existing surface and the patterned surface can be created, resulting in a very stable substrate body.

[0168] For example, a side surface, such as a circumferential side surface, of a substrate body can be patterned or shaped by the method, in which case the characterized surface is part of this circumferential side surface.

[0169] This method can be used with particularly high versatility. For example, if the curved active area extends from one surface region (e.g., one upper surface) to another surface region (e.g., the other upper surface), and thus the affected substrate material also extends accordingly, patterning the characterized surface can create a through-hole from one upper surface to the other upper surface (generally: surface region). For example, if the curved active area extends from one surface region (e.g., one surface region) of the upper surface into the substrate without reaching the other surface of the substrate body (e.g., the other upper surface of the substrate body), and thus the affected material also extends accordingly from one surface region into the substrate, patterning the characterized surface can create a cavity in one surface (generally: the upper surface). If the affected substrate material does not extend all the way out, patterning the characterized surface can also create a completely enclosed cavity in the substrate body.

[0170] Apart from the case of confined cavities, the affected material can be selectively removed directly by impacting and / or by, for example, a subsequent etching process.

[0171] The method can be used to cut a circular opening from a thin, cubic substrate body, for example, by patterning a characterized surface having a circular contour in at least one cross-sectional plane within the thickness range of the substrate body.

[0172] By this method, for example, the outer side of a thin cubic substrate body can be shaped, for example, convex or concave.

[0173] In one embodiment, the patterning of the characterized surface comprises convexly shaping the outer side of a substrate body, particularly a thin cubic substrate body.

[0174] Alternatively or additionally, after patterning of the characterized surface, the first curved profile of the characterized surface extends perpendicular to a main extension direction of the characterized surface; and / or It may be provided that in the main direction of extension of the characterized surface, in particular in the circumferential direction of the substrate body, the characterized surface has at least in part areas a second curved profile.

[0175] If the side of a circular or cubic substrate body is patterned and thus represents a defined surface, the side can have a curvature along the thickness of the substrate body, where the curvature is co-determined or determined, at least in part, by the curvature of the curved active area. This is the first curved profile. This profile also extends perpendicular to the main extension direction of the side of the substrate body, and the side represents, for example, a circumferential side.

[0176] In the case of a circular substrate body, the side surface also extends correspondingly curvedly around the substrate body, and in this case the side surface presents a second curved profile.

[0177] In one embodiment, the first curved profile, which is concave or convex at least in a partial area, can be adjusted by rotating the line focus by 180°, advantageously around at least one axis parallel to the main extension direction of the line focus.

[0178] Alternatively or additionally, after patterning the characterized surface in at least one cross-sectional plane of the substrate body, the characterized surface has a contour along a first curved profile, the contour comprising: (i) at least partially convexly or concavely curved; (ii) corresponds, at least in part, to the contour of the curved area of ​​action; and / or (iii) It may be envisaged that the coating has at least in part a parabolic profile, a quartic profile, a logarithmic profile, a profile according to a polynomial function of degree n, advantageously an even number n, in particular n=6, n=8, n=10 or n=12, and / or a C-shaped profile.

[0179] By adjusting the corresponding phase, the line focus can assume a variety of shapes, thereby forming a variety of three-dimensional action areas and affecting the substrate material within the area. For example, the substrate material in multiple adjacent action areas can be affected to subsequently have a characterized surface as a new side surface of the patterned substrate body. In this case, the curved action areas can be selected so that the curvature protrudes into the substrate material of the desired substrate body after patterning to obtain a concavely shaped characterized surface. Alternatively, the curved action areas can be rotated, as it were, by 180 degrees to obtain a convexly shaped characterized surface.

[0180] As such, the method can be particularly easily used to pattern characterized surfaces of various shapes.

[0181] Various properties of the convexly curved surface / side surface can be advantageous depending on the subsequent application. For example, a parabolic / cubic phase function realizes a top / side surface that is close to the C-cut top / side surface commonly used in the glass industry, while a fourth-order phase function corresponds more to a top / side surface with a phase attached to the top and bottom (rather than a top / side surface with a continuously curved shape). By tilting the beam axis and / or defocusing with respect to the substrate body, various asymmetric top / side surface shapes can be realized as well. Such top / side surfaces are used, for example, when self-alignment effects are involved in the application of the substrate body.

[0182] Similarly, it is possible to process the top / side surfaces of thick glass in several separate steps.

[0183] This problem is solved by the present invention according to a second aspect by proposing the following substrate body, which substrate body comprises: having at least a first upper surface and at least one characterized surface, in particular produced or producible according to the method according to the first aspect of the invention, the characterized surface has, at least in part, at least one first curved profile; the first curved profile is located in a cross-sectional plane of the substrate body fixed in a plane having a normal vector of at least one of the characterized surface and a normal vector of the top surface; the first curved profile can be described, at least in part, by a parabolic, quartic, logarithmic and / or polynomial phase function; The thickness of the substrate body is 500 μm or less.

[0184] Despite its small thickness, a substrate body is provided for the first time that has a surface that is patterned with a curved contour in the cross-sectional plane, i.e., a characterized surface.

[0185] In particular, for surfaces representing the lateral surfaces of the substrate body, this has not previously been possible.

[0186] This is because substrates with a thickness of 500 μm or less tend to bend under their own weight when fixed. This behavior is very similar to that of a sheet of paper. Therefore, such substrates are also called microsheets.

[0187] Due to this behavior, it has not been possible to mechanically fix such thin substrate bodies in order to carry out, for example, the polishing steps of the processed surface that were previously required.The method according to the present invention already provides a high-quality, characterized surface, so that polishing steps are not necessary.

[0188] The electromagnetic field can be generated even inside very thin substrate bodies, where it can affect the substrate material accordingly, ensuring that even thin substrate bodies have highly sensitive, patterned and characterized surfaces, which is ideal for microsheets.

[0189] The substrate body advantageously has a substrate thickness of 400 μm or less, 300 μm or less, 200 μm or less, 100 μm or less, 50 μm or less, 20 μm or less, or 10 μm or less.

[0190] The substrate body advantageously has a substrate thickness of 1 μm or more, 10 μm or more, 50 μm or more, or 100 μm or more.

[0191] In one embodiment, the narrow side of the substrate body has a spherical shape in the form of a C-cut.

[0192] In one embodiment, the curvature of the narrow side of the substrate extends along at least one direction and / or in a partial area according to a parabolic, polynomial or logarithmic shape and / or is predetermined by the intensity profile of the fourth-order beam.

[0193] In one embodiment, the substrate body has at least one modification therein, advantageously a spatially limited modification of the density and / or refractive index of the substrate material, comprising a cavity, crack and / or through-hole in the substrate material, advantageously with a shaped outer / inner contour and / or taper angle. Optionally, the modification may be internally bounded by different types of contours, e.g., straight or curved. Furthermore, the modification may penetrate at least one, both or neither of the top surfaces of the substrate body.

[0194] In one embodiment, the characterized surface has a roughness Ra of 5 μm or less, advantageously 2 μm or less, more preferably 1 μm or less, for example, the roughness is an average roughness, advantageously measured according to ISO 25178:2016.

[0195] In one embodiment, the characterized surface has a grooved structure.

[0196] In one embodiment, the substrate body has two or more layers and curved sides. Optionally, the substrate body with functional components may be processed in situ.

[0197] In one embodiment, the substrate body is or comprises glass, glass ceramic, silicon or sapphire.

[0198] In one embodiment, the substrate body does not have a buildup of substrate material at the edge region of the characterized surface.

[0199] Alternatively or additionally, the characterized surface has a strength of at least 100 MPa, advantageously at least 150 MPa, more preferably at least 200 MPa, Advantageously, it may be provided that the characterized surfaces are etched, in whole or in part, in particular with hydrofluoric acid, sodium hydroxide, alkaline solutions, such as potassium hydroxide solutions, and / or with acids.

[0200] Due to the high strength of the characterized surface, the substrate body is resistant to external influences, such as mechanical stress acting on the characterized surface. This stabilization is particularly advantageous for thin substrate bodies.

[0201] The method according to the invention provides such a characterized surface, since the damages such as microcracks that occur in the conventional methods do not occur in the proposed method, especially since these known methods are not applicable to substrate bodies, let alone the thicknesses in question here.

[0202] Further strength can be achieved by fully or partially etching the characterized surface.

[0203] Alternatively or additionally, it may be provided that the characterized surface is height-adjusted at least in part areas, in particular having a wavy and / or domed structure, advantageously along and / or perpendicular to the main extension direction of the characterized surface.

[0204] By adjusting the height, the strength of the characterized surface can be increased, so that the substrate body is more resistant to external influences, such as mechanical stresses, acting on the characterized surface. This is a great advantage, especially for thin substrate bodies, as additional stabilization can be achieved in this way.

[0205] Until now, it has not been possible to safely and reliably perform such height adjustment, especially on the side surfaces of thin substrate bodies. Due to the mechanical instability of thin substrate bodies, the processes required for this, especially grinding, could not previously be carried out on such substrates. The proposed method makes it possible to pattern even very thin substrate bodies, especially on their side surfaces, and to incorporate height adjustment.

[0206] In this way, for example, by affecting the substrate material in a plurality of curved active areas, height profiles can be realized particularly simply and reliably. If the substrate material in the curved active areas is removed, for example, by the affecting itself or by a subsequent etching process, for example, individual cavities in the substrate body can be interconnected by subsequent etching by etching away the unaffected substrate material between the individual cavities. As a result, a characteristic wave-like structure can be achieved along the main extension direction of the characterized surface.

[0207] Advantageously, the main direction of extension of the characterized surface extends perpendicular to the main direction of extension of the curved active area.

[0208] Alternatively or additionally, (i) the substrate body is transparent, made of glass, and / or advantageously has a second top surface extending parallel to and / or opposite to the first top surface; (ii) the thickness of the substrate body, advantageously measured between the first top surface and the second top surface, is 500 μm or less, advantageously 400 μm or less, more preferably 300 μm or less, more preferably 200 μm or less, more preferably 100 μm or less, more preferably 70 μm or less, more preferably 50 μm or less, more preferably 30 μm or less, and most preferably 10 μm or less; and / or (iii) 1. The characterized surface extends between a first upper surface and a second upper surface; 2. The characterized surface is at least partially connected to the first upper surface and / or the second upper surface; 3. At least one side of the substrate body, advantageously at least a portion of the circumferential side, has a characterized surface; 4. At least a portion of the surface of the through hole, which preferably extends from the first upper surface to the second upper surface, has a characterized surface, and the through hole is preferably formed by affecting and / or etching the substrate material; 5. At least one surface region of a cavity in the substrate body has a characterized surface, said cavity being advantageously accessible from the outside or completely enclosed in the substrate material, advantageously said cavity being formed by affecting and / or etching the substrate material; 6. The characterized surface is, at least in part, an inward-facing surface of the substrate body; and / or 7. It may be provided that the characterized surface is, at least in part area, an outward facing surface of the substrate body.

[0209] Alternatively or additionally, after patterning of the characterized surface, the first curved profile of the characterized surface extends perpendicular to a main extension direction of the characterized surface; and / or It may be provided that in the main direction of extension of the characterized surface, in particular in the circumferential direction of the substrate body, the characterized surface has at least in part areas a second curved profile.

[0210] Alternatively or additionally, in at least one cross-sectional plane of the substrate body, the characterized surface has a contour along a first curved profile, the contour comprising: (i) at least partially convexly or concavely curved; (ii) corresponds, at least in part, to the contour of the curved area of ​​action; and / or (iii) It may be envisaged that the coating has at least in part a parabolic profile, a quartic profile, a logarithmic profile, a profile according to a polynomial function of degree n, advantageously an even number n, in particular n=6, n=8, n=10 or n=12, and / or a C-shaped profile.

[0211] These features have already been explained in the corresponding features of the first aspect of the present invention, and that explanation applies mutatis mutandis here, so reference can be made to the explanation therein.

[0212] This problem is solved by the invention according to a third aspect by proposing a substrate body according to the second aspect of the invention, the substrate body has at least one spatial modification of its material, such as a refractive index change, a density change and / or a cavity, at least in a partial area thereof; The modified portion has a contour that is curved at least in a partial area in a cross-sectional plane of the substrate body, Advantageously, the modification extends from the first upper surface of the substrate body into the substrate material, in particular in the direction of and / or up to the second upper surface of the substrate body, which second upper surface is advantageously opposite and / or extends parallel to the first upper surface, Advantageously, the substrate body has a thickness of less than or equal to 500 μm, in particular measured between the first and second upper surfaces of the substrate body.

[0213] For the first time, a substrate body is provided which, despite its small thickness, can have corresponding modifications patterned with curved contours in the cross-sectional plane.

[0214] In particular, this has not been possible up to now with such a thin substrate body, and in this case, the conventional method suffers from the same problems as those described above with respect to the second aspect of the present invention.

[0215] The electromagnetic field can be generated even inside very thin substrate bodies and affect the substrate material accordingly there, so that even thin, yet very sensitive substrate bodies can be provided with such modifications, which is ideal for microsheets.

[0216] The alteration may be, for example, a change in the refractive index and / or density of the substrate material. The alteration may also be a cavity in the substrate material.

[0217] The substrate body advantageously has a substrate thickness of 400 μm or less, 300 μm or less, 200 μm or less, 100 μm or less, 50 μm or less, or 10 μm or less.

[0218] The substrate body advantageously has a substrate thickness of 0.1 μm or more, 1 μm or more, 10 μm or more, 50 μm or more, or 100 μm or more.

[0219] In one embodiment, the substrate body is or comprises glass, glass ceramic, silicon or sapphire.

[0220] Alternatively or additionally, the alteration has a maximum deviation from a straight profile of more than 20 μm, more than 40 μm, more than 60 μm, more than 80 μm or more than 100 μm; and / or It may be contemplated that the length of the modification is in each case greater than 0.1 mm, greater than 0.3 mm, greater than 0.5 mm, greater than 0.7 mm, greater than 1 mm, greater than 3 mm or greater than 5 mm.

[0221] These features have already been explained in the corresponding features of the first aspect of the present invention, and that explanation applies mutatis mutandis here, so reference can be made to the explanation therein.

[0222] Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description in which preferred embodiments of the invention are explained with reference to the schematic drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0223] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a top view of a first substrate body. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first substrate body in a first cross-sectional view. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the first substrate body in a second cross-sectional view. [Figure 4a] FIG. 1 is a top view of a first substrate body with affected substrate material. [Figure 4b] FIG. 1 is a side view of a first substrate body having affected substrate material. [Figure 5] 10A-10C show different profiles of the side surface of the first substrate body after an etching process in the cross-sectional plane of the first cross-sectional view. [Figure 6a] FIG. 2 shows the first substrate body after an etching process in the cross-sectional plane of a first cross-sectional view. [Figure 6b] FIG. 10 shows the first substrate body after an etching process in the cross-sectional plane of a second cross-sectional view. [Figure 7a] FIG. 2 is a top view of the second substrate body. [Figure 7b] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a second substrate body. [Figure 8a] FIG. 10 is a top view of the third substrate body. [Figure 8b] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a third substrate body. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 illustrates the effect of the focal length of a focusing optical system on a laser beam. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing line foci when the laser output is changed. [Figure 11] 1A and 1B show various line foci of a substrate body. [Figure 12a] FIG. 10 shows line foci for different phase functions. [Figure 12b] FIG. 10 shows line foci for different phase functions. [Figure 12c] FIG. 10 shows line foci for different phase functions. [Figure 13]FIG. 1 shows the optical setup for the 2f configuration. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the phase shift represented by gray value coding. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a top view of the processed substrate body. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a top view of the processed substrate body. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a modification of the substrate body of FIG. 16. [Figure 18a] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a substrate body with a curved active area enclosed therein. [Figure 18b] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a substrate body having a material change portion accessible from the outside. [Figure 18c] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a patterned substrate body.

[0224] Example 1 shows a top view of a cubic transparent substrate body 1. The substrate body 1 is made of glass, that is, the substrate material is glass.

[0225] The side surface 3 of the substrate body 1 on the right side of Fig. 1 is patterned. In other words, a new shape is given to the side surface 3.

[0226] FIG. 2 shows the substrate body 1 in a cross-sectional view, the cross-sectional plane extending parallel to the first upper surface 5 of the substrate body 1.

[0227] In order to pattern the new surface of the previously unpatterned side surface 3, the substrate material of the substrate body 1 is uniformly exposed to an electromagnetic field in a plurality of curved action areas 7a-7c, which in each case nonlinearly interact with the substrate material in the respective action areas. As a result of the nonlinear interaction, the substrate material is affected in the regions of the curved action areas 7a-7c. This effect is accompanied by a change in the refractive index of the substrate material.

[0228] This electromagnetic field is a laser line focus formed in the substrate material. By moving the line focus relative to the substrate body 1, the laser line focus is successively formed in different areas of the substrate material, i.e., the substrate material is first affected by curved area of ​​action 7a, then by curved area of ​​action 7b, and then by curved area of ​​action 7c.

[0229] The electromagnetic field of the line focus corresponds in particular to the respective curved active area, which also in each case corresponds to an area with affected substrate material.

[0230] The laser beam can be propagated through a spatial light modulator and, depending on the applied phase, the line focus will also be curved, thus creating a respective curved active area.

[0231] The individual curved active areas are arranged at a distance from one another, and in the cross-sectional plane of Figure 2, the centre of gravity (not shown) of the intersection of the curved active areas 7a-7c with the cross-sectional plane extends along a straight line parallel to the edge 9 of the side surface 3.

[0232] Figure 3 shows another cross-sectional view of the substrate body 1, the cross-sectional plane of which runs perpendicular to the first upper surface 5 of the substrate body 1 and intersects the cross-sectional view of Figure 2 at the intersection line S shown therein by the dashed line. The crescent shape of the curved active area 7b can be seen in Figure 3. Other curved active areas not visible in Figure 3 have the same shape in corresponding parallel cross-sectional planes.

[0233] 2 and 3, the shape of the intersection with the curved active area also changes. The specific manner of change depends on the three-dimensional shape of the curved active area. The spatial shape of the curved active area can be adjusted and adapted by the phase of the line focus.

[0234] As can further be seen in Figure 3, the curved active areas 7a-7c in each case intersect with the first upper surface 5, the second upper surface 11 and the side surface 3 to be patterned of the substrate body 1. The affected substrate material is therefore accessible from the outside at the corresponding intersections of the substrate body 1 and the curved active areas 7a-7c.

[0235] 4a shows a top view of the substrate body 1. In this figure, it can be seen that the curved active areas 7a-7c each have an intersection with the first top surface 5. FIG. 4b shows the substrate body 1 as seen from one side, and thus the side surface 3 to be patterned. In this figure, it can also be seen that the curved active areas 7a-7c each have an intersection with the side surface 3.

[0236] Afterwards, selective laser etching is applied to remove the affected substrate material, for which the substrate body 1 is exposed at least locally to an etching medium.

[0237] The laser selective etching etches away both affected and unaffected substrate material from the substrate body 1, although the affected substrate material etches away more quickly than the unaffected substrate material.

[0238] Figure 5 shows the substrate body 1 in the same cross-sectional plane as already shown in Figure 2, but now after the etching process. If only the affected substrate material had been removed by the etching process, the contour of the patterned substrate body in the cross-sectional plane of Figure 5 would extend along the solid line. The curved active areas 7a-7c emboss a circular contour 13 in the substrate material in the cross-sectional plane of Figure 5.

[0239] However, since the etching process also removes unaffected material, the substrate material 15 between the individual curved affected areas and in the edge areas is also partially etched away, resulting in the removal of webs, in particular between areas with affected material. Furthermore, for the same reason, the circular contours 13 are also all shifted into the substrate material, as shown by the slightly shifted dashed profile.

[0240] Therefore, the pre-unpatterned side surface 3 of the substrate body 1 will have a contour following the dashed line after being patterned in the cross-sectional plane of FIG.

[0241] Figure 6a shows the profile of the patterned surface 17 in the cross-sectional plane of Figure 2, and Figure 6b shows the profile of the original unpatterned surface 3 marked with dashed lines in the cross-sectional plane of Figure 3. The patterned surface 17 has a controlled height and in some areas has dome-shaped structures corresponding to the dome-shaped depressions.

[0242] As a result, affected and also unaffected substrate material is removed by etching to form a patterned surface 17. This patterned surface 17 is a characterized surface within the meaning of the present invention.

[0243] The patterned surface 17 is at least partially connected to the first and second top surfaces 5, 11. The patterned surface 17 is an outer surface.

[0244] The curved profile of the patterned side surface 17 shown in FIG. 6b is convex and corresponds to a first curved profile. The first curved profile was influenced by the shape of the curved active area 7b. That is, although the etching process here also removes some unaffected substrate material, the basic profile of the patterned right side surface 17 of the substrate body 1 is in each case co-determined in part by the curved shape of the curved active area applied thereto (in this case, the curved active area 7b). Because the curved active areas 7a-7c participate in the surface patterning at multiple locations, the patterned surface 17 has the same first curved profile in multiple regions. This is because the curved shapes of the curved active areas 7a-7c determine or influence the profile of the patterned surface 17 in multiple regions. In other words, the first curved profile is achieved by multiple curved active areas in multiple regions of the patterned or characterized surface 17.

[0245] The first and second top surfaces 5, 11 of the substrate body 1 are parallel to each other in Figures 3 and 6b and have a distance of 500 µm from each other.

[0246] If the curved active areas 7a-7c were rotated 180° about an axis perpendicular to the first upper surface 5, the first curved profile would be concave in the cross-sectional plane of Figure 6b.

[0247] By positioning the curved active areas 7a-7c from the surface 3 to be patterned towards the middle of the substrate body 1, the substrate body 1 can be separated into two parts, where at the separation plane the remaining substrate body has a patterned surface, such as patterned surface 17, in a corresponding manner as described above.

[0248] FIG. 7a shows the substrate body 1' in a top view, and FIG. 7b shows the substrate body 1' in a cross-sectional view, with the cross-sectional plane extending perpendicular to the first upper surface 5' of the substrate body 1' and intersecting the cross-sectional view of FIG. 7a, indicated by the dotted line S' in the figure. In the substrate body 1', the substrate material is affected only in a single curved area of ​​effect 7'. The curved area of ​​effect 7' extends from the first upper surface 5' to the second upper surface 11'. When the affected material is etched away, a cavity can be created in the substrate body 1'. The surface of this cavity is the patterned surface and therefore the characterized surface. In this case, this surface is the inner surface.

[0249] FIG. 8a shows the substrate body 1'' in a top view, and FIG. 8b shows the substrate body 1'' in a cross-sectional view, where the cross-sectional plane extends perpendicular to the first upper surface 5'' of the substrate body 1'' and intersects the cross-sectional view of FIG. 8a as indicated by the dotted line S'' in the figure. In the substrate body 1'', the substrate material is affected only in a single curved active area 7''. The curved active area 7'' extends from the first upper surface 5'' to the second upper surface 11''. When the affected material is etched away, a through-hole, or via, can be created in the substrate body 1''. The surface of this through-hole is the patterned surface and therefore the characterized surface. In this case, this surface is the inner surface.

[0250] Effect of focal length of focusing optical system Figure 9 shows the effect of the focal length of the focusing optics on an Airy laser beam, with the following constants: - Cubic topology (β=3 1 / 3 x10 3 / m); - Laser wavelength (λ = 1.030 × 10 -6 m); and - Beam diameter (raw beam diameter w0 = 5 × 10 -3 m) In this case, as the focal length increases, the length of the focal region (relative definition: 1 / e of the maximum value) 2(the decrease in the focal length to the optical axis) becomes larger (solid curve in Figure 9), and the angle that the upper and lower focal points make with the optical axis in each case becomes smaller (dashed curve in Figure 9). Therefore, the left vertical axis relates to the solid line, and the right vertical axis relates to the dashed line.

[0251] Effect of laser power on line focus Figure 10 shows the material area of ​​a glass substrate affected by different laser power line foci. From top to bottom, the laser power increases, thus increasing the curved active area and therefore the affected material area.

[0252] Effects of line focus tilt and misalignment Offset refers to the spacing of the focal region apex from the center of the substrate body. Tilt refers to the angle between the surface normal and the tangent to the apex.

[0253] When an untilted Airy beam is centered, the apex of the focal region along the normal to the substrate surface is in the middle of the substrate body, i.e., in the middle of its thickness extension, and the surface normal and the tangent to the apex are parallel.

[0254] 11 shows various line foci 23a-23e of a laser beam formed at least partially on the substrate body 21. The cross-sectional plane of FIG.

[0255] Line focus 23a specifically represents the line focus of an Airy beam, and is centered and has no tilt. Line focus 23a has vertex 25 of parabolic focal region 23a.

[0256] Line focus 23b specifically represents the line focus of the Airy beam, which is shifted.

[0257] Line focus 23c specifically represents the line focus of an Airy beam, which is tilted and shifted.

[0258] Line focus 23d represents a line focus with variable curvature, particularly for functions other than an Airy beam. For example, the curvature can represent a C-profile.

[0259] Line focus 23e represents the line focus of a function, such as an Airy beam, that modifies the top of substrate material 1 in a first region 27a and the bottom of substrate 1 in a second region 27b.

[0260] 11, the length of each of the line focuses 23a-23e can also be defined as the length of a curved profile shown in particular inside the substrate body 1. Furthermore, the line focus 23a is shown with a connecting line 29 passing through the end of the line focus 23a inside the substrate body 21. This can be understood to mean a straight focus line, the maximum deviation from which corresponds in particular to the distance between the connecting line 29 and the vertex 25.

[0261] phase function The table below shows various exemplary phase functions that can be applied to a laser beam and the resulting curved active area in the substrate material. [Table 1]

[0262] This parameter is described in the publication Froehly, L., Courvoisier, F., Mathis, A., Jacquot, M., Furfaro, L., Giust, R., ... & Dudley, JM (2011). Arbitrary accelerating micron-scale caustic beams in two and three dimensions. Optics express, 19(17), 16455-16465.

[0263] 12a-12c show examples of line foci for different phase functions. The horizontal axis is in millimeters (mm). The vertical axis is in millimeters (mm). FIG. 12a shows a laser beam with a line focus having a parabolic acceleration profile. FIG. 12b shows a laser beam with a line focus having a fourth-order acceleration profile. FIG. 12c shows a laser beam with a line focus having a logarithmic acceleration profile. The corresponding line foci allow for different curved areas of action, which in turn affect the substrate material in corresponding spatial regions.

[0264] The entire theoretical profile of the line focus according to the phase function is shown in each case by a dashed line. The line focus itself is formed only along one section (slightly shifted in parts so that the theoretical profile can be seen). Only at the location of the line focus can nonlinear interactions take place. This allows us to fundamentally understand how line focuses can be used to obtain externally accessible or completely confined cavities.

[0265] Further Aspects 13 shows an optical setup in a 2f configuration that can be advantageously used in the method according to the invention, in which an incident laser beam 35 with a beam diameter 36 is subjected to a phase distribution by a phase mask 33 and is imaged by subsequent focusing optics 31, located at a distance corresponding to its input focal length 37, from the phase mask at a distance corresponding to its output focal length 39 onto the substrate 1, forming a curved line focus 23 inside the substrate 1.

[0266] 14 shows a gray value coding representation of an exemplary phase shift applied to a laser beam 35 by a phase mask 33, which may advantageously be realized in the form of an SLM (Spatial Light Modulator) or a DOE (Diffractive Optical Element), resulting in a curved contour 23 of the laser focus. In this case, phase values ​​between 0 and 2Pi are represented by gray values ​​between 0 and 255. The phase distribution is present in a cross section perpendicular to the main propagation direction of the laser beam.

[0267] Figure 15 shows a top view of a substrate body patterned by the method according to the invention. In particular, the normal vector of the characterized surface extends in the drawing plane of Figure 15. Therefore, in Figure 15, the first curved profile of the characterized surface can be particularly advantageously recognized.

[0268] The laser beam used for patterning ran parallel to the plane of the drawing in FIG. 15, as indicated by the arrow.

[0269] For the patterning of the characterized surfaces, the following general and laser parameters were set: - microscope objectives and Fourier lenses (focal length f = 10 mm); - Wavelength 1030nm; - Beam diameter 5.3mm; - Cube topology φ=exp(i*(x 3 +y 3 )) and φ=exp(iβ / 3*(x 3 +y 3 )) where β=3 1 / 3 mm -1 , x and y are in mm; - pulse width τ=5ps; - N=2, the number of pulses in the burst; - 228 μJ of energy per burst; and - Pitch 10μm.

[0270] Figure 16 shows a top view of a substrate body patterned by a method according to the invention. In particular, the normal vector of the characterized surface extends in the drawing plane of Figure 16. Therefore, in Figure 16, the first curved profile of the characterized surface can be particularly advantageously recognized.

[0271] The laser beam used for patterning ran parallel to the plane of the drawing in FIG. 16, as indicated by the arrow.

[0272] For the patterning of the characterized surfaces, the following general and laser parameters were set: - substrate material, for example BF33, with a thickness selected from the range of 900-1000 μm; - pitch 40 μm; - microscope objectives and Fourier lenses (focal length f = 10 mm); - beam expander with a magnification of 2.0 (especially for input Gaussian beams with a diameter of 10 mm); - pulse width τ=5ps; - N=2, the number of pulses in the burst; - 300 μJ of energy per burst; and - Wavelength 1030nm; - Cube topology φ=exp(i*(x 3 +y 3 )) and φ=exp(iβ / 3*(x 3 +y 3 )) where β=3 1 / 3 mm -1 , x and y are in mm.

[0273] By choosing a sufficiently large pitch, as is the case here, interactions between adjacent regions in the substrate with alterations are avoided or at least greatly reduced.

[0274] Figure 17 shows on the left a transmitted light micrograph of the substrate after laser processing but before etching (here viewed parallel to the laser propagation direction). The lateral application of modifications is shown, where in each case the modifications are shown at three selected different depths in the substrate. The respective depths are marked on the right side of Figure 17.

[0275] When introducing the modifications, a sufficiently large pitch was chosen so that the extent of the laterally angled / arrow-shaped modifications overlapped only minimally, thereby ensuring that propagation within the material was not or only slightly impeded by said modifications.

[0276] The "zigzag" pattern is due to the laterally extended alterations near the focal point, which still lie on a straight line. Furthermore, the apex of the curved active area was kept centered between the two upper surfaces, and the curved active area was formed entirely within the substrate material.

[0277] Further embodiments 18a shows a cross-sectional view of a rectangular substrate body 41. Inside the substrate body 41, the substrate material was exposed to an electromagnetic field in a curved active region 43, and in the corresponding region, the substrate material was modified by a nonlinear interaction between the electromagnetic field and the substrate material due to nonlinear absorption.

[0278] The curved active area 43 and therefore the modifications after introduction of said area 43 are completely enclosed within the substrate body 41 .

[0279] Thus, according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is contemplated to remove material from the substrate body, for example by etching. This can be done along the main extension direction H of the curved active area 43, which in this case extends perpendicularly to the two upper surfaces 45. In other words, material is removed from the two upper surfaces 45 of the substrate body 41. As a result, the new upper surfaces 45 of the substrate body are shifted, so to speak, along the main extension direction H. This can be seen in FIG. 18b, which further shows that the substrate material 43 affected in the confined curved active area 43 becomes accessible from the outside due to the removal of the substrate material, since part of the affected substrate material is now located on the surface of the upper surfaces 45.

[0280] The curved active area 43 or the substrate material 43 affected therein has a profile that is not subject to surface effects (e.g., upper surface 45) since the interaction takes place entirely within the substrate body 41 (Fig. 18a).

[0281] With the altered substrate material 43 (Figure 18b) now accessible, the substrate body 41 can then be further processed as described above to pattern the characterized surface 47, as shown in Figure 18c, for example by etching away the affected material 43.

[0282] The features disclosed in the foregoing description, the claims and the drawings may, both alone and in any combination, be important to the invention in its various embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0283] 1,1',1'' PCB body 3. Aspects 5,5',5'' top surface 7a-7c Curved area of ​​action 7',7'' curved area of ​​action 9. Edge 11,11',11'' top surface 13 Contour 15 Substrate materials 17 Surface 21 Board body 23a~23e Line focus 25 Vertex 27a,27b area 29 Connecting Lines 31 Imaging optical system 33 Phase Mask 35 Laser Beam 36 Laser beam diameter 37 Input focal length 39 Output focal length 41 Board body 43 Curved Area of ​​Action 45 Top 47 Surface H Main stretching direction S,S',S'' intersection line

Claims

1. 1. A method for preparing and / or carrying out patterning of a defined or predeterminable characterized surface of a substrate body having a substrate material, comprising: The method includes exposing the substrate material in at least one curved region of action to an electromagnetic field that causes a nonlinear interaction between the electromagnetic field and the substrate material in each of the at least one curved region of action, thereby at least partially affecting the substrate material disposed in the curved region of action; after patterning the characterized surface, the characterized surface has, at least in part areas, at least one first curved profile that is at least partially determined and / or influenced by the curved shape of the at least one curved active area, The method, wherein the nonlinear interaction causes at least one nonlinear absorption of the electromagnetic field in the substrate material.

2. exposing the substrate material to an electromagnetic field at a plurality of curved regions of effect; Here, advantageously (i) the characterized surface has the same first curved profile in multiple regions, in particular determined or influenced by the curved shapes of the multiple curved active regions and / or has the first curved profile throughout; and / or (ii) The method according to claim 1, wherein the curved active areas are selected to be arranged at a distance from one another, in particular in a cross-sectional plane of the substrate body, such that the centers or centroids of the intersections of the curved active areas with the cross-sectional plane extend along a straight line or along any, in particular circular, curve, and / or successive active areas have a distance from one another that is 30% to 100% or 100% to 200% of the maximum extent of the curved active areas in the cross-sectional plane.

3. Influencing the substrate material comprises at least partially changing, in particular increasing or decreasing, one or more material properties, such as in particular the refractive index, etching rate and / or density of the substrate material, and / or 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein influencing the substrate material comprises at least partially removing and / or excluding the substrate material from the curved area of ​​action, in particular compressing the substrate material into the surrounding substrate material.

4. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the characterized surface is formed by at least partially removing the substrate material by the impacting and / or by at least partially removing the affected substrate material by at least a subsequent etching process, in particular a wet chemical process, using an acid and / or alkaline liquid, preferably using a potassium hydroxide solution as etching medium.

5. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic field is provided in the form of and / or by a curved line focus, in particular a laser beam, and / or the curved area of ​​action is determined by the shape of the line focus.

6. the laser beam is provided by an ultrashort pulse laser; adjusting and / or adapting the phase of the laser beam, in particular by using a combination of a spatial light modulator, a diffractive optical element and / or a plurality of cylindrical lenses; the laser beam is focused onto the substrate body, preferably by means of a microscope objective or a Fourier lens, wherein the focusing is preferably carried out after adjusting or adapting the phase of the laser beam and / or forming the line focus, said line focus being that of an accelerated laser beam, in particular an Airy beam; The wavelength of the laser beam is 1064 nm, the microscope objective lens or Fourier lens has a focal length of 10-20 mm, and the cubic phase coefficient (laser parameter β) is 0.5×10 ３ / m ~ 5 × 10 ３ / m and the raw beam diameter (laser parameter ω ０ ) has a value of 1 mm to 10 mm, preferably 2.5 mm to 5 mm, the pulse duration (laser parameter τ) has a value of 0.1 to 10 ps, ​​and the pulse energy (laser parameter E ｐ ) has a value of 1 to 1500 μJ, preferably 30 to 500 μJ, in particular 474 μJ, and / or the number of pulses in the burst (laser parameter N) has a value of 1 to 200, preferably 1 to 100, in particular 1 to 8, The spatial extent of the curved active areas, advantageously one of its length and / or its diameter, is adjusted and / or varied over time by varying the average power range of the laser and / or by varying the phase, in particular adjusting different extents for at least some of the curved active areas, and / or 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the spatial orientation of the curved active areas is adjusted and / or varied over time by changing the tilt of the optical axis of the laser beam relative to the normal of the substrate surface, in particular the substrate surface at which the laser beam is incident on the substrate body, in particular adjusting different orientations for at least some of the plurality of curved active areas.

7. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one auxiliary substrate body is arranged on the substrate body, at least during the nonlinear interaction, and each of the curved areas of action and / or the line foci extends at least partially within the auxiliary substrate body, and preferably, two or more auxiliary substrate bodies are arranged on the substrate body, in particular on opposite sides of the substrate body, and each of the curved areas of action and / or the line foci extends at least partially within two or more auxiliary substrate bodies.

8. at least one, preferably a plurality and / or all of the at least one curved active region are completely confined within the substrate body, in particular at least during the nonlinear interaction, 8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising removing material from the substrate body at least in a partial area, in particular along the main direction of extension of the curved active area in the substrate body, so that the substrate material affected in the confined curved active area is at least partially and / or partially accessible from the outside, in particular by carrying out the removal of material from the substrate body by etching.

9. exposing the substrate material to the electromagnetic field in individual areas of the plurality of curved active areas sequentially, totally or partially in parallel; (i) simultaneously exposing the entire substrate material within a curved area of ​​effect to the electromagnetic field; (ii) the curved active area has in each case a maximum deviation from a straight profile of more than 20 μm, more than 40 μm, more than 60 μm, more than 80 μm or more than 100 μm; and / or 9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein (iii) the length of the curved area of ​​action is in each case greater than 0.1 mm, greater than 0.3 mm, greater than 0.5 mm, greater than 0.7 mm, greater than 1 mm, greater than 3 mm or greater than 5 mm.

10. (i) the substrate body is transparent, made of glass, and has a first top surface and / or a second top surface, preferably extending parallel to and / or opposite to the first top surface; (ii) the thickness of said substrate body, advantageously measured between said first top surface and said second top surface, is 500 μm or less, advantageously 400 μm or less, more preferably 300 μm or less, more preferably 200 μm or less, more preferably 100 μm or less, more preferably 70 μm or less, more preferably 50 μm or less, more preferably 30 μm or less, and most preferably 10 μm or less; and / or (iii) after patterning the characterized surface, 1. The characterized surface extends between the first upper surface and the second upper surface; 2. The characterized surface is at least partially connected to the first upper surface and / or the second upper surface; 3. At least one side surface of the substrate body, preferably at least a portion of a circumferential side surface, has the characterized surface; 4. At least a portion of the surface of the through hole, which preferably extends from the first upper surface to the second upper surface, has a characterized surface, and preferably the through hole has been formed by affecting and / or etching the substrate material; 5. At least one surface area of ​​a cavity in the substrate body has the characterized surface, the cavity being advantageously accessible from the outside or completely enclosed in the substrate material, advantageously formed by affecting and / or etching the substrate material; 6. The characterized surface is at least partially an inwardly facing surface of the substrate body; and / or 7. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the characterized surface is at least in part-area an outwardly facing surface of the substrate body.

11. after patterning the characterized surface, the first curved profile of the characterized surface extends perpendicular to a main extension direction of the characterized surface; and / or 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the characterized surface has a second curved profile at least in part areas in the main direction of extension of the characterized surface, in particular in the circumferential direction of the substrate body.

12. After the patterning of the characterized surface in at least one cross-sectional plane of the substrate body, the characterized surface has a contour along the first curved profile, the contour comprising: (i) at least partially convexly or concavely curved; (ii) corresponds, at least in part, to the contour of the curved working area; and / or 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the coating has at least partially a parabolic profile, a quartic profile, a logarithmic profile, a profile according to a polynomial function of degree n, preferably an even number n, in particular n=6, n=8, n=10 or n=12, and / or a C-shaped profile.

13. A substrate body, It has at least a first upper surface and at least one characterized surface, in particular produced or producible according to the method of any one of claims 1 to 12, the characterized surface has, at least in part, at least one first curved profile; the first curved profile is located in a cross-sectional plane of the substrate body fixed in a plane having at least one normal vector of the characterized surface and a normal vector of the top surface; the first curved profile can be described, at least in part, by a parabolic, quartic, logarithmic and / or polynomial phase function; The substrate body has a thickness of 500 μm or less.

14. the characterized surface has a strength of at least 100 MPa, advantageously at least 150 MPa, more preferably at least 200 MPa; Advantageously, the characterized surface has been etched, in whole or in part, in particular with hydrofluoric acid, sodium hydroxide, an alkaline solution, for example potassium hydroxide solution, and / or an acid.

15. 15. The substrate body according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the characterized surface is height-adjusted at least in part of its area, in particular having a wave-like and / or domed structure, advantageously along and / or perpendicular to the main direction of extension of the characterized surface.

16. (i) the substrate body is transparent, made of glass, and has a first top surface and / or a second top surface, preferably extending parallel to and / or opposite to the first top surface; (ii) the thickness of said substrate body, advantageously measured between said first top surface and said second top surface, is 500 μm or less, advantageously 400 μm or less, more preferably 300 μm or less, more preferably 200 μm or less, more preferably 100 μm or less, more preferably 70 μm or less, more preferably 50 μm or less, more preferably 30 μm or less, and most preferably 10 μm or less; and / or (iii) 1. The characterized surface extends between the first upper surface and the second upper surface; 2. The characterized surface is at least partially connected to the first upper surface and / or the second upper surface; 3. At least one side surface of the substrate body, preferably at least a portion of a circumferential side surface, has the characterized surface; 4. At least a portion of the surface of the through hole, which preferably extends from the first upper surface to the second upper surface, has a characterized surface, and preferably the through hole has been formed by affecting and / or etching the substrate material; 5. At least one surface area of ​​a cavity in the substrate body has the characterized surface, the cavity being advantageously accessible from the outside or completely enclosed in the substrate material, advantageously formed by affecting and / or etching the substrate material; 6. The characterized surface is at least partially an inwardly facing surface of the substrate body; and / or 7. The characterized surface is the outward facing surface of the substrate body at least in part of the area; The substrate body according to any one of claims 13 to 15.

17. the first curved profile of the characterized surface extends perpendicular to a main direction of extension of the characterized surface; and / or 17. The substrate body according to claim 13, wherein the characterized surface has a second curved profile at least in a partial area in the main direction of extension of the characterized surface, in particular in the circumferential direction of the substrate body.

18. In at least one cross-sectional plane of the substrate body, the characterized surface has a contour along the first curved profile, the contour comprising: (i) at least partially convexly or concavely curved; (ii) corresponds, at least in part, to the contour of the curved working area; and / or (iii) The substrate body according to any one of claims 13 to 17, which at least partially has a parabolic profile, a quartic profile, a logarithmic profile, a profile according to a polynomial function of degree n, preferably an even number n, in particular n=6, n=8, n=10 or n=12, and / or a C-shaped profile.

19. the substrate body has at least one spatial modification of the substrate material, such as a refractive index change, a density change and / or a cavity, at least in a partial area thereof, The modified portion has a contour that is curved at least in a partial area in a cross-sectional plane of the substrate body, Advantageously, the modification extends from a first upper surface of the substrate body into the substrate material, in particular in the direction of and / or up to a second upper surface of the substrate body, which second upper surface is advantageously opposite to and / or extends parallel to the first upper surface, Advantageously, the substrate body has a thickness of 500 μm or less, measured in particular between the first upper surface and the second upper surface of the substrate body.

20. the alteration has a maximum deviation from a straight profile of more than 20 μm, more than 40 μm, more than 60 μm, more than 80 μm or more than 100 μm; and / or 20. The substrate body according to claim 19, wherein the length of the alteration is in each case greater than 0.1 mm, greater than 0.3 mm, greater than 0.5 mm, greater than 0.7 mm, greater than 1 mm, greater than 3 mm or greater than 5 mm.

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