Foldable Window CO2 Laser Thinning Without Chemical Etching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current window manufacturing technologies for flexible display devices are inefficient in reducing process time and cost, and they often require hazardous materials, making it difficult to easily fold the windows in folding portions without compromising strength and surface quality.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of a CO2 laser beam to create grooves on the folding portion of the window, reducing its thickness to less than two-thirds of the non-folding portions, allowing for easier folding while maintaining strength and surface quality, and eliminating the need for hazardous chemical etching processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If chemical etching process is used to thin the folding portion, then the window can be folded easily, but hazardous materials are required and process time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the chemical etching process with a laser beam processing method. The laser beam directly ablates or melts the glass material in the folding portion to create grooves and thin the glass thickness, eliminating the need for hazardous chemical etchants while achieving the same structural modification for improved foldability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and properties of the glass material in the folding portion by applying laser energy. The laser beam locally heats and modifies the glass, creating grooves and reducing thickness through controlled thermal processing, which enables easier folding without chemical treatments.
2Strength
If traditional manufacturing process is used, then the window maintains strength, but process time and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces multi-step mechanical and chemical manufacturing processes with a single laser beam processing step. The laser directly creates grooves and thins the glass in the folding portion in one operation, significantly reducing process time while maintaining window strength through precise localized processing that doesn't compromise the overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the processing into specific zones: the folding portion is selectively processed with laser grooves and thinning, while the non-folding portions maintain their original thickness and strength. This localized segmentation allows the folding area to be modified without affecting the structural integrity of the entire window.
3Ease of operation
If the folding portion thickness is reduced, then foldability improves, but surface quality may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses laser beam processing instead of mechanical grinding or chemical etching to create grooves and thin the folding portion. The laser produces clean, precise edges with minimal debris and no mechanical contact, maintaining high surface quality while achieving the necessary thickness reduction for improved foldability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different properties to different parts of the window: the folding portion is locally modified with grooves and reduced thickness to enable folding, while the non-folding portions maintain their original high-quality surface and full thickness. The laser processing creates clean, precise features in the folding area without affecting other regions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces manufacturing costs, shortens process time, and ensures a safer environment by using a low-cost CO2 laser beam, improving the window's foldability and maintaining high strength and surface quality in non-folding portions.
Implementation Method 1
irradiating a laser beam to a front surface of the folding portion of the window to form a first groove in the front surface of the folding portion
Implementation Method 2
The laser beam may include a CO2 laser beam. The laser beam may have a wavelength in a range of about 9 μm to about 11 μm
Data Source
AI summary
A manufacturing method of a window includes providing a window including a first non-folding portion, a second non-folding portion, and a folding portion disposed between the first and second non-folding portions and irradiating a laser beam to a front surface of the folding portion of the window to form a first groove in the front surface of the folding portion. The first and second non-folding portions and the folding portion are arranged in the window in a first direction, first processing areas extending in a second direction intersecting the first direction and arranged in the first direction are defined in the front surface of the folding portion, and the laser beam is irradiated at least once to each of the first processing areas in the second direction.