Glass Substrate Edge Etching via Laminated Fixture
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing of ultra-thin glass substrates for flexible displays is challenging due to their thinness, high defect rate, and increased labor costs, necessitating a method to stabilize the process and reduce defects.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for manufacturing glass substrates that involve using a fixture and a plate with a protrusion and depression to create a laminated structure, which is then rotated in a stair shape to etch the edges of the glass substrates, resulting in a round edge shape.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a plate with protrusion and depression is used to create a laminated structure for etching glass substrate edges, then the round edge shape is achieved reducing chipping and cracks, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The plate with protrusion and depression acts as an intermediary component between the glass substrates and the etching solution. The protrusion fits into the depression to create a precise laminated structure that controls the etching process, ensuring uniform round edges while preventing chipping and cracks through the mediator's structural design
Solution Approach 2:
The plate is segmented into distinct functional parts: a protrusion portion that contacts one glass substrate and a depression portion that contacts the other glass substrate. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function in controlling the laminated structure during etching, improving edge integrity while managing device complexity through functional division
2Productivity
If multiple glass substrates are processed simultaneously using the laminated structure, then productivity increases, but the manufacturing precision decreases due to difficulty in maintaining uniform etching
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple glass substrates are merged into a single laminated structure by夹持ing them between plates with protrusions and depressions. This merging allows simultaneous batch processing of multiple substrates while maintaining uniform etching precision through the unified structural constraint provided by the plate assembly
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusion and depression design creates equipotential contact points across all glass substrates in the laminated structure. This ensures that each substrate experiences identical mechanical constraints and etching conditions, maintaining manufacturing precision even when processing multiple substrates simultaneously
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
The proposed method effectively reduces damage from fine chipping or cracks at the edges of the glass substrates by creating a round edge shape, thereby improving the reliability and reducing defects in the manufacturing process.
Implementation Method 1
The laminated structure may be rotated in an etchant to etch the edges of the plurality of glass substrates
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for manufacturing a glass substrate according to an embodiment includes a fixture coupled to an outermost glass substrate among a plurality of glass substrates, and a plate positioned between two adjacent glass substrates among the plurality of glass substrates, the plate includes a first base substrate including a protrusion and a second base substrate including a depression corresponding to the protrusion.