Laser Exposure System Beam Property Equalization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional laser systems face challenges in maintaining stable beam properties and achieving high throughput during laser annealing processes, particularly when irradiating amorphous silicon films on glass substrates, due to variations in beam properties from multiple laser devices.
Innovation Solution
A laser exposure system comprising multiple laser devices with a beam property adjustment unit that equalizes beam properties, including optical path length, divergence, and cross-sectional area, allowing for stable and high-energy laser beams to be multiplexed and uniformly irradiate the substrate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple laser devices are used to increase throughput, then productivity is improved, but beam property stability deteriorates due to variations between devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by adjusting optical path lengths, beam diameters, and divergence angles of individual laser beams using optical elements (lenses, mirrors, beam expanders) to compensate for device-to-device variations. This equalizes beam properties across multiple laser devices, maintaining stability while enabling parallel processing for high throughput
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces beam combining optics and optical path adjustment mechanisms as intermediary components between multiple laser devices and the substrate. These intermediaries normalize and merge beams from different devices, ensuring uniform beam properties are achieved before irradiation, thus resolving the contradiction between using multiple devices and maintaining beam stability
2Reliability
If beam properties are equalized using adjustment units, then beam property stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the beam adjustment function into separate optical path adjustment units for each laser device. Each unit independently adjusts parameters like optical path length and beam diameter, allowing modular implementation that maintains beam stability without requiring complete system redesign, thus managing complexity through functional segmentation
3Power
If high pulse energy is achieved through multiple laser devices, then power is improved, but beam property uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple high-energy laser beams into a unified irradiation pattern by equalizing their properties through optical adjustment. The beam combining optics ensure that despite individual device variations, the combined beams maintain uniform properties across the irradiated area, achieving both high pulse energy and uniformity simultaneously
Data Source
AI summary
A laser exposure system may include a plurality of laser devices configured to output laser beams with which an irradiated subject is irradiated, and at least one beam property adjustment unit disposed on optical paths of the laser beams outputted from the plurality of laser devices, and configured to allow beam properties of the laser beams to be approximately a same as each other.