Structured Glass Channels With Rounded Walls for Crack Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for structuring glass, such as sandblasting and laser ablation, face challenges in precision, damage prevention, and efficiency, particularly for thin glasses and structures smaller than 100 μm, as they lead to stress, microcracks, and slow processing times, which affect the strength and quality of the glass elements.
Innovation Solution
A laser-based process using an ultrashort pulse laser to create filament-shaped flaws in glass, followed by a slow etching medium to form channels with rounded, hemispherical depressions, which reduces stress and increases the strength of the glass by dissipating tensile stresses and suppressing crack growth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If sandblasting or ultrasonic vibratory lapping is used to structure glass, then material removal is achieved, but the process is restricted to structures larger than 100 μm and produces stresses and microcracks that reduce glass strength
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical structuring methods (sandblasting, ultrasonic vibratory lapping) with a chemical etching process using fluorinated plasma or chemical solutions. This substitution eliminates mechanical stresses and microcracks while achieving precise sub-100 μm structures with smooth walls and rounded corners that enhance rather than reduce glass strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of material removal from mechanical to chemical processes. By using fluorinated plasma or chemical etching solutions, the process achieves precise control over structure geometry (rounded corners, smooth walls) and size (below 100 μm) without the detrimental mechanical stresses associated with conventional methods.
2Manufacturing precision
If laser ablation is used to create fine structures in glass, then precision is improved, but thermal stressing and heat input produce microcracks and deformations in the peripheral region
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces thermal laser ablation with chemical etching using fluorinated plasma or chemical solutions. This substitution eliminates thermal stresses and heat-induced microcracks while maintaining the ability to create precise fine structures with smooth walls and controlled geometry, directly addressing the harmful thermal effects of laser processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the energy interaction mechanism from thermal (laser) to chemical (fluorinated plasma or chemical etching). This parameter change eliminates the thermal diffusion and heat-affected zones that cause microcracks and deformations, while still achieving precise sub-100 μm structuring with superior surface quality.
3Productivity
If mechanical removal of material is used for structuring glass, then material is removed effectively, but stresses are produced in the peripheral region of holes that reduce glass strength
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical material removal with chemical etching processes using fluorinated plasma or chemical solutions. This substitution maintains effective material removal capability while eliminating the generation of peripheral stresses and microcracks, thereby preserving and enhancing glass strength even as productivity is maintained.
4Productivity
If conventional laser processes are used for ablation, then material removal is achieved, but cluster-like ablation produces measurable roughnesses on hole walls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces cluster-like laser ablation with chemical etching processes that remove material layer by layer through fluorinated plasma or chemical solutions. This substitution produces smooth hole walls with minimal roughness while maintaining effective material removal rates, directly addressing the surface quality issue of conventional laser processing.
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 process enables the creation of glass elements with fine structures that enhance strength and reduce the risk of fractures under flexural stresses, while maintaining a smooth surface and efficient production, suitable for industrial manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
the laser beam of an ultrashort pulse laser is directed onto one of the side faces of the glass element and concentrated by focusing optics to form an elongated focus in the glass element, where a filament-shaped flaw is produced in the volume of the glass element by the radiated-in energy of the laser beam
Implementation Method 2
the glass element is exposed to an etching medium which removes glass of the glass element at a removal rate of less than 15 μm, for example less than 7 μm, per hour and the filament-shaped flaw widens to form a channel
Data Source
AI summary
A plate-like glass element including a pair of opposite side faces and at least one channel introduced into the glass of the glass element. The at least one channel joins the side faces and opens into the side faces. The at least one channel has a rounded wall and a transverse dimension of less than 100 μm. The at least one channel extends in a longitudinal direction that runs transverse to the side faces. The rounded wall of the at least one channel has a plurality of rounded, substantially hemispherical depressions.