# US 12,191,216 B2 · Laser processing apparatus and method of correcting converged spot position > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,191,216 B2 - Document ID: US12191216B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/405,330 - Filed: 2021-08-18 - Published: 2022-03-03 - Granted: 2025-01-07 - Earliest claimed: 2020-08-31 - Assignees: Disco Corporation - Applicants: Disco Corporation - Inventors: Kentaro Odanaka - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12191216B2 ## CPC - B23K 26/034: {Observing the temperature of the workpiece} - H10P 74/238: {comprising acting in response to an ongoing measurement without interruption of processing, e.g. endpoint detection or in-situ thickness measurement} - B23K 26/0006: {taking account of the properties of the material involved (B23K26/32, B23K26/40 take precedence)} - B23K 26/02: Positioning or observing the workpiece, e.g. with respect to the point of impact; Aligning, aiming or focusing the laser beam - B23K 26/046: Automatically focusing the laser beam - B23K 26/0853: {Devices involving movement of the workpiece in at least two axial directions, e.g. in a plane} - G05D 3/20: using a digital comparing device - H10P 54/00: Cutting or separating of wafers, substrates or parts of devices - B23K 2101/40: Semiconductor devices - G01K 13/00: Thermometers specially adapted for specific purposes - B23K: SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM - H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 - G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES - G01K: MEASURING TEMPERATURE; MEASURING QUANTITY OF HEAT; THERMALLY-SENSITIVE ELEMENTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (radiation pyrometry G01J5/00) ## Abstract A laser processing apparatus includes a laser beam applying mechanism for applying a laser beam to a workpiece held by a holding mechanism while keeping a converged spot of the laser beam in the workpiece, and a temperature detector for detecting a temperature of the holding mechanism or a temperature of an actuator of a moving mechanism that moves the holding mechanism in a processing feed direction. The laser beam applying mechanism has a converged spot position adjusting unit. The controller, depending on a temperature change detected by the temperature detector, controls the converged spot position adjusting unit to establish a position of the converged spot of the laser beam in a thicknesswise direction of the workpiece. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A laser processing apparatus comprising: a holding mechanism for holding a workpiece; a laser beam applying mechanism for applying a laser beam to the workpiece held by the holding mechanism while keeping a converged spot of the laser beam in the workpiece; a moving mechanism for moving the holding mechanism in a processing feed direction and an indexing feed direction; a controller for controlling at least the laser beam applying mechanism and the moving mechanism; and a temperature detector for detecting a temperature of the holding mechanism or a temperature of an actuator of the moving mechanism that moves the holding mechanism in the processing feed direction, and the controller, depending on a temperature change detected by the temperature detector, controls the laser beam applying mechanism to establish a thicknesswise direction position of the converged spot of the laser beam in the thicknesswise direction of the workpiece, and controls the actuator to establish an indexing feed direction position of the converged spot of the laser beam in the indexing feed direction, thereby correcting the positions of the converged spot of the laser beam. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller stores in advance a correlation map defining a correlation between temperature changes of the holding mechanism or the actuator and changes in the position of the converged spot, and the controller acquires a change in the position of the converged spot that corresponds to the temperature change detected by the temperature detector by referring to the correlation map, and corrects the position of the converged spot of the laser beam, using a corrective value corresponding to the acquired change in the position of the converged spot. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the actuator of the moving mechanism that moves the holding mechanism in the processing feed direction is a linear motor having electromagnetic coils, and the temperature detector detects a temperature of the electromagnetic coils. ### Claim 4 A method of correcting a position of a converged spot of a laser beam in a laser processing apparatus including a holding mechanism for holding a workpiece, a laser beam applying mechanism for applying the laser beam to the workpiece held by the holding mechanism while keeping the converged spot of the laser beam in the workpiece, a moving mechanism for moving the holding mechanism in a processing feed direction and an indexing feed direction, a controller for controlling at least the laser beam applying mechanism and the moving mechanism, and a temperature detector for detecting a temperature of the holding mechanism or a temperature of an actuator of the moving mechanism that moves the holding mechanism in the processing feed direction, the method comprising: a temperature detecting step of detecting a temperature with the temperature detector; and a converged spot position correcting step of, on a basis of the detected temperature, controlling the laser beam applying mechanism to establish a thicknesswise direction position of the converged spot of the laser beam in the thicknesswise direction of the workpiece, and controlling the actuator to establish an indexing feed direction position of the converged spot of the laser beam in the indexing feed direction, thereby correcting the positions of the converged spot of the laser beam. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method according to claim 4, wherein the controller stores in advance a correlation map defining a correlation between temperature changes of the holding mechanism or the actuator and changes in the position of the converged spot. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The method according to claim 4, wherein the actuator of the moving mechanism that moves the holding mechanism in the processing feed direction is a linear motor having electromagnetic coils, and the temperature detector detects a temperature of the electromagnetic coils.