Processing 3D shaped transparent brittle substrate
AssigneeCorning Incorporated
InventorsSasha Marjanovic, Albert Roth Nieber, Garrett Andrew Piech, Sergio Tsuda, Robert Stephen Wagner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods are provided for laser processing arbitrary shapes of molded 3D thin transparent brittle parts from substrates with particular interest in substrates formed from strengthened or non-strengthened Corning Gorilla® glass (all codes). The developed laser methods can be tailored for manual separation of the parts from the panel or full laser separation by thermal stressing the desired profile. Methods can be used to form 3D surfaces with small radii of curvature. The method involves the utilization of an ultra-short pulse laser that may be optionally followed by a CO2 laser for fully automated separation.
Claims44
A method of laser processing a glass workpiece having a 3D surface, the method comprising:
- focusing a pulsed laser beam into a laser beam focal line oriented along the beam propagation direction and directed toward a contour defining a part to be separated from the workpiece;
- in one or more passes:
- translating the workpiece and the laser beam relative to each other along the contour, the laser beam focal line generating an induced absorption within the workpiece at locations along the contour where the laser beam focal line extends into the workpiece, and the induced absorption producing a defect line along the laser beam focal line within the workpiece at each location;
- and
- translating the workpiece and the laser beam relative to each other;
- the one or more passes selected such that the defect lines produced along the contour of the part in the workpiece are of sufficient number and depth to facilitate separation of the part from the workpiece.
A method of laser processing a flat non-strengthened glass workpiece, the method comprising:
- focusing a pulsed laser beam into a laser beam focal line oriented along the beam propagation direction and directed into the workpiece along the contour, the laser beam focal line generating an induced absorption within the workpiece, the induced absorption producing a defect line along the laser beam focal line within the workpiece;
- translating the workpiece and the laser beam relative to each other along a contour, thereby laser forming a plurality of defect lines along the contour within the workpiece, the contour defining a part to be separated from the workpiece;
- and
- molding the workpiece containing the defined part to have a 3D surface.
A method of laser processing a molded non-strengthened glass workpiece, the method comprising:
- vacuum flattening the molded glass workpiece;
- focusing a pulsed laser beam into a laser beam focal line oriented along the beam propagation direction and directed into the vacuum flattened workpiece along a contour, the laser beam focal line generating an induced absorption within the workpiece, the induced absorption producing a defect line along the laser beam focal line within the workpiece;
- translating the vacuum flattened workpiece and the laser beam relative to each other along the contour, thereby laser forming a plurality of defect lines along the contour within the workpiece the contour defining a part to be separated from the workpiece;
- and
- releasing vacuum on the vacuum flattened workpiece containing the defined part.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.