阅读说明：本技术 处理基板边缘缺陷的等离子体系统及方法 (Plasma system and method for processing edge defects of a substrate ) 是由 徐瑞美 翁志强 蔡陈德 李祐升 于 2018-06-28 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种处理基板边缘缺陷的等离子体系统及方法,等离子体系统包括一等离子体源与一承载装置；等离子体源包含至少一等离子体产生单元；承载装置用以输送至少一基板相对于等离子体源移动,以进出一等离子体作用区；基板具有待处理区域,等离子体源是于等离子体作用区内对于待处理区域提供一等离子体束,且等离子体束的行进方向实质上平行于基板的表面；移动基板进入等离子体作用区,通过等离子体源提供待处理区域一具温度梯度(Thermal gradient)的热源以及一反应性化学成份,用以对于基板的边缘进行热处理以及改质。(A plasma system and method for processing edge defects of a substrate, the plasma system includes a plasma source and a carrier; the plasma source comprises at least one plasma generating unit; the bearing device is used for conveying at least one substrate to move relative to the plasma source so as to enter and exit a plasma action area; the substrate is provided with a region to be processed, the plasma source provides a plasma beam for the region to be processed in the plasma action region, and the traveling direction of the plasma beam is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate; moving the substrate into the plasma active region, providing a Thermal gradient (Thermal gradient) heat source and a reactive chemical component to the region to be processed by the plasma source for thermally treating and modifying the edge of the substrate.)

1. A plasma system for processing edge defects of a substrate, comprising:

A plasma source including at least one plasma generating unit;

A carrier for transporting at least one substrate relative to the plasma source for movement into and out of a plasma processing region;

the substrate is provided with a to-be-processed area, the plasma source provides a plasma beam for the to-be-processed area in the plasma action area, and the traveling direction of the plasma beam is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate.

2. The plasma system of claim 1, wherein the carrier has a chuck for holding the substrate, the carrier facing the plasma source side coated with an insulating layer.

3. the plasma system of claim 1, wherein the substrate has a side edge facing the plasma beam, the plasma beam travels substantially parallel to a surface of the substrate and is aligned with a geometric center of the side edge, and the plasma source moves parallel to a tangential direction of the side edge of the substrate.

4. The plasma system of claim 3, wherein the plasma beam travels substantially perpendicular to the side edge.

5. The plasma system of claim 1, wherein the substrate has a side edge facing the plasma with a distance P from the plasma source, the distance P being 0.2 cm to 1.5 cm.

6. The plasma system of claim 5, wherein the chuck has a spacing Q from the plasma source, the spacing Q is greater than the spacing P, and the difference between the spacing Q and the spacing P is greater than 0.3 cm.

7. the plasma system of claim 1, wherein the substrate is moved at a speed of 0.1 cm/sec to 5 cm/sec relative to the plasma source.

8. The plasma system of claim 1, wherein the plasma source comprises at least one row of a plurality of plasma generating units arranged linearly, the substrate has at least one side edge facing the plurality of plasma generating units, the side edge of the substrate is a straight side edge, a direction of travel of the plasma beam generated by each of the plasma generating units is substantially parallel to a surface of the substrate and aligned with a geometric center of the side edge, and a direction of movement of the plasma source is parallel to a tangential direction of the side edge of the substrate.

9. The plasma system of claim 1, wherein the plasma beam generated by each of the plasma generation units travels in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side edge.

10. The plasma system of claim 9, wherein each of the plasma generation units is spaced the same distance from the side edge.

11. The plasma system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of plasma generation units are in an equidistant linear array.

12. The plasma system of claim 1, wherein the plasma source comprises a plurality of plasma generating units, the substrate is circular, the plurality of plasma generating units are arranged in an arc, the substrate has a circular side edge, and a plasma beam generated by each plasma generating unit travels in a direction substantially toward and aligned with a geometric center of the side edge.

13. The plasma system of claim 12, wherein each of the plasma generation units is spaced the same distance from the side edge.

14. The plasma system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of plasma generation units are in an equidistant arc array.

15. The plasma system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of plasma generation units are in an equidistant annular array.

16. A method of processing edge defects of a substrate, comprising:

providing a plasma source including at least one plasma generating unit;

Arranging a carrying device to convey at least one substrate to move relative to the plasma source, wherein the plasma beam of the plasma source is in a running direction which is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate, and the substrate is provided with at least one region to be processed;

Moving the substrate into a plasma active region, providing a thermal gradient (thermal gradient) heat source and a reactive chemical composition to the region to be processed by the plasma source for thermally treating and modifying the edge of the substrate.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the substrate has a side edge facing the plasma, the plasma beam travels substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate and is directed at a geometric center of the side edge, and the plasma source moves in a direction parallel to a tangent of the side edge of the substrate.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the plasma beam travels substantially perpendicular to the side edge.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the substrate has a side edge facing the plasma with a distance P from the plasma source, the distance P being 0.2 cm to 1.5 cm.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the chuck has a spacing Q from the plasma source, the spacing Q is greater than the spacing P, and the difference between the spacing Q and the spacing P is greater than 0.3 cm.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the substrate is moved at a speed of 1 mm/sec to 50 mm/sec relative to the plasma source.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein the plasma source comprises at least one row of a plurality of plasma generating units arranged linearly, the substrate has at least one side edge facing the plurality of plasma generating units, the side edge of the substrate is a straight side edge, a direction of travel of the plasma beam generated by each plasma generating unit is substantially parallel to a surface of the substrate and aligned with a geometric center of the side edge, and a direction of movement of the plasma source is parallel to a tangential direction of the side edge of the substrate.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the plasma beam generated by each of the plasma generation units travels substantially perpendicular to the side edge.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein each of the plasma generation units is spaced apart from the side edge by the same distance.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the plurality of plasma generation units are in an equidistant linear array.

26. The method of claim 16, wherein the plasma source comprises a plurality of plasma generating units, the substrate is circular, the plurality of plasma generating units are arranged in an arc, the substrate has a circular side edge, and a plasma beam generated by each plasma generating unit travels in a direction substantially toward and aligned with a geometric center of the side edge.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein each plasma generation unit is spaced apart from the side edge by the same distance.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the plurality of plasma generation units are in an equidistant arc array.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the plurality of plasma generating units are in an equidistant annular array.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a plasma system and method for processing edge defects of a substrate, and more particularly, to a plasma system and method for removing edge defects of a substrate by using plasma to repair the edge defects of the substrate by using a plasma heat source gradient and chemical components for edge processing of a flat plate.

Background

The substrate used in various fields of technology has many aspects, including, for example, glass, wafer, ceramic, metal, etc., in terms of material. However, in any material, after cutting, more or less defects, including cracks, irregularities, and burrs, are generated on the edge, and therefore, the defects must be repaired to enhance the strength or quality of the substrate.

Taking a glass substrate as an example, after the substrate is cut, many cracks are generated at the edge, and at present, the large cracks are generally changed into small cracks by edging, but the cracks still exist, even if the cracks are small, when the substrate is bent, the substrate is easy to break from the cracks.

As for the conventional technical means for reinforcing a glass substrate by heating, for example, a display panel, since the area is large, the heating stage must be very large, and the entire substrate must be heated to the melting point of the panel, so that the entire substrate is softened and bent.

In addition, although the method of strengthening glass by plasma is available, the method aims to strengthen the material of the whole glass, and is not aimed at repairing the defects of the edge, but some glass substrates are very difficult to cut after being subjected to overall strengthening treatment, and are difficult to process.

Furthermore, the glass substrate is repaired by heating, and the heating source is performed perpendicular to the surface of the substrate. The method for treating the surface of the substrate causes the temperature difference between the directly heated surface and the opposite bottom surface of the substrate, thereby causing the problems of thermal deformation and breakage caused by stress of the substrate.

Or if the glass substrate is strengthened by chemical agents, the chemical agents may change the glass characteristics, and the high content of salts is not feasible in some industries (such as the thin film transistor display industry), and the strengthened glass is difficult to be cut.

If the edge of the glass substrate is strengthened by a known method, there are four known documents, such as laser, flame gun, adhesive coating and edge grinding, which have the disadvantages of high cost, poor control area precision, large consumption of petrochemical gas, heterogeneous polymer (polymer) heat resistance and process compatibility, and unsatisfactory strength.

Accordingly, a need exists in the art for a "plasma system and method for processing edge defects of a substrate" that can repair edge defects of a substrate to improve the strength of the processed substrate.

Disclosure of Invention

in one embodiment, the present invention provides a plasma system for processing edge defects of a substrate, comprising:

A plasma source including at least one plasma generating unit;

A carrier for transporting at least one substrate relative to the plasma source for movement into and out of a plasma active region;

The substrate is provided with a region to be processed, the plasma source provides a plasma beam for the region to be processed in the plasma action region, and the traveling direction of the plasma beam is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method for processing edge defects of a substrate, comprising:

Providing a plasma source, wherein the plasma source comprises at least one plasma generating unit;

Arranging a carrying device to convey at least one substrate to move relative to a plasma source, wherein the plasma beam advancing direction of the plasma source is substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate, and the substrate is provided with at least one region to be processed;

The substrate is moved into a plasma active region, and a Thermal gradient (Thermal gradient) heat source and a reactive chemical component are provided to the region to be processed by the plasma source for thermally treating and modifying the edge of the substrate.

Drawings

FIG. 1A is a schematic side view of one embodiment of a plasma processing system for processing edge defects on a substrate according to the present invention, wherein the plasma beam travels in a direction perpendicular to the side edge of the substrate.

FIG. 1B is a schematic side view of another embodiment of the present invention plasma processing system for processing edge defects on a substrate where the plasma beam is not traveling perpendicular to the side edge of the substrate.

Fig. 2 is a schematic front view of the embodiment shown in fig. 1A or fig. 1B.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an elevational view of another embodiment of a plasma system for processing edge defects of a substrate in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an elevational view of another embodiment of a plasma system for processing edge defects of a substrate in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating steps of a method for processing edge defects of a substrate according to the present invention.

[ notation ] to show

100. 100A, 100B: plasma system for processing edge defects of a substrate

10. 10A, 10B: plasma source

11. 11A, 11B: plasma generating unit

12. 12A, 12B, 121, 122: plasma beam

20: bearing device

21: chuck plate

22: insulating layer

30. 30A, 30B: substrate

31. 31A, 31B: skirt edge

32. 33: surface of

200: method flow for processing substrate edge defect

204-206: method flow steps for processing substrate edge defects

C1: geometric center

C2: center shaft

D1, D2, P, Q: distance between each other

F1, F1A, F1B: a first direction

f2: second direction

θ: angle of rotation

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1A and 2, a plasma system 100 for processing edge defects of a substrate according to the present invention includes a plasma source 10 and a carrier 20.

The plasma source 10 includes a plasma generating unit 11 for providing a plasma beam 12.

The carrier 20 is configured to transport a substrate 30 to move relative to the plasma source 10 into and out of a plasma processing region, as shown in a second direction F2 in FIG. 1A; the plasma active region is also the region of the illustrated plasma beam 12. The carrier 20 has a chuck 21 for holding the substrate 30, and the carrier 20 may be a vacuum chuck for vacuum-chucking the substrate 30. The side of the carrier 20 facing the plasma source 10 is provided with an insulating layer 22.

The substrate 30 may be made of glass, wafer, ceramic, metal, etc. The substrate 30 has a side edge 31 facing the plasma beam 12, the side edge 31 being the region to be treated of the substrate 30, and the plasma source 10 provides the plasma beam 12 to the region to be treated in the plasma active region.

Referring to fig. 1A, the traveling direction of the plasma beam 12 (i.e., the first direction F1A) is substantially perpendicular to the side edge 31 (i.e., the second direction), and referring to fig. 1B, the traveling direction of the plasma beam 12 (i.e., the first direction F1B) and the side edge 31 have an angle θ, the angle θ is greater than 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees, but not 90 degrees, and the angle θ is less than 90 degrees in this embodiment. However, in the embodiment of fig. 1A or 1B, the front view structure is as shown in fig. 2, in other words, the plasma beam 12 of the present invention can be disposed according to the following principle: the plasma beam 12 travels substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate 30 and is aligned with the geometric center of the side edge 31, the plasma source 10 moves parallel to the tangential direction of the side edge 31 of the substrate 30 (i.e., the second direction F2 shown in fig. 1A and 1B), and the allowable deviation error is within +/-0.02 cm; the angle θ between the plasma beam 12 and the side edge 31 of the substrate 30 may be in the range of greater than 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees.

Referring to fig. 1A and 2, the foregoing structure maintains the extension lines of the central axis C2 of the plasma beam 12 and the geometric center C1 of the side edge 31 of the substrate 30 in a collinear state, and controls the distance and the relative movement speed between the plasma beam 12 and the substrate 30, so that the plasma beam 12 contacts the substrate 30 to cause a thermal gradient (thermal gradient), thereby repairing the defect of the side edge 31. For example, the skirt 31 and the plasma source 10 have a distance P therebetween, which may be 0.2 cm to 1.5 cm. The chuck 21 has a spacing Q from the plasma source 10, the spacing Q being greater than the spacing P, and the difference between the spacing Q and the spacing P being greater than 0.3 cm. The moving speed of the substrate 30 with respect to the plasma source 10 is 0.1 cm/sec to 5 cm/sec.

To repair the side edge 31, the plasma generating unit 11 is ignited to generate the plasma beam 12, and then heated to the melting point of the substrate 30, for example, the melting point is about 800 to 1500 ℃ if the substrate 30 is glass; the plasma beam 12 is separated by the edge 31 to form two symmetrical plasma beams 121, 122 (as shown in fig. 2), the edge 31 and the two opposite surfaces 32, 33 of the substrate 30 can be coated, and then the temperature of the plasma beam 12 is gradually decreased with the distance from the outlet, so as to form a temperature gradient, which can be controlled to have a specific temperature in a very small processing range, i.e., the plasma source 10 provides a heat source (i.e., the plasma beam 12) with a temperature gradient (Thermal gradient) in the region to be processed and a reactive chemical component for performing a Thermal treatment and modification on the edge (i.e., the edge 31) of the substrate 30, so that the edge 31 can be repaired. Since the insulating layer 22 is provided on the surface of the carrier 20 facing the plasma source 10, the flow direction of the plasma beam 12 is prevented from being affected, so that the plasma beam 12 can completely act on the side edge 31.

For example, the conventional plasma source 10 can be divided into vacuum and atmospheric pressure plasma, and the atmospheric pressure plasma has dozens of different forms and a very large plasma temperature range according to different principles, and cannot be used as the present technologyA plasma source is used. The plasma source can be suitable for repairing the defects of different types of substrates by using alternating current through the voltage source and parameter setting. In addition, in consideration of the price of the working gas used in the plasma source 10, depending on the type of the actual substrate 30, air may be used or working gas with different gas ratios may be used, and the different gas compositions may affect the process profile and the substrate stress, for example, clean compressed air (CDA), nitrogen (N) and the like are currently used₂) Or nitrogen (N)₂) Argon (Ar), hydrogen (H)₂) Oxygen (O)₂) And helium (He), and the gas composition ratio is adjusted to optimize parameters for each type of substrate 30.

Referring to fig. 3, a plasma source 10A of a plasma system 100A for processing edge defects of a substrate according to the present invention includes two rows of plasma generating units 11A in a linear equidistant array, and a substrate 30A has two straight side edges 31A facing the plasma generating units 11A. The traveling direction of the plasma beam 12A generated by each plasma generation unit 11A (i.e. parallel to the first direction F1) may be substantially perpendicular to the side edge 31A and aligned with the geometric center of the side edge 31A (as shown in fig. 1A), or the traveling direction of the plasma beam 12A generated by each plasma generation unit 11A may be at an angle to the side edge 31A and aligned with the geometric center of the side edge 31A (as shown in fig. 1B). The distance D1 between each plasma generation unit 11A and the side edge 31A is the same.

The embodiment of fig. 3 shows that a row of a plurality of plasma generating units 11A may be disposed on each of the two opposite side edges 31A of the substrate 30A, or alternatively, a row of a plurality of plasma generating units 11A may be disposed to process one side edge 31A of the substrate 30A, and if both side edges 31A of the substrate 30A need to be processed, the substrate 30A may be turned over the other side edge 31A after one side edge 31A of the substrate 30A is processed.

Referring to fig. 4, a plasma source 10B of a plasma system 100B for processing edge defects of a substrate according to the present invention comprises a plurality of plasma generating units 11B, a substrate 30B having a circular shape and a circular side edge 31B, the plurality of plasma generating units 11B having an arc (or ring) equidistant array, each plasma generating unit 11B generating a plasma beam 12B traveling in a direction substantially toward the side edge 31B and aligned with a geometric center of the side edge 31B (as shown in fig. 1A), the plasma beam 12B may or may not be toward a center C of the substrate 30B, in other words, if the plasma beam 12B is toward the center C of the substrate 30B, the plasma beam 12B is perpendicular to the side edge 31B of the substrate 30B (similar to the configuration shown in fig. 1A), and if the plasma beam 12B is not toward the center C of the substrate 30B, the plasma beam 12B is at an angle to the side edge 31B of the substrate 30B (similar to the figure 1B version). The distance D1 between each plasma generation unit 11B and the side edge 31B is the same. The defect at the side edge 31B of the substrate 30B can be repaired by the plasma beam 12B by rotating the substrate around the center C.

with the embodiments shown in fig. 3 and 4, all the plasma generating units 11A, 11B may be ignited, or may be ignited at intervals, or only partially, depending on the desired control. Taking fig. 3 as an example, when all the plasma generation units 11A are ignited, the entire side edge 31A of the substrate 30A can be repaired by controlling the substrate 30A to move by the distance D2 between two adjacent plasma generation units 11A. If the side edge 31A of the substrate 30A is only partially defective, the plasma generating unit 11A at the corresponding position may be ignited. In addition, all the plasma generating units 11A of each array of fig. 3 can be disposed on a base (not shown in the figures), so as to form a whole, which can reduce the distance error caused by assembling the plasma generating units 11A; similarly, all the plasma generating units 11B of fig. 4 can be disposed on a base (not shown) to form a whole.

Referring to fig. 1A (or fig. 1B), fig. 2 and fig. 5, a plasma system for processing edge defects of a substrate according to the present invention as shown in fig. 1A (or fig. 1B) and the above description may be summarized as a method flow 200 for processing edge defects of a substrate according to the present invention as shown in fig. 5, comprising:

step 202: providing a plasma source 10, the plasma source 10 comprising at least one plasma generating unit 11;

Step 204: arranging a carrier 20 to convey at least one substrate 30 relative to the plasma source 10, the plasma beam 12 of the plasma source 10 traveling in a direction (first direction F1A) substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate 30, the substrate 30 having at least one region to be processed;

Step 206: moving the substrate 30 into a plasma-active region a1, a Thermal gradient heat source (i.e., plasma beam 12) and a reactive chemistry are provided to the region to be processed by the plasma source 10 for thermally treating and modifying the edge (i.e., side edge 31) of the substrate 30.

referring to fig. 1A (or fig. 1B) and fig. 2, the plasma system for processing edge defects of a substrate and the processing method using the same according to the present invention are applicable to substrates of different materials, such as glass, wafer, ceramic, metal, etc. Taking the defect of the glass substrate as an example, when the thickness of the substrate 30 is about 0.05 cm and the melting point is 800 ℃, an air plasma can be used, the pitch P is 0.5 cm, the plasma beam 12 has a plasma power of 600W, and the moving speed of the substrate 30 is less than 2 cm/s, so that the side edge 31 of the substrate 30 can be melted and repaired. The pitch P is designed according to the glass transition temperature (Tg) point, thickness, and speed of the substrate 30, for example, as the thickness of the substrate 30 is thicker, more heat is required, and thus the pitch P must be reduced, and as the speed of the substrate 30 is slower, more heat emitted from the plasma beam 12 is received by the side edge 31 of the substrate 30. In practical operation, trial work can be performed to obtain the optimal pitch P and speed, and then the repairing effect can be judged by naked eyes or can be judged by a microscope.

in summary, the plasma system for processing edge defects of a substrate and the processing method using the same according to the present invention can achieve the effect of precisely and hierarchically controlling the temperature gradient and the position by repairing the edge of the substrate with the plasma beam, so that the edge deformation caused by the over-processing or the influence on the material of the substrate due to the conventional substrate-strengthening technical means or the difficulty in cutting the substrate due to the strengthening of the substrate are avoided. And the invention can make the edge characteristic of the substrate consistent with the inner characteristic of the substrate, including strength. Taking a glass substrate as an example, compared with the conventional edging method, the bending strength of the glass substrate treated by the method is increased by more than one time, and the glass substrate is naturally cooled after being heated without being cooled.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments, it should be understood that various changes and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.