Liquid removal apparatus and liquid removal method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10612845-B2
Application number	US-201815918092-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 12, 2018
Priority date	Mar 17, 2017
Publication date	Apr 7, 2020
Grant date	Apr 7, 2020

Abstract

A liquid removal apparatus is configured to remove a liquid by irradiating a laser beam on the liquid. The liquid is adhered to a surface of a member. The apparatus includes a laser light source, and an energy controller. The energy controller is configured to unevenly distribute an energy intensity at an irradiation surface by splitting, into a plurality of laser beams, a laser beam emitted from the laser light source and by overlaying a portion of the split plurality of laser beams at an irradiation position where the liquid is adhered.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A liquid removal apparatus configured to remove a liquid by irradiating a laser beam on the liquid, the liquid being adhered to a surface of a member, the apparatus comprising:
a laser light source; and
an energy controller configured to unevenly distribute an energy intensity at an irradiation surface by splitting, into a plurality of laser beams, a laser beam emitted from the laser light source and by overlaying and irradiating a portion of the split plurality of laser beams at the same time at an irradiation position where the liquid is adhered,
the energy controller including:
a mask having a plurality of transmissive portions;
a lens array having a plurality of lens elements and being provided on a laser beam emission side of the mask;

in plan view, a center of at least one of the plurality of transmissive portions being at a position shifted from a center of a corresponding lens element.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the energy controller further includes:
a condenser lens provided on a laser beam emission side of the lens array.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a recovery part configured to recover the liquid lifted up from the surface of the member.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the recovery part includes:
a nozzle; and
a suction part, the suction part opposing an outlet of the nozzle.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the laser light source is configured to emit a pulse laser beam.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the laser beam is irradiatable on an interface between the liquid and the surface of the member at the irradiation position.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the number of the plurality of lens elements are the same as the number of the plurality of transmissive portions.

8. A liquid removal apparatus configured to remove a liquid by irradiating a laser beam on the liquid, the liquid being adhered to a surface of a member, the apparatus comprising:
a plurality of laser light sources; and
an energy controller configured to unevenly distribute an energy intensity at an irradiation surface by overlaying and irradiating a portion of a plurality of laser beams at the same time at an irradiation position where the liquid is adhered, the plurality of laser beams being emitted from the plurality of laser light sources,
the energy controller including:
a mask having a plurality of transmissive portions;
a lens array having a plurality of lens elements and being provided on a laser beam emission side of the mask;

in plan view, a center of at least one of the plurality of transmissive portions being at a position shifted from a center of a corresponding lens element.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein
the energy controller further includes:
a condenser lens provided on a laser beam emission side of the lens array.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the number of the plurality of lens elements are the same as the number of the plurality of transmissive portions.

11. The apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising a recovery part configured to recover the liquid lifted up from the surface of the member.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein
the recovery part includes:
a nozzle; and
a suction part opposing an outlet of the nozzle.

13. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the laser light source is configured to emit a pulse laser beam.

14. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the laser beam is irradiatable on an interface between the liquid and the surface of the member at the irradiation position.

15. A liquid removal method removing a liquid by irradiating a laser beam on the liquid, the liquid being adhered to a surface of a member, the method comprising:
unevenly distributing an energy intensity at an irradiation surface by splitting the laser beam into a plurality of laser beams and by overlaying and irradiating a portion of the split plurality of laser beams at the same time at an irradiation position where the liquid is adhered,
the unevenly distributing an energy intensity performed by an energy controller,
the energy controller including:
a mask having a plurality of transmissive portions;
a lens array having a plurality of lens elements and being provided on a laser beam emission side of the mask;

in plan view, a center of at least one of the plurality of transmissive portions being at a position shifted from a center of a corresponding lens element.

16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein a vapor layer forms at an interface between the liquid and the surface of the member in the uneven distributing of the energy intensity.

17. The method according to claim 16 , wherein a region of the liquid where the energy intensity is high lifts up before a region of the liquid where the energy intensity is low when the vapor layer forms.

18. A liquid removal method removing a liquid by irradiating a laser beam on the liquid, the liquid being adhered to a surface of a member, the method comprising:
unevenly distributing an energy intensity at an irradiation surface by overlaying and irradiating a portion of a plurality of laser beams at the same time at an irradiation position where the liquid is adhered, the plurality of laser beams being emitted from the plurality of laser light sources,
the unevenly distributing an energy intensity performed by an energy controller,
the energy controller including:
a mask having a plurality of transmissive portions;
a lens array having a plurality of lens elements and being provided on a laser beam emission side of the mask;

in plan view, a center of at least one of the plurality of transmissive portions being at a position shifted from a center of a corresponding lens element.

19. The method according to claim 18 , wherein a vapor layer forms at an interface between the liquid and the surface of the member in the uneven distributing of the energy intensity.

20. The method according to claim 19 , wherein a region of the liquid where the energy intensity is high lifts up before a region of the liquid where the energy intensity is low when the vapor layer forms.

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk

Inventors

• Okada Naotada

Classifications

• G02B19/0047

  for use with a light source (G02B19/009, G02B19/0095 take precedence; details of lighting devices in general F21V; non-semiconductor lasers having optical devices external to the laser cavity H01S3/005) · CPC title

• F26B5/12

  by suction · CPC title

• G02B27/30

  Collimators · CPC title

• G02B27/10

  Beam splitting or combining systems (polarising systems G02B27/28; mixing and splitting light signals using optical waveguides G02B6/28; {beam shaping, e.g. changing the cross-sectional area, by dividing or superposing multiple light beams G02B27/0905}) · CPC title

• G02B27/0961

  Lens arrays (lens arrays per se G02B3/0006) · CPC title