Laser device and method of aligning laser device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12487449-B2
Application number	US-202218074721-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 5, 2022
Priority date	Apr 12, 2022
Publication date	Dec 2, 2025
Grant date	Dec 2, 2025

Abstract

A laser device includes a light source part; an optical path adjustment part; a light distribution part that splits a laser beam into a plurality of sub-beams to a substrate; a drive part that moves the light distribution part and adjusts relative positions between the light distribution part and the substrate; a sensing part; and a control part. The control part generates an image based on a signal sensed by the sensing part and measures an image contrast of the image. The control part records and compares a plurality of image contrasts according to the position of the light distribution part to determine an optimal position of the light distribution part.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A laser device, comprising:
a light source part that emits a laser beam; an optical path adjustment part that reflects the laser beam emitted from the light source part and adjusts an irradiation direction of the laser beam; a light distribution part that splits the laser beam reflected from the optical path adjustment part into a plurality of sub-beams and irradiates the plurality of sub-beams to a substrate; a drive part that moves the light distribution part and adjusts relative positions between the light distribution part and the substrate; a sensing part that senses the plurality of sub-beams emitted from the substrate; and a control part that adjusts an arrangement of the optical path adjustment part and moves the drive part to adjust an arrangement of the light distribution part, wherein the control part generates an image based on a signal sensed by the sensing part and measures an image contrast of the image, the control part records and compares a plurality of image contrasts according to the position of the light distribution part to determine an optimal position of the light distribution part, the light source part emits a first laser beam and aligns the light distribution part, and the light source part emits a second laser beam having a greater intensity than an intensity of the first laser beam for laser processing the substrate.

2 . The laser device of claim 1 , wherein
the drive part moves the light distribution part in a first movement axis and a second movement axis, the control part performs a process of: generating the image at a first point on the first movement axis of the light distribution part and measuring the image contrast; generating the image at a second point on the first movement axis and measuring the image contrast; generating the image at a third point on the first movement axis and measuring the image contrast on all points on the first movement axis, and repeatedly performs the process in the second movement axis until completion.

3 . The laser device of claim 2 , wherein
the control part completes the measurement of the plurality of image contrasts on the plurality of points on the first movement axis and the second movement axis of the light distribution part, and the control part determines the optimal position of the light distribution part.

4 . The laser device of claim 3 , wherein the control part determines points of the plurality of points having a maximum image contrast value within the first movement axis and the second movement axis of the light distribution part as the optimal position of the light distribution part on the first movement axis and the second movement axis, respectively.

5 . The laser device of claim 1 , further comprising:
an f-theta lens disposed between the optical path adjustment part and the light distribution part and adjusting a focus of the laser beam.

6 . The laser device of claim 5 , wherein the control part adjusts the arrangement of the optical path adjustment part and adjusts positions of the plurality of sub-beams irradiated to the substrate in a raster scan method.

7 . The laser device of claim 1 , wherein the substrate includes reference patterns in which patterns having a same shape are periodically arranged on a surface of the substrate.

8 . The laser device of claim 7 , wherein the substrate is included in a flat panel display.

9 . The laser device of claim 1 , wherein the control part adjusts an intensity of the laser beam emitted by the light source part.

10 . The laser device of claim 1 , wherein
the light distribution part splits the first laser beam into a plurality of sub-beams, and an intensity of each of the plurality of sub-beams of the first laser beam is smaller than or equal to a damage threshold of the substrate.

11 . The laser device of claim 1 , wherein
the light distribution part includes a refraction beam splitter, and the optical path adjustment part includes a galvanometer or a polygonal mirror scanner.

12 . The laser device of claim 1 , wherein the sensing part senses a sub-beam of the plurality of sub-beams reflected from the substrate.

13 . The laser device of claim 12 , wherein the sensing part includes a photodiode that senses the sub-beam of the plurality of sub-beams.

14 . The laser device of claim 1 , wherein the sensing part senses a sub-beam of the plurality of sub-beams transmitted through the substrate.

15 . A method of aligning a laser device, the method comprising:
adjusting a position of a light distribution part according to a signal of a control part by a drive part; detecting a plurality of sub-beams transmitted through or reflected from a substrate by a sensing part; recording a plurality of signals detected by the sensing part for each position of the light distribution part; aggregating the plurality of signals for each of a plurality of rows and columns to generate a plurality of graphs representing the detected signals for each row and column; converting the plurality of graphs into graph signals; generating an image using a raster scan method by dividing into rows/columns and converting signals row by row based on the plurality of signals recorded by the control part; and measuring a difference in brightness between a brightest portion and a darkest portion of the image and recording an image contrast by the control part.

16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising after the recording of the image contrast, recording a plurality of image contrasts for all positions of the light distribution part by repeatedly performing the adjusting of the position of the light distribution part, the detecting of the plurality of sub-beams, the generating of the image, and the recording of the image contrast.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising, after the recording of the plurality of image contrasts for the all positions of the light distribution part,
moving the light distribution part to a position having a maximum image contrast value of the plurality of image contrasts.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the adjusting of the position of the light distribution part includes repeating a process of:
sequentially moving the light distribution part in a movement axis among a plurality of movement axes of the light distribution part; and sequentially moving the light distribution part in a next movement axis among the plurality of movement axes of the light distribution part by the drive part.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the plurality of movement axes include:
a distance movement axis that adjusts a distance between the light distribution part and the substrate; and an angular movement axis that adjusts an angle between the light distribution part and the substrate.

20 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the method further comprises: emitting, by a light source part, a first laser beam having a first intensity for aligning the light distribution part; and emitting, by the light source part, a second laser beam having a greater intensity than the first intensity for laser processing the substrate.

Assignees

• Samsung Display Co Ltd

Inventors

• Yeon Seong Jin
• Alexander Voronov
• Park Jun Ho
• Ryu Je Kil

Classifications

• G02B26/123

  Multibeam scanners, e.g. using multiple light sources or beam splitters · CPC title

• G02B26/121

  Mechanical drive devices for polygonal mirrors · CPC title

• G02B26/04

  by periodically varying the intensity of light, e.g. using choppers (shutters, diaphragms for cameras G03B9/00; devices for eliminating or reducing the effect of flicker in projection systems G03B21/40) · CPC title

• G02B2207/117

  Adjustment of the optical path length · CPC title

• G02B26/101 Primary

  with both horizontal and vertical deflecting means, e.g. raster or XY scanners (colour television using laser beams scanning a display screen H04N9/3129) · CPC title