TWI410313B - Substrate breaking device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a rapid substrate separation device which may not damage the terminal areas of unit display panels, even if terminal areas are formed on a separation surfaces of unit display panels (U1, U2) after a mother substrate is separated. The substrate separation device comprises first and second cutting wheels (3, 3) arranged on the up and down, and a pair of benches (1, 2) which are respectively holding the mother substrate W and separated by predetermined left-right separation lines. Protruding segmental-shaped part is formed on a second substrate on the separation surfaces of the unit display panels (U1, U2) corresponding to a first substrate, and terminal areas are formed on the segmental-shaped part. Also provided is a moving device (13) which allows one holding member of one part to move along the inclined direction relative to a holding member of another part during separation.

Description

Substrate breaking device

The present invention relates to a substrate breaking device for dividing a mother substrate (also referred to as a bonded substrate and a bonded mother substrate) in which a plurality of unit display panel patterns are formed.

The "scratch groove" used in the description of the present specification refers to a crack formed by scribing a brittle material substrate to be processed, and causing the destruction phenomenon of the brittle material substrate to progress toward the inside from the substrate surface.

The brittle material substrate to be processed refers to a substrate used for a flat display panel such as a semiconductor wafer including a glass substrate, quartz, or ceramics.

Moreover, the above-mentioned "scoring processing" refers to a process of forming a crack in a brittle material substrate and forming a crack by brittle fracture. Further, the operation of cutting the scribe line formed by the scribe process to cut the substrate (forming the panel) is referred to as "breaking". Further, when the scribing process is performed using the high-permeability cutter wheel, there is a case where a deep crack which does not require a degree of cracking is formed, and this case is not expressed by "separating" by "cutting".

Hereinafter, a liquid crystal display panel will be described as an example. A mother substrate for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel is a first substrate (also referred to as a CF side substrate) and a plurality of TFTs (thin film transistors) formed by patterning a plurality of color filters with a liquid crystal sealing material; The second substrate (also referred to as a TFT side substrate) patterned in the terminal region is bonded. At this time, the second substrate is bonded so that the substrate surface on which the TFT or the terminal region is formed is a bonding surface with the first substrate.

The terminal region of the second substrate is a region where the signal line is connected between the TFT and the external device, and therefore must be exposed. Therefore, when the mother substrate is divided into the unit display panels, the portion of the first substrate (the CF side substrate) facing the terminal region is removed as the end material. Specifically, the second substrate side is divided along the outer side end of the terminal region on the side opposite to the connection TFT side, and then the width required for mounting the signal line is entered from the outer side end side of the terminal region (terminal width) The position of the first substrate is broken. Thereby, the portion of the first substrate facing the terminal region is cut off as an end material.

In general, in the step of dividing the mother substrate into individual unit display panels, a breaking method using a cutter wheel is used. In this case, the cutter wheel is press-bonded to the predetermined breaking position (scratched line) on the two substrates (the CF side substrate and the TFT side substrate) constituting the mother substrate to scribe the grooves on the respective substrates. Next, the mother substrate is completely divided into unit display panels along the scribed grooves. As the breaking method, a method of applying force to the left and right substrates by the scribed grooves as a boundary or a mechanical breaking method in which the left and right substrates are pulled in the horizontal direction to perform cracking is used. Next, each of the divided unit display panels is transferred to the subsequent step by moving out the robot arm.

A substrate processing system (substrate breaking system) or a substrate processing method in which a scribed groove is formed on both the upper and lower surfaces of the mother substrate and the substrate is not reversed is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2. According to these documents, the mother substrate is simultaneously scribed from both sides in the vertical direction using a pair of upper and lower cutter wheels. Then, the two sides are simultaneously separated and divided into unit display panels.

Here, the processing of the terminal region when the mother substrate is divided into the unit display panels will be described. Fig. 10 is a view showing a state in which a scribed groove is formed in a portion where a terminal region of a unit display panel is formed, and Fig. 11 is a view showing a state in which a groove is formed along a scribed groove.

Three scribed grooves are formed along the boundary between the unit display panel U1 on the left side and the unit display panel U2 on the right side, and three scribed grooves are formed along the boundary. As shown in FIG. 10, the first scribed groove S1 and the second scribed groove S2 are formed to coincide with the respective processed end faces of the first substrate G1 and the second substrate G2. The third scribed groove S3 is formed on the first substrate side at a position away from the terminal width L from the scribed groove S1.

Next, by cutting along the three scribed grooves S1 to S3, as shown in Fig. 11, two cut surfaces Ca and Cb are formed.

Among these, the cut surface formed by the first scribed groove S1 and the second scribed groove S2 is referred to as an aligned cut surface Ca. The alignment cut surface Ca separates the unit display panel U1 from the unit display panel U2 into the same end surface.

Moreover, the cut surface formed only on the side of the first substrate G1 at a position away from the terminal width L from the alignment cut surface Ca is referred to as a terminal cut surface Cb. The terminal cut surface Cb is a cut surface that is cut to expose the terminal surface of the terminal region T. Further, the end material E is generated on the first substrate G1 between the aligned cut surface Ca and the terminal cut surface Cb.

In the actual process, there is a case where the end material E adheres to the aligned cut surface Ca or adheres to the terminal cut surface Cb. Therefore, regardless of whether the end material E adheres to the aligned cut surface Ca or adheres to the terminal cut surface Cb, additional cracking treatment is required to make a good product.

Therefore, it is necessary to additionally prepare two kinds of breaking mechanisms corresponding to the respective attachment states, and determine which of the two types of attachment states, and select the breaking mechanism in accordance with the attachment state of the end material E, and perform additional cracking treatment, since it is necessary to A cracking mechanism, so the breaking step becomes complicated.

Therefore, it is disclosed that the end material E is adhered to the alignment cut surface Ca, and the separation method of the end material E is surely separated by a single type of breaking mechanism in the next step (see Patent Document 3).

According to the division method described in this document, when the scribing process is performed by the cutter wheel, first, the first substrate G1 (CF side substrate) is processed, and then the second substrate G2 (TFT side substrate) is processed upside down. . When performing the scribe process, the pressing force of the cutter wheel for processing the second scribed groove S2 and the third scribed groove S3 is made strong, and the pressing force of the cutter wheel when the first scribed groove S1 is processed is weakened. get on. In this way, the strength is given to the scribe to adjust the depth of the scribed groove, and as shown in Fig. 12, the rupture can be performed in a state where the end material E is constantly attached to the aligned cut surface Ca. As a result, the end material E can be removed with high efficiency by preparing only one breaking mechanism.

Patent Document 1: International Publication WO2005/087458

Patent Document 2: International Publication WO2002/057192

Patent Document 3: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-056507

However, the end material E adheres to the side of the aligned cut surface Ca side, and as shown in FIG. 12, the end material E protrudes to the outer side of the aligned cut surface Ca. That is, the divided sections of the unit display panels U1 and U2 after the division are formed into a stepped shape. Hereinafter, this form is referred to as an "offset shape" in the present invention. Therefore, if the unit display panel U1 on the left side is taken out before the unit display panel U2 on the right side, and the unit display panel U1 is pulled away from the first substrate G1 side to apply force, the terminal is displayed on the unit display panel U1. The area is pressed in contact with the end material E. At this time, if the end material E is firmly attached to the aligned cut surface Ca on the unit display panel U2 side, there is a possibility that the terminal area is damaged.

In addition, the breaking means for moving the unit display panel U1 in the horizontal direction (see Patent Document 1), since the end material E attached to the first substrate and the terminal region T of the unit display panel U1 are horizontally moved in surface contact, There is a problem that the terminal area is damaged by friction, and the yield of production is deteriorated.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate breaking device that can quickly break a terminal region of a unit display panel without damaging the terminal portion of the unit display panel U1 and U2 after the division of the mother substrate. .

In the present invention, the mother substrate processed by the substrate cutting device has a structure in which the first substrate and the second substrate are bonded to each other, and a plurality of predetermined scribe lines are set on the first substrate and the second substrate of the mother substrate. Further, in the substrate cutting device of the present invention, the mother substrate is divided along a plurality of predetermined lines, and a step difference between the second substrate side and the first substrate side is formed, and the terminal is formed to have a terminal formed in the step portion. The unit of the area displays the substrate breaking device of the panel.

Further, in order to solve the above problems, the substrate cutting device of the present invention has the following configuration. In other words, the substrate cutting device of the present invention comprises a first cutter wheel and a second cutter wheel disposed above and below the mother substrate, and each of the mother substrates respectively divided by the left and right scribe lines is formed by the holding member. At least one of the holding members is provided with a moving means for moving in a direction opposite to the other holding member and moving in an oblique direction.

According to the substrate cutting device of the present invention, at least one of the mother substrate and the holding member, which are individually held by the right and left sides of the scribe line, are moved in a direction away from the other holding member and obliquely toward the first substrate side. . Thereby, the end material (the end portion of the first substrate and the terminal region portion of the second substrate) can be instantaneously separated without contacting the surface of the terminal region, and the terminal region can be reliably prevented from being damaged by friction or the like. The effect of breaking the time required.

In the above invention, the moving means of the holding member includes a vertically movable body that is movably attached to the support post in a vertical direction, and the holding member is configured to be movable in a horizontal direction above the vertically movable body to synchronize the holding member with the vertical moving body. Moving, thereby moving the holding member obliquely upward.

Thereby, the platform can be moved in an oblique direction in a stable state.

The details of the present invention are described in detail below based on the drawings showing embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a scribing mechanism portion of a substrate cutting device M of the present invention.

The substrate cutting device M is provided with horizontal platforms 1, 2 as holding members for holding the mother substrate to be processed. Above and below the platform 1, 2, a first and a second cutter wheel 3, 3 are provided which are spaced apart to form a scribed groove. The platforms 1, 2 are composed of a front platform 1 and a rear platform 2 which are divided along the X direction (front and rear direction) of Fig. 1, and are arranged such that the cutter wheels 3, 3 are located between the platforms 1, 2. The platforms 1 and 2 have an adsorption function of adsorbing and holding the mother substrate W (see FIG. 2). Further, a transport mechanism (not shown) for moving the mother substrate W in the Y direction on the stage is provided.

The cutter wheels 3, 3 are mounted on the support bodies 4, 4 so as to be movable up and down, and the support bodies 4, 4 are mounted so as to be horizontally erected above the X direction by the support columns 5, 5 on both sides. The guides 7, 7 of 6 are moved by the rotation of the motors 8, 8 in the X direction.

Further, cameras 10 and 10 are provided in the pedestals 9, 9 which are movable in the X direction and the Y direction, respectively. The pedestals 9, 9 are moved along the guides 11 extending in the X direction on the support table 9a. The cameras 10, 10 can be moved up and down by manual operation to adjust the focus of the shooting. The images captured by the cameras 10, 10 are displayed on the displays 12, 12.

On the surface of the mother substrate W mounted on the stages 1, 2, alignment marks for specific positions are provided, and the alignment marks are photographed by the cameras 10, 10 to adjust the position of the mother substrate W. Specifically, the alignment marks of the surface of the mother substrate W supported by the platforms 1, 2 are photographed by the cameras 10, 10 to position the alignment marks. The position and direction shift when the surface of the mother substrate W is loaded is detected by image processing according to the position of the specific alignment mark. As a result, when the mother substrate is scribed, the scribe start position is changed for the positional shift, and the scribe line is formed by the linear interpolation operation for combining the sculpt operation in the X-axis and Y-axis directions with respect to the direction shift.

As shown in FIG. 2, at least one of the platforms 1 and 2 (the front platform 1 in this embodiment) is formed to be tiltable by the moving means 13 in the direction away from the platform 2 of the other side. Move up or down. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the moving means 13 comprises a vertical moving body 15 movably mounted in a vertical direction on the support post 14, the platform 1 being arranged to be horizontally along the track 16 above the vertical moving body 15. In the (Y direction) movement, the platform 1 can be moved obliquely upward or obliquely in the direction away from the other platform 2 by electrically moving the platform 1 in synchronization with the vertical moving body 15.

When the mother substrate W is divided, as shown in FIG. 2, the mother substrate W is placed at a predetermined position in a state where the first substrate (TFT side substrate) of the mother substrate W is on the upper side (the planned line is located at the cutter wheel 3) The position on the extension is loaded on the platform 1, 2 and adsorbed and held. Next, the cutter wheels 3, 3 are pressed from the vertical direction to the mother substrate W along the scribed line to perform the scribe.

At this time, the divisional display panels U1 and U2 are sectioned so as to have an offset shape as shown in FIG. In other words, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 7, in the state where the cutter wheels 3, 3 are separated from the terminal width L in the lateral direction, the first substrate G1 and the second substrate G2 are pressed with a strong pressing force to perform scribing. The second scribed groove S2 and the third scribed groove S3 are processed. Next, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the first scribed groove S1 is processed to the first substrate G1 with a weak force at a position opposed to the second scribed groove S2. Further, in this case, it is preferable that the roller (not shown) having the leading edge of the blade is brought into contact with the second substrate G2 opposed to the third scribed groove S3 in advance to impart the first scribe to the processing. The resistance of the force in the direction below the slot S1. In this case, the support body 4 on the lower side in FIG. 1 is disposed in parallel with the roller having the same elevating mechanism in the vicinity of the cutter wheel 3, and may be actuated when the first scribed groove S1 is processed.

Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 9, the front stage 1 is moved by the moving means 13 in a direction away from the rear stage 2 and obliquely upward to divide the mother substrate W, and the unit display panels U1, U2 are machined. The unit display panel U2 to which the end material E is attached is cut off from the first scribed groove S1 in the next step.

Thereby, the surface of the terminal region can be instantaneously disconnected without contacting the surface of the terminal region, and the damage of the terminal region T due to friction or the like can be surely prevented, and the time required for the disconnection can be shortened. Further, at the time of breaking, there is no contact between the upper and lower portions of the offset shape (the end portion E of the unit display panel U2 and the terminal region portion of the unit display panel U1), and the terminal region T can be broken without being damaged.

In the above-described embodiment, when the mother substrate W is divided, the mother substrate W is adsorbed and held on the stage 1 and 2 while the first substrate (TFT side substrate) of the mother substrate W is on the upper side. On the contrary, the mother substrate W is adsorbed and held on the stage 1 and 2 while the first substrate (TFT side substrate) of the mother substrate W is on the lower side, and is similarly scribed, as shown in FIG. Move to the oblique downward direction as indicated by the arrow to break.

Although the representative embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above embodiment, only the front platform can be moved in the oblique direction by the moving means, but the front and rear platforms can also be moved obliquely. Further, the above-described moving means may be any structure as long as it is a mechanism capable of stably moving the platform obliquely. For example, the platform can also be moved in an oblique direction through the link mechanism. In addition, in the present invention, corrections and changes can be appropriately made without departing from the scope of the patent application.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, although the stage is moved in the Y direction, if the stage is divided in the XY direction, the table can be moved in the Y direction and the X direction to perform two-dimensional oblique movement.

The present invention can be utilized in a substrate breaking device that scribes a mother substrate for a liquid crystal panel and divides it into a unit display panel.

W. . . Substrate

G1. . . First substrate

G2. . . Second substrate

1. . . Front platform (holding member)

2. . . Rear platform (holding member)

3. . . First and second cutter wheels

13. . . Mobile means

14. . . Support column

15. . . Vertical moving body

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a portion of a scoring mechanism of a substrate cutting device of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view showing a portion of the above scribing mechanism and platform moving means.

3 is a view showing a first process of the processing steps when the mother substrate of FIG. 1 is scribed.

4 is a view showing a second process of the processing steps when the mother substrate of FIG. 1 is scribed.

Fig. 5 is a view showing a state in which the mother substrate of Fig. 1 is broken.

Fig. 6 is a view showing another state in which the mother substrate of Fig. 1 is divided.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of a main part of Fig. 4.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of a main part of Fig. 5.

Fig. 10 is a view showing a state in which a scribed groove is formed in a portion of a terminal region of a unit display panel.

Fig. 11 is a view showing a state after being divided along the formed scribed groove.

Fig. 12 is a view showing a state in which the pressing force of the cutter wheel when the second scribed groove S2 and the third scribed groove S3 is processed is made strong, and the pressing force of the cutter wheel when the first scribed groove S1 is processed is weakened. A diagram of an example.

U1, U2. . . Unit display panel

W. . . Substrate

1. . . Front platform (holding member)

2. . . Rear platform (holding member)

13. . . Mobile means

Claims (2)

A substrate cutting device having a structure in which a first substrate and a second substrate are bonded to each other, and a plurality of predetermined lines are respectively set on the first substrate and the second substrate of the mother substrate; The plurality of scribing lines separate the mother substrate to form a step difference between the second substrate side and the first substrate side, and is divided into a unit display panel in which a terminal region is formed in the step portion, and is characterized by: The first cutter wheel and the second cutter wheel which are disposed above the mother substrate are respectively configured to hold the one of the mother substrates divided by the plurality of predetermined lines to the holding member; and at least one of the holding members is provided to A moving means that moves in a direction opposite to the other of the holding members and moves in an oblique direction. The substrate breaking device of claim 1, wherein the moving means of the holding member comprises a vertical moving body movably mounted to the support column in a vertical direction, the holding member being configured to be above the vertical moving body Moving in the horizontal direction, the holding member is moved obliquely upward by moving the holding member in synchronization with the vertical moving body.