Laser segmented cutting
First Claim
1. A method of increasing throughput in a laser cutting process, comprising:
- directing a first pass of first laser pulses to impinge along a first segment of a cutting path having a cutting path length greater than 100 μ
m, each first laser pulse having a first spot area on a workpiece, the first segment having a first segment length that is longer than the first spot area and shorter than the cutting path length;
directing a second pass of second laser pulses to impinge along a second segment of the cutting path, each second laser pulse having a second spot area on the workpiece, the second segment having a second segment length that is longer than the second spot area and shorter than the cutting path length, the second segment overlapping the first segment by an overlap length greater than at least the first or second spot areas; and
after directing at least the first and second passes of laser pulses, directing a third pass of laser pulses to impinge along a third segment of the cutting path, each third laser pulse having a third spot area on the workpiece, the third segment having a third segment length that is longer than the third spot area and shorter than the cutting path length, the third segment including a subsequent portion of the cutting path other than the first or second segments, wherein the subsequent portion of the cutting path has a nonoverlap length greater than the first, second, or third spot areas.
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Accused Products
Abstract
UV laser cutting throughput through silicon and like materials is improved by dividing a long cut path (112) into short segments (122), from about 10 μm to 1 mm. The laser output (32) is scanned within a first short segment (122) for a predetermined number of passes before being moved to and scanned within a second short segment (122) for a predetermined number of passes. The bite size, segment size (126), and segment overlap (136) can be manipulated to minimize the amount and type of trench backfill. Real-time monitoring is employed to reduce rescanning portions of the cut path 112 where the cut is already completed. Polarization direction of the laser output (32) is also correlated with the cutting direction to further enhance throughput. This technique can be employed to cut a variety of materials with a variety of different lasers and wavelengths.
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Citations
52 Claims
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1. A method of increasing throughput in a laser cutting process, comprising:
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directing a first pass of first laser pulses to impinge along a first segment of a cutting path having a cutting path length greater than 100 μ
m, each first laser pulse having a first spot area on a workpiece, the first segment having a first segment length that is longer than the first spot area and shorter than the cutting path length;
directing a second pass of second laser pulses to impinge along a second segment of the cutting path, each second laser pulse having a second spot area on the workpiece, the second segment having a second segment length that is longer than the second spot area and shorter than the cutting path length, the second segment overlapping the first segment by an overlap length greater than at least the first or second spot areas; and
after directing at least the first and second passes of laser pulses, directing a third pass of laser pulses to impinge along a third segment of the cutting path, each third laser pulse having a third spot area on the workpiece, the third segment having a third segment length that is longer than the third spot area and shorter than the cutting path length, the third segment including a subsequent portion of the cutting path other than the first or second segments, wherein the subsequent portion of the cutting path has a nonoverlap length greater than the first, second, or third spot areas. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 48)
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46. A method of increasing throughput in a laser cutting process, comprising:
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directing a pass of laser pulses to impinge a workpiece along a cutting path;
monitoring throughcut status with a throughout monitor to determine throughout positions where throughcuts have been affected along the cutting path;
directing a subsequent pass of subsequent laser pulses to impinge the workpiece along the cutting path; and
reducing impingement of the throughcut positions during the subsequent laser pass in response to information provided by the throughout monitor.
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47. A method of increasing throughput for forming a cut along a cutting path having a cutting path length on a workpiece, comprising:
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selecting a segment length that is shorter than the cutting path length;
directing a first pass of first laser pulses having first spot areas to impinge the workpiece along a first segment of about the segment length along the cutting path;
directing a second pass of second laser pulses having second spot areas to impinge the workpiece along a second segment of about the segment length along the cutting path, the second segment overlapping the first segment by an overlap length greater than at least the first or second spot areas; and
after directing at least the first and second passes of laser pulses, directing a third pass of laser pulses having third spot areas to impinge along a third segment of about the segment length along the cutting path, the third segment including a portion of the cutting path that extends beyond the first or second segments, wherein the portion of the cutting path has a portion length greater than the first, second, or third spot areas.
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49. A method of increasing throughput in a laser cutting process, comprising:
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directing a first pass of first laser pulses to impinge along a first segment of a cutting path having a cutting path length, each first laser pulse having a first spot area on a workpiece, the first segment having a first segment length that is longer than the first spot area and shorter than the cutting path length;
directing second passes of second laser pulses to impinge along a second segment of the cutting path, the second segment including an overlap length that overlaps at least a portion of the first segment until a throughout is made within the overlap length, each second pulse having a second spot area on a workpiece, the second segment having a second segment length that is longer than the second spot area and shorter than the cutting path length, the overlap length being greater than at least the first or second spot areas; and
after directing at least the first and second passes of laser pulses, directing third passes of laser pulses to impinge along a third segment of the cutting path until a throughout is made within the third segment, each third laser pulse having a third spot area on a workpiece, the third segment having a third segment length that is longer than the third spot area and shorter than the cutting path length, the third segment including a portion of the cutting path that extends beyond the first or second segments, wherein the portion of the cutting path has a portion length greater than the first, second, or third spot areas.
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50. A laser system for cutting a semiconductor material, comprising:
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a laser for generating laser pulses; and
a beam positioning system for sequentially directing first and second passes of respective first and second laser pulses to impinge along respective first and second segments of a cutting path having a cutting path length until a throughout is made within the first segment before directing a third pass of third laser pulses at a third segment that extends beyond the first and second segments along the cutting path, each laser pulse having a spot area on a workpiece, the segments having segment lengths that are longer than the spot area and shorter than the cutting path length;
the second segment including an overlap length that overlaps at least a portion of the first segment. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52)
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Specification