Glass welding method and glass layer fixing method

• US 9,701,582 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2010
• Issued: 07/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hamamatsu Photonics KK
• Original Assignee: Hamamatsu Photonics KK
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): FRANKLIN, JODI COHEN
• Application Number:
  US13/511,688
• Publication Number:
  US 20120240629A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,489 Days
• Field of Search: 65146-151, 65138, 65140, 65155, 438107, 438455, 428 34, 156 99
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 23/0025 by a laser beam
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 27/06 Joining glass to glass by processes other than fusing fusing C03B23/20; units for use as elements for closing wall or like openings and comprising two or more parallel glass panes in spaced relationship, the panes being permanently secured together E06B3/66

Abstract

When fixing a glass layer 3 to a glass member 4 by gasifying a binder and melting a glass fit 2, the glass layer 3 is irradiated with laser light L1 along a region to be fused R from an irradiation start position A in the region to be fused R to the irradiation start position A and then continuously again along an unstable region from the irradiation start position A to a stable region start position B in the region to be fused R, so as to re-melt the glass layer 3 in the unstable region, thereby removing the binder, thus turning the unstable region into a stable region, whereupon the glass layer 3 is fixed to the glass member 4.

Claims

1. A glass fusing method for manufacturing a glass fusing structure by fusing first and second glass members to each other, the method comprising the steps of:

arranging a glass layer containing a binder, a laser-light-absorbing material, and a glass powder on the first glass member along a ring-shaped region to be fused;

irradiating the glass layer in a first irradiation with first laser light along the region to be fused from an irradiation start position in the region to be fused to the irradiation start position and then continuously again in a second irradiation along a predetermined region from the irradiation start position in the region to be fused, so as to gasify the binder and melt the glass powder, thereby fixing the glass layer to the first glass member; and

superposing the second glass member on the first glass member having the glass layer fixed thereto with the glass layer interposed therebetween and irradiating the glass layer with second laser light, so as to fuse the first and second glass members to each other,

wherein the predetermined region includes the whole of an unstable region where the melting of the glass layer is unstable when irradiated once with the first laser light from the irradiation start position,

wherein the unstable region is a region where the glass layer is molten only in a part thereof in the width direction,

wherein in the unstable region, the glass layer melts such that the width of a molten region gradually increases from the center part in the advancing direction of the first laser light,

wherein in the unstable region, both sides of the molten region in the width direction of the glass layer are unmelted parts of the glass layer, and

wherein the binder remaining in the unmelted parts after the first irradiation with the first laser light is removed by the second irradiation, and

the laser light absorptance is increased by melting the glass layer, and

the laser light absorptance of the molten region of the glass layer is different from that of the unmelted parts of the glass layer.

2. A glass fusing method according to claim 1, wherein the second irradiation with the first laser light along the predetermined region is performed with an irradiation power lower than that in the first irradiation with the first laser light along the predetermined region.

3. A glass fusing method according to claim 2, wherein the irradiation power in the second irradiation with the first laser light along the predetermined region is gradually lowered.

4. A glass layer fixing method for manufacturing a glass-layer-fixed member by fixing a glass layer to a first glass member, the method comprising the steps of:

arranging a glass layer containing a binder, a laser-light-absorbing material, and a glass powder on the first glass member along a ring-shaped region to be fused; and

irradiating the glass layer in a first irradiation with first laser light along the region to be fused from an irradiation start position in the region to be fused to the irradiation start position and then continuously again in a second irradiation along a predetermined region from the irradiation start position in the region to be fused, so as to gasify the binder and melt the glass powder, thereby fixing the glass layer to the first glass member,

wherein the predetermined region includes the whole of an unstable region where the melting of the glass layer is unstable when irradiated once with the first laser light from the irradiation start position,

wherein the unstable region is a region where the glass layer is molten only in a part thereof in the width direction,

wherein in the unstable region, the glass layer melts such that the width of a molten region gradually increases from the center part in the advancing direction of the first laser light,

wherein in the unstable region, both sides of the molten region in the width direction of the glass layer are unmelted parts of the glass layer, and

wherein the binder remaining in the unmelted parts after the first irradiation with the first laser light is removed by the second irradiation,

the laser light absorptance is increased by melting the glass layer, and

the laser light absorptance of the molten region of the glass layer is different from that of the unmelted parts of the glass layer.