Patent Application
20240409457
The present invention relates to methods for manufacturing transparent members, transparent members, and window components for optical elements as which the transparent members are used.
An optical element, such as an optical semiconductor, for use in optical communication, an optical system, and so on is normally contained in an enclosure, such as a package. A wall of the enclosure is provided with a light transmitting hole through which the optical element performs optical communication with the outside. For the purpose of ensuring the airtightness of the enclosure and other purposes, the light transmitting hole is covered with a window component for the optical element.
For example, Patent Literature 1 below discloses a window component that is for use in an optical element and includes a glass window having an outline shape of a regular octagon or any other regular polygon having a larger number of sides. Patent Literature 1 describes that when a glass window of a window component for an optical element has a regular octagonal shape, multiple window components for optical elements can be produced simply by cutting, as shown in FIG. 5 of the literature, a glass substrate 14 at a plurality of points thereof and four times in each of the directions of arrows a to d.
However, in accordance with the method of cutting the glass substrate to cut out it into regular octagonal or other polygonal glass windows as in FIG. 5 of Patent Literature 1, portions of the glass substrate other than the cutout glass windows cannot be used anymore for this purpose and, therefore, there arises a problem of difficulty in increasing the number of glass windows obtained from the glass substrate.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a transparent member that can increase the number of transparent members obtained from a transparent substrate as a base material, a transparent member, and a window component for an optical element as which the transparent member is used.
A description will be given below of aspects of a method for manufacturing a transparent member that can solve the above problem, a transparent member, and a window component for an optical element as which the transparent member is used.
A method for manufacturing a transparent member of Aspect 1 in the present invention includes: a first step of forming a plurality of through holes in a transparent substrate; and a second step of separating the transparent substrate along an imaginary line connecting centers of the plurality of through holes, thus obtaining a transparent member.
A method for manufacturing a transparent member of Aspect 2 is the method according to Aspect 1, wherein a planar shape of the through holes may be a polygon. In this case, the transparent substrate is preferably separated along an imaginary line connecting vertices of the polygons of the plurality of through holes.
A method for manufacturing a transparent member of Aspect 3 is the method according to Aspect 1 or 2, wherein the first step preferably includes the steps of: irradiating points on the transparent substrate where the through holes are to be formed with laser light to provide modified portions; and etching the transparent substrate at the points where the through holes are to be formed and the modified portions are provided, thus forming the through holes.
A method for manufacturing a transparent member of Aspect 4 is the method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 3, wherein the separating of the transparent substrate in the second step is preferably performed by dicing.
A method for manufacturing a transparent member of Aspect 5 is the method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 4, wherein after the first step and before the second step, a film is preferably formed on at least one of principal surfaces located on both sides of the transparent substrate.
A method for manufacturing a transparent member of Aspect 6 is the method according to Aspect 5, wherein the film is preferably a metalized film provided in the shape of a frame to meet the transparent member after the second step, and the metalized film is preferably formed to have a width γ of corners of the frame equal to or larger than a width C of sides of the frame.
A method for manufacturing a transparent member of Aspect 7 is the method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 6, wherein after the first step and before the second step, the transparent substrate is preferably etched along the imaginary line connecting the centers of the through holes to form a groove.
A transparent member of Aspect 8 in the present invention is a transparent member that has a first principal surface and a second principal surface opposed to each other and a lateral surface connecting the first principal surface and the second principal surface and has a plurality of corners and a plurality of sides in plan view, wherein a portion of the lateral surface located at least one of the plurality of corners is an etched surface and a portion of the lateral surface located at least one of the plurality of sides is a diced surface.
A transparent member of Aspect 9 is the transparent member according to Aspect 8, wherein a maximum profile valley depth Rv of the etched surface measured in conformity with JIS B 0601:2013 is preferably smaller than a maximum profile valley depth Rv of the diced surface measured in conformity with JIS B 0601:2013.
A transparent member of Aspect 10 is the transparent member according to Aspect 8 or 9, wherein a maximum profile valley depth Rv of the etched surface measured in conformity with JIS B 0601:2013 is preferably not less than 0.100 μm and not more than 1.100 μm.
A transparent member of Aspect 11 is the transparent member according to any one of Aspects 8 to 10, wherein at least one of the plurality of corners preferably has a chamfered shape.
A transparent member of Aspect 12 is the transparent member according to any one of Aspects 8 to 11, wherein at least one of the plurality of sides preferably has a light-chamfered shape.
A transparent member of Aspect 13 is the transparent member according to any one of Aspects 8 to 12, wherein a metalized film is preferably provided on at least one of the first principal surface and the second principal surface, and the metalized film preferably has a width γ of the corners equal to or larger than a width α of the sides.
A transparent member of Aspect 14 is the transparent member according to any one of Aspects 8 to 13, wherein an antireflection film is preferably provided on at least one of the first principal surface and the second principal surface.
A window component for an optical element of Aspect 15 includes the transparent member according to any one of Aspects 8 to 14.
The present invention enables provision of a method for manufacturing a transparent member that can increase the number of transparent members obtained from a transparent substrate as a base material, a transparent member, and a window component for an optical element as which the transparent member is used.
Hereinafter, a description will be given of preferred embodiments. However, the following embodiments are merely illustrative and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Throughout the drawings, members having substantially the same functions may be referred to by the same reference characters.
In a method for manufacturing a transparent member according to the present invention, first, a plurality of through holes are formed in a transparent substrate (a first step). Next, the transparent substrate is separated along an imaginary line connecting the centers of the plurality of through holes. Thus, a transparent member according to the present invention can be obtained (a second step).
The transparent substrate 2 transmits at least part of light in a wavelength range of 450 nm to 700 nm. The term “transparent” herein means that the light transmittance in a visible wavelength range of 450 nm to 700 nm is 70% or more.
Examples of the material for the transparent substrate 2 that can be used include glasses, such as quartz glass, and sapphire. The shape of the transparent substrate 2 is an approximately rectangular plate-like shape in this embodiment, but is not particularly limited. The area of the transparent substrate 2 may be, for example, not less than 100 mm2 and not more than 90,000 mm2. The thickness of the transparent substrate 2 may be, for example, not less than 0.05 mm and not more than 2.00 mm.
In this embodiment, the plurality of through holes 3 are formed to be arranged at equal intervals along a direction X (lengthwise direction). Furthermore, the plurality of through holes 3 are formed to be arranged at equal intervals along a direction Y (widthwise direction) orthogonal to the direction X. The distance between the centers of adjacent through holes 3 in each of the direction X and direction Y may be, for example, not less than 0.50 mm and not more than 300 mm.
In this embodiment, the plurality of through holes 3 are formed so that the planar shape of each of them is an approximately diamond shape. The area of each of the through holes 3 (the area per through hole) in plan view is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, not less than 0.01 mm2 and not more than 100 mm2. The number of through holes 3 provided in the transparent substrate 2 is also not particularly limited, but may be, for example, not less than 6 and not more than 3,000.
In the present invention, the locations and shapes of the through holes 3 are not particularly limited and can be appropriately determined according to the shape of transparent members to be obtained by separating the transparent substrate into pieces. The through holes 3 may not necessarily be arranged at equal intervals, unlike this embodiment.
The method for forming the through holes 3 is not particularly limited, but the through holes 3 can be, for example, by etching points (to-be-passed-through points) on the transparent substrate 2 where the through holes 3 are to be formed. In this embodiment, the through holes 3 are formed by irradiating to-be-passed-through points on the transparent substrate 2 with laser light to provide modified portions in the inside of the transparent substrate 2 and then etching the transparent substrate 2 at the to-be-passed-through points where the modified portions are provided.
The irradiation with laser light can be performed with appropriate adjustment of the laser output by a known method in the art. An example of the laser light that can be used is pulsed laser. The wavelength of the pulsed laser is, for example, preferably not less than 400 nm, more preferably not less than 500 nm, particularly preferably not less than 700 nm, preferably not more than 1500 nm, and more preferably not more than 1000 nm. The upper limit of the wavelength of the pulsed laser is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 2000 nm.
The etching can be performed by a known method in the art. The etching can be performed, for example, by bringing an etchant into contact with the points where the through holes 3 are to be formed. Examples of the etchant include a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution, a nitric acid aqueous solution, a hydrochloric acid aqueous solution, a ferric chloride aqueous solution, an oxalic acid aqueous solution, and a mixed solution containing at least two of the above aqueous solutions. Alternatively, the etchant may be an alkaline detergent.
As shown in
In the manufacturing method according to this embodiment, the width γ of the metalized film 5 at the corners shown in
Thus, when the transparent member 1 is used as a window component for an optical element, the airtightness of the window component can be easily increased. As a result, the reliability of the window component for an optical element can be further increased.
The width γ of the metalized film 5 at the corners may be, for example, 0.1 mm to 5.0 mm or 0.2 mm to 3.0 mm. Thus, when the transparent member 1 is used as a window component for an optical element, the airtightness of the window component can be easily increased with higher certainty. As a result, the reliability of the window component for an optical element can be increased with higher certainty.
The width α of the metalized film 5 at the sides along the direction Y is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, α=0.1 mm to 1.0 mm or 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm. The width β of the metalized film 5 at the sides along the direction X may also be, for example, β=0.1 mm to 1.0 mm or 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm. Thus, when the transparent member 1 is used as a window component for an optical element, the airtightness of the window component can be easily increased with higher certainty. As a result, the reliability of the window component for an optical element can be increased with higher certainty. Furthermore, when the width α of the metalized film 5 along the direction Y is equal to the width β thereof along the direction X, the stress in bonding the transparent member 1 to a window component for an optical element by solder can be easily dispersed. Naturally, depending on the design of the window component for an optical element, the width of the metalized film 5 may be α≠β.
In the present invention, only one of the antireflection film 4 and the metalized film 5 may be deposited or another or other films may be deposited. Furthermore, the metalized film 5 may be formed directly on the transparent substrate 2. Alternatively, no film may be deposited on the transparent substrate 2. The antireflection film 4 may be provided on each of the principal surfaces located on both sides of the transparent substrate 2.
In the second step, the transparent substrate 2 is separated along imaginary lines X1 and imaginary lines Y1 shown in
The method for separating the transparent substrate 2 is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, implemented by dicing. For example, the transparent substrate 2 is separated by running a dicing blade through it along the imaginary lines X1. Next, the transparent substrate 2 is further separated by running the dicing blade through it along the imaginary lines Y1, thus obtaining transparent members.
In the manufacturing method according to this embodiment, as shown in
Conventionally, in forming, by dicing, transparent members having an approximately rectangular shape chamfered at the corners, it is necessary to separate a transparent substrate 100 along the broken lines as shown in
Unlike the above, in the manufacturing method according to this embodiment, the transparent substrate 2 is separated along the imaginary lines X1 and the imaginary lines Y1 shown in
In the transparent members 1 obtained by the manufacturing method according to this embodiment, the corners 11a to 11d have a chamfered shape. Therefore, for example, in using the transparent member 1 as a window component for an optical element to be described hereinafter and bonding it to an enclosure 22 like a package shown in
Furthermore, in the manufacturing method according to this embodiment, the through holes 3 can be formed by etching the transparent substrate 2 at the to-be-passed-through points. Therefore, when the transparent substrate 2 is separated along the imaginary lines X1 and imaginary lines Y1 connecting the centers of the through holes 3, portions of the lateral surfaces 10c of the obtained transparent members 1 located at the corners 11a to 11d are etched surfaces.
Meanwhile, as shown in
Particularly, when the width γ of the metalized film 2 at the corners is equal to or larger than the width α thereof at the sides along the direction Y, the amount of solder provided around the corners 11a to 11d is likely to be large and, therefore, the stress due to solder bonding is likely to become concentrated particularly at the corners 11a to 11d. However, since the portions of the lateral surface 10c of the transparent member 1 according to this embodiment located at the corners 11a to 11d are etched surfaces, the transparent member 1 is less likely to undergo chipping that might be caused by dicing. Therefore, the transparent member 1 according to this embodiment has a large strength at the corners 11a to 11d and is less likely to be broken even when the stress due to solder bonding is concentrated at the corners 11a to 11d.
In the present invention, after the through holes 3 are formed in the first step, etching may be performed along the imaginary lines X1 and imaginary lines Y1 connecting the through holes 3 to form grooves 7 shown in
Although in the above embodiment the through holes 3 having an approximately diamond planar shape are formed, the shape of the through holes 3 is not particularly limited. The planar shape of the through holes 3 may be an approximately square as shown in
As shown in
Examples of the material for the substrate body 10 of the transparent member 1 that can be used include glasses, such as quartz glass, and sapphire. The shape of the transparent member 1 is an approximately rectangular plate-like shape in this embodiment, but is not particularly limited. The area of the transparent member 1 may be, for example, not less than 1 mm2 and not more than 400 mm2. The thickness of the substrate body 10 of the transparent member 1 may be, for example, not less than 0.05 mm and not more than 2.00 mm.
As shown in
In the transparent member 1, the four sides 12a to 12d may have a light-chamfered shape. In this case, in using the transparent member 1 as a window component for an optical element and bonding it to the enclosure 22 by solder as described previously, the transparent member 1 can be even less likely to be broken. The light-chamfered shape may be, for example, such a shape that c (the dimension of the cut-away side portion) is not less than 0.01 mm and not more than 0.20 mm, and is more preferably such a shape that c (the dimension of the cut-away side portion) is not less than 0.03 mm and not more than 0.06 mm.
In the transparent member 1, the portions of the lateral surface 10c located at the four corners 11a to 11d are etched surfaces. The portions of the lateral surface 10c located at the four sides 12a to 12d are diced surfaces. This transparent member 1 can be produced, for example, by the above-described method for manufacturing a transparent member according to the present invention.
In the present invention, a portion of the lateral surface 10c located at least one of the four corners 11a to 11d is sufficient to be provided with an etched surface. Furthermore, a portion of the lateral surface 10c of located at least one of the four sides 12a to 12d is sufficient to be provided with a diced surface.
When, as in the transparent member 1 according to this embodiment, the portions of the lateral surface 10c located at the corners 11a to 11d are etched surfaces, chipping that might be caused by dicing is less likely to occur. Therefore, the transparent member 1 has a large strength at the corners 11a to 11d and is less likely to be broken even when the stress due to solder bonding is concentrated at the corners 11a to 11d. Therefore, the transparent member 1 according to this embodiment can be suitably used as a window component for an optical element.
In the transparent member 1 according to this embodiment, as described previously, a metalized film 5 may be provided on the substrate body 10. The width γ of the metalized film 5 at the corners is preferably equal to or larger than the width α of the metalized film 5 at the sides along the direction Y, more preferably larger than the width α of the metalized film 5 at the sides along the direction Y, still more preferably 1.001 times to 5.0 times the width α of the metalized film 5 at the sides along the direction Y, particularly preferably 1.01 times to 3.0 times the width α, and most preferably 1.2 times to 2.7 times the width α. Furthermore, the width γ of the metalized film 5 at the corners shown in
Thus, when the transparent member 1 is used as a window component for an optical element, the airtightness of the window component can be easily increased. As a result, the reliability of the window component for an optical element can be further increased.
When the metalized film 5 has the above-described features in terms of width, the amount of solder provided around the corners 11a to 11d is likely to be large and, therefore, the stress due to solder bonding is likely to become concentrated at the corners 11a to 11d. However, since the portions of the lateral surface 10c of the transparent member 1 according to this embodiment located at the corners 11a to 11d are etched surfaces, the transparent member 1 is less likely to undergo chipping that might be caused by dicing. Therefore, the transparent member 1 according to this embodiment has a large strength at the corners 11a to 11d and is less likely to be broken even when the stress due to solder bonding is concentrated at the corners 11a to 11d.
The width γ of the metalized film 5 at the corners may be, for example, 0.1 mm to 5.0 mm or 0.2 mm to 3.0 mm. Thus, when the transparent member 1 is used as a window component for an optical element, the airtightness of the window component can be easily increased with higher certainty. As a result, the reliability of the window component for an optical element can be increased with higher certainty.
The width α of the metalized film 5 at the sides along the direction Y is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm or 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm. The width β of the metalized film 5 at the sides along the direction X may be, for example, likewise, 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm or 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm. Thus, when the transparent member 1 is used as a window component for an optical element, the airtightness of the window component can be easily increased with higher certainty. As a result, the reliability of the window component for an optical element can be increased with higher certainty. Furthermore, when the width α of the metalized film 5 along the direction Y is equal to the width β thereof along the direction X, the stress in bonding the transparent member 1 to a window component for an optical element by solder can be easily dispersed. Naturally, depending on the design of the window component for an optical element, the width the metalized film 5 may be α≠β.
In this embodiment, the maximum profile valley depth Rv of the lateral surface 10c (etched surface) located at the corners 11a to 11d is preferably smaller than the maximum profile valley depth Rv of the lateral surface 10c (diced surface) located at the sides 12a to 12d. In this case, the strength at the corners 11a to 11d can be further increased and breakage can be even less likely to occur even when the stress due to solder bonding is concentrated at the corners 11a to 11d.
The maximum profile valley depth Rv of the lateral surface 10c (etched surface) located at the corners 11a to 11d is preferably not less than 0.100 μm, more preferably not less than 0.300 μm, preferably not more than 1.100 μm, more preferably not more than 1.000 μm, and even more preferably not more than 0.800 μm. When the maximum profile valley depth Rv of the lateral surface 10c (etched surface) located at the corners 11a to 11d is in the above range, the strength at the corners 11a to 11d can be further increased and breakage can be even less likely to occur even when the stress due to solder bonding is concentrated at the corners 11a to 11d. The maximum profile valley depth Rv can be measured in conformity with JIS B 0601:2013.
Furthermore, the total height of the profile Rt, load length ratio Rmr, and kurtosis Rku of the lateral surface 10c (etched surface) located at the corners 11a to 11d are preferably smaller than the total height of the profile Rt, load length ratio Rmr, and kurtosis Rku, respectively, of the lateral surface 10c (diced surface) located at the sides 12a to 12d.
On the other hand, the maximum profile peak height Rp, mean height of the profile elements Rc, skewness Rsk, and mean width of the profile elements RSm of the roughness curve for the lateral surface 10c (etched surface) located at the corners 11a to 11d are preferably larger than the maximum profile peak height Rp, mean height of the profile elements Rc, skewness Rsk, and mean width of the profile elements RSm of the roughness curve, respectively, for the lateral surface 10c (diced surface) located at the sides 12a to 12d.
The maximum profile peak height Rp of the lateral surface 10c (etched surface) located at the corners 11a to 11d may be, for example, not less than 0.500 μm and not more than 3.000 μm. The total height of the profile Rt of the lateral surface 10c (etched surface) located at the corners 11a to 11d may be, for example, not less than 0.500 μm and not more than 2.500 μm. The load length ratio Rmr of the lateral surface 10c (etched surface) located at the corners 11a to 11d may be, for example, not less than 10% and not more than 50%. The mean height of the profile elements Rc of the lateral surface 10c (etched surface) located at the corners 11a to 11d may be, for example, not less than 0.500 μm and not more than 3.000 μm. The mean width of the profile elements RSm of the roughness curve for the lateral surface 10c (etched surface) located at the corners 11a to 11d may be, for example, not less than 8 μm and not more than 30 μm. The kurtosis Rku of the lateral surface 10c (etched surface) located at the corners 11a to 11d may be, for example, not less than 1 μm and not more than 10 μm. All of these parameters can be measured in conformity with JIS B 0601:2013.
In this embodiment, as shown in
An example of the antireflection film 4 that can be used is a layered film in which low-refractive index films, medium-refractive index films, and high-refractive index films are alternately layered.
Examples of the material for the low-refractive index films that can be used include SiO, SiO2, and MgF2.
An example of the material for the medium-refractive index films that can be used is Al2O3.
Examples of the material for the high-refractive index films that can be used include Ta2O5, TiO, TiO2, Nb2O5, HfO2, ZrO2, and Si.
The thickness of the low-refractive index films may be, for example, not less than 10 nm and not more than 5000 nm. The thickness of the medium-refractive index films may be, for example, not less than 10 nm and not more than 5000 nm. The thickness of the high-refractive index films may be, for example, not less than 10 nm and not more than 5000 nm.
The antireflection film 4 may be a film in which low-refractive index films and high-refractive index films are alternately layered, a film in which low-refractive index films and medium-refractive index films are alternately layered, or a film in which medium-refractive index films and high-refractive index films are alternately layered. Alternatively, the antireflection film 4 may be formed only of a low refractive index film. The entire thickness of the antireflection film 4 may be, for example, not less than 20 nm and not more than 10000 nm.
The type of the metalized film 5 is not particularly limited, but a layered film where a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer are layered in this order may be used.
The first layer is, for example, a layer made of Cr, Ti, Ta or TiW. Among them, a layer made of Cr is preferred as the first layer. The second layer is, for example, a layer made of Ni, Pt, Pd, TiW or Ni-containing alloy, such as Ni—Cr. Among them, a layer made of Ni is preferred as the second layer. An example of the third layer is a layer made of Au.
The thickness of the first layer may be, for example, not less than 0.01 μm and not more than 0.50 μm. The thickness of the second layer may be, for example, not less than 0.10 μm and not more than 8.00 μm. The thickness of the third layer may be, for example, not less than 0.01 μm and not more than 3.00 μm.
The metalized film 5 is sufficient to include at least one of the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer. The entire thickness of the metalized film 5 may be, for example, not less than 0.12 μm and not more than 11.5 μm.
In the case of bonding using gold-tin solder, tin-silver-copper solder or the like, both the antireflection film 4 and the metalized film 5 are preferably provided. On the other hand, in the case of sealing with low-melting-point glass or sealing with an adhesive when airtight sealing is unnecessary, the antireflection film 4 only may be provided without the metalized film 5.
The window component for an optical element (the transparent member 1) according to this embodiment has a shape chamfered at the corners 11a to 11d. Therefore, in bonding the transparent member 1 to the enclosure 22 like a package, the corners 11a to 11d of the transparent member 1 are less likely to interfere with the frame of the enclosure 22.
Furthermore, the window component for an optical element (the transparent member 1) according to this embodiment has a large strength at the corners 11a to 11d and is less likely to be broken even when the stress due to solder bonding is concentrated at the corners 11a to 11d.
Hereinafter, a description will be given of an experimental example. However, the present invention is not at all limited by the following experimental example.
In an experimental example, through holes 3 shown in
Next, the transparent substrate 2 was separated along the imaginary lines X1 and the imaginary lines Y1 shown in
As shown in
Next, for the lateral surface (etched surface) located at the corner of the obtained transparent member, the roughness curves in the direction along the side (direction X) and the direction of thickness (direction Z) were measured in terms of some parameters. Likewise, for the lateral surface (diced surface) located at the side of the obtained transparent member, the roughness curves in the direction along the side (direction X) and the direction of thickness (direction Z) were measured in terms of some parameters. The measured parameters were the maximum profile valley depth Rv, the total height of the profile Rt, the load length ratio Rmr, the maximum profile peak height Rp, the mean height of the profile elements Rc, the skewness Rsk, the mean width of the profile elements RSm of the roughness curve, and the kurtosis Rku. The measurement was conducted in conformity with JIS B 0601:2013 using a laser microscope (item number “OLS4000” manufactured by Olympus Corporation).
The results are shown in Table 1 below.
As shown in Table 1, for example, it was confirmed that the maximum profile valley depth Rv at the lateral surface (etched surface) located at the corner of the obtained transparent member was smaller than that at the lateral surface (diced surface) located at the side thereof.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-191386 | Nov 2021 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2022/042889 | 11/18/2022 | WO |
