Abstract: During scribing processes of a brittle material substrate, the present invention prevents the generation of an unnecessary crack deriving in an unspecified and uncontrollable direction. The mother glass substrate is suction-chucked onto the first securing table and the second securing table via suction by a vacuum pump and that alike from suction holes set up on the surfaces of the first securing table and the second securing table. Unequal internal stresses existing at this time within the inner section of the mother glass substrate become erased once, by means of moving the first securing table and/or the second securing table for a micro distance along a predetermined direction. After adjusting the stresses towards a specific direction, scribing is to be conduct.

Abstract: The present invention realizes a polishing apparatus capable of chamfering an end face of a large-sized substrate at a high precision for a table unit for mounting the substrate. A substrate is mounted on a table unit and is fixedly held in a predetermined reference state. A first polishing unit includes a polishing grind stone for polishing an end face of the substrate held on the table unit and substrate side edge portion supporting means for supporting the lower surface of a side edge portion of the substrate in the vicinity of the end face of the substrate to be polished by the polishing unit. The first polishing unit is moved together with the substrate side edge portion supporting means by a first polishing unit moving means along the end face of the substrate while the polishing grind stone is polishing the end face of the substrate.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a method of scribing and breaking a substrate made of a brittle material by which good-quality cutting surface of the substrate can be obtained without any defects such as chippings on the substrate.

Abstract: A mother substrate cutting method for cutting a plurality of unit substrates out of a mother substrate, comprises the steps of: (a) forming scribe lines on the mother substrate by scribe forming means; and (b) breaking the mother substrate along the scribe lines, wherein the step (a) includes a step of forming a first scribe line for cutting a first unit substrate out of the mother substrate and a second scribe line for cutting a second unit substrate out of the mother substrate by moving a pressure position to the mother substrate without a pressure to the mother substrate by the scribe forming means being interrupted.

Abstract: In a flat display panel wherein two plates made of a brittle material are adhered to each other, at least one of the two plates has a plane on which a scribing line is formed, and the plane of the at least one of the plates on which a scribing line is formed is opposed to a plane of the other of the at least one of the two plates on which no scribing line is formed. In one case, the two plates have planes on which scribing is performed, while in another case, only one of the two plates has a plane on which scribing is performed. In the latter case, scribing may be performed on the other of the two plates after the two plates are adhered.

Abstract: The forming of a heated spot (10) by using a laser beam irradiated to a brittle substrate along a predetermined scribing line (S) and the ejecting of a cooling medium, after interruption of irradiation of laser beam, to impinge on the spot to thereby form a cooled spot (20) constitute a unit operation to be repeated. The cooled spot overlapping the heated spot (10) that has a longitudinal center line (b) crossing the scribing line (S) at a right angle serves to restore thermal equilibrium in and around the spots while forming unit cracks (n) continued one from another to form a linear crack (E,U) perpendicular to the brittle substrate surface.

Abstract: In a method for processing brittle material, a laser light from a laser light source irradiates the brittle material and transports an irradiating position of the laser light along a predetermined line, wherein the laser light L from a plurality of laser light sources 11, 12 . . . m1, m2 . . . mn is irradiated simultaneously onto the surface of the brittle material W, and an irradiating range of the laser light, which is set to a predetermined shape, is moved over the surface of the brittle material. Furthermore, a plurality of optical wave guides 10 . . . 10 that guide the laser light from the laser light sources 11, 12 . . . m1, m2 . . . mn to the brittle material are provided, and composite laser light L irradiates the surface of the brittle material, with these optical wave guides 10 . . . 10 bundled together.

Abstract: The objective of the present invention is to provide a substrate cutting system which requires a small footprint area so as to be compact, and also which is capable of efficiently cutting a substrate. Clamp devices 50 are attached to the substrate cutting system. The clamp devices can hold at least one part of a side edge of the mother substrate to be carried-in a mounting base 10 in a hollow rectangular parallelepiped and reciprocate along one side of the mounting base 10 in a hollow rectangular parallelepiped. A pair of substrate cutting devices are provided in a cutting device guide body 30 so as to be movable along a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the clamp devices 50, the pair of substrate cutting devices cutting the mother substrate from each of the top surface and the bottom surface of the mother substrate which is clamped by the clamp devices 50.

Abstract: In a method for processing brittle material, a laser light from a laser light source irradiates the brittle material and transports an irradiating position of the laser light along a predetermined line, wherein the laser light L from a plurality of laser light sources 11, 12 . . . m1, m2 . . . mn is irradiated simultaneously onto the surface of the brittle material W, and an irradiating range of the laser light, which is set to a predetermined shape, is moved over the surface of the brittle material. Furthermore, a plurality of optical wave guides 10 . . . 10 that guide the laser light from the laser light sources 11, 12 m1, m2 . . . mn to the brittle material are provided, and composite laser light L irradiates the surface of the brittle material, with these optical wave guides 10 . . . 10 bundled together.

Abstract: An inspection apparatus for inspecting an end face of a transparent substrate and an inspection method for inspecting an end face of a transparent substrate according to the present invention are capable of reliably and accurately detecting defects at the end face of the transparent substrate. When a display panel substrate 10 which is a transparent substrate to placed on a rotating table 21, a light is intermittently emitted from an end-face illuminating unit 39 arranged opposite to the end face of the display panel substrate 10. The light emitted along the surface of the substrate 10 is reflected from a lower reflecting mirror 42 toward the end face of the transparent substrate 10. The end face and an adjacent portion thereof are imaged by a CCD camera 36. Defects at the end face of the display panel substrate 10 are detected based on an image density of each pixel in the obtained image data.

Abstract: A vacuum suction head of the present invention can be applied to a large-sized liquid crystal display panel and can reliably suck an object to be sucked even if the object has undulation or flexure. The suction head has a shaft, which holds a suction pad, and gas is charged into and discharged from the suction pad through a suction hole. A casing holds the shaft through first and second springs so as to be movable in the axial direction. Since the suction pad is elastically supported by the springs, the suction pad can reliably suck the object to be sucked having undulation or flexure. The vacuum suction head can be used for a vacuum suction device and a working table.

Abstract: A scribing line forming mechanism according to the present invention includes: a scribing line forming means (207) being structured so as to form a scribing line on a substrate by contacting the substrate; and a supporting means for supporting the scribing line forming means such that the scribing line forming means is turnable about a first turning axis (204), the supporting means being structured so as to be turnable about a second turning axis (202), the second turning axis being different from the first turning axis, wherein the axial center of the first turning axis and the axial center of the second turning axis are approximately in parallel, and the axial center of the second turning axis is distant by a predetermined interval from a portion where the substrate and the scribing line forming means contact each other.

Abstract: A scribing head according to the present invention includes: a scribing line forming means (29) structured so as to form a scribing line on a substrate; and a moving means (502, 503) for moving the scribing line forming means such that the scribing line forming means presses the substrate with a constant magnitude, wherein the moving means includes: a rotation means (502) rotating about a rotation axis, the axial center of the rotation axis being provided so as to align with a predetermined direction in which the scribing line forming means moves, and a motive power transmission means (503) for transmitting a motive power between the motive power transmission means and the scribing line forming means such that the scribing line forming means moves on a straight line along the axial center of the rotation axis in response to the rotation of the rotation means, the motive power transmission means being provided along the predetermined direction.

Abstract: A rotating shaft (23) is inserted through an axial center of a cutter wheel tip for scribing a brittle object. The rotating shaft (23) is integrally provided with the cutter wheel tip. The rotating shaft (23) is inserted into supporting holes (14) provided in side walls (11) of a tip holder (11) so as to be supported. A groove (13) is formed in an upper portion of each supporting hole (14) along an axial direction of the supporting hole (14).

Abstract: A brittle substrate cutting system according to the present invention includes a scribing apparatus including a scribing line forming means for forming a scribing line on a first surface of a brittle substrate; and a breaking apparatus for breaking the brittle substrate along the scribing line, wherein the breaking apparatus includes a first pressing controlling means for moving a pressing force upon a second surface of the brittle substrate opposing the first surface of the brittle substrate along the scribing line while the first surface of the brittle substrate is held.

Abstract: A separation apparatus comprising a first and a second scribing means for scribing front and rear surfaces of a first mother substrate made of a brittle material along first predetermined scribing lines previously provided on the front and rear surfaces of the first mother substrate, the first and second scribing means being opposed to each other on an upper side and a lower side, and a holding and transferring means for holding and transferring the first mother substrate so that the first predetermined scribing lines of the first mother substrate are located between the first and second scribing means.

Abstract: A silicon wafer 50 including a plurality of semiconductor devices patterned on a top surface thereof as a result of a wafer production process is prepared. A transparent film is applied on the top surface of the semiconductor wafer 50 so as to cover all the plurality of semiconductor devices. The semiconductor wafer with the transparent film is placed on a rotatable table 26 such that a rear surface of the semiconductor wafer not covered with the transparent film is facing up away from the rotatable table 26. The rear surface of the semiconductor wafer 50 is heated with a laser beam to form a laser spot, along a scribe line formation line for dividing the semiconductor wafer into a plurality of semiconductor chips, to a temperature lower than a softening point of the semiconductor wafer, while an area close to the laser spot is continuously cooled along the scribe line formation line.

Abstract: There are provided a scribing step of performing scribing in a state in which a protective material is applied on at least one surface of a brittle material substrate, and a first scribing device that performs this scribing step. Accordingly, it is possible to form a vertical crack that reaches deep inside of the substrate, while effectively removing cullets produced at the time of severing the substrate, thus performing precise severing along a scribe line.