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  Method of cutting laminate, apparatus for manufacturing laminate, method of manufacturing laminate, and laminateUSPTO Application #: 20070017639Title: Method of cutting laminate, apparatus for manufacturing laminate, method of manufacturing laminate, and laminate Abstract: A device such as an MEMS device is fabricated by cutting a laminate of a semiconductor substrate and a glass substrate. Grooves are formed in the glass substrate, and the semiconductor substrate and the glass substrate are laminated together such that the groove faces the semiconductor substrate. The laminated substrates are irradiated with a laser along the groove from the side of the glass substrate. In this way, the laminate is cut into elements. (end of abstract) Agent: Staas & Halsey LLP - Washington, DC, US Inventors: Toshikazu Furui, Naohisa Matsushita USPTO Applicaton #: 20070017639 - Class: 156379600 (USPTO) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070017639. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional application of and claims parent benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 120 to application Ser. No. 11/245,048, filed Oct. 7, 2005, now pending, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/968,139 filed on Oct. 20, 2004, now pending, and claims priority benefit to Japanese Application Nos. 2004-168312 and 2005-167235, filed Jun. 7, 2004 and Jun. 7, 2005, the contents being incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a method of cutting a laminate, an apparatus for manufacturing the laminate, a method of manufacturing the laminate, and the laminate itself. In more detail, the present invention relates to a method of cutting a laminate formed of substrates of different types of laminated materials. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of cutting a laminate formed of substrates of respective materials, the corresponding transmittance or absorptance properties of which, with respect to irradiation by a laser beam, being different from each other. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] A device comprising a laminate including a plurality of substrates of different types of materials has recently been developed. Highly technical devices, such as micro-electronics-mechanical-system (MEMS) devices, are configured as a laminate of a substrate formed of silicon, and a substrate of lithium tantalate (LiTaO.sub.3), sapphire, or heat-resistant glass, etc, superposed together. In fabricating such a device, the laminate composed of a plurality of substrates of different types of materials is cut into separate devices (chips). [0006] In a conventional method, a semiconductor wafer is cut into separate semiconductor chips by rotating a wheel containing diamond abrasive grains at high speed. The wheel containing the diamond abrasive grains can be used also for separating the laminate of a plurality of substrates formed of different types of materials into individual devices. [0007] In fabricating a device having a fine mechanism such as a MEMS device, however, an attempt to separate the laminate into individual devices using the wheel containing diamond abrasive grains poses the problem that the contact between the wheel and the laminate at the time of cutting operation causes the laminate to vibrate and often damages the fine mechanism of the device. [0008] In the case where a device having a fine mechanism such as a MEMS device is fabricated, therefore, some measure is required to prevent the vibration of the laminate, and a cutting method using a laser is one choice. In the cutting method using the laser, however, the material is required to absorb the laser light, and therefore the combinations of the lasers and the materials to be cut are limited. [0009] In the case where the laminate including a plurality of substrates of different types of material is separated into individual devices, therefore, it is necessary to use a plurality of lasers having wavelengths suitable for a plurality of materials, respectively. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2003-37218, for example, discloses a method of cutting a multilayer substrate with a dual laser irradiation, in which a first laser is focussed on a first substrate, and a second laser is focussed on a second substrate. [0010] In the case where the laminate including a plurality of substrates of different types of material is separated into individual devices, therefore, as many laser oscillators as there are stacked substrates are required, thereby leading to the problem of an expensive, bulky dicing apparatus. [0011] For cutting a laminatite formed of silicon having the thickness of several hundred .mu.m and pyrex glass having the thickness of several hundred .mu.m, such as a MEMS device recently developed, a YAG laser (laser wavelength .lamda. of 1.064 .mu.m) can be used as a laser capable of cutting the silicon efficiently. As a laser capable of cutting glass, on the other hand, an ultraviolet laser (laser wavelength .lamda. of 0.35 .mu.m) typically including the excimer laser and the THG-YAG laser or an infrared laser (laser wavelength .lamda. of 5 .mu.m or more) typically including the CO.sub.2 laser are available. The ultraviolet laser, however, requires a long time for cutting, and for example, several hours or longer to cut one line of 100 mm. The use of the infrared laser, on the other hand, results in the laser irradiation width of at least 1 mm in the cutting operation, and adversely affects the internal circuits in an application to a small device. [0012] In the case where a member, in which a silicon member and glass member are joined to each other, is cut, the following problems are encountered. [0013] First, in the case where the silicon member side is irradiated with a laser beam so as to conduct laser beam machining, as the laser beam is absorbed by the silicon layer, it is possible to cut the silicon layer. However, the glass member transmits the laser beam. Therefore, cutting is stopped on the joining face on which the glass member and the silicon member are joined to each other. [0014] On the other hand, in the case where the glass member side is irradiated with a laser beam, the laser beam penetrates the glass member and reaches the silicon face. In this case, as the silicon member is cut, the glass member can be machined while being penetrated by the laser beam. However, a problem is caused in that cracks are generated on the joining interface of the glass member and the silicon member. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0015] An object of the present invention is to provide a method of cutting a laminate, an apparatus for manufacturing the laminate, a method of manufacturing the laminate and the laminate itself, the method being capable of cutting a laminate formed of a plurality of substrates of different types of laminated materials at low manufacturing cost with high quality. [0016] According to the present invention, there is provided a method of cutting a laminate of the present invention comprising the steps of: forming a groove on one of the first and the second substrates; putting one substrate, on which the groove is formed, upon the other substrate so that the groove can be directed to the other substrate; and condensing and irradiating a laser beam onto the first and the second substrate from one substrate side, on which the groove is formed, along the groove, so that the laminate composed of the first and the second substrate can be cut. [0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a laminate in which a first plate member made of a semiconductor and a second plate member made of glass are put on each other, and the second plate member has a groove on the side which is directed to the first plate member. [0018] According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for manufacturing a laminate having a mechanism for cutting a laminate formed of a first and a second substrate, wherein a groove is formed on one of the substrates, and the substrates are put upon each other so that the groove formed on one of the substrates can be directed to the other substrate. The apparatus for manufacturing a laminate comprises: a laser beam source; a laser beam condensing optical system; a table on which the laminate is put; and a moving mechanism for relatively moving the laser beam source and the table, wherein the laminate is put on the table so that the one substrate, on which the groove is formed, can be directed to the laser beam source, and the laminate is cut when the laser beam source is relatively moved with respect to the table and the laser beam is irradiated along the groove. [0019] According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a laminate of the present invention comprising: a step of forming a groove on one of the first and the second substrate; a step of laminating the first and the second substrate on each other so that the groove on one substrate can be directed to the other substrate; and a step of moving the laser beam source relative to the laminate while a laser beam is being irradiated to the laminate along the groove. [0020] Due to the above-mentioned features, the laminate composed of the first and the second substrates, which are laminated on each other, can be positively cut by using a single laser beam. [0021] The laminate formed of a plurality of substrates of different types of laminated materials can be cut at one time by irradiating a single laser beam. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively obtain an apparatus capable of cutting a laminate with high quality. Therefore, a dicing apparatus including a single laser can be made compact and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Continue reading... Full patent description for Method of cutting laminate, apparatus for manufacturing laminate, method of manufacturing laminate, and laminate Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Method of cutting laminate, apparatus for manufacturing laminate, method of manufacturing laminate, and laminate patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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