TWI400205B - Apparatus and method for etching glass wafers, and glass sheets manufactured using the same - Google Patents

Description

Apparatus and method for etching glass wafers, and glass sheets manufactured using the same

The present invention relates to an apparatus for etching a glass substrate to reduce the thickness of the glass substrate, and more particularly, to an apparatus for etching a glass substrate, wherein a fixing unit is provided under the at least one glass substrate with respect to the ground A predetermined inclination can separately fix and support the glass substrate and provide a sputtering unit on the glass substrate to spray an etchant onto the glass substrate to reduce the thickness of the glass substrate, thereby fabricating a glass sheet.

In response to the current development of the information age, optoelectronic components and devices have been significantly developed and widely distributed. In particular, display devices that use images on television or personal computers to represent images are undergoing accelerated research.

Thus, more research has been conducted on a glass sheet for a substrate (that is, a necessary portion of the display device) and a method of manufacturing the glass sheet.

Conventional methods of manufacturing thin display panels generally include mechanical polishing methods and chemical wet etching methods. When mechanical polishing methods are widely used in the early stage of display devices, chemical wet etching methods with excellent productivity have recently begun to be used in the demand for ultra-fine products.

In the wet etching method, the immersion method is initially used in the manufacture of a thin plate for a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD). The splattering method (conventional splatting method) and the jet stream method are more advanced than the immersion method, and they use the principle similar to the immersion method. The conventional sputtering method and jet method differ from the immersion method only in the supply of the etchant, the diffusion and removal of the reaction product on the macroscopic principle.

Briefly describe the chemical wet etching method, which uses the main component of the etchant after stirring the etchant (the main components are: hydrogen ion (H ⁺ ), hydrogen fluoride (HF) and hydrogen fluoride (HF ^2- )) And a chemical reaction between the main components of the glass substrate (such as O-Si-O (SiO ₂ )). This reaction is performed according to the following equation.

SiO ₂ +4HF → SiF ₄ +2H ₂ O

The process of etching a glass substrate using an etchant containing HF can be divided into the following five steps, which determine the quality of the etching. In these five steps, i) the etchant is diffused into the diffusion layer adjacent to the glass substrate, ii) the composition of the etchant is absorbed into the surface of the glass substrate, iii) the etchant component reacts chemically with the glass substrate, iv) After the chemical reaction, the reaction product is separated from the glass substrate, and v) the reaction product is removed from the diffusion layer adjacent to the glass substrate.

Under the above, the immersion method in the wet etching method, the conventional sputtering method, and the jet flow method will be described based on the above chemical reaction. The immersion method encompasses the inclusion of an etchant in the etch bath, immersing the glass substrate in the etchant, and creating bubbles from the bottom end of the etched trench, so that these bubbles create a flow of etchant on the surface of the glass substrate. Here, these bubbles are related to the kinetics of the etchant or reaction product, such as diffusion of an etchant, separation of reaction products, and removal of reaction products from the diffusion layer. These bubbles accelerate contact, diffusion, and separation by increasing the kinetic energy of the etchant and reaction products.

In other words, these bubbles are used to quickly supply a new etchant onto the glass substrate and remove the etchant from the surface of the glass substrate. The immersion method operating according to the above principle has the advantage of high productivity because several glass substrates are used. It can be infused in a state suitable for being placed in a soaking pot because the etchant fills the etching bath. However, this immersion method has a drawback in that the reaction product remains in the etching bath and adheres to the surface of the glass substrate, thus causing an adverse effect on the surface quality. This result makes it difficult to reduce the thickness of the glass substrate by increasing the etching amount, and thus a large amount of etchant is used to etch the glass substrate.

Conventional methods of sputtering are developed to supplement the disadvantages of the soaking process. Conventional splatting methods are superior in quality to immersion methods. Referring to Figure 1, a conventional sputtering method encompasses spraying etchant 12 from nozzle 11 onto glass substrate 13. The etching step according to this etching principle is the same as that described above with respect to the immersion method. However, the conventional sputtering method uses a tool called a squirt to generate a large amount of kinetic energy by vertically injecting an etchant onto the glass substrate, and thus can supply a new etchant and remove it more quickly and evenly. reaction product. Further, at the same temperature, the conventional sputtering method can achieve higher quality and higher etching rate than the immersion method.

The conventional sputtering method can use a groove having a large capacity because the reaction product is easily removed and the etchant is continuously circulated through the groove and the etching space. Furthermore, the conventional sputtering method can advantageously not only maintain excellent surface quality, but also reduce the amount of etching used, since the etchant can be continuously used via the treatment of the reaction product. However, the conventional sputtering method has a relatively low productivity because it can only process the glass substrate piece by piece.

The jet flow method was developed to overcome the problems mentioned above. The jet flow method can be considered as a combination of a soaking method and a splashing method. Jet stream The method covers filling the etched trench with an etchant, immersing the glass substrate in the etchant, and generating a strong etchant stream from one side as a bubble for the immersion method. In addition, a new etchant is continuously supplied into the etching bath, and a portion of the etchant flowing over the etching bath is collected and reused. Even though the jet flow method may increase productivity, its disadvantage is that the cost at the beginning is high.

The present invention is made to solve the problems of the prior art described above.

An aspect of the invention provides an apparatus for etching a glass substrate, wherein a fixing unit is provided under the at least one glass substrate to detachably fix and support the glass substrate at a predetermined inclination relative to the ground and to provide a sputtering unit A etchant is sprayed onto the glass substrate to reduce the thickness of the glass substrate.

Another aspect of the invention provides an improved quality glass substrate made from the above-mentioned apparatus.

According to an aspect of the invention, the apparatus for etching a glass substrate may include a fixing unit that is provided under one or more glass substrates to detachably fix and support the glass at a predetermined inclination with respect to the ground. a substrate; and a sputtering unit is provided on the glass substrate to spray an etchant onto the glass substrate, wherein the glass substrate is reduced in thickness by etching.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the splatter unit may include one or more nozzle tips and one or more nozzles for spraying etchant.

In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the tip end of the nozzle It is possible to space the glass substrate by a predetermined distance which is determined by the spacing between the nozzles and the etchant spray angle of the nozzle.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, the glass substrate may be inclined at an angle ranging from 0 to 45 degrees with respect to a vertical plane of the nozzle, the vertical plane extending vertically through the nozzle.

In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the glass substrates are disposed on the fixing unit at a predetermined interval from each other, wherein the pitch ranges from 5 mm to 300 mm.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus for etching a glass substrate may further include an etchant tank in communication with the splatter unit; and a reaction product tank provided in a lower portion of the fixed unit The reaction product produced by the reaction between the etchant sprayed from the nozzle and the glass substrate is collected; wherein the unreacted portion of the etchant is circulated from the reaction product tank to the etchant tank.

In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the reaction product chamber may include a filter member for separating the reaction product from the unreacted portion of the etchant.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, the etchant may be hydrogen fluoride, and the etch rate of the glass substrate may vary depending on the concentration of hydrogen ions, hydrogen fluoride, and hydrogen fluoride in the etchant.

In still another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the fixing unit may include a glass substrate contact member for assisting in fixing the glass substrate and assisting in the flow of the reaction product into the reaction product tank.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a liquid crystal display for a thin film The glass sheets of the present invention are manufactured using the apparatus described above having a thickness ranging from 0.3 mm to 1 mm and an area ranging from 1000 x 1200 mm 2 to 1100 x 1300 mm 2 .

The exemplary embodiment of the present invention set forth above can improve productivity by more easily processing a glass substrate into a thinner glass sheet, and improve quality by flowing an etchant along the glass substrate. Further, economic competitiveness can be improved by ultra-fine etching performed at a thickness of 0.3 mm or less and 1000 x 1200 mm 2 .

The invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments are shown.

In the accompanying drawings, FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a substrate etching process according to a conventional method. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a first embodiment of an apparatus for etching a glass substrate in accordance with the present invention, and FIG. 3 illustrates a first embodiment of a process of etching a glass substrate in accordance with the present invention.

4 is a side elevational view and a front elevational view of a geometrical configuration of a glass substrate and a vertical plane in which the vertical plane extends vertically through a nozzle, and FIG. 5 is a schematic view comparing an etching method of the present invention and a conventional glass etching method, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of etching applied to the surface of the glass substrate and the etching rate with respect to the surface quality.

7 is a view showing a relationship between an etching dose supplied to a surface of a glass substrate and different thicknesses of a glass substrate in a vertical direction, and FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating an etching thickness distribution according to a pitch of the glass substrate, and FIG. 9 is based on The first embodiment of the invention illustrates the geometry between the glass substrate and the nozzle A rough view of the relationship.

Further, Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing a geometric relationship between a glass substrate and a fixing unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3, an apparatus 100 for etching a glass substrate is provided that reduces the thickness of the glass substrate 300 by etching the surface of the glass substrate. The apparatus 100 includes a sputtering unit 101 that sprays an etchant down onto the glass substrate 300 and a fixing unit 200 that fixes the glass substrate 300.

One or more glass substrates 300 are disposed. When a plurality of glass substrates 300 are placed in the apparatus 100, a plurality of glass sheets can be simultaneously produced. The glass substrate 300 needs to contain bismuth (Si) or bismuth oxide (SiO ₂ ) to be etched by an etchant such as hydrogen fluoride (HF). However, this is not intended to limit the invention, and the glass substrate 300 may also be provided in different forms.

The fixing unit 200 is provided to fix and support the glass substrate 300 from below such that the glass substrate 300 is inclined with respect to the ground. Here, it is not necessary to arrange the substrate at a precise 90 degrees with respect to an etchant supply unit. The fixing unit 200 is composed of a polymer resin or an organic material, and is configured to fix the glass substrate 300 with a minimum contact area.

This is because the etchant needs to be sprayed onto the glass substrate 300 and completely in contact with the glass substrate 300. However, the fixing unit 200 is not limited to a polymer as long as it can fix the glass substrate 300.

Further, the fixing member 200 may be formed by grooves which are spaced apart from each other at an interval to fix the plurality of glass substrates 300. The width of the fixing member 200 may be set to be the same as the width of the glass substrate 300, and the glass substrate 300 is fixed to the fixing member 200 with a minimum area.

Since a plurality of glass substrates 300 can be fixedly mounted in the fixing member 200, it is possible to put the components of the fixing member 200 and the glass substrate 300 into an etching region, etch the glass substrate 300, and then take the assembly out of the etching region. . In this case, since the fixing unit 200 can be easily inserted into the etching region and the extraction etching region, the plurality of glass substrates 300 can be simultaneously etched. This embodiment of the invention is effective because a plurality of glass substrates can be etched. Moreover, this embodiment of the invention is very productive and economical because etching by a sputtering method can etch more glass substrates than by a immersion method.

The fixing unit 200 can be made flexible because the glass substrate 300 is substantially not subjected to any external force. When the fixing unit 200 is kept in contact with the glass substrate 300, the reaction product may accumulate on the fixing unit 200, thus causing defects such as stains. To solve this problem, as shown in FIG. 10, the fixing unit 200 may include a clip 202 for fixing a glass substrate 300. This embodiment of the invention advantageously provides a large free angle since the fixed unit 200 can be prepared depending on the type of substrate or process. This is because the etchant 104 is sprayed onto the glass substrate 300 from above, in particular, splashed along the surface of the glass substrate 300 to minimize any influence from the outside.

A sputtering unit 101 for spraying the etchant 104 onto the glass substrate 300 is provided from above. Since the sputtering unit 101 is provided on the glass substrate 300 and the etchant is sprayed from above, the glass substrate 300 is substantially not subjected to an external force. Since the glass substrate 300 is subjected to a small amount of external force, a support structure can be easily designed. For these reasons, very beneficial Yes, the thickness of the glass substrate 300 is reduced to 0.1 mm or less and a large area of 1100 x 1250 cm 2 or a larger area of the fourth generation or a larger area of more generations is etched.

Sputter unit 101 includes one or more nozzle heads 102 on which one or more nozzles 103 are provided. Each of the nozzles 103 is configured to spray an etchant.

Referring to Fig. 5, the sputtering method is employed because a large area can be etched with a small amount of an etchant, and the etching thickness can be appropriately adjusted. The splatter unit 101 is provided on the glass substrate 300 to minimize the pressure which is applied to the glass substrate 300 when the etchant 104 is splattered. The etchant 104 first contacts the upper, middle, or lower portion of the glass substrate 300, and when the surface of the glass substrate 300 is subsequently etched, flows down the glass substrate 300 by surface tension. In contrast, as shown in FIG. 1, the conventional sputtering method applies a large amount of pressure onto the glass substrate 13, because the etchant 12 is directly sprayed on the glass substrate 13.

Referring to Figure 4, the distance from the glass substrate 300 to the tip end of the nozzle 103 is determined by the pitch of the nozzle 103 and the etchant spray angle of the nozzle 103 (i.e., the angle at which the nozzle 103 sprays the etchant 104). The distance from the glass substrate 300 to the tip end of the nozzle 103 is thus determined to ensure that all portions of the glass substrate 300 are exposed to the etchant 104. The distance h from the glass substrate 300 to the tip end of the nozzle 103 can be defined by Equation 1 below:

Where N _P is the spacing between the nozzles 103, H _p is the spacing between the nozzle heads 102, and θ is the etchant spray angle of the nozzles. The distance from the glass substrate 300 to the nozzle 103 needs to have geometric features that satisfy all of the above Equation 1. When viewed from above in FIG. 4, unless the interval d between the side edge of the glass substrate 300 and the outermost nozzle 103 satisfies the following Equation 2, all portions of the glass substrate 300 are not exposed to the etchant 104.

Further, the interval d' between the outer edge of the outermost glass substrate 300 and the outermost nozzle 103 needs to satisfy the following Equation 3 when viewed from above in FIG.

The slope between the glass substrate 300 and the vertical plane of the nozzle is defined in a range from 0 to 45 degrees, which extends vertically through the nozzle. Referring to FIG. 9, it is preferable that the glass substrate 300 is inclined at 0 degrees with respect to a vertical plane which extends vertically via the nozzle 103. When the glass substrate 300 is inclined by 30 degrees with respect to the vertical plane of the nozzle 103, there is substantially no difference in thickness in the vertical direction. However, if the tilt reaches 47 degrees, the lower portion of the glass substrate 300 may be thicker than the other portions because the reaction product is not effectively removed. Preferably, the tilt is determined within the above range.

The spacing between the plurality of glass substrates 300 disposed on the fixed unit 200 is preferably in the range of from 5 to 300 mm. The spacing between the glass substrates 300 is determined in the above-mentioned range in order to increase productivity by etching a larger number of glass substrates 300. Actually, 8 mm The pitch-arranged glass substrate productivity was five times that of arranging the glass substrate at a pitch of 40 mm. In this case, the spacing between the glass substrates is a very important factor in determining productivity. Reducing the spacing between the glass substrates 300 increases the productivity, which also requires a reduction in the pitch of the nozzle heads 102 (where the nozzles are adhered). Reducing the spacing between the nozzle tips 102 also requires reducing the diameter of the nozzle tip, thus making it difficult to supply sufficient etchant to the nozzle 103. However, in this case, the cost of the process will increase because special components will be used instead of standard components. Further, maintenance of the nozzle 103 also becomes difficult.

Therefore, the spacing between the glass substrates 300 is preferably determined within the above-mentioned range.

Therefore, the pitch between the glass substrates 300 is preferably determined within the above range. In addition, since the number of glass substrates to be placed at one time represents the total amount of etching in one etching process, it is necessary to consider the specifications of the etching apparatus, such as the capacity of the tank and the maintenance for the predetermined pressure and the pump capacity. The specification of the tube of the etchant that is sprayed from the nozzle.

The splatter unit 101 is assembled in an etched trench that is configured to communicate with a reaction product tank. The etchant bath contains HF, and the concentration and amount of HF ions are adjusted in accordance with the process of the present invention.

A reaction product tank is provided in a lower portion of the fixed unit 200 to collect a reaction product which is etched through the etchant 104 from the nozzle 103.

The reaction with the glass substrate 300 is generated, so that the unreacted etchant can be circulated from the reaction product tank to the etching bath. The reaction product obtained by the reaction between the etchant 104 and the glass substrate 300 rapidly flows into the reaction product tank. The reaction product tank and the etchant tank are interconnected or share an empty space Circulating unreacted etchant. The unreacted etchant from the reaction product can again be directed into the etchant bath to quickly supply a new etchant and remove the reaction product, thus improving surface quality. The reaction product tank may include a filter member to separate the reaction product from the etchant 104.

The etchant 104 is HF, and the etching rate of the glass substrate is etchant 104

The concentration of hydrogen ions (H ⁺ ), HF and hydrogen fluoride (HF ₂ ) is determined. The etching rate varies depending on the concentrations of H ⁺ , HF, and HF ₂ , and is not proportional to the amount of the etchant supplied to the glass substrate 300.

Referring to FIG. 6, the etching rate and surface quality can be ensured by supplying a predetermined amount or more of the etchant 104. Since the amount of the etchant 104 is not proportional to the etching rate and the surface quality, the etchant 104 is supplied in a predetermined number or more. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, even if an etchant is supplied from above the glass substrate 300, when a lower portion of the substrate is supplied with a predetermined amount or more of an etchant, thickness difference and quality difference are not in the glass substrate 300. Occurs between the upper portion 302 and the lower portion 303. That is, a predetermined amount or more of the etchant is always kept in contact with the surface of the glass substrate 300, so that the etching rate and the excellent surface quality can be ensured.

Referring to Fig. 10, the fixing unit 200 of this embodiment of the present invention is provided with a glass substrate contact member 201 to help fix the glass substrate 300 and to facilitate the flow of reaction products into the reaction product tank. The glass substrate contact member 201 is of a circular configuration composed of at least one selected from the group consisting of hydrogen fluoride resistant materials, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), and Teflon. and many more. The glass substrate contact member 201 is not limited to the materials and shapes mentioned above, but may be applied with any material having any shape that contributes to the flow of the etchant 104 and the reaction product. Further, the glass substrate contact member 201 is in point contact with the glass substrate 300 to maximize the flow of the reaction product, and the glass substrate contact member 201 has a larger interval than the thickness of the glass substrate.

Glass sheets made from instruments for etching glass substrates generally have a thickness ranging from 0.3 mm to 1 mm, and can be made with a thickness of 0.1 mm or less. Instruments for etching glass substrates can be fabricated with large area thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) glass sheets ranging from 1000 x 1200 mm 2 to 1100 x 1300 cm 2 .

Underneath is an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, which will explain the difference in thickness between the upper portion and the lower portion of the glass substrate 300 as the spacing of the glass substrate 300 changes. Further, as another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the difference in thickness between the upper portion and the lower portion of the glass substrate 300 according to the pitch of the nozzle 103 and the distance from the glass substrate 300 will be explained.

example 1

In order to examine that when a predetermined amount or more of etchant is supplied, the glass substrate has substantially no thickness difference in the vertical direction, the upper nozzle is disposed at a pitch of 50 x 50 mm 2 , and the amount of etchant supplied to the surface of the glass substrate With varying glass spacing, including infinite, 90 mm and 30 mm variations. Here, the number of nozzles sprayed is 0.1 to 0.2 liters per minute, and the glass substrate has an area of 370 x 470 mm 2 and a thickness of 0.63 mm etched to 300 μm.

Referring to Table 1 and Figure 8 above, the desired specifications can be obtained by supplying a predetermined amount or more of an etchant. The amount of etchant supplied from above can be increased to obtain a uniform thickness distribution. By increasing the amount of etchant supplied from above and reducing the glass pitch to increase productivity, a large number of glass substrates can be etched in the same space.

Example 2

The current thickness uniformity of an LCD substrate is approximately on the order of plus or minus 20 microns. The difference in thickness between the upper portion and the lower portion of the glass substrate was examined by changing the pitch of the nozzle from the glass substrate to test whether the uniformity of the thickness was ensured. In this example, a low-density glass substrate with a connecting plate (area 590 x 670 mm ^ 2 and thickness 1.26 mm) is etched to 0.6 as a TFT-LCD alkali-free glass substrate (NEG OA-21 or SCP E2K). PCT.

The nozzle used in Example 2 had a spray amount of 0.3 liters per minute. In fact, the glass substrate productivity at a pitch of 8 mm can be five times that of arranging the glass substrate at a pitch of 40 mm. In this way, the spacing between the glass substrates is a factor that determines productivity. Even reducing the pitch of the glass substrate can increase the productivity, and reducing the pitch of the nozzle head also requires reducing the diameter of the nozzle tip, thus making it difficult to supply a sufficient amount of etchant to the nozzle. In this case, since special components are used instead of standard components, the manufacturing cost increases. Further, the maintenance of the nozzle 103 also becomes difficult. Since the number of glass substrates to be inserted at one time represents the total amount of etching in one etching process, it is necessary to consider the specifications of the etching apparatus, such as the predetermined pressure and the pump capacity, and the capacity of the tank is used to maintain The specification of the tube of the etchant that is sprayed from the nozzle. It is necessary to supply a predetermined amount or more of an etchant to ensure the quality of a display device and the like. In this experiment, a factor C _f satisfies Equation 4:

Where Nozzle [m ³ /min] represents the number of nozzles per minute, G _ptch [m] represents the glass pitch, Nh _ptch [m] represents the nozzle pitch in the width direction, and Nv _ptch [m] represents the nozzle in the length direction. spacing.

The factor C _f is considered a variable in Example 2, which is an important factor. Even if the size of the factor C _f is m ² /min in the numerical expression Equation 4, this is because only the pitch of the glass substrate is taken into consideration, and the length of the glass substrate is not taken into consideration, and the true size of the factor C _f is m ³ / Min. This is because the length of the glass substrate is not an important factor.

In this experiment, the number of nozzles per minute was about 0.3 liters. The C _f value according to the distance between the nozzle and the glass substrate is recorded in Table 3 below.

As recorded in Table 3 above, where the nozzle pitch is 50 mm (0.05 m) and the glass pitch is 8 mm (0.008 m), the thickness difference of the glass substrate in the vertical direction is from 35 μm to 50. Within the micrometer range.

This range is partially within this specification and the difference in thickness is in the range of 10 to 15 microns. Because of a boundary with respect to thickness prior to etching, a nozzle pitch of 50 mm and a glass pitch of 8 mm is a virtually unusable geometric configuration.

The invention also relates to a chemical etching method for reducing the thickness of a glass substrate. In the conventional immersion method, it is difficult to uniformly etch the entire surface of a glass substrate having a large area or to precisely control the thickness of the substrate. In addition, conventional sputtering methods increase the squirting pressure of the etchant and cause airflow by supplying an etchant from both sides of the glass substrates. This causes a construction problem because it is difficult to support a glass substrate having a large area to resist gravity.

In order to solve these problems, the present invention minimizes an external force on a glass substrate by spraying an etchant from above. By way of further example, a film having a thickness of 1 mm or less (e.g., 0.9 mm, 0.8 mm, 0.6 mm, etc.) can be etched by etching a TFT having a thickness of 1.26 mm or 1.0 mm. - LCD connection plate to manufacture. In the etching apparatus of the present invention, fine The etching can be carried out not only on a bonding plate for a TFT-LCD, an OLED or the like, but also on a glass substrate or a germanium wafer which is not yet connected. Furthermore, the etching apparatus of the present invention is a process technology that can improve surface quality and productivity and can be achieved at a very low cost.

While the invention has been shown and described with respect to the specific exemplary embodiments the embodiments of the invention The spirit and scope of the completion.

11‧‧‧Nozzles

12‧‧‧ etchant

13‧‧‧ glass substrate

100‧‧‧ instruments

101‧‧‧Splatter unit

102‧‧‧Nozzle head

103‧‧‧Nozzles

104‧‧‧etching agent

200‧‧‧Fixed unit

201‧‧‧ glass substrate contact member

202‧‧‧ clip

300‧‧‧ glass substrate

302‧‧‧ upper part

303‧‧‧ lower part

D‧‧‧ interval

D’‧‧‧ interval

H‧‧‧distance

θ ‧‧‧ etchant spray angle

Other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and appended claims. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a substrate etching process according to a conventional method; FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a first embodiment of an apparatus for etching a glass substrate according to the present invention; FIG. 3 is an illustration of etching according to the present invention. A first embodiment of a glass substrate process; FIG. 4 is a side elevational view and a front elevational view of a geometrical configuration of a glass substrate and a vertical plane (where the vertical plane extends vertically through the nozzle) in accordance with the present invention; FIG. 5 is a comparison of the etching of the present invention. A schematic view of the method and the conventional glass etching method; FIG. 6 is a view showing the amount of etching agent supplied to the surface of the glass substrate and etching A graph showing the relationship between the rate and the surface quality; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the etching dose supplied to the surface of the glass substrate and the different thicknesses of the glass substrate in the vertical direction; FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the difference in the pitch of the glass substrate. FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing the geometric relationship between the glass substrate and the nozzle according to the first embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 10 is a geometrical relationship between the glass substrate and the fixed unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Perspective of the relationship.

100‧‧‧ instruments

103‧‧‧Nozzles

104‧‧‧etching agent

300‧‧‧ glass substrate

Claims (20)

An apparatus for etching a glass substrate to reduce the thickness of the glass substrate, comprising: a fixing unit capable of separately fixing and supporting one or more glass substrates, configured such that the glass substrates are at any 45 with respect to the ground An angle tilt within a range of ° to 90°; and a spray unit provided on the glass substrate to spray an etchant downward to the glass substrate at a predetermined spray angle on. The apparatus for etching a glass substrate according to claim 1, wherein the spray unit comprises one or more nozzle heads and one or more nozzles for spraying an etchant. The apparatus for etching a glass substrate according to claim 2, wherein the tip end of the nozzle is spaced apart from the glass substrate by a predetermined distance, the predetermined distance being determined according to a spacing between the nozzles and an etchant spray angle of the nozzle. So that all parts of the glass substrate can be exposed to the etchant. The apparatus for etching a glass substrate according to claim 2, wherein the glass substrate is inclined with respect to the ground at any angle within a range of 60 to 90 . The apparatus for etching a glass substrate according to claim 4, wherein the glass substrates are inclined at an angle of about 90 with respect to the ground. The scope of the patent application of paragraph 3, the apparatus for etching a glass substrate, wherein the glass substrate to the terminal from the tip of the nozzle (H), the distance between the nozzle (N _P), the pitch (H _p between the nozzle head The etchant spray angle ( θ ) with the nozzle satisfies the following equation: h≧N _P /2tan( θ /2), h≧H _P /2tan( θ /2). The apparatus for etching a glass substrate according to claim 2, wherein the spray unit is configured to spray a etchant toward a surface of the glass substrates. The apparatus for etching a glass substrate according to claim 5, wherein the spray unit is configured to spray a etchant toward a surface and a top edge of the glass substrate. The apparatus for etching a glass substrate according to claim 8, wherein the nozzles are evenly arranged in the spray unit, and are not required to be used for aligning a nozzle head with a glass. Alignment device for the substrate. A glass sheet for use in a thin film transistor liquid crystal display, which is manufactured by an apparatus for etching a glass substrate as described in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the glass sheet has a range from A thickness of 0.3 mm to 1 mm and an area ranging from 1000 x 1200 mm 2 to 1100 x 1300 mm 2 . A method of etching a glass substrate to reduce the thickness of the glass substrates, comprising: (a) arranging more than one glass substrate in a fixed unit such that the glass substrates are at any 45 with respect to the bottom of the fixed unit An angle of inclination within a range of ° to 90°; and (b) a predetermined spray from a plurality of points located above the glass substrates The etchant is sprayed down the splash angle to the glass substrates. A method of reducing the thickness of the glass substrates according to claim 11 wherein the spraying is performed by a spray unit comprising a plurality of nozzles and nozzle heads. The method of reducing the thickness of the glass substrates according to claim 12, further comprising: between the steps (a) and (b), placing the fixing unit and a component of the glass substrates In an etched area under the spray unit, and after step (b), the assembly is removed from the etched area under the spray unit. A method of reducing the thickness of the glass substrates as described in claim 11 wherein the glass substrates are inclined at any angle within a range of 60 to 90 with respect to the bottom of the fixing unit. According to the method of reducing the thickness of the glass substrates described in claim 14, the glass substrates are inclined at an angle of about 90 with respect to the bottom of the fixing unit. A method of reducing the thickness of the glass substrates according to claim 12, wherein the nozzle tip end is separated from the substrates by a predetermined distance, the predetermined distance being based on the spacing between the nozzles and the nozzles The etchant spray angle is adjusted so that all portions of the glass substrate can be exposed to the etchant; the distance from the glass substrate to the tip end of the nozzles (h), the spacing between the nozzles ( N _P ), the spacing between nozzle tips ( H _p ), and the etchant spray angle ( θ ) of the nozzle satisfy the following equation: h≧N _P /2tan( θ /2), h≧H _P / 2tan ( θ /2), and the interval (d) between the side edge of each of the glass substrates and the outermost nozzle, and the interval between the outer edge of the outermost glass substrate and the outermost nozzle (d') satisfies the following equation: d≦h/tan( θ /2), d'≧h/tan( θ /2). A method of reducing the thickness of the glass substrates according to claim 11 wherein the spray etchant is sprayed toward the surface of the glass substrates. A method of reducing the thickness of the glass substrates according to claim 15 or 17, wherein the spray etchant is sprayed toward the surface and the top edge of the glass substrates. A method of reducing the thickness of the glass substrates according to claim 18, wherein a plurality of dots located above the glass substrates are uniformly distributed to form an etched region, and a nozzle tip pair is not required A glass substrate. A glass sheet for a thin film transistor liquid crystal display, which is manufactured by the method of any one of claims 11 to 17.