Abstract:
Disclosed is a method for fabricating glass bump standoff structures of precise height, the method comprising providing oversized glass bumps on a glass substrate, providing a heat source to heat the bumps, positioning a substrate to be aligned on the oversized bumps, and reducing the height of the oversized bumps by a combination of manipulations comprising (1) softening the bumps by heating the bumps and (2) applying pressure to the substrate to be aligned.
Abstract:
Raised features are formed on a transparent substrate having absorption of less than about 20% within a processing wavelength range. A portion of the substrate is irradiated with a light beam to increase the absorption of the irradiated portion of the substrate. Continued irradiation causes local heating and expansion of the substrate so as to form a raised feature on the substrate surface.
Abstract:
Vacuum-insulated glass (VIG) windows (10) that employ glass-bump spacers (50) and two or more glass panes (20) are disclosed. The glass-bump spacers are formed in the surface (24) of one of the glass panes (20) and consist of the glass material from the body portion (23) of the glass pane. Thus, the glass-bump spacers are integrally formed in the glass pane, as opposed to being discrete spacer elements that need to be added and fixed to the glass pane. Methods of forming VIG windows are also disclosed. The methods include forming the glass-bump spacers by irradiating a glass pane with a focused beam (112F) from a laser (110). Heating effects in the glass cause the glass to locally expand, thereby forming a glass-bump spacer. The process is repeated at different locations in the glass pane to form an array of glass-bump spacers. A second glass pane is brought into contact with the glass-bump spacers, and the edges (28F, 28B) sealed. The resulting sealed interior region (40) is then evacuated to a vacuum pressure of less than one atmosphere.