摘要 |
A method for cutting a sheet of material having a thickness of at most 400μm using an electromagnetic wave beam (EWB) such as a laser. The method comprises forming a surface initiation defect and irradiating the sheet along a predetermined path within a short distance from the initiation defect a scanning EWB, such that the sheet is heated and cooled to allow for the propagation of the initiation defect into the predetermined path, and further along the predetermined path to result in a separation of the sheet along the predetermined irradiation path. This method can be advantageously used to cut glass sheets having a thin thickness to result in high-quality edge substantially free of major defects carried over from the initiation defect.
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