As a core component of electronic products, display panel glass manufacturing technology innovations are crucial to the industry’s development. This study reviews the application of laser processing technology in the manufacturing of display panel glass, systematically discussing the mechanisms, applications, and challenges of technologies such as melting, ablation, thermal cracking, stealth dicing, and composite processing, while providing insights into future development trends.

Laser melting and ablation utilize laser energy to melt or vaporize materials for processing, making them suitable for the manufacturing of high-precision complex structures. CO₂ lasers are commonly used in the processing of soda-lime glass, while picosecond pulse lasers can reduce the heat-affected zone and perform excellently in the processing of ultra-thin glass and quartz glass. For example, picosecond lasers construct micro-groove conductive structures on soda-lime glass substrates, reducing line widths by more than 50% compared to traditional methods. Femtosecond laser dynamic oscillation scanning can improve quartz glass etching efficiency and prevent recast layer formation. However, such methods face challenges such as difficulty in controlling the heat-affected zone and low material removal rate.

The thermal cracking method controls crack propagation induced by laser thermal stress to achieve non-contact cutting. YAG lasers and CO₂ lasers are widely used to cut soda-lime glass and liquid crystal glass substrates, effectively reducing micro-cracks and debris. To address challenges in closed-curve cutting, techniques such as stress-release cracks and dual-laser-beam correction optimize path deviation and improve cutting accuracy. However, trajectory deviation still occurs in asymmetric cutting, necessitating compensation via simulation optimization or acoustic emission monitoring.

Laser composite processing combines laser with mechanical machining and chemical etching to balance efficiency and quality. For example, laser thermal-assisted grinding reduces the roughness of quartz glass, ultrasonic gas jet-assisted femtosecond laser improves etched surface quality, and electrochemical discharge combined with picosecond lasers optimizes micro-channel machining. These technologies effectively overcome the limitations of single processing methods and are suitable for the processing of complex structures in hard and brittle materials.

Stealth dicing forms a modified layer through internal focusing to achieve separation with high precision and no surface damage. It is significantly applied in sapphire substrates and quartz processing, improving LED light extraction efficiency. However, affected by pulse parameters and spherical aberration, optimization of focus control and energy distribution is required.

Current technologies face challenges such as heat-affected zones, cost, and efficiency. In the future, efforts will focus on upgrading technologies such as ultra-short pulse lasers and multi-focus processing, promoting integration with other processing methods, and advancing toward automation and intelligence to provide more efficient solutions for emerging display technologies such as Micro-LED.