JP2000108351A - Ink jet recording head, driving method and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance fixing accuracy and fixing strength of a piezoelectric element by forming a piezoelectric element on the side of an ink containing region where a pressure generating chamber is arranged. SOLUTION: A pressure generating chamber 5 is provided with a diaphragm 3 on the side facing a nozzle plate 50 and a piezoelectric element 4 for deforming the diaphragm 3 on the inside of the diaphragm 3, i.e., on the side of the pressure generating chamber 5. The piezoelectric element 4 comprises an electrode thin film 4b formed on the diaphragm 3 and a piezoelectric thin film 4a formed on the electrode thin film 4b. When a drive signal is inputted to the electrode thin film 4b of the piezoelectric element 4 with ink in an ink containing region 9 as electric ground, a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 4 and the diaphragm 3 inflates inward of the pressure generating chamber 5 to eject an ink drop 60 from an ink ejection opening 6 communicating with the pressure generating chamber 5. Consequently, positional shift is eliminated between the pressure generating chamber 5 and the piezoelectric element 4 for applying pressure to the ink in the pressure generating chamber 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head, a method of driving the same, and a method of manufacturing the same.
More specifically, a pressure generating chamber defined by a substrate and a deformable diaphragm is provided, and the diaphragm is deformed by a piezoelectric element to eject ink droplets from an ink outlet communicating with the pressure generating chamber. The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head, a driving method thereof, and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are several forms of printing (printing) using ink.
Among them, an ink jet recording head using a piezoelectric element as a driving source for discharging ink is known.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part showing a structure of a conventional print head of, for example, the Kaiser system. The print head 300 shown in this figure has a plurality of dot printing portions 305 arranged on the front surface in the paper surface and in the depth direction. Each dot printing portion 305 has an ink flow path 301a and a pressure chamber 30.
1b, an ink flow path 301c, an ink ejection path 303a, an ink ejection port 303b, and a piezoelectric element 304.

The ink flow path 301 of each dot printing unit 305
a, the pressurizing chamber 301b and the ink flow path 301c are formed by forming a concave portion of a predetermined pattern on the surface of a substrate 301 made of photosensitive glass, and joining the diaphragm 302 to the surface of the substrate 301 with an adhesive. I have. Further, the piezoelectric element 304
Electrodes 304a and 304b are formed on the front and back surfaces of a piezoelectric member 304c made of, for example, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) as a pressure source of the pressure chamber 301b. The piezoelectric element 304 is attached to a position facing the pressure chamber 301b of the vibration plate 302 by bonding with an adhesive.

The ink ejection path 303a and the ink ejection port 303b of each dot printing unit 305 are
Is attached to the end of the substrate 301 to which the ink is ejected.
a and the nozzle plate 303 in which the ink ejection port 303b is formed is adhered with an ultraviolet curable adhesive.

The vibrating plate 302 constitutes a side wall which allows the ceiling of the pressurizing chamber 301b to be deformable, and the ink flow path 301a, the pressurizing chamber 301b and the ink flow path 30 are formed.
The side wall 1c is also configured.

The print head 300 is manufactured, for example, by the following steps. First, ink flow paths 301a, pressurizing chambers 301b, and recesses of the ink flow paths 301a are formed on the surface of a substrate 301 made of photosensitive glass by photolithography technology, and the surface of the substrate 301 is made of the same photosensitive glass. The vibration plate 302 is joined by an adhesive.

The substrate 3 to which the vibration plate 302 is bonded
After an ITO film 307 is formed as a common electrode on the surface of the vibration plate 302 of the head substrate 01 (head substrate 306 in the drawing),
At a position of the vibration plate 302 facing the pressurizing chamber 301b, a piezoelectric element 304 previously manufactured as a component is
It is attached by bonding with an epoxy adhesive. Thereafter, a nozzle plate 303 having a water-repellent ink jetting surface is bonded to the tip of the head substrate 306 with an ultraviolet-curing adhesive to complete the print head 300.

With the configuration of the print head as described above,
When a piezoelectric element is formed, a high-temperature annealing treatment or the like generates stress on the piezoelectric element or assembles the element by bonding. Therefore, there are problems with the accuracy of the mounting position of the piezoelectric member with respect to the pressurizing chamber and the mounting strength. Because there is
There is a problem in driving efficiency of the piezoelectric member and stability of ink ejection characteristics.

Due to the above-mentioned problems, a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-118662 has been proposed. According to the technique disclosed in this publication, as shown in FIG. 8, a dot printing unit 801 forming a print head includes a concave portion forming an ink reservoir 201, a pressurizing chamber 202, an ink flow path 204, and an ink ejection path 203. A vibration plate 803 made of a titanium plate is joined to the formed substrate 802. A piezoelectric element 804 is provided at a position of the vibration plate 803 facing the pressurizing chamber 202 by depositing lead zirconate titanate (PZT) by hydrothermal synthesis. The vibration plate 803 is made of a titanium plate, and the piezoelectric element 804 is made of PZT chemically bonded to a titanium plate. This aims to increase the positional accuracy and the mounting strength of the piezoelectric member.

In the technology using the above-mentioned hydrothermal synthesis method,
A piezoelectric element is formed on one surface of a titanium plate, and a concave portion such as a pressure generating chamber is formed on a side opposite to a side on which the piezoelectric element is formed. That is, the configuration is such that the titanium plate on which the piezoelectric element is formed is bonded to the substrate on which the recess is formed. Also, in the technology using the hydrothermal synthesis method, when forming the ink flow path on the substrate or forming the piezoelectric element on the vibration plate in the manufacturing process, the ink flow path, the piezoelectric element, the electrode, etc. It requires a patterning step of the shape, which not only results in a relatively complicated manufacturing step, but also, as described above, has a bonding of the titanium plate on which the piezoelectric element is formed as an indispensable step. The problem of alignment between the position of the piezoelectric element or the like and the recess (pressure generating chamber) remains.

Conventionally, piezoelectric elements have electrodes on both the front and back sides, and have problems such as not only having a complicated wiring structure but also a complicated patterning step in manufacturing the electrodes. Was. Furthermore, the problem of the occurrence of stress in the piezoelectric element due to adhesion has not been solved yet, and the driving efficiency of the piezoelectric member and the stability of ink ejection characteristics have been improved.
Higher performance that can provide high quality image has been eagerly desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can improve the accuracy of the mounting position of a piezoelectric element and the mounting strength. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording head capable of obtaining improved printing quality and a high quality image, a driving method thereof, and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0014]

According to the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording head which pressurizes ink in a pressure generating chamber by a deformable diaphragm provided with a piezoelectric element, and ejects ink which communicates with the pressure generating chamber. An ink jet recording head configured to eject ink from an outlet, wherein the piezoelectric element is formed on an ink storage area side where the pressure generating chamber is configured (claim 1). Thereby, the above object can be achieved.

In the ink jet recording head according to the present invention, the piezoelectric element comprises an electrode thin film formed on the diaphragm and a piezoelectric thin film formed on the electrode thin film. 2) ● The electrode thin film formed on the diaphragm side is formed continuously over a plurality of the ink storage areas in a state of being divided by a side wall constituting the pressure generating chamber. 3), the connection of the electrode thin film to the outside is made at a connection portion communicating with the outside of the substrate on the ink reservoir side continuous with the pressure generating chamber (claim 4). Features.

In a driving method using an ink jet recording head according to the present invention, when the print head is driven using the ink jet recording head,
A drive signal is input to an electrode thin film connected to the piezoelectric element using ink in the ink storage area as an electric ground (claim 5), and the above object can be achieved by this drive method.

In the method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention, after forming a concave portion for an ink storage area having at least a diaphragm as a part of the bottom surface on a substrate, an electrode thin film for an electrode is formed on the bottom surface side of the concave portion. And forming a precursor of a piezoelectric thin film on the electrode thin film, and then performing a hydrothermal treatment of immersing the substrate in a reaction solution and heating it through water at a predetermined temperature. A piezoelectric element is formed in the ink storage area (claim 6),
Thereby, the above object can be achieved.

Further, in the method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention, there is provided: a member having an opening penetrating the electrode thin film and the substrate after the hydrothermal treatment, and having a conductive and adhesive property in the opening. (Claim 7).

(Operation) An ink jet recording head according to the present invention is an ink jet recording head configured to eject ink droplets from an ink ejection port communicating with a pressure generating chamber. By being formed in the region, for example, in the pressure generating chamber, there is no formation position deviation between the pressure generating chamber and the piezoelectric element that applies pressure to the ink in the pressure generating chamber, so that there is no deviation in the positioning accuracy. . In addition, the print head has a very simple structure in which no piezoelectric element or the like is provided on the outer surface of the print head and has no so-called unevenness.
(Claim 1)

Further, in the ink jet recording head according to the present invention, since the piezoelectric element is composed of the electrode thin film and the piezoelectric thin film, the electrode can be composed of only one of the electrode thin films. (Claim 2)

Further, in the ink jet recording head according to the present invention, the electrode thin film formed on the diaphragm side is divided at the time of formation by the side wall constituting the pressure generating chamber. The shape of the thin film is inevitably determined, and a conventional patterning step using a resist is not required. (Claim 3) Further, since the electrode thin film can be insulated by the side wall between the plurality of formed ink storage areas, in a print head having a large number of pressure generating chambers arranged independently, each of the pressure generating chambers is independent. The electrode wiring can be provided very easily on the formed wiring without going through a patterning step as in the related art. (Claim 3)

Also, in the ink jet recording head according to the present invention, the connection of the electrode thin film to the outside is made at a connection portion communicating with the outside of the substrate on the ink reservoir side continuous with the pressure generating chamber. As a result, it is possible to achieve a very simple configuration in which there is no electric wiring at the front end portion of the print head (the front end portion where the nozzle hole is formed), and there is no unevenness on the outer surface of the print head front end portion. (Claim 4)

Further, in the driving method using the ink jet recording head according to the present invention, when the print head is driven, the ink in the ink storage area is driven as an electric ground to the electrode thin film connected to the piezoelectric element. By inputting a signal, driving can be performed with a configuration in which only one side electrode is provided, and the configuration of the print head can be simplified. Furthermore, by using the ink as an electrical ground, it is not necessary to provide the other electrode in the ink containing area where the ink is present, so that it is easy to provide the other electrode, so that the restriction on the position where the piezoelectric element is provided can be reduced. (Claim 5) It should be noted that the ink serving as the electrical ground and the substrate on which the electrode thin film and the pressure chamber to which the drive signal is inputted are formed.
The surface of the electrode thin film and the surface of the substrate are insulated by an oxide film formed during the hydrothermal treatment.

In the method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention, after forming a concave portion for an ink storage area having at least a diaphragm as a part of the bottom surface on a substrate, one concave portion for one electrode is formed on the bottom surface side of the concave portion. While forming the electrode thin film,
By forming a piezoelectric thin film on the electrode thin film, both thin films are formed in a concave portion having a side wall. Therefore, both thin films are subjected to a patterning process using a conventional resist or the like. It can be formed without. (Claim 6)

After the two thin films are formed, the substrate is immersed in a reaction solution and subjected to a hydrothermal treatment of heating at a predetermined temperature, thereby forming a piezoelectric element in the ink storage area. Therefore, since the piezoelectric element is necessarily formed in the ink storage area (for example, the pressure generating chamber), the positions of the piezoelectric element and the pressure generating chamber must be provided extremely accurately without positional deviation, as a necessity of the formation form. Can be. Further, since the heat treatment is performed at a low temperature, no large stress is generated on the substrate, the residual stress is extremely small, and the deformation of the substrate can be suppressed. (Claim 6)

In the method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention, an opening penetrating the substrate is formed after the hydrothermal treatment, and the opening is filled with a conductive and adhesive connecting portion. In addition, it is possible to easily manufacture a configuration in which a voltage can be supplied from outside the print head to the drive connection portion formed inside the ink storage area.
(Claim 7)

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of an ink jet recording head, a method of manufacturing the same, and a method of driving the same according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG.
The first aspect of the ink jet recording head according to the present invention
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the embodiment (a cross-sectional view of a portion along line BB in FIG. 6). FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a manufacturing process in a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the step (d) in FIG. 2 in detail. FIG. 4 is a manufacturing step (a step following FIG. 3) in the method of manufacturing the ink jet recording head.
FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the ink jet recording head according to the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view of another portion different from FIG. 1 (cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 6). Figure). FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing the first embodiment of the ink jet recording head according to the present invention, as viewed from the nozzle orifice side.

(First Embodiment) As shown in FIG. 1, a print head 1 according to a first embodiment includes a concave portion (a pressure generating chamber 5, an ink flow path 7, an ink reservoir 8) formed in a substrate 2. The ink storage area 9 is defined by a nozzle plate 50 provided so as to close the ink jet opening and having an ink ejection port 6. The ink storage area 9 includes the pressure generating chamber 5,
An ink flow path 7 connected to the pressure generating chamber 5;
Has an ink reservoir 8 connected to the ink reservoir. The ink server 8 is a common ink flow path that connects adjacent ink flow paths 7, but is separated by a wall whose height does not exceed the bottom surface of the ink flow path 7 (not shown). This wall divides the electrode thin film. As shown in FIG. 6, the print head 1 has a configuration in which a plurality of ink ejection ports 6 are arranged (a configuration in which a plurality of ink storage areas 9 are arranged).

The pressure generating chamber 5 is provided with a vibrating plate 3 on the side facing the nozzle plate 50, and a piezoelectric element 4 for deforming the vibrating plate 3 is provided inside the vibrating plate (on the side of the pressure generating chamber). Is provided. The piezoelectric element 4 includes an electrode thin film 4b formed on the diaphragm 3 and a piezoelectric thin film 4a formed on the electrode thin film 4b.

As shown in FIG. 5, the electrode thin film 4b formed on the bottom surface (the lower surface in FIG. 5) of the ink storage region 9 forms the pressure generating chamber 5 and the like between the adjacent ink storage regions. It is formed in a state where it is divided by the constituent side wall 10.

The electrode thin film 4b is connected to the outside by contacting the electrode thin film 4b with the outside of the substrate 2 on the ink reservoir 8 side opposite to the pressure generating chamber 5 with the ink flow path 7 interposed therebetween. At the connecting portion 12 having a portion exposed to the outside. The connection portion 12 is made of, for example, a composite material in which Ag powder is dispersed in a resin, but the tip portion in contact with the ink is made of only the resin, and is devised so as to maintain insulation from the ink.

When ink is ejected using the print head 1 configured as described above, a drive signal is input to the electrode thin film 4b connected to the piezoelectric element 4 using the ink in the ink storage area 9 as an electrical ground. I do. Then, the diaphragm 3
When a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 4, the piezoelectric element 4 is deformed so as to expand into the pressure generation chamber 5 (the state shown by the imaginary line) as shown in FIG. An ink droplet 60 is ejected from an ink ejection port 6 that communicates (provided at a position facing the diaphragm).

The feature of this embodiment is that the piezoelectric element 4
Is a pressure generating chamber 5 and a piezoelectric element 4 that applies pressure to the ink in the pressure generating chamber because the ink storage area 9 is on the side.
This is a configuration in which the displacement of the formation position is eliminated. In addition, the print head 1 has a very simple structure in which no piezoelectric element or the like is provided on the outer surface of the print head, that is, without any so-called unevenness, as in the related art. Also, the piezoelectric element 4
Is a configuration having only one electrode of the electrode thin film 4b.

The substrate 2 is a Si wafer, T
i, Al, Zr, Fe, or the like can be used. In short, if the oxide film has insulating properties or an insulating material, it can be selected as a substrate, and the selectivity of the material is wide.

A method of manufacturing the print head 1 according to this embodiment will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. First, a concave portion 9a for an ink storage area (a concave portion 5a for a pressure generating chamber, a concave portion 5a for an ink flow path, a concave portion 8a for an ink reservoir,
a) is formed (the state of FIG. 2A).

Thereafter, for example, gold, Ti (titanium), Al (aluminum) are provided on the bottom side of the ink storage area concave portion 9a.
Are formed as an electrode thin film 4b for an electrode (the state shown in FIG. 2 (b)). The electrode thin film 4b can be provided, for example, by sputtering so that its thickness is set to about 0.1 to 0.5 μm. Further, a part of the electrode thin film 4b is provided with a source of PZT crystal, for example, amorphous PZ.
A precursor 4c of a piezoelectric thin film such as T is formed (the state shown in FIG. 2C). The piezoelectric thin film precursor 4c can be provided, for example, by sputtering so that its thickness is set to about 0.5 to 2.0 μm.

In the formation of a thin film by sputtering, the particles repelled from the target surface by sputtering are caused to fly toward the bottom surface of the concave portion 9a for the ink storage region, thereby forming the side wall 10 of the concave portion 9a (see FIG. 5). ) Has a substantial mask function for separating and forming a thin film.

After the two thin films 4c and 4b are formed, the substrate 2 is subjected to hydrothermal treatment in the heat retaining tank 30 (FIG. 2 (d)).
). The state of this hydrothermal treatment is schematically shown in FIG. In this hydrothermal treatment, as shown in FIG.
The reaction solution 33 is placed in the heat retaining tank 30 provided with
The temperature is kept at about 00 ° C. to 160 ° C.
The substrate 2 on which c and 4b are formed is immersed in the reaction liquid 33 and heated.

As the aqueous solution (reaction liquid), an aqueous solution containing barium hydroxide (Ba (0H) ₂ ) as a solute can be used. The concentration of the aqueous solution is 0.5 to 2M (mol
/ Liter), and the pressure in the heat retaining tank 30 is 1 to
It is set to about 8 atm.

By performing the hydrothermal treatment in this manner, the substrate 2 is processed at a relatively low temperature. Then, the precursor 4c of the piezoelectric thin film is crystallized to form the piezoelectric element 4. Further, the substrate 2 and the electrode thin film 4 are subjected to hydrothermal treatment.
On the outermost surface of b, SiO ₂ (not shown), TiO ₂ or AL ₂ O ₃ (not shown) which is an insulating film is formed.

Therefore, the shape and the position are not only extremely high precision and easy to form compared with the case where a separately manufactured part is fixed by using an adhesive, but also the distance between the diaphragm 3 and the piezoelectric element 4 can be improved. Is not required, and the processing temperature is the low-temperature processing as described above, so that the selection range of the material of the base material 2 can be widened.

After the above-mentioned hydrothermal treatment, an opening 11 penetrating the electrode thin film 4b and the substrate 2 is formed.
(e) state). After that, the opening 11 is filled with a connection portion 12 having conductivity and adhesiveness (the state shown in FIG. 4F). Note that the connecting portion 12 has fluidity as appropriate at the beginning, and solidifies after filling. The connecting portion 12 is first filled with an adhesive (an adhesive containing Ag powder) that conducts with the electrode thin film 4b, and then is filled with a resin-only adhesive (a non-conductive adhesive). Thereby, the insulation from the ink is maintained.

Thereafter, the nozzle plate 50 is fixed so as to close the recess 9a for the ink containing area,
An ink storage area 9 having the piezoelectric element 4 therein is formed. Further, a voltage can be applied to the piezoelectric element 4 from the outside of the print head 1 via the connection section 12.

[0045]

As described in detail above, the ink jet recording head according to the present invention is a piezoelectric recording head configured to eject ink droplets from an ink ejection port communicating with a pressure generating chamber. Is formed in the pressure generating chamber, so that there is no displacement between the pressure generating chamber and the piezoelectric element that applies pressure to the ink in the pressure generating chamber as in the related art. Furthermore, since the print head according to the present invention does not have a piezoelectric element or the like on the outer surface of the print head as in the related art, the print head has a very simple configuration without any so-called irregularities, and the handleability is improved. (Claim 1)

Further, according to the ink jet recording head of the present invention, since the piezoelectric element is composed of the electrode thin film and the piezoelectric thin film, the electrode can be composed of only one of the electrode thin films. The structure can be simplified, and compactness can be promoted. (Claim 2)

According to the ink jet recording head of the present invention, the electrode thin film formed on the diaphragm side is divided by the side wall constituting the pressure generating chamber at the time of formation. The shape of the thin film is inevitably determined, and the effect of simplifying the manufacturing process can be achieved without the need for a conventional patterning process using a resist. Also, since the electrode thin film can be insulated by the side wall between the plurality of formed ink storage areas,
In a print head in which many pressure generating chambers are lined up,
Independent wiring for each pressure generating chamber can be provided extremely easily, and the manufacturing process can be simplified.
(Claim 3)

Further, the ink jet recording head according to the present invention is configured such that the connection of the electrode thin film to the outside is made at the connection portion communicating with the outside of the substrate on the ink reservoir side continuous with the pressure generating chamber. As a result, there is no electric wiring at the front end portion of the print head, and a simple configuration that is extremely easy to handle without irregularities on the outer surface of the front end portion of the print head can be achieved. (Claim 4)

Further, in the driving method using the ink jet recording head according to the present invention, when the print head is driven, the ink in the ink containing area is driven as an electric ground to the electrode thin film connected to the piezoelectric element. By inputting a signal, driving can be performed with a configuration in which only one side electrode is provided, and the configuration of the print head can be simplified. Further, by using the ink as an electrical ground, it is not necessary to provide the other electrode in the ink containing area where the ink exists, so that the restriction on the position where the piezoelectric element is provided can be reduced, and various forms can be used. It is possible to provide a print head that can be used widely. (Claim 5)

In the method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention, after forming a recess for an ink storage area having at least a vibration plate as a part of the bottom surface on a substrate, one recess for the one electrode is formed on the bottom surface side of the recess. While forming the electrode thin film,
By forming a piezoelectric thin film on the electrode thin film, both thin films are formed in a concave portion having a side wall. Therefore, both thin films are subjected to a patterning process using a conventional resist or the like. And the manufacturing process can be simplified. (Claim 6)

Further, according to the manufacturing method of the present invention, after both the thin films are formed, the substrate is immersed in the reaction solution and subjected to heat treatment at a predetermined temperature via water at a relatively low temperature. Therefore, it is possible to provide a high-precision print head which does not generate large stress on the substrate, has very little residual stress, and does not deform. Therefore, even if the print head is enlarged like a line head, extremely high quality printing can be guaranteed. (Claim 6)

Further, according to the method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention, an opening penetrating the substrate is formed after the hydrothermal treatment, and the opening is filled with a conductive and adhesive connecting portion. Accordingly, it is possible to easily manufacture a configuration capable of supplying a voltage from outside the print head to the drive connection portion formed inside the ink storage area.
(Claim 7)

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a first embodiment of an ink jet recording head according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a manufacturing process in a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a step (d) in FIG. 2 in detail.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a manufacturing process (a process subsequent to FIG. 3) in the method of manufacturing the ink jet recording head.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the ink jet recording head according to the first embodiment of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view of another portion different from FIG. 1 (a cross-section of a portion along line AA in FIG. 6); Figure).

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing the first embodiment of the ink jet recording head according to the present invention, as viewed from the nozzle orifice side.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional print head.

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view showing another example of a conventional print head.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Print head 2 Substrate 3 Vibrating plate 4 Piezoelectric element 4a Piezoelectric thin film 4b Electrode thin film 4c Precursor of piezoelectric thin film 5 Pressure generating chamber 5a Pressure generating chamber concave portion 6 Ink ejection port 7 Ink channel 7a Ink channel concave portion 8 Ink reservoir 8a In-reservoir recess 9 Ink storage area 9a Ink storage area recess 10 Side wall 11 Opening 12 Connection 50 Nozzle plate 60 Ink droplet

Claims (7)

[Claims] An ink jet recording apparatus configured to pressurize ink in a pressure generating chamber by a deformable vibration plate provided with a piezoelectric element and to jet ink from an ink jet port communicating with the pressure generating chamber. An ink jet recording head, wherein the piezoelectric element is formed on an ink storage area side where the pressure generating chamber is formed. 2. The ink jet type of claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric element comprises an electrode thin film formed on the diaphragm and a piezoelectric thin film formed on the electrode thin film. Recording head. 3. The electrode thin film formed on the diaphragm side,
The ink-jet recording head according to claim 2, wherein the ink-jet recording head is formed continuously over a plurality of the ink accommodating regions in a state of being divided by a side wall constituting the pressure generating chamber. 4. The connection between the electrode thin film and the outside is made at a connection portion communicating with the outside of the substrate on the ink reservoir side continuous with the pressure generating chamber. Item 4. An ink jet recording head according to item 2 or 3. 5. A driving signal is applied to an electrode thin film connected to the piezoelectric element as an electric ground when the ink jet recording head according to claim 1 is driven. And a method for driving an ink jet recording head. 6. After forming a recess for an ink containing area having at least a diaphragm as a part of a bottom surface on a substrate, an electrode thin film for an electrode is formed on the bottom surface side of the recess, and a piezoelectric film is formed on the electrode thin film. After forming a precursor of a body thin film, the substrate is immersed in a reaction solution and subjected to a hydrothermal treatment of heating through water at a predetermined temperature, whereby a piezoelectric element is provided inside the ink containing region. A method for producing an ink jet recording head, comprising: 7. The ink jet recording method according to claim 6, wherein an opening penetrating the substrate is formed after the hydrothermal treatment, and the opening is filled with a conductive and adhesive connecting portion. Head manufacturing method.