JP2002248762A - Electrostatic ink-jet head and production method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrostatic ink-jet head having a small chip area, and a production method therefor. SOLUTION: Steps until the step of bonding an electrode substrate 11 and a vibrating plate substrate 17 shown in Figs. 1(A)-(C) are same as the conventional steps. In the step of Fig. 1(D), a partition wall 19 is formed by KOH, or the like using a mask with an opening only in the liquid chamber area at the time of etching the liquid chamber area and the pad area. Then, in the step of Fig. 1 (E), the vibrating plate substrate 17 at the pad opening part 20 is eliminated to 10-50 μm by dicing. In the step of Fig. 1 (F), the remainder of the vibrating plate substrate 17 and the vibrating plate 18 are eliminated simultaneously by dry etching using a mask with an opening only in the pad opening part. Since the unnecessary inclination part existing in the partition wall 19 of the pad opening part 20 can be eliminated, the chip area can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an electrostatic ink jet head and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to an electrostatic ink jet head.
The present invention relates to an electrostatic inkjet head used in printers, copiers, facsimile machines, etc., capable of reducing the chip area by improving the configuration of pad openings for supplying drive power to individual electrodes, and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional example of an electrostatic ink jet head and a method of manufacturing the same, the invention of Japanese Patent Application No. 11-349938 is known. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process of forming a pad opening in a conventional electrostatic ink jet head, and includes the steps of FIGS. 4 (A) to 4 (E). As shown in FIG. 4E, the main part of the actuator of the conventional electrostatic ink-jet head is a support substrate 1.
2, insulating film 13, counter electrode 15, insulating film 16, diaphragm 1
8 and partition wall 19, supporting substrate 12, insulating film 1
3. Counter electrode 1 formed in concave gap 14
5. The electrode substrate 11 is constituted by the insulating film 16 and the diaphragm 1
The diaphragm substrate 17 is composed of the diaphragm 8 and the partition wall 19.
A part of the diaphragm substrate 17 is removed, and a pad opening 20 for supplying driving power to the counter electrode 15 from outside is formed. A minute gap 14 is formed between the diaphragm 18 and the counter electrode 15 (more precisely, between the diaphragm 18 and the insulating film 16).
When a voltage is applied through the diaphragm, the diaphragm 18 is displaced to the counter electrode side by electrostatic force, and when the voltage is returned to 0, the displaced diaphragm 18 attempts to return to the original position by its elastic force. Inject ink.

The process for forming the pad opening 20 in the conventional electrostatic ink jet head is as follows. FIG. 4A: A concave gap 14 is formed on the support substrate 12 on which the insulating film 13 is formed by anisotropic etching or the like.
To form FIG. 4B: An opposing electrode 15 is formed in the concave gap 14, and an insulating film 16 is formed by a technique such as plasma CVD so as to cover the opposing electrode 15 to form the electrode substrate 11. FIG. 4C: The electrode substrate 11 and the diaphragm substrate 17 are joined by a technique such as direct joining. FIG. 4D: A silicon etching mask pattern is formed on the diaphragm substrate 17, and the diaphragm 18 and the partition wall 19 are anisotropically etched using KOH or TMAH.
To form FIG. 4E: The diaphragm 18 is removed by a dry etching method using a mask having only the pad opening 20 opened, and the pad opening 20 is formed. Since the present invention aims at reducing the area of the pad opening as described later, other members necessary for the electrostatic ink jet head are not shown in FIG. An electrostatic ink jet head is manufactured by assembling members such as an ink supply path, a fluid resistance, and a nozzle plate with the actuator having the configuration shown in E).

[0004]

The above-mentioned conventional method for manufacturing an electrostatic ink-jet head uses KOH and TMAH.
In this method, anisotropic etching is performed on a 110 single crystal silicon substrate to form a liquid chamber and an opening of a pad portion. In this method, since anisotropic etching along the crystal orientation is used, a useless region is created in the lateral direction, which leads to an increase in chip area.

A first object of the present invention is to provide an electrostatic ink jet head having a small chip area.
In the conventional wet etching using a KOH solution, which is a method for forming a pad opening, the side wall of the partition wall is inclined along the crystal orientation plane, and a useless region is created in the lateral direction, thereby increasing the chip area. I was Therefore, the chip area can be reduced by forming the side walls of the partition vertically so as not to generate useless regions in the lateral direction.

A second object of the present invention is to realize a reduction in chip area by a manufacturing method which can withstand mass production. By processing a part of the partition wall vertically and processing the remaining part by wet etching with a KOH solution, throughput and accuracy are not reduced, and it is possible to reduce a useless area due to the slope of the partition wall side surface.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to achieve the above object, and the first technical means is as follows.
A diaphragm substrate on which a diaphragm constituting a part of a liquid chamber communicating with a nozzle for discharging a recording liquid is formed, and a supporting substrate on which individual electrodes are arranged to face the diaphragm, A driving voltage is applied between the common electrode and the individual electrode provided in the electrostatic ink jet head that deforms the vibration plate by electrostatic force and discharges a recording liquid from the nozzle. The surrounding partition wall is made of single crystal silicon as a main material, and at least a part of the diaphragm substrate adjacent to a pad opening for supplying drive power to the individual electrode is formed substantially vertically.

The second technical means includes a diaphragm substrate on which a diaphragm constituting a part of a liquid chamber communicating with a nozzle for discharging a recording liquid is formed, and an individual electrode is arranged to face the diaphragm. Electrostatic ink jet head having a supporting substrate, wherein a driving voltage is applied between a common electrode provided on the vibration plate and the individual electrode, the vibration plate is deformed by electrostatic force, and a recording liquid is discharged from the nozzle. Wherein at least a part of the diaphragm substrate adjacent to a pad opening for supplying drive power to the individual electrode is removed by dicing.

According to a third technical means, in the method for manufacturing an electrostatic ink jet head according to the second technical means, after a part of the diaphragm substrate is removed by dicing, the remaining diaphragm substrate is removed by dry etching. It is characterized by doing.

According to a fourth technical means, in the method for manufacturing an electrostatic ink jet head according to the second technical means, after a part of the diaphragm substrate is removed by dicing, the remaining diaphragm substrate is removed by an alkaline aqueous solution. It is characterized by being removed by anisotropic etching and dry etching.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
It will be described with reference to the embodiment shown in to 3. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a process of forming a pad opening in an electrostatic ink jet according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Become. As shown in FIG. 1F, the main part of the actuator of the electrostatic inkjet head according to the first embodiment is the same as the main part of the actuator of the conventional electrostatic inkjet head, as shown in FIG.
Support substrate 12, insulating film 13, counter electrode 15, insulating film 1
6, the diaphragm 18 and the partition wall 19,
2. The electrode substrate 11 is constituted by the insulating film 13, the counter electrode 15 formed in the concave gap 14, and the insulating film 16, and the diaphragm substrate 17 is constituted by the diaphragm 18 and the partition wall 19. A part of the diaphragm substrate 17 is removed, and a pad opening 20 for supplying driving power to the counter electrode 15 from outside is formed. A minute gap 14 is formed between the diaphragm 18 and the counter electrode 15 (more precisely, between the insulating film 16), and when a voltage is applied between the diaphragm 18 and the counter electrode 15 through the pad opening 20. When the diaphragm 18 is displaced to the counter electrode side by the electrostatic force, and the voltage is thereafter returned to 0, the displaced diaphragm 18 ejects ink by a force to return to the original position by its elastic force.

A process for forming a pad opening in the electrostatic ink jet head of the present invention will be described. The steps of FIGS. 1A to 1C up to the step of joining the electrode substrate 11 and the diaphragm substrate 17 are the steps shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C of the conventional example shown in FIG. Therefore, the steps shown in FIGS. 1D to 1F will be described. FIG. 1 (D): When forming the liquid chamber region and the pad region on the diaphragm substrate 17 by etching, the partition wall 19 is formed by KOH or the like using a mask having only the liquid chamber region opened. FIG. 1E: Dicing is performed to remove a portion of the diaphragm substrate 17 corresponding to the pad opening 20 while leaving 10 to 50 μm. FIG. 1F: The remaining portion of the diaphragm substrate 17 and the diaphragm 18 are simultaneously removed by dry etching using a mask in which only a portion corresponding to the pad opening 20 is opened. As a result, it is possible to omit a useless inclined portion of the conventional example existing in the partition wall 19 adjacent to the pad opening portion 20, and
The chip area of the electrostatic ink jet head can be reduced.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing an electrostatic ink jet head according to a second embodiment of the present invention. (Claims 1 and 4) A method for manufacturing an electrostatic inkjet head according to the second embodiment is as follows.
The diaphragm substrate 1 of the pad opening 20 is formed by dicing in the same manner as in the method of manufacturing the electrostatic ink jet head of the first embodiment.
7 is removed leaving 10 to 50 μm. Thereafter, wet etching is performed by KOH or the like in the same manner as in the conventional manufacturing method to remove the remaining diaphragm substrate 17, and further, the remaining of the diaphragm substrate 17 and the diaphragm 18 are simultaneously removed by dry etching. Although the manufacturing method of the first embodiment is effective in minimizing useless inclined portions of the partition walls, the method of completely removing the remaining film after dicing by dry etching requires time for mass production in terms of throughput. Not suitable for too much. Therefore, instead of removing the remaining film by dry etching, KOH in the conventional manufacturing method is used.
By removing by wet etching, etc., unnecessary inclined portions existing in the partition walls can be greatly reduced without greatly reducing the throughput.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart showing a process for forming a pad opening of an electrostatic ink jet head according to a third embodiment of the present invention. (Claims 1 and 2) FIG. 3 (A): Up to the step of bonding the electrode substrate 11 and the diaphragm substrate 17, manufacturing is performed by a manufacturing method substantially similar to the manufacturing method of the conventional example shown in FIG. In the manufacturing method of Example 3, the engraving 21 is formed in the electrode substrate 11 near the pad portion, and the concave gap 14 is also sealed. Subsequently, the partition 19 is formed by KOH or the like using a mask having only the liquid chamber region opened when the liquid chamber region and the pad region are etched. FIG. 3B: Thereafter, the pad opening 2 is formed by dicing.
A part of the diaphragm substrate 17 and the electrode substrate 11 is cut and removed. At this time, by adjusting the engraving amount of the engraving 21 previously formed on the electrode substrate 11 and the cutting amount of the electrode substrate 11 by dancing, it is possible to leave the counter electrode 15 serving as an individual electrode. This makes it possible to omit useless inclined portions of the pad openings 20 of the conventional electrostatic ink jet head, and to reduce the chip area.

[0015]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. According to the electrostatic ink jet head of the first aspect, since the area of the useless inclined portion existing in the portion adjacent to the pad opening is reduced, the chip area can be reduced.

According to the manufacturing method of the electrostatic ink jet head of the second aspect, since the pad opening is formed by dicing, the pad opening can be formed with a reduced useless slope area of the partition wall, and the chip area can be reduced. Reduction becomes possible.

According to the manufacturing method of the electrostatic ink jet head of the third aspect, the final pad opening is formed by dry etching, so that the useless inclined portion of the pad opening can be eliminated to the maximum. The area can be further reduced. Further, even in a structure in which the gap is not sealed, it is possible to form a pad opening in which a useless inclined portion is greatly reduced without water or foreign matter entering the gap.

According to the method for manufacturing an electrostatic ink jet head of the fourth aspect, it is possible to greatly reduce unnecessary inclined portions without greatly reducing the throughput.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a process for forming a pad opening in an electrostatic inkjet according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an electrostatic inkjet head according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart showing a process of forming a pad opening in an electrostatic inkjet head according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process of forming a pad opening in a conventional electrostatic ink jet head.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 electrode substrate, 12 support substrate, 13 insulating film, 14
... gap, 15 ... counter electrode, 16 ... insulating film, 17 ... diaphragm board, 18 ... diaphragm, 19 ... partition, 20 ... pad opening, 21 ... engraving.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vibration plate substrate having a vibration plate forming a part of a liquid chamber communicating with a nozzle for discharging a recording liquid, and a support substrate having an individual electrode arranged opposite to the vibration plate. A driving voltage is applied between a common electrode provided on the diaphragm and the individual electrode, and the diaphragm is deformed by electrostatic force to discharge a recording liquid from the nozzle; The partition wall surrounding the liquid chamber of the substrate is made of single crystal silicon as a main material, and at least a part of the diaphragm substrate adjacent to a pad opening for supplying drive power to the individual electrode is formed substantially vertically. An electrostatic ink jet head characterized by the following. 2. A vibrating plate substrate, on which a vibrating plate constituting a part of a liquid chamber communicating with a nozzle for discharging a recording liquid is formed, and a supporting substrate on which individual electrodes are arranged to face the vibrating plate. Then, a driving voltage is applied between a common electrode provided on the diaphragm and the individual electrodes, and the diaphragm is deformed by electrostatic force to discharge a recording liquid from the nozzles. A method for manufacturing an electrostatic ink jet head, wherein at least a part of the diaphragm substrate adjacent to a pad opening for supplying drive power to the individual electrode is removed by dicing. 3. The method of manufacturing an electrostatic ink jet head according to claim 2, wherein a part of the diaphragm substrate is removed by dicing, and the remaining diaphragm substrate is removed by dry etching. A method for manufacturing an electrostatic ink jet head. 4. The method for manufacturing an ink jet head according to claim 2, wherein a part of the diaphragm substrate is removed by dicing, and then the remaining diaphragm substrate is removed by anisotropic etching with an alkaline aqueous solution and dry etching. A method for manufacturing an ink jet head, comprising: