JP2006082329A - Process for manufacturing ink jet recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a process for manufacturing an ink jet recording head in which water repellency can be sustained over a long period of time even if the number of wiping times is increased. <P>SOLUTION: The process for manufacturing an ink jet recording head comprises a step for forming ink ejection openings in a substrate provided with an ink ejection energy generating element and a shape material occupying a part becoming a channel by patterning a photosensitive nozzle forming member and a water repellent member and then removing the shape material to form a nozzle portion wherein a mutual dissolution preventing member is provided between the nozzle forming member and a water repellent member, and following relation is satisfied among the SP value A of a solvent used in the water repellent member, the SP value B of a solvent used in the mutual dissolution preventing member, and the SP value C of a solvent used in the nozzle forming member; ¾A-B¾>¾A-C¾. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejection head that performs recording by ejecting liquid to form flying droplets.

  The present invention also relates to a printer for recording on a recording medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, a copier, a facsimile having a communication system, a word processor having a printer section, etc. The present invention can be applied to an industrial recording apparatus combined with various processing apparatuses.

  Note that “recording” in the present invention means not only giving an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to a recording medium but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern.

  In an ink jet recording head, recording is performed by ejecting ink droplets from an ink ejection port by driving an energy generating element such as a heater or a piezoelectric element. Therefore, the surface characteristics of the nozzle portion where the ink ejection port is formed are recorded. In addition, the shape and accuracy of the ink ejection openings affect the ejection characteristics of the ink droplets.

  For example, it is known that when a non-uniform ink pool is generated in the vicinity of the ink discharge port on the surface of the nozzle, problems such as variations in ink droplet size, discharge direction, and discharge speed occur.

  Conventionally, various proposals have been made for the surface treatment of the nozzle portion of an ink jet recording head.

  Most of them are related to water repellency treatment, that is, by applying water repellency treatment to the surface of the nozzle part to reduce the wettability of the ink around the ink discharge port, ink droplet size, discharge direction, discharge speed The purpose is to perform high-quality printing.

  As the water repellent treatment, a method of surface treatment with a fluoroalkoxysilane described in Patent Document 1, a method of forming a plasma polymerized film of a silane or fluorine compound described in Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3 Proposed is a method for forming a water-repellent film by fluorine-based polymer eutectoid plating described in JP-A No. 2004-318, and a method for applying a water-repellent member described in Patent Document 4.

  The method of applying the water repellent member can be said to be a very excellent method in consideration of simplicity and mass productivity.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view for illustrating a basic manufacturing process for forming a nozzle portion of an ink jet recording head by a method of applying a water repellent member. On the Si substrate 1 shown in FIG. 2A, a plurality of ink discharge energy generating elements 2 such as heating resistors are arranged. Here, the mold material 3 to be the ink flow path portion is formed of a soluble resin layer.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, a nozzle forming member 4 is formed on the mold member 3 by spin coating or the like. A water repellent member 5 is formed on the nozzle forming member 4 by laminating a dry film or the like.

  The ink discharge port 6 is formed by performing exposure and development using, for example, ultraviolet light, deep UV light, or the like. Next, as shown in FIG. 2C, an ink supply port 7 is provided in the substrate 1. The ink supply port 7 is formed by chemically etching the substrate, for example, anisotropic etching with a strong alkaline solution such as TMAH. Finally, the mold member 3 is eluted from the ink discharge port 6 and the ink supply port 7 to form an ink flow path and a foaming chamber, and a nozzle portion of the ink jet recording head is formed.

Thus, when the curing reaction by heat or light is performed in a state where the nozzle forming member 4 and the water repellent member 5 are in contact with each other, the two are mutually compatible in the process, and the water repellent component in the water repellent member 5 is It diffuses to the nozzle forming member 4 side.
JP 56-89569 A JP-A 64-87359 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-294145 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-188881

  In general, in an ink jet recording head, cleaning with a wiping operation for ink adhering to the surface of a nozzle portion is periodically performed. That is, the head surface is wiped with the blade member. The conventional water repellent member gradually deteriorates in water repellency by wiping, but the level is not so high as to cause a decrease in print quality. However, when considering the ink to be used in the future, it is necessary to further improve the durability against wiping. For example, in order to respond to user needs such as increasing the density of black in the future, the use of pigment-based ink is indispensable. However, if such an ink that has a high viscosity and easily adheres to the nozzle surface is used. Since the ink wiping operation is also required more frequently, it has been difficult to maintain water repellency over a long period of time. Therefore, in order to further improve the durability against wiping, it is necessary to prevent the water repellent component from diffusing and to improve the water repellent performance by suppressing the compatibility between the nozzle forming member and the water repellent member. .

  The invention according to the present application has been made in view of the above problems.

  According to a first aspect of the present application, there is provided a nozzle forming member having photosensitivity on a substrate provided with an ink ejection energy generating element for ejecting ink, and a mold material that occupies at least a portion serving as a flow path. In an ink jet recording head including a step of forming an ink discharge port by patterning a water repellent member and forming a nozzle portion by removing the mold material, a phase between the nozzle forming member and the water repellent member is included. A dissolution preventing member is provided, and the SP value of the solvent used in the water repellent member is A, the SP value of the solvent used in the compatibility preventing member is B, and the nozzle forming member is used. An ink jet recording head manufacturing method characterized in that when the SP value of the solvent is C, | A-B |> | A-C |.

  Preferably, the solvent used in the compatibility preventing member is isopropyl alcohol. More preferably, the solvent used in the water repellent member is diglyme, and the solvent used in the nozzle forming member is diglyme, methyl isobutyl ketone, or xylene.

  According to the configuration of the invention of the present application, even if the number of wiping operations is increased, it is possible to maintain water repellency over a long period of time, and at the same time, it is possible to stably discharge ink droplets.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view for showing a part of the basic manufacturing process for forming the nozzle portion of the ink jet recording head of the present invention.

  A plurality of ink discharge energy generating elements 2 such as heating resistors are arranged on the Si substrate 1 shown in FIG. 3A, and an ink flow path portion is formed on the substrate 1 with a soluble resin layer. A mold material 3 is formed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the nozzle forming member 4 is formed on the mold material 3 by spin coating or the like. Further, as shown in FIG. 3C, a water repellent member 5 is formed on the nozzle forming member 4 by laminating a dry film or the like. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3D, exposure and development are performed to form the ink discharge ports 6.

  Thus, when the curing reaction by heat or light is performed in a state where the nozzle forming member 4 and the water repellent member 5 are in contact with each other, both of them are compatible with each other, and the water repellent component in the water repellent member 5 is reduced. It diffuses to the nozzle forming member 4 side. The generation of this compatibility is related to the type of solvent used for the nozzle forming member 4 and the water repellent member 5. That is, when the difference of SP value (solubility parameter) of the solvent used for both is small, the solvents are easily compatible with each other, resulting in the diffusion of the water repellent component.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, by providing a compatibility preventing member 8 between the nozzle forming member 4 and the water repellent member 5, the water repellent component in the water repellent member 5 is prevented from diffusing.

Here, the SP value of the solvent used in the water repellent member 5 is A, the SP value of the solvent used in the compatibility preventing member 8 is B, and the SP value of the solvent used in the nozzle forming member 4 is When C, the difference between A and B is greater than the difference between A and C, that is,
A-B |> | A-C |
If it is in the relationship, it becomes possible to prevent the diffusion of the water repellent component and further improve the durability against wiping.

  In this example, the nozzle portion was formed by the manufacturing process shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 in the form in which the compatibility preventing member 8 was provided.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4A, a pattern of a mold material 3 (ODUR, manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd.) was formed to a thickness of 14 μm on a substrate 1 provided with an ink ejection energy generating element 2.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the nozzle forming member 4 was applied on the mold member 3 by spin coating to a thickness of 10 μm. The nozzle forming member 4 was prepared by dissolving an epoxy resin and a cationic photopolymerization initiator in a solvent. Diglyme and methyl isobutyl ketone were used as solvents.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4C, the compatibility preventing member 8 was applied on the nozzle forming member 4 to a thickness of 2 μm by spin coating. The compatibility preventing member 8 was prepared by dissolving an epoxy resin and a photocationic polymerization initiator in a solvent. Isopropyl alcohol was used as the solvent.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4D, the water repellent member 5 was applied on the compatibility preventing member 8 by spin coating to a thickness of 0.5 μm. The water repellent member 5 was prepared by dissolving an epoxy resin and a photocationic polymerization initiator in a solvent. Diglime was used as the solvent.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4E, 0.2 J / cm ² is exposed using a mirror projection mask aligner (MPA-600 Super, manufactured by Canon Inc.), and the unexposed portion is developed. The ink discharge port 6 was formed by removing with a liquid.

  Next, a TMAH 22 wt% aqueous solution was heated to about 80 ° C., and etched for 10 hours to provide an ink supply port 7. Finally, the mold member 3 was eluted from the ink discharge port 6 and the ink supply port 7 to form the nozzle portion of the ink jet recording head.

  The SP value A of the solvent diglyme used in the water repellent member, the SP value B of the solvent isopropyl alcohol used in the compatibility preventing member, and the SP value C of the solvent diglyme used in the nozzle forming member are 20.1, 23.5 and 20.1.

  From this value, the values of | A-B | and | A-C | are calculated to be 3.4 and 0, respectively, and the relationship | A-B |> | A-C |

  That is, it was suggested that the degree of compatibility between the solvent used in the water repellent member and the solvent used in the member in contact with the water repellent member is reduced by providing the compatibility preventing member. .

  When the effect of the compatibility preventing member was evaluated by the receding contact angle with respect to the pigment ink, a very high value was shown. The pigment ink described here refers to a self-dispersion type pigment ink.

  Subsequently, the surface of the nozzle portion was wiped with a blade member while spraying pigment ink, and durability against wiping was confirmed. Hydrogenated nitrile rubber was used for the blade member. As the number of wiping increases, the receding contact angle with respect to the pigment ink on the surface of the nozzle portion gradually decreases, but the reduction rate is very small.

  Furthermore, the substrate 1 on which the nozzle portion is formed is separated, cut and chipped by a dicing saw, and after electrical connection is made to drive the ink discharge energy generating element 2, a chip tank member for ink supply is connected. Thus, an ink jet recording head was completed. Using this ink jet recording head, the printing quality when printing durability with pigment ink was confirmed. Even when the number of printed sheets was 30,000, the printing quality was good, and when the nozzle part of the head was observed, ink wetting was not confirmed.

  From the above results, it is suggested that the water repellency performance is improved by suppressing the diffusion of the water repellent component in the form in which the compatibility preventing member is provided, compared to the form in which the compatibility preventing member is not provided. It was.

  In this example, the nozzle part was formed by the manufacturing process shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 in the form in which the compatibility preventing member 8 was provided, and durability against wiping was confirmed.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4A, a pattern of a mold material 3 (ODUR, manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd.) was formed to a thickness of 20 μm on a substrate 1 provided with an ink ejection energy generating element 2.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4-b, the nozzle forming member 4 was applied on the mold member 3 by spin coating to a thickness of 55 μm. The nozzle forming member 4 was prepared by dissolving an epoxy resin and a cationic photopolymerization initiator in a solvent. Xylene was used as the solvent. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4C, the compatibility preventing member 8 was applied on the nozzle forming member 4 to a thickness of 2 μm by spin coating. The compatibility preventing member 8 was prepared by dissolving an epoxy resin and a photocationic polymerization initiator in a solvent. Isopropyl alcohol was used as the solvent.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4D, the water repellent member 5 was formed on the compatibility preventing member 8 by laminating a dry film with a thickness of 0.5 μm. The water repellent member 5 was prepared by dissolving an epoxy resin and a photocationic polymerization initiator in a solvent. Diglime was used as the solvent.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4E, 0.7 J / cm ² is exposed using a mirror projection mask aligner (MPA-600 Super, manufactured by Canon Inc.), and the unexposed portion is developed. The ink discharge port 6 was formed by removing with a liquid. Next, a TMAH 22 wt% aqueous solution was heated to about 80 ° C., and etched for 10 hours to provide an ink supply port 7. Finally, the mold member 3 was eluted from the ink discharge port 6 and the ink supply port 7 to form the nozzle portion of the ink jet recording head.

  SP value A of solvent diglyme used for water repellent members, SP value B of solvent isopropyl alcohol used for compatibility preventing members, SP value C of solvent xylene used for nozzle forming members are 20.1, 23.5 and 18.0. From this value, the values of | A-B | and | A-C | are calculated to be 3.4 and 2.1, respectively, and the relationship | A-B |> | A-C |

  That is, it was suggested that the degree of compatibility between the solvent used in the water repellent member and the solvent used in the member in contact with the water repellent member is reduced by providing the compatibility preventing member. .

  When the effect of the compatibility preventing member was evaluated by the receding contact angle with respect to the pigment ink, a very high value was shown. The pigment ink described here refers to a resin dispersion type pigment ink.

  Subsequently, the surface of the nozzle portion was wiped with a blade member while spraying pigment ink, and durability against wiping was confirmed. Hydrogenated nitrile rubber was used for the blade member. As the number of wiping increases, the receding contact angle with respect to the pigment ink on the surface of the nozzle portion gradually decreases, but the reduction rate is very small.

  Further, the substrate 1 on which the nozzle portion is formed is separated and cut into chips by a dicing saw, and after electrical joining is performed to drive the ink discharge energy generating element 2, a chip tank member for ink supply is connected. Thus, an ink jet recording head was completed.

  When printing was performed with pigment ink using this ink jet recording head, the printing quality was good even after printing about 100 sheets, and when the nozzle portion of the head was observed, ink wetting was not confirmed.

  From the above results, it is suggested that the water repellency performance is improved by suppressing the diffusion of the water repellent component in the form in which the compatibility preventing member is provided, compared to the form in which the compatibility preventing member is not provided. It was.

(Comparative Example 1)
In this comparative example, the nozzle part was formed by the manufacturing process shown in FIGS.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3A, a pattern of a mold material 3 (ODUR, manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd.) having a thickness of 14 μm was formed on a substrate 1 provided with an ink ejection energy generating element 2.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the nozzle forming member 4 was applied on the mold member 3 by spin coating to a thickness of 10 μm.

  The nozzle forming member 4 was prepared by dissolving an epoxy resin and a cationic photopolymerization initiator in a solvent. Diglyme and methyl isobutyl ketone were used as solvents. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3C, the water repellent member 5 was formed on the nozzle forming member 4 by laminating a dry film with a thickness of 0.5 μm. The water repellent member 5 was prepared by dissolving an epoxy resin and a photocationic polymerization initiator in a solvent. Diglime was used as the solvent.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3D, a mirror projection mask aligner (MPA-600 Super, manufactured by Canon Inc.) was used for exposure at 0.2 J / cm ² , and the unexposed portion was developed with a developer. And the ink discharge port 6 was formed.

  Next, a TMAH 22 wt% aqueous solution was heated to about 80 ° C., and etched for 10 hours to provide an ink supply port 7. Finally, the mold member 3 was eluted from the ink discharge port 6 and the ink supply port 7 to form the nozzle portion of the ink jet recording head.

  The SP value A of the solvent diglyme used for the water repellent member and the SP value C of the solvent diglyme used for the nozzle forming member are both 20.1. From this value, the value of | A−C | is 0, which is smaller than the value of | A−B | in the above [Example 1] provided with the compatibility preventing member, 3.4. That is, the degree of compatibility between the solvent used in the water-repellent member and the solvent used in the member in contact with the water-repellent member may be worse than in the embodiment provided with the compatibility preventing member. It was suggested.

  Further, the substrate 1 on which the nozzle portion is formed is separated and cut into chips by a dicing saw, and after electrical joining is performed to drive the ink discharge energy generating element 2, a chip tank member for ink supply is connected. Thus, an ink jet recording head was completed. Using this ink jet recording head, the printing quality when printing durability with self-dispersion type pigment ink was confirmed. When the number of printed sheets exceeded 20,000, the print quality began to deteriorate, and when the nozzle of the head was observed, wetting of the ink was confirmed. It was considered that the deterioration of the print quality was caused by the change in the discharge direction due to the periphery of the ink discharge port becoming wet with ink.

(Comparative Example 2)
In this comparative example, the nozzle part was formed by the manufacturing process shown in FIGS.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3A, a pattern of a mold material 3 (ODUR, manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd.) having a thickness of 20 μm was formed on a substrate 1 provided with an ink ejection energy generating element 2.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the nozzle forming member 4 was applied on the mold member 3 by spin coating to a thickness of 55 μm. The nozzle forming member 4 was prepared by dissolving an epoxy resin and a cationic photopolymerization initiator in a solvent. Xylene was used as the solvent. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3C, the water repellent member 5 was formed on the nozzle forming member 4 by laminating a dry film with a thickness of 0.5 μm. The water repellent member 5 was prepared by dissolving an epoxy resin and a photocationic polymerization initiator in a solvent. Diglime was used as the solvent.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3D, exposure is performed at 0.7 J / cm ² using a mirror projection mask aligner (MPA-600 Super, manufactured by Canon Inc.), and the unexposed portion is developed. The ink discharge port 6 was formed by removing with a liquid. Next, a TMAH 22 wt% aqueous solution was heated to about 80 ° C., and etched for 10 hours to provide an ink supply port 7.

  Finally, the mold member 3 was eluted from the ink discharge port 6 and the ink supply port 7 to form the nozzle portion of the ink jet recording head.

  The SP value A of the solvent diglyme used in the water-repellent member and the SP value C of the solvent xylene used in the nozzle forming member are 20.1 and 18.0, respectively. From this value, the value of | A−C | is 2.1, which is smaller than the value 3.4 of | A−B | in the [Example 2] in which the compatibility preventing member is provided.

  That is, the degree of compatibility between the solvent used in the water-repellent member and the solvent used in the member in contact with the water-repellent member may be worse than in the embodiment provided with the compatibility preventing member. It was suggested.

  Furthermore, the substrate 1 on which the nozzle portion is formed is separated, cut and chipped by a dicing saw, and after electrical connection is made to drive the ink discharge energy generating element 2, a chip tank member for ink supply is connected. Thus, an ink jet recording head was completed.

  When printing was performed with a resin-dispersed pigment ink using this ink jet recording head, the print quality started to deteriorate after about several tens of sheets were printed, and when the head nozzle portion was observed, ink wetting was confirmed. It was considered that the deterioration of the print quality was caused by the change in the discharge direction due to the periphery of the ink discharge port becoming wet with ink.

As is clear from the above description, according to the invention of the present application, even if the ink wiping operation increases in frequency using pigment-based ink that easily adheres to the nozzle surface, the water-repellent member is used. The difference between A and B, where A is the SP value of the solvent used, B is the SP value of the solvent used for the compatibility prevention member, and C is the SP value of the solvent used for the nozzle forming member. Is greater than the difference between A and C, ie
A-B |> | A-C |
By providing a compatibility preventing member that satisfies this relationship, it is possible to prevent the water repellent component from diffusing and to improve durability against wiping.

  The embodiments are not limited to the examples of the present specification and other specific shapes as long as the ideas of the invention according to the present application are met.

Schematic diagram of nozzle section of ink jet recording head of the present invention Cross-sectional schematic diagram showing an example of a basic manufacturing process of a conventional inkjet recording head Cross-sectional schematic diagram showing an example of a basic manufacturing process of a conventional inkjet recording head Sectional schematic diagram showing an example of a basic manufacturing process of the ink jet recording head of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Si substrate 2 Ink discharge energy generating element 3 Mold material 4 Nozzle formation member 5 Water repellent member 6 Ink discharge port 7 Ink supply port 8 Compatibility prevention member

Claims (4)

  Ink discharge by patterning a photosensitive nozzle forming member and a water repellent member on a substrate provided with an ink discharge energy generating element for discharging ink and a mold material that occupies at least a portion to be a flow path. In an ink jet recording head including a step of forming a nozzle portion by forming an outlet and removing the mold material, a compatibility preventing member is provided between the nozzle forming member and the water repellent member, and When the SP value of the solvent used in the water member is A, the SP value of the solvent used in the compatibility preventing member is B, and the SP value of the solvent used in the nozzle forming member is C, A-B |> | A-C | A method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head.   2. The method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the solvent used in the compatibility preventing member is isopropyl alcohol.   3. The method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the solvent used in the water repellent member is diglyme.   4. The method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the solvent used in the nozzle forming member is diglyme, methyl isobutyl ketone, or xylene.

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