JP2006159587A - Protection tool and its using method, method for manufacturing liquid drop ejection head employing the protection tool, liquid drop ejection head manufactured by the method, and liquid drop ejector mounting the liquid drop ejection head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an easy-to-handle protection tool and its using method, a method for manufacturing a liquid drop ejection head capable of preventing intrusion of processing liquid into the space section of a drive mechanism by employing the protection tool, a liquid drop ejection head manufactured through the method, and a liquid drop ejector mounting the liquid drop ejection head. <P>SOLUTION: The protection tool 70 being fixed to a substrate through vacuum suction and protecting the surface of the substrate on the fixing side comprises a protection tool body 71 having a second recess 76 for forming a vacuum holding space between the recess and the surface of the substrate on the fixing side, and an O-ring 74 for holding airtightness of the space by touching the substrate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to a protective jig that exposes one surface of a substrate to the outside and sucks and holds the other surface of the substrate so as to be protected from the outside, a method of using the same, and the other surface of the substrate using the protective jig. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head having a step of performing a wet process while protecting the surface, and a droplet discharge device equipped with the droplet discharge head obtained by the manufacturing method.

In recent years, so-called micromachining technology for manufacturing semiconductor elements, crystal oscillators, and the like has been actively performed by processing such as photolithography technology.
In this micromachining technology, after processing one side of the substrate, etching the other side of the substrate, etc., the substrate itself can be processed such as making the substrate thinner or making holes. Done.
Here, when processing (etching) such a substrate, it is necessary to protect one surface (an already processed surface) of the processed substrate from an etching solution. Therefore, a jig has been developed that can etch only the opposite surface (etching surface) while protecting the processed surface (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the jig of Patent Document 1, the substrate is held by always sucking with a vacuum pump from a suction hole inside the jig through a tube.

By the way, as an example of a product manufactured using this type of micromachine technology, there is an ink jet head which is a typical example of a droplet discharge head. Ink-jet heads are increasing in number of nozzles in order to cope with high-speed printing, and minute drive mechanisms (actuators) are required due to the demand for higher resolution. When the drive mechanism is miniaturized and densified, the partition walls of the discharge chambers provided for each nozzle that discharges ink become thinner and the rigidity of the partition walls becomes lower, so the ink in one discharge chamber is ejected. There is a problem of so-called crosstalk that sometimes the adjacent discharge chambers are affected.
In order to suppress the occurrence of this crosstalk, there is a method of increasing the rigidity by reducing the height of the partition wall of the discharge chamber, but the thickness of the cavity substrate that forms the partition wall of the discharge chamber (cavity) is reduced. If the height of the partition wall in the discharge chamber is lowered, the cavity substrate becomes difficult to handle and the yield is extremely reduced.

In order to solve such problems, in the conventional inkjet head, after the relatively thick cavity substrate and the electrode glass substrate having the individual electrodes are joined, the thickness of the cavity substrate is reduced, and the vibration plate and the discharge chamber are separated. There is one that prevents the yield from being lowered by forming the partition walls, and suppresses the occurrence of crosstalk by increasing the rigidity of the partition walls of the discharge chamber (for example,
Patent Document 2).

Further, in the conventional inkjet head, in order to reduce the depth of the inkjet head and make the head size compact, a sealing agent injection groove is formed on the bonding surface side of the cavity substrate with the electrode glass substrate, and the sealing is performed on the electrode glass substrate. In some cases, a sealant injection hole and a sealant discharge hole communicating with the stopper injection groove are formed so as to reduce the width of the sealant in the depth direction of the inkjet head (for example, Patent Documents). 3).

A method of manufacturing an ink jet head in which the cavity substrate and the electrode glass substrate are bonded and the thickness of the cavity substrate is reduced, and then the diaphragm and the partition wall of the discharge chamber are formed (for example, see Patent Document 2); When a manufacturing method of an inkjet head in which a sealing agent injection groove is formed in a cavity substrate and a sealing agent injection hole and a sealing agent discharge hole are formed in an electrode glass substrate is combined (see, for example, Patent Document 3), High density and compact head size can be realized.

Here, in the step of reducing the thickness of the cavity substrate and the step of forming the diaphragm and the partition of the discharge chamber, the sealing agent injection hole and the sealing agent are used before wet processing such as wet etching using a processing liquid. If a through-hole that communicates with the space of the drive mechanism (actuator) such as a discharge hole is formed, the processing liquid enters the space through the through-hole and the drive mechanism does not function normally. It was.
In addition, if the ink supply hole connected to the reservoir (common ink chamber) is formed through the electrode glass substrate before wet etching, even if the ink supply hole is not yet formed in the cavity substrate, When the bonding state is insufficient, there is a problem that the processing liquid enters from the bonding interface between the electrode glass substrate and the cavity substrate, and the processing liquid enters the space portion of the drive mechanism.

Therefore, if the bonding substrate is held so as to protect the electrode glass substrate side using the jig of Patent Document 1, it becomes possible to prevent the processing liquid from entering from the through hole.

US 6,443,440 B1 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-993 (FIGS. 3 and 4) JP 2001-179974 A (FIG. 1)

By the way, at the time of etching, the substrate is rotated in the etching solution for the purpose of in-plane uniformity of the etching amount, but when the tube is connected to the jig as in the technique of Patent Document 1, There is a problem that the rotating operation becomes impossible and the handling of the tube becomes complicated when a large number of sheets are processed simultaneously.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points. A protective jig that is easy to handle, a method of using the protective jig, and the use of the protective jig allow the treatment liquid to be applied to the space of the drive mechanism. A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head capable of preventing intrusion, a droplet discharge head manufactured by the method,
An object of the present invention is to provide a droplet discharge device equipped with the droplet discharge head.

The protective jig according to the present invention is a protective jig that is attached to the substrate by vacuum suction and protects the surface on the mounting side of the substrate, and forms a vacuum holding space between the surface on the mounting side of the substrate. A protective jig main body having a concave portion for carrying out, and a seal member for contacting the substrate and maintaining the airtightness of the space.
As a result, the space formed by the concave portion of the protective jig body is used as a vacuum holding space, and the substrate 100 is held by vacuum suction, so that a conventional tube is not required and handling becomes easy.

The protective jig according to the present invention is provided with a support for preventing deformation of the substrate during vacuum suction in the recess.
Accordingly, it is possible to prevent extreme deformation of the substrate such that the lower surface of the substrate contacts the bottom surface of the recess during vacuum decompression.

The protective jig according to the present invention includes a repulsive means for generating a repulsive force in a direction to remove the substrate attached to the protective jig main body.
Thereby, when removing a board | substrate from a protective jig, the inconvenience that it cannot remove can be prevented.

In the protective jig according to the present invention, the repulsion means is a coil spring or a leaf spring.
Thus, a coil spring or a leaf spring can be used as the repulsion means.

Further, the protective jig according to the present invention is provided with a groove around the recess, and an O-ring as a seal member is attached to the groove.
Thus, an O-ring can be used as the seal member, and in this case, it may be mounted in a groove provided around the recess.

In the protective jig according to the present invention, the main body of the protective jig is made of Teflon (registered trademark).
In this way, it is possible to extend the life by using a material having strong chemical resistance.

The method of using the protective jig according to the present invention is such that the protection target surface of the substrate is disposed on any of the protective jigs described above so as to face the concave portion of the protective jig, and the suction auxiliary jig is mounted on the substrate. In this state, the protective jig and the substrate are attached by vacuum suction by being housed in a vacuum chamber and reducing the pressure in the vacuum chamber.
Thus, since the protective jig and the substrate can be attached by vacuum decompression using the vacuum chamber, it can be used without using a tube for holding the substrate by vacuum suction as in the prior art.

In addition, the method of using the protective jig according to the present invention is such that when removing the protective jig and the substrate, the protective jig and the substrate are housed in a vacuum chamber and the inside of the vacuum chamber is decompressed to a pressure lower than that during vacuum adsorption. When the substrate is lifted by the repulsive force of the repulsion means of the tool and a gap is formed between the seal member and the substrate, the vacuum chamber is opened to the atmosphere.
Thus, when removing the protective jig and the substrate, the substrate is lifted by the repulsive force of the repulsion means, so that the removal can be surely performed.

The method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention has a recess serving as a discharge chamber and a reservoir,
A cavity substrate in which a part of the wall surface of the discharge chamber becomes a diaphragm, and an individual electrode facing the diaphragm with a gap, and a sealant injection hole for sealing an external communication portion of the gap is formed through. After bonding the electrode glass substrate to form the bonded substrate and reducing the thickness of the bonded substrate on the cavity substrate side, the cavity substrate is subjected to wet processing including at least etching and cleaning the recesses serving as the discharge chamber and the reservoir. A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head to be formed, wherein after the protective jig according to any one of the above is attached so as to cover the sealant injection hole on the surface opposite to the bonding surface in the electrode glass substrate, The processing is performed.
Thereby, it can prevent that a process liquid penetrate | invades into the space part which forms a clearance gap, ie, the space part of a drive mechanism. This manufacturing method employs a method of reducing the cavity substrate after bonding the cavity substrate and the electrode glass substrate, and a method of sealing the external communication portion using a sealing agent injection hole provided in the electrode glass substrate. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a droplet discharge head with a high density drive mechanism and a compact head size.

A droplet discharge head according to the present invention is manufactured by the above-described method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head.
As a result, a droplet discharge head having a high density drive mechanism and nozzles and a compact head size can be obtained.

A droplet discharge apparatus according to the present invention is equipped with the above-described droplet discharge head.
As a result, a high-performance liquid droplet ejection apparatus equipped with a liquid droplet ejection head with a high density drive mechanism and nozzles and a compact head size can be obtained.

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

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a protective jig 70 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, where (a) is a plan view,
(b) is AA sectional drawing of (a). FIG. 2 is a view showing a state where the protective jig 70 of FIG.
The protective jig 70 generates a repulsive force in the direction in which the protective jig main body 71, the O-ring 74 that comes into contact with the surface of the substrate 100 and maintains the airtightness of the space 72 described later, and the substrate 100 are removed. Two coil springs 77 are provided as repulsion means. Note that the repulsion means is not limited to the coil spring shown in FIG. 1, and a plate spring 79 as shown in FIG. 3, for example, may be used. 3A is a plan view, and FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.

The protective jig main body 71 includes a first recess 73 configured to have a shape on which the entire substrate 100 can be placed, an O-ring mounting recess 75 formed circumferentially inside the first recess 73, and an O- A plurality of second recesses 76 formed in a region surrounded by the ring mounting recess 75 and a spring mounting recess 78 for mounting the coil spring 77 are provided. The second recess 7
By forming 6, a plurality of support columns 76 a are formed in the first recess 73. The second recess 76 is for forming a vacuum holding space 72 when the protective jig 70 is attached to the substrate 100 by vacuum suction, and is set to a size sufficient to hold the vacuum. Yes. Moreover, the support | pillar 76a is for preventing the deformation | transformation of the board | substrate 100 at the time of the vacuum suction at the time of attaching the board | substrate 100 to the protective jig 70. FIG. Details of the procedure for attaching the protective jig 70 to the substrate 100 will be described later. Since the protective jig 70 having such a configuration is exposed to a wet processing solution such as etching or cleaning, the protective jig main body 71 is made of Teflon (registered trademark) having chemical resistance from the viewpoint of extending the life. It is preferable to configure.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a procedure when the protective jig 70 is attached to the substrate 100 by vacuum suction.
Attachment of the protective jig 70 to the substrate 100 is performed using vacuum decompression as described above. That is, first, (a) the protection target surface 100a of the substrate 100 is disposed on the protection jig 70 so as to face the second recess 76 of the protection jig 70, and (b) the suction auxiliary jig is further disposed on the substrate 100. 101 is placed and placed in a vacuum chamber (not shown) in that state. Then, the inside of the vacuum chamber is gradually depressurized. Thereby, the space 72 formed by the second recess 76 of the protective jig 70 is gradually depressurized, and the space 72 is left in a depressurized state by abruptly opening the vacuum chamber to the atmosphere. As a result, (c) the substrate 100 and the protective jig 70 are vacuum-sucked. Here, since the protection jig 70 is provided with a plurality of support columns 76a, the substrate 100 can be prevented from being extremely deformed, for example, the lower surface of the substrate 100 is in contact with the bottom surface of the second recess 76 during vacuum decompression. It can be prevented.

Here, the suction auxiliary jig 101 is a weight for deforming the coil spring 77 built in the protective jig 70 to bring the substrate 100 into contact with the entire O-ring 74 of the protective jig 70.
This is intended to assist in ensuring that the protective jig 70 and the substrate 100 are vacuum-sucked.
Further, since the substrate 100 is warped and not completely flat, the suction auxiliary jig 101 that presses the substrate 100 against the protective jig 70 is necessary to correct this.

Here, if the weight of the suction auxiliary jig 101 is too light, the coil spring 77 built in the protective jig 70 is not sufficiently deformed, and the substrate 100 can be brought into contact with the entire O-ring 74 of the protective jig 70. Can not be absorbed. On the other hand, if it is too heavy, the substrate 100 and the O-ring 74 of the protection jig 70 are too close to each other, and the space 72 between the substrate 100 and the protection jig 70 cannot be decompressed and cannot be similarly adsorbed. Accordingly, the suction assisting jig 101 is adjusted in weight according to the repulsive force of the coil spring 77 built in the protective jig 70. By using the suction auxiliary jig 101 configured as described above, the substrate 100 and the protective jig 70 can be reliably sucked.

The suction assisting jig 101 has a structure for pressing only the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 100 or a structure for pressing only a part other than the element forming region on the substrate surface, and the suction assisting jig 101 does not contact the element forming region on the substrate surface. Configuration is desirable. As a result, the suction auxiliary jig 101 becomes the substrate 1.
It is possible to prevent contact damage such as generation of scratches and dirt due to contact with the 00 element formation region.

On the other hand, when removing the protective jig 70 from the substrate 100, the substrate 100 with the protective jig 70 attached is placed in a vacuum chamber, and the vacuum chamber is depressurized. When the pressure reaches a pressure lower than that at the time of adsorption, the substrate 100 is lifted by the repulsive force of the built-in coil spring 77, and a gap is formed between the O-ring 74 and the substrate 100. In this state, the vacuum chamber is opened to the atmosphere, the space 72 between the substrate 100 and the protective jig 70 is returned to atmospheric pressure, and the protective jig 70 is removed.

Here, the protective jig 70 of the present invention is used for wet processing on one surface of the substrate 100. As this wet processing, there is high-temperature wet etching processing. In this process, since the protective jig 70 is immersed in a high-temperature processing solution, a plasticizer or the like may ooze out from the O-ring 74 and the protective jig 70 and the substrate 100 may be in close contact with each other. is there. Then, when removing the protective jig 70 from the substrate 100, there is no gap between the O-ring 74 and the substrate 100, and the space 72 does not return to atmospheric pressure and cannot be removed from the substrate 100. If the protective jig 70 in this state is forcibly removed by applying external force in an atmospheric pressure environment, the substrate 100 may be damaged. However, since the protective jig 70 of the present invention is provided with the coil spring 77 that generates a repulsive force in the direction of removing the substrate 100,
Such inconvenience can be prevented.

In the state in which the substrate 100 is sucked and held by the protection jig 70 configured as described above, the protection required area of the protection target surface 100a is sealed by the O-ring 74 provided outside thereof. Therefore, even if it is immersed in a processing solution such as an etching solution, the necessary protection area can be reliably protected from the processing solution.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the substrate 100 is held by vacuum suction using the space 72 formed by the second recess 76 of the protective jig body 71 as a vacuum holding space. A conventional tube for vacuum suction becomes unnecessary and handling becomes easy.

In addition, since the coil spring 77 that generates a repulsive force in the direction of removing the substrate 100 is provided, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience that it cannot be removed when removing the substrate 100.

Further, since the protection jig main body 71 has a configuration in which the plurality of support columns 76a are provided in the second recess 76, the substrate such that the lower surface of the substrate 100 contacts the bottom surface of the second recess 76 at the time of vacuum decompression, for example. 100 extreme deformations can be prevented.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
With reference to FIGS. 5 to 13, a manufacturing method of a droplet discharge head that prevents the processing liquid such as etching from entering the space of the drive mechanism by using the protective jig 70 of the first embodiment. explain. First, the configuration of the droplet discharge head will be described.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of an electrostatically driven droplet discharge head according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 5A is a rear view of the droplet discharge head, FIG. 5B is a longitudinal sectional view of the droplet discharge head along the line bb, and FIG. 5C is along the line cc. FIG. The droplet discharge head shown in FIG. 5 has a structure in which a silicon cavity substrate 1 is sandwiched between an electrode glass substrate 2 and a silicon nozzle substrate 3 from above and below, and the cavity substrate 1, the electrode glass substrate 2, and the nozzle substrate 3 are joined together. The nozzle substrate 3 is not necessarily made of silicon, and may be borosilicate glass or the like. A number of nozzle holes 4 are formed on the surface of the nozzle substrate 3.
Is open. Between the nozzle substrate 3 and the cavity substrate 1, there are provided a reservoir 5 and a discharge chamber 7 communicating with the reservoir 5 through an orifice 6, and each discharge chamber 7 is provided with a nozzle hole 4. Yes. The orifice 6 and the discharge chamber 7 are individually provided for each nozzle hole 4. The nozzle holes 4 may be provided so that droplets can be ejected from the lateral direction (left direction in FIG. 5B) by providing grooves in the cavity substrate 1 or the nozzle substrate 3.

The reservoir 5 is supplied with droplets from the outside through the droplet supply hole 8. The bottom portion of each discharge chamber 7 (the upper portion in FIG. 5B) is a diaphragm 9 that can vibrate in the direction of the electrode glass substrate 2. On the bonding surface side of the electrode glass substrate 2 with the cavity substrate 1,
A long and narrow space 10 having a constant depth is provided at a position facing each diaphragm 9. In addition to forming a recess in the electrode glass substrate 2, the space 10 can also be provided by forming a recess in the cavity substrate 1 or sandwiching a spacer. An individual electrode 11 made of ITO (Indium Thin Oxide) is provided at a position facing the space portion 10 of the electrode glass substrate 2, and the individual electrode 11 is opposed to the diaphragm 9 with a gap of a constant interval. Yes. The individual electrode 11 extends along the bottom surface of the space portion 10 to the rear end surface 12 of the electrode glass substrate 2, and the rear end portion serves as an electrode extraction portion 13 for connection to external wiring.

On the bonding surface side of the cavity substrate 1 with the electrode glass substrate 2, a sealant injection groove 14 is formed by etching. The sealant injection groove 14 extends in a direction orthogonal to each space portion 10 at a position inside the external communication portion 15 of the space portion 10 and communicates with each space portion 10.
In the electrode glass substrate 2, two sealant injection holes 16 penetrating the electrode glass substrate 2 in the thickness direction are formed at positions corresponding to both ends of the sealant injection groove 14 provided in the cavity substrate 1. ing.
The sealing agent injection hole 16 and the sealing agent injection groove 14 are provided for injecting the sealing agent into the space portion 10 in order to prevent foreign matters such as dust from entering the space portion 10. (Fig. 9 (d
)reference). When a sealant (adhesive) is press-fitted from one of the sealant injection holes 16 with a dispenser or the like, the sealant directs the inside of the sealant injection groove 14 toward the other sealant injection hole 16. Flowing. Since the sealing agent injection groove 14 communicates with the elongated space 10, the sealing agent is filled in a state where the sealing agent slightly enters each space 10 by the capillary force. Then, the space 10 is sealed by injecting the sealing agent until the sealing agent reaches the other end of the sealing agent injection groove 14 and enters the other sealing agent injection hole 16.

The droplet discharge head shown in FIG. 5 generates an electrostatic force by applying a voltage between the diaphragm 9 and the individual electrode 11 to generate a potential difference, thereby bending the diaphragm 9 to the electrode glass substrate 2 side. Then, droplets are supplied from the reservoir 5 to the discharge chamber 7 through the orifice 6. Then, by removing the voltage applied between the diaphragm 9 and the individual electrode 11, the diaphragm 9 vibrates so as to be restored to the original state, and droplets are ejected from the nozzle holes 4. .

6, 7, 8, and 9 are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the cavity substrate 1 in a step before bonding the cavity substrate 1 and the electrode glass substrate 2, and FIG. 7 is an electrode glass substrate in the step before bonding the cavity substrate 1 and the electrode glass substrate 2. FIG. 8 and 9 are cross-sectional views of the step of bonding the cavity substrate 1 and the electrode glass substrate 2 and the step after the bonding.
6 to 9, the method for manufacturing the droplet discharge head shown in FIG. 5 will be described in detail below. In addition, this manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head is a space for the drive mechanism in a wet process when manufacturing a droplet discharge head having a high-density drive mechanism (discharge chamber 7, diaphragm 9, etc.) and a compact head size. The treatment liquid is prevented from entering the portion 10.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the middle of the manufacturing process of the cavity substrate 1.
A polished 525 μm-thick Si (silicon) substrate 1a on the lower surface serving as the cavity substrate 1 of the droplet discharge head is thermally oxidized in an oxygen atmosphere containing water vapor at 1075 ° C., and the front surface and the back surface of the Si substrate Then, a 1 μm thick SiO ₂ film 21 is formed (FIG. 6A). Then S
On the back surface of the i substrate 1a, S of the portion 22 that becomes the sealant injection groove 14 by photolithography is provided.
The iO ₂ film 21 is patterned, and the SiO ₂ film in the portion 22 that becomes the sealant injection groove 14 is removed by etching (FIG. 6B). Subsequently, the Si substrate 1a is deposited at a concentration of 35% by weight at 80%. ℃
Etching with an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution forms the sealant injection groove 14 (FIG. 6C).
Then, all of the SiO ₂ film 21 on the Si substrate 1a is removed with a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution (FIG. 6 (
d)). Thereafter, boron is diffused at a high concentration on the back surface of the Si substrate 1a, and a boron diffusion layer 9 is formed.
a is formed (FIG. 6E). Then, an insulating film 9b is formed by plasma CVD over the boron diffusion layer 9a on the back surface (FIG. 6F).

FIG. 7 is a view showing the middle of the manufacturing process of the electrode glass substrate 2.
A Cr / Au film 31 (chromium / gold alloy film) is formed by sputtering on the front surface of a glass substrate 2a made of borosilicate glass (thickness 1 mm) to be the electrode glass substrate 2 of the droplet discharge head (
FIG. 7 (a)). Next, Cr / A is formed into a shape corresponding to the space 10 by photolithography.
The u film 31 is patterned, and a portion corresponding to the space 10 of the Cr / Au film 31 is removed by etching (FIG. 7B). Then, using the Cr / Au film 31 as an etching mask,
The glass substrate 2a is etched with a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution to form a recess 10a that becomes the space 10 (FIG. 7C). Thereafter, the entire Cr / Au film 31 is removed by etching (FIG. 7D
)), An ITO film 11a is formed on the entire front side surface by sputtering (FIG. 7E). next,
The shape corresponding to the individual electrode 11 is patterned on the ITO film 11a by photolithography, and the ITO film 11a other than the portion of the individual electrode 11 is removed by etching to remove the individual electrode 1
1 is formed (FIG. 7F). Then, a portion for forming the sealant injection hole and a portion for forming the droplet supply hole are excavated to form the sealant injection hole 16 and the droplet supply hole 8 (FIG. 7G).

8 and 9 are views showing a process of bonding the Si substrate 1a to be the cavity substrate 1 and the glass substrate 2a to be the electrode glass substrate 2 and the processes from the bonding to the completion of the droplet discharge head. .
The Si substrate 1a on which the sealant injection hole 16, the boron diffusion layer 9a and the insulating film 9b are formed in the process of FIG. 6, and the individual electrode 11, the sealant injection hole 16 and the droplet supply hole 8 are formed in the process of FIG. The formed glass substrate 2a is prepared (FIG. 8A), and a voltage is applied between the Si substrate 1a and the glass substrate 2a to perform anodic bonding, thereby creating a bonded substrate 41 (FIG. 8B). Thereby, sealant injection hole 1
6, the sealant injection groove 14 and the space 10 serving as an actuator communicate with each other.

Then, etching is performed from the front surface of the Si substrate 1a with potassium hydroxide at 35% by weight and 80 ° C., and the thickness of the Si substrate 1a to be the cavity substrate 1 later is reduced to 140 μm. (FIG. 8C).

Here, in the etching process of FIG. 8C and the process shown in FIGS. 8E and 8F described later, the space portion 10 is formed through the sealant injection hole 16 and the droplet supply hole 8. The protection jig 70 according to the first embodiment is used to prevent the processing liquid from entering, and details thereof will be described in order with reference to FIGS. 10, 12, and 13, which will be described later.

Subsequently, Si having a thickness of 1 μm is formed on the surface of the Si substrate 1a of the bonding substrate 41 by a CVD apparatus.
An O ₂ film 42 is formed (FIG. 8D). Thereafter, a portion 7a of the SiO ₂ film 42 corresponding to the discharge chamber 7, a portion 5a corresponding to the reservoir 5, and a portion 13a corresponding to the electrode extraction portion 13 are used.
Is patterned by photolithography, and the SiO ₂ film in this portion is removed (FIG. 8).
(E)). At this time, the portion 5a corresponding to the reservoir 5 of the SiO ₂ film 42 is not completely removed but half-etched.

Then, the bonding substrate 41 is etched with an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution, and then the SiO ₂ film 4
The portion 5a corresponding to the second reservoir 5 is removed by etching with a mixed solution of hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride at 25 ° C. Then, the bonding substrate 41 is etched again to complete the recess 7b that becomes the discharge chamber 7, the recess 13b that becomes the electrode extraction portion 13, and the recess 5b that becomes the reservoir 5 (FIG. 8F). Thereafter, the bonding substrate 41 is immersed in a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution to remove all of the SiO ₂ film 42 formed on the front surface of the Si substrate 1a (FIG. 8G).

FIG. 9 is a view of a process subsequent to the manufacturing process of FIG. 8, and shows the process up to the completion of the droplet discharge head.
The concave portion 5b serving as the reservoir 5 is irradiated with a YAG laser or a femtosecond laser to penetrate the droplet supply hole 8 and the concave portion 5b serving as the reservoir 5, thereby completing the droplet supply hole 8 (FIG. 9).
(A)). The cavity substrate 1 and the electrode glass substrate 2 are completed through the steps so far.

Next, the sealing agent 52 is injected from the sealing agent injection hole 16 (see FIG. 5), and the space portion 10 (actuator) is sealed (FIG. 9B). Finally, the nozzle substrate 3 is bonded to the front side of the cavity substrate 1 with an adhesive (FIG. 9C), and the liquid droplet ejection head is completed by dicing (FIG. 9 (FIG. 9).
d)).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the details of the entire etching process of the Si substrate 1a after the anodic bonding in FIG. 8B, and the steps from FIG. 8B to FIG. 8C are described in more detail. It is a thing.
First, prior to the entire etching process of the Si substrate 1a in step S3 to be described later, a protective jig 70 is attached to the glass substrate 2a side of the anodic bonded substrate 41 (S1). This attachment procedure is as described above. Then, the bonding substrate 41 to which the protective jig 70 is attached is immersed in a 35 wt.%, 80 ° C. potassium hydroxide aqueous solution and etched (S2), so that the Si substrate 1a side has a thickness of 140 μm.

Then, after the etching is completed, the substrate is washed with water and dried (S3), and then washed with ammonia overwater with a mixture of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide at 70 ° C. (S4). And after washing with water and drying (S5),
The protective jig 70 is removed (S6).

As described above, by using the protective jig 70 during wet processing such as etching and cleaning, the etching solution enters from the through holes (the sealant injection hole 16 and the droplet supply hole 8) of the glass substrate 2a. Can be prevented.

Further, the protective jig 70 is also used in the patterning step of the SiO ₂ film 42 shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing details of the patterning process of the SiO ₂ film 42.
First, the protective jig 70 is attached to the bonding substrate 41 (S11), and the upper surface of the bonding substrate 41 is set to 10.
The sulfuric acid is washed with a sulfuric acid / hydrogen peroxide mixture (a mixture of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide) at 0 ° C. (S12). Thereafter, it is washed with water and dried (S13), and the protective jig 70 is removed (S14). Then, baking is performed at 150 ° C. (S15), and resist coating is performed on the entire top surface of the bonding substrate 41 with a resist coater (S16), followed by pre-baking at 90 ° C. (S17). And exposure (S18),
After developing (S19), washing with water and drying (S20), post-baking at 120 ° C. (S
21). Thereafter, the protective jig 70 is attached (S22), and hydrofluoric acid etching is performed with a mixed solution of hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride at 25 ° C. (S23). Then, after washing and drying (S24), the resist is peeled off with a sulfuric acid / hydrogen peroxide mixture at 100 ° C. (S25), washing and drying again (S25).
S26). By repeating the process of step S12 to step S26 twice, S
The iO ₂ film is etched in two stages (S27). FIG. 8 (e) shows the state after the two-step etching of the SiO ₂ film, the portion 13a corresponding to the portion 7a and the electrode extraction portion 13 corresponding to the discharge chamber 7 of the SiO ₂ film 42 is completely removed In addition, a portion 5a corresponding to the reservoir 5 of the SiO ₂ film 42 is partially left.

Thus, by attaching the protective jig 70 to the bonding substrate 41 before the sulfuric acid cleaning step (S12), sulfuric acid enters the space portion 10 through the sealing agent injection hole 16 and the droplet supply hole 8. Can be prevented. And after the water washing of step S14 and a drying process are complete | finished, a baking process (
The protective jig 70 is removed before S15) (S14). This is because the protective jig 70 is not attached to devices such as each hot plate that performs each baking step for heating the bonding substrate 41, a resist coater that performs resist coating, an exposure machine, and a developer that performs development. Since it cannot be put, it is removed.

And after completion | finish of a post-baking process (S21), prior to a hydrofluoric acid etching process (S23), the protective jig 70 is attached again (S22). Thereby, the liquid intrusion into the space portion 10 can be prevented in the hydrofluoric acid etching process or the water washing process in step S23.

Further, the protective jig 70 is also used in the etching process of the Si substrate 1a shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing details of the Si etching process. At the start of the Si etching process, the protective jig 70 attached in step S22 of FIG.
Is attached as it is. First, the bonding substrate 41 with the protective jig 70 attached thereto is immersed in a 35 wt% potassium hydroxide aqueous solution at 80 ° C., and the recess 7 b serving as the discharge chamber 7 and the recess 13 b serving as the electrode extraction portion 13 are partway. Etching is performed (S31).
Then, after washing with water and drying (S32), the portion 5 corresponding to the reservoir 5 of the SiO ₂ film 42
a is removed by etching with a mixed solution of hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride at 25 ° C. (S33)
Then, it is washed with water and dried (S34).

Then, the bonding substrate 41 is continuously etched with a 35 wt% potassium hydroxide aqueous solution at 80 ° C. (S 35).
3b is completed. Then, it is washed with water and dried (S36). In the etching in step S35, the etching is completed before reaching the boron diffusion layer 9a. On the other hand, S
The silicon at the bottom surface of the recess 5b, which becomes the reservoir 5 that delayed the start of the etching of the i substrate 1a, remains thick without being etched up to the boron diffusion layer 9a.

Etching is further continued so that the recess 5b serving as the reservoir 5 has a desired depth. If etching is continued with a 35% by weight potassium hydroxide aqueous solution, the boron diffusion layer 9a is etched. Therefore, in order to prevent the etching of the boron diffusion layer 9a from proceeding, a low-concentration potassium hydroxide aqueous solution is used which reduces the etching rate of the boron diffusion layer 9a. Here, etching is performed with a 3 wt% potassium hydroxide aqueous solution at 80 ° C. (S 37). Then, it is washed with water and dried (S38). As a result, the boron diffusion layer 9a and the insulating film 9b remaining without being etched become the diaphragm 9, and the recess 5b having a desired depth is formed (FIG. 8F). Thereafter, the bonding substrate 41 is immersed in a mixed solution of hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride at 25 ° C. to perform hydrofluoric acid etching (S39), and all the SiO ₂ film 42 formed on the front surface of the Si substrate 1a is removed (FIG. 8 (g)). Then, after washing and drying (S40), the protective jig 70 is removed (S41). After removing the protective jig 70,
Wash again with water and dry (S42).

As described above, according to the second embodiment, since the protective jig 70 is used in wet processing such as etching and cleaning, even if it is put in a processing solution such as an etching solution, Since the formation region of the sealing agent injection hole 16 and the droplet supply hole 8 is sealed by the O-ring 74 provided on the outside thereof, the through hole (sealing agent injection hole 16 and the sealing agent injection hole 16 and It is possible to reliably prevent the processing liquid from entering the space 10 of the drive mechanism through the droplet supply hole 8).
Further, since the thickness of the cavity substrate 1 is reduced after the cavity substrate 1 and the electrode glass substrate 2 are joined, the partition wall of the discharge chamber 7 can be lowered to increase the rigidity, and the drive mechanism High density can be realized. In addition, first, a relatively thick Si substrate 1a
Y is used, so the yield does not decrease.
Furthermore, since the sealing agent injection groove 14 is formed in the cavity substrate 1 and the sealing agent injection hole 16 is formed in the electrode glass substrate 2, the head size can be reduced.

In the second embodiment, the case where the protective jig of the present invention is used in manufacturing the droplet discharge head has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the case of manufacturing the droplet discharge head. MEMS (Micro Electro Mech) such as micro pumps and micro mirrors
anical System) can also be used in the manufacture of devices. In addition, the present invention can be applied to the manufacture of a device manufactured by protecting one surface and wet-treating only the other surface.

Embodiment 3. FIG.
FIG. 14 shows an example of a droplet discharge device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. A droplet discharge device 150 shown in FIG. 14 is an ink jet printer, and is equipped with a droplet discharge head obtained by the method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the second embodiment. The droplet discharge head obtained by the method of manufacturing the droplet discharge head according to the second embodiment has a high-density drive mechanism, and the sealant injection groove 14.
Therefore, since the sealant does not spread in the depth direction of the droplet discharge head and the head size is compact, high-speed and high-resolution printing is possible. Therefore, in the third embodiment, a high-speed and high-resolution droplet discharge device 150 can be obtained.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a printing unit of the droplet discharge device shown in FIG. The droplet discharge head 200 obtained by the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head of Embodiment 1 is installed on the carriage 201. The carriage 201 can move in the left-right direction along the guide rail 202, and the recording paper surface 203 slides in a direction perpendicular to the guide rail 202 when the roller 204 rotates. Characters and images can be printed by ejecting ink from the droplet ejection head 200 as the carriage 201 moves in the left-right direction and the roller 204 rotates.

The droplet discharge head obtained by the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention is not limited to an inkjet printer as shown in FIG. 14 but also an organic electroluminescence display device or a liquid crystal display device. It can also be used for manufacturing color filters, DNA devices, and the like.
In addition, the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head according to the second embodiment of the present invention is based on a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical) such as a mirror device using an electrostatic actuator.
(Systems, microelectromechanical systems) It can also be applied to the manufacture of devices.

The figure which shows the structure of the protection jig of Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the state which attached the protection jig to the board | substrate. The figure which shows the other structural example of a protection jig. Explanatory drawing of the procedure at the time of attaching a protection jig to a bonded substrate by vacuum suction. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a droplet discharge head according to a second embodiment. Sectional drawing to the middle of the manufacturing process of a cavity board | substrate. Sectional drawing to the middle of the manufacturing process of an electrode glass substrate. Sectional drawing of the process after joining a cavity substrate and an electrode glass substrate. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a manufacturing process that follows the manufacturing process of FIG. 8. The flowchart for demonstrating the details of the whole surface etching process of Si substrate. The figure which shows the state which attached the protection jig to the joining board | substrate. Flowchart showing details of the SiO ₂ film patterning process. The flowchart which shows the detail of Si etching process. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a droplet discharge device according to a third embodiment. The figure which showed the printing part of the droplet discharge apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cavity substrate, 2 Electrode glass substrate, 5 Reservoir, 7 Discharge chamber, 8 Droplet supply hole, 9 Diaphragm, 11 Individual electrode, 15 External communication part, 16 Sealant injection hole, 41 Bonding substrate, 70 Protection jig , 71 Protective jig body, 72 space, 74 O-ring (seal member), 76 second recess (recess), 77 coil spring, 79 leaf spring, 100
Substrate, 100a surface to be protected, 101 suction auxiliary jig, 150 droplet discharge device, 200
Droplet discharge head.

Claims (11)

A protective jig that is attached to a substrate by vacuum suction and protects the surface on the attachment side of the substrate,
A protective jig body having a recess for forming a vacuum holding space between the mounting side surface of the substrate;
A sealing member for contacting the substrate and maintaining the airtightness of the space;
A protective jig characterized by comprising: 2. The protective jig according to claim 1, further comprising a support for preventing deformation of the substrate during vacuum suction in the recess. The protective jig according to claim 1, further comprising a repulsive unit that generates a repulsive force in a direction of removing the substrate attached to the protective jig main body. 4. The protective jig according to claim 1, wherein the repulsion means is a coil spring or a leaf spring. The protective jig according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a groove is provided around the recess, and an O-ring as the seal member is attached to the groove. 6. The protective jig according to claim 1, wherein the protective jig body is made of Teflon (registered trademark). 4. The protective jig according to claim 1, wherein the surface to be protected of the substrate is disposed so as to face the concave portion of the protective jig, and the suction auxiliary jig is placed on the substrate. In this state, the protective jig and the substrate are attached by vacuum suction by being housed in a vacuum chamber and reducing the pressure in the vacuum chamber. When removing the protective jig and the substrate, the protective jig and the substrate are housed in a vacuum chamber and the inside of the vacuum chamber is reduced to a pressure lower than that during the vacuum suction, and the repulsive force of the repulsive means of the protective jig 8. The method of using a protective jig according to claim 7, wherein the vacuum chamber is opened to the atmosphere when the substrate is lifted and a gap is formed between the seal member and the substrate. The discharge chamber has a recess serving as a reservoir, a part of the wall surface of the discharge chamber has a cavity substrate that is a diaphragm, and an individual electrode that faces the diaphragm with a gap, and seals the external communication portion of the gap. A bonding substrate is formed by bonding an electrode glass substrate through which a sealing agent injection hole for stopping is formed, and the thickness of the bonding substrate on the cavity substrate side is reduced. A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head, wherein a recess serving as a reservoir is formed using a wet process including at least etching and cleaning,
The wet processing is performed after the protective jig according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is attached so as to cover the sealing agent injection hole on a surface opposite to the bonding surface in the electrode glass substrate. A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head characterized by the above.   A droplet discharge head manufactured by the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 9. A droplet discharge apparatus comprising the droplet discharge head according to claim 10.

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