JP2006192685A - Droplet ejection head, its manufacturing method, and droplet ejector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a droplet ejection head which enables a connecting operation to be performed without a deterioration in workability when a driving circuit part (driver IC) and a driving element (piezoelectric element) are connected together, even if a nozzle pitch is made smaller, which has excellent reliability, and which can be manufactured with proper yield. <P>SOLUTION: Characteristically, this droplet ejection head comprises a pressure generating chamber 12 which communicates with a nozzle opening 15 for ejecting a droplet, the piezoelectric element 300 which is arranged on the outside of the chamber 12 so that a change in pressure can occur in the chamber 12, and a reservoir forming substrate 20 which is provided on the other side of the chamber 12 in such a manner that the piezoelectric element 300 is positioned between the substrate 20 and the chamber 12; a driving circuit part 200A for feeding an electric signal to the piezoelectric element 300 is provided on the substrate 20; and a conductive member 36 for electrically connecting the circuit part 200A and an upper electrode film 80 of the piezoelectric element 300 together is provided in a connection hole 20a which passes through the substrate 20 in a thickness direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge head, a manufacturing method thereof, and a droplet discharge apparatus.

A droplet discharge method (inkjet method) has been proposed for image formation and microdevice manufacturing. This droplet discharge method is a method of forming a desired pattern on a substrate by discharging a functional liquid containing ink for image formation and a material for forming a device into droplets from a droplet discharge head. is there.
The following patent document discloses an example of a technique related to a droplet discharge head (inkjet recording head). In the droplet discharge head disclosed in this patent document, a drive circuit unit (driver IC) and a drive element (piezoelectric element) are connected by a wire bonding technique.
JP 2000-127379 A

  By the way, in the method of forming an image and manufacturing a micro device based on the droplet discharge method, a nozzle opening provided in the droplet discharge head is used in order to realize high definition of the image and miniaturization of the micro device. It is preferable to make the distance (nozzle pitch) between the portions as small as possible (narrow). Since a plurality of the piezoelectric elements are formed corresponding to the nozzle openings, when the nozzle pitch is reduced, it is necessary to reduce the distance between the piezoelectric elements in accordance with the nozzle pitch. However, when the distance between the piezoelectric elements becomes small, it becomes difficult to connect each of the plurality of piezoelectric elements and the driver IC by a wire bonding technique.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. Even if the nozzle pitch is reduced, the connection work is performed without reducing the workability when the drive circuit unit (driver IC) and the drive element (piezoelectric element) are connected. An object of the present invention is to provide a droplet discharge head that can perform the above-described process, have excellent reliability, and can be manufactured with high yield, and a method for manufacturing the same. Another object of the present invention is to provide a droplet discharge device including the droplet discharge head.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a pressure generation chamber that communicates with a nozzle opening that discharges droplets, and a drive element that is disposed outside the pressure generation chamber and causes a pressure change in the pressure generation chamber. And a protective substrate provided on the opposite side of the pressure generating chamber across the drive element, and a drive circuit for supplying an electrical signal to the drive element on the opposite side of the drive element across the protective substrate A conductive member for electrically connecting the drive circuit portion and the circuit connection portion of the drive element is provided in a connection hole penetrating the protective substrate in the thickness direction. A droplet discharge head is provided.
According to this configuration, the drive circuit portions and the drive elements respectively provided on both sides of the protective substrate are electrically connected by the conductive member provided in the connection hole penetrating the protective substrate. Even if the drive element is narrowed due to the narrowing of the width and the connection becomes extremely difficult by wire bonding, the connection hole can be easily narrowed, and the drive element and the drive circuit section can be connected with high reliability. Therefore, it is possible to provide a high-definition droplet discharge head.
Further, in the structure in which both are connected by wire bonding, a space for routing an indispensable wire is unnecessary, and the droplet discharge head can be thinned. Furthermore, since the drive circuit unit can be mounted on the protective substrate, the entire droplet discharge head including the drive circuit unit can be advantageously reduced in thickness and size.

  The droplet discharge head of the present invention includes a plurality of the nozzle openings, the pressure generating chambers corresponding to the nozzle openings, and the driving elements, and the protection substrate includes a plurality of the connections corresponding to the driving elements. A hole is provided, and the drive circuit unit and each drive element can be electrically connected via a conductive member disposed in each connection hole. That is, the present invention can be particularly suitably used for a droplet discharge head in which a plurality of nozzle openings are arranged and pressure generating chambers and driving elements are arranged corresponding to the nozzle openings.

In the liquid droplet ejection head of the present invention, a concave element holding portion that accommodates the drive element and seals between the pressure generation chamber is formed on the drive element side of the protective substrate. be able to.
With this configuration, the driving element can be sealed between the protective substrate and the pressure generation chamber, so that the liquid droplets have excellent reliability by preventing deterioration of the driving element due to the external environment. An ejection head can be obtained.

In the liquid droplet ejection head according to the aspect of the invention, the driving element is disposed so as to partially extend outward from the element holding portion, and the extension portion serves as the circuit connection portion and is electrically connected to the conductive member. A connected configuration can also be adopted.
According to this configuration, since the entire drive element can be sealed in the element holding portion, it is possible to more effectively prevent the drive element from being deteriorated or destroyed, and the liquid droplet discharge having further excellent reliability. A head can be provided.

  In the droplet discharge head of the present invention, the end of the conductive member on the drive element side and the circuit connection portion of the drive element are electrically connected via a brazing material or a conductive adhesive It can be. According to this configuration, the connection reliability between the drive element and the conductive member can be easily ensured. As the conductive adhesive, an adhesive made of an anisotropic conductive material (an anisotropic conductive film, an anisotropic conductive paste, etc.) is preferably used. This is because electrical connection via an anisotropic conductive material is suitable for electrical connection between terminals provided at a narrow pitch, and excellent connection reliability can be obtained.

  In the droplet discharge head of the present invention, it is preferable that the conductive member is made of a brazing material or a conductive resin material. By using a material that can be handled by a liquid material such as a brazing material or a conductive resin material, the liquid material can be reliably and easily injected into a narrow connection hole. It can be formed, and a droplet discharge head excellent in manufacturability can be obtained.

In the liquid droplet ejection head according to the present invention, a wiring pattern formed on the protective substrate is electrically connected to an end of the conductive member on the side of the driving circuit, and the driving circuit is formed on the wiring pattern. It is preferable that the portion is mounted.
According to this configuration, it is possible to provide a droplet discharge head in which the drive circuit unit is mounted on the protective substrate, and is made thin and compact as a whole. In addition, since the wiring pattern is interposed between the drive circuit unit and the conductive member, it is not necessary to match the terminal pitch of the drive circuit unit with the pitch of the conductive member formed in accordance with the pitch of the drive element. Cost reduction can be achieved.

  In the liquid droplet ejection head according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the drive circuit unit is flip-chip mounted on the wiring pattern. According to this configuration, electrical connection between the drive circuit unit and the wiring pattern can be performed with good workability. Further, flip chip mounting is suitable for mounting on a narrow pitch wiring pattern.

A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention includes a pressure generation chamber communicating with a nozzle opening for discharging droplets, and a drive element that is disposed outside the pressure generation chamber and causes a pressure change in the pressure generation chamber. A protective substrate provided on the opposite side of the pressure generating chamber across the drive element, and a drive circuit provided on the opposite side of the drive element across the protective substrate to supply an electrical signal to the drive element And a step of forming a connection hole penetrating the protection substrate in the protection substrate, and a step of providing a conductive member inside the connection hole. It is characterized by that.
According to this manufacturing method, it is possible to manufacture a droplet discharge head having a structure in which the drive element and the drive circuit unit are connected via the conductive member embedded in the connection hole of the protective substrate. If the protective substrate is provided with a connection hole, there is no need to operate a tool in the vicinity of the driving element as in wire bonding, so that the driving element can be reduced even when the driving element is narrowed and wire bonding is difficult. Electrical connection with the drive circuit unit can be performed with good workability.

  In the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head of the present invention, it is preferable that the connection hole is formed by a dry etching method. By forming by dry etching method, it becomes possible to form deep through-holes while suppressing the flat area at the opening end of the connection hole, and it is possible to cope with the narrowing of the drive element accompanying the narrowing of the pitch of the nozzle openings. It becomes easy.

  In the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention, it is preferable to inject a liquid brazing material or a conductive resin material into the opening when the conductive member is provided. According to this manufacturing method, even when the thickness of the protective substrate is about several μm, it is possible to efficiently and surely form the conductive member in the connection hole, thereby manufacturing a highly reliable droplet discharge head. can do.

In the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head of the present invention, a flow path is formed having a plurality of the pressure generation chambers and reservoirs communicated with the plurality of pressure generation chambers by partially removing the plate-like substrate. A step of producing a substrate, a step of disposing the driving element at a position corresponding to the pressure generating chamber on the flow path forming substrate, and the protective substrate on the flow path forming substrate so as to cover the driving element. A step of joining the flow path forming substrate and the protective substrate to one end side of a conductive member provided on the protective substrate or on the flow path forming substrate. It is also possible to arrange a bonding material made of a brazing material or a conductive adhesive in the circuit connection portion of the element, and to electrically connect the conductive member and the driving element via the bonding material.
According to this manufacturing method, the drive element is formed on the flow path forming substrate in which a plurality of pressure generating chambers are defined, and the conductive member is embedded in the flow path forming substrate on which the drive element is formed. Since the droplet discharge head is obtained by bonding the protective substrate, the connection between the drive element and the conductive member can be reliably performed with good workability, and the droplet discharge head excellent in electrical reliability can be efficiently manufactured. Can do.

  The liquid droplet ejection apparatus of the present invention is characterized by including the above-described liquid droplet ejection head of the present invention. According to this configuration, it is possible to provide a droplet discharge device that includes a droplet discharge head with a narrow nozzle pitch and can perform high-definition image formation and microdevice formation satisfactorily by the droplet discharge method.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following description, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is set, and the positional relationship of each member will be described with reference to this XYZ orthogonal coordinate system. A predetermined direction in the horizontal plane is defined as the X-axis direction, a direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction in the horizontal plane is defined as the Y-axis direction, and a direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction (that is, the vertical direction) is defined as the Z-axis direction.

<Droplet ejection head>
An embodiment of a droplet discharge head will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a perspective configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a droplet discharge head, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the droplet discharge head viewed from below, and FIG. 3 is taken along line AA in FIG. FIG.

  The droplet discharge head 1 of the present embodiment discharges a functional liquid in the form of droplets from a nozzle. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the droplet discharge head 1 includes a nozzle substrate 16 having nozzle openings 15 from which droplets are discharged, and a flow that is connected to the upper surface of the nozzle substrate 16 to form an ink flow path. The path forming substrate 10, the diaphragm 400 connected to the upper surface of the channel forming substrate 10 and displaced by driving the piezoelectric element (driving element) 300, and the reservoir formation connected to the upper surface of the diaphragm 400 to form the reservoir 100. A substrate (protective substrate) 20, four drive circuit units (driver ICs) 200A to 200D for driving the piezoelectric element 300 provided on the reservoir forming substrate 20, a drive circuit unit 200A to 200D, and a piezoelectric element And a wiring pattern (conductive pattern) 34 for electrically connecting to 300.

The operation of the droplet discharge head 1 is controlled by an external controller (not shown) connected to the drive circuit units 200A to 200D. In the flow path forming substrate 10 shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of substantially comb-shaped opening regions in plan view are defined, and a portion of these opening regions extending in the X-axis direction is a nozzle. The pressure generating chamber 12 is formed by being surrounded by the substrate 16 and the diaphragm 400. During the operation of the droplet discharge head 1, the functional liquid is stored in the pressure generation chamber 12, and the functional liquid is discharged from the nozzle opening 15 by the pressure applied to the pressure generation chamber 12.
In addition, a portion extending in the Y direction in the figure in the substantially comb-shaped opening region in plan view is surrounded by the reservoir forming substrate 20 and the flow path forming substrate 10 to form the reservoir 100. The reservoir 100 preliminarily holds a functional liquid to be supplied to the pressure generation chamber 12.

2 and 3, the lower surface side (−Z side) of the flow path forming substrate 10 is open, and the nozzle substrate 16 is connected to the lower surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 so as to cover the opening. ing. The lower surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 and the nozzle substrate 16 are fixed via, for example, an adhesive or a heat welding film. The nozzle substrate 16 is provided with a plurality of nozzle openings 15 for discharging droplets.
Specifically, the plurality of nozzle openings 15 provided in the nozzle substrate 16 are arranged in the Y-axis direction. In the present embodiment, a group of nozzle openings 15 arranged in a plurality of regions on the nozzle substrate 16 are arranged. These are referred to as a first nozzle opening group 15A, a second nozzle opening group 15B, a third nozzle opening group 15C, and a fourth nozzle opening group 15D, respectively.

The first nozzle opening group 15A and the second nozzle opening group 15B are disposed so as to face each other in the X-axis direction. The third nozzle opening group 15C is provided on the + Y side of the first nozzle opening group 15A, and the fourth nozzle opening group 15D is provided on the + Y side of the second nozzle opening group 15B. The third nozzle opening group 15C and the fourth nozzle opening group 15D are arranged so as to face each other in the X-axis direction.
In FIG. 2, each of the nozzle opening groups 15 </ b> A to 15 </ b> D is shown to be configured by six nozzle openings 15, but in actuality, each nozzle opening group has, for example, about 720 nozzle openings. 15.

  A plurality of partition walls 11 extending in the X direction from the center portion are formed inside the flow path forming substrate 10. In the case of this embodiment, the flow path forming substrate 10 is formed of silicon, and the plurality of partition walls 11 partially remove the silicon single crystal substrate that is the base material of the flow path forming substrate 10 by anisotropic etching. Is formed. A plurality of spaces defined by the flow path forming substrate 10 having the plurality of partition walls 11, the nozzle substrate 16, and the diaphragm 400 are pressure generation chambers 12.

Each pressure generating chamber 12 is provided corresponding to a plurality of nozzle openings 15. That is, a plurality of pressure generation chambers 12 are provided side by side in the Y-axis direction so as to correspond to the plurality of nozzle openings 15 constituting each of the first to fourth nozzle opening groups 15A to 15D. A plurality of pressure generation chambers 12 corresponding to the first nozzle opening group 15A constitute a first pressure generation chamber group 12A, and a plurality of pressure generation chambers 12 formed corresponding to the second nozzle opening group 15B. Constitutes the second pressure generating chamber group 12B, and a plurality of pressure generating chambers 12 formed corresponding to the third nozzle opening group 15C constitute the third pressure generating chamber group 12C and correspond to the fourth nozzle opening group 15D. A plurality of pressure generation chambers 12 constitute a fourth pressure generation chamber group 12D.
The first pressure generation chamber group 12A and the second pressure generation chamber group 12B are arranged to face each other in the X-axis direction, and a partition wall 10K is formed between them. Similarly, a partition 10K is also formed between the third pressure generation chamber group 12C and the fourth pressure generation chamber group 12D, and they are arranged so as to face each other in the X-axis direction.

  The ends of the plurality of pressure generating chambers 12 forming the first pressure generating chamber group 12A on the substrate center side (−X side) are closed by the partition wall 10K described above, but on the substrate outer edge side (+ X side). The ends are assembled so as to be connected to each other, and are connected to the reservoir 100. The reservoir 100 temporarily holds the functional liquid between the functional liquid inlet 25 and the pressure generation chamber 12 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and extends to the reservoir forming substrate 20 in the Y-axis direction. The formed reservoir portion 21 and the communication portion 13 formed on the flow path forming substrate 10 so as to extend in the Y-axis direction and connecting the reservoir portion 21 and each of the pressure generation chambers 12 are configured. That is, the reservoir 100 is a functional liquid holding chamber (ink chamber) common to the plurality of pressure generating chambers 12 constituting the first pressure generating chamber group 12A. Looking at the path of the functional liquid shown in FIG. 3, the functional liquid introduced from the functional liquid inlet 25 flows into the reservoir 100 through the introduction path 26, and configures the first pressure generation chamber group 12 </ b> A through the supply path 14. The plurality of pressure generating chambers 12 are supplied to each of the plurality of pressure generating chambers 12.

  In addition, a reservoir 100 similar to that described above is connected to each of the pressure generation chambers 12 constituting each of the second, third, and fourth pressure generation chamber groups 12B, 12C, and 12D. The temporary storage part of the functional fluid supplied to the pressure generation chamber groups 12B to 12D communicated via the above is configured.

  The vibration plate 400 disposed between the flow path forming substrate 10 and the reservoir forming substrate 20 has a structure in which the elastic film 50 and the lower electrode film 60 are laminated in order from the flow path forming substrate 10 side. The elastic film 50 disposed on the flow path forming substrate 10 side is made of a silicon oxide film having a thickness of about 1 to 2 μm, for example, and the lower electrode film 60 is a metal film having a thickness of about 0.2 μm, for example. It consists of In the present embodiment, the lower electrode film 60 functions as a common electrode for a plurality of piezoelectric elements 300 disposed between the flow path forming substrate 10 and the reservoir forming substrate 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, the piezoelectric element 300 for deforming the diaphragm 400 has a structure in which a piezoelectric film 70 and an upper electrode film 80 are laminated in order from the lower electrode film 60 side. The thickness of the piezoelectric film 70 is, for example, about 1 μm, and the thickness of the upper electrode film 80 is, for example, about 0.1 μm.
The concept of the piezoelectric element 300 may include the lower electrode film 60 in addition to the piezoelectric film 70 and the upper electrode film 80. This is because the lower electrode film 60 functions as the piezoelectric element 300 and also functions as the diaphragm 400. In the present embodiment, a configuration in which the elastic film 50 and the lower electrode film 60 function as the diaphragm 400 is employed, but the elastic film 50 is omitted and the lower electrode film 60 also serves as the elastic film (50). You can also.

A plurality of piezoelectric elements 300 (the piezoelectric film 70 and the upper electrode film 80) are provided so as to correspond to the plurality of nozzle openings 15 and the pressure generating chambers 12, respectively.
In the present embodiment, for the sake of convenience, a group of piezoelectric elements 300 provided in a line in the Y-axis direction so as to correspond to each of the nozzle openings 15 constituting the first nozzle opening group 15A is referred to as a first piezoelectric element group. I will call it. Similarly, a group of piezoelectric elements 300 provided in a line in the Y-axis direction so as to correspond to each of the nozzle openings 15 constituting the second nozzle opening group 15B is referred to as a second piezoelectric element group. Further, a group of piezoelectric elements 300 corresponding to the third nozzle opening group 15C is referred to as a third piezoelectric element group, and a group of piezoelectric elements 300 corresponding to the fourth nozzle opening group 15D is referred to as a fourth piezoelectric element group. .

  The first piezoelectric element group and the second piezoelectric element group are arranged to face each other in the X-axis direction. Similarly, the third and fourth piezoelectric element groups respectively corresponding to the third and fourth nozzle opening groups 15C and 15D are disposed so as to face each other in the X-axis direction.

  A compliance substrate 30 having a structure in which a sealing film 31 and a fixing plate 32 are laminated is joined to the outside of the reservoir forming substrate 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 (on the side opposite to the flow path forming substrate 10). In the compliance substrate 30, the sealing film 31 disposed on the inner side is made of a material having low rigidity and flexibility (for example, a polyphenylene sulfide film having a thickness of about 6 μm). The upper part of is sealed. On the other hand, the fixed plate 32 disposed on the outside is a plate-like member made of a hard material such as metal (for example, stainless steel having a thickness of about 30 μm). The fixing plate 32 has an opening 33 formed by cutting out a planar region corresponding to the reservoir 100. With this configuration, the upper portion of the reservoir 100 is sealed only by the flexible sealing film 31. The flexible portion 22 can be deformed by a change in internal pressure.

  Normally, when the functional liquid is supplied to the reservoir 100 from the functional liquid inlet 25, a pressure change occurs in the reservoir 100 due to, for example, the flow of the functional liquid when the piezoelectric element 300 is driven or the ambient heat. However, as described above, since the upper portion of the reservoir 100 is sealed only by the sealing film 31 to form the flexible portion 22, the flexible portion 22 is bent and deformed to absorb the pressure change. Therefore, the inside of the reservoir 100 is always maintained at a constant pressure. The other parts are held at a sufficient strength by the fixing plate 32. A functional liquid introduction port 25 for supplying a functional liquid to the reservoir 100 is formed on the compliance substrate 30 outside the reservoir 100, and the functional liquid introduction port 25 and the reservoir 100 are formed on the reservoir forming substrate 20. There is provided an introduction path 26 that communicates with the side wall.

As shown in FIG. 1, four drive circuit units 200 </ b> A to 200 </ b> D are disposed on the reservoir forming substrate 20. The drive circuit units 200A to 200D are configured to include, for example, a circuit board or a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) including a drive circuit.
Each of the drive circuit units 200A to 200D is mounted on a plurality of wiring patterns 34 formed on the reservoir forming substrate 20, and is arranged so that the longitudinal direction thereof is along the Y-axis direction. The wiring patterns 34 that are electrically connected to the drive circuit units 200A to 200D all extend in the X-axis direction from the inner ends of the drive circuit units 200A to 200D. At the end, it is electrically connected to a pad 35 formed on the surface of the reservoir forming substrate 20.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the wiring pattern 34 is electrically connected to the piezoelectric element 300 via a conductive member 35 embedded in the reservoir forming substrate 20. In the present embodiment, a group (six in the figure) of wiring patterns 34 electrically connected to the piezoelectric elements 300 of the first piezoelectric element group corresponding to the first nozzle opening group 15A is the first wiring group 34A. A group of wiring patterns 34 electrically connected to the piezoelectric element 300 of the second piezoelectric element group corresponding to the second nozzle opening group 15B constitutes the second wiring group 34B. Similarly, a group of wiring patterns 34 electrically connected to the piezoelectric elements 300 of the third and fourth piezoelectric element groups constitute a third wiring group 34C and a fourth wiring group 34D, respectively.

  The plurality of pads 35 connected to the first wiring group 34A and the plurality of pads 35 connected to the second wiring group 34B are arranged to face each other at the center in the X-axis direction. The plurality of pads 35 connected to the third wiring group 34C and the plurality of pads 35 connected to the fourth wiring group 34D are arranged to face each other at the center in the X-axis direction.

  A group of wiring patterns 34 constituting the first wiring group 34A is connected to the driving circuit unit 200A, and a group of wiring patterns 34 constituting the second wiring group 34B is connected to the driving circuit unit 200B, and the third wiring group 34C is connected. The group of wiring patterns 34 constituting the group is connected to the driving circuit unit 200C, and the group of wiring patterns 34 constituting the fourth wiring group 34D is connected to the driving circuit unit 200D. That is, in the liquid droplet ejection head 1 of the present embodiment, the first piezoelectric element group to the fourth piezoelectric element group respectively corresponding to the first nozzle opening group 15A to the fourth nozzle opening group 15D are different from each other in the drive circuit units 200A to 200A. A configuration driven by 200D is employed.

  That is, in the droplet discharge head 1 of the present embodiment, one pressure generating chamber 12, one piezoelectric element 300, and wiring pattern 34 (pad 35) are provided for each nozzle opening 15. In addition, one reservoir 100 and one drive circuit unit 200A are provided corresponding to the nozzle opening group 15A including a group of nozzle openings 15 arranged side by side in the Y-axis direction.

  In FIG. 1, each wiring group has six wiring patterns 34, but this is only illustrated in accordance with the number of nozzle openings 15 and the number of pressure generating chambers 12 shown in FIG. 2. First, as described above, since the wiring patterns 34 included in the respective wiring groups 34A to 34D are connected to the corresponding piezoelectric elements 300, the nozzle openings 15 included in the nozzle opening groups 15A to 15D are connected. For example, if the number is 720, the number of wiring patterns 34 constituting one wiring group is also 720.

  A portion of the reservoir forming substrate 20 that seals the plurality of piezoelectric elements 300 connected to the circuit driving unit 200A is referred to as a first sealing unit 20A, and the plurality of piezoelectric elements 300 connected to the driving circuit unit 200B are included. Assuming that the sealed portion is the second sealing portion 20B, the first sealing portion 20A and the second sealing portion 20B are respectively in regions facing the piezoelectric element 300, as shown in FIG. A piezoelectric element holding portion (element holding portion) 24 that secures a space that does not hinder the movement of the piezoelectric element 300 and seals the space is provided. Of the piezoelectric element 300, at least the piezoelectric film 70 is sealed in the piezoelectric element holding portion 24.

  Similarly, a portion of the reservoir forming substrate 20 that seals the plurality of piezoelectric elements 300 connected to the circuit driving unit 200C is a third sealing unit, and the plurality of piezoelectric elements 300 connected to the driving circuit 200D. As the fourth sealing portion, the third sealing portion and the fourth sealing portion each have a space that does not hinder the movement of the piezoelectric element 300, and the space A piezoelectric element holding part for sealing is provided.

  In the case of this embodiment, the piezoelectric element holding part (24) provided in each of the first to fourth sealing parts is dimensioned to seal the entire piezoelectric element 300 included in each piezoelectric element group, A concave portion having a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view extending in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 3 is formed. The piezoelectric element holding portion may be partitioned for each piezoelectric element 300.

  As described above, the reservoir forming substrate 20 has a function as a sealing member that seals the piezoelectric element 300 by blocking the piezoelectric element 300 from the external environment. By sealing the piezoelectric element 300 with the reservoir forming substrate 20, it is possible to prevent deterioration of characteristics of the piezoelectric element 300 due to an external environment such as moisture. Further, in this embodiment, the inside of the piezoelectric element holding part 24 is only sealed, but for example, the space inside the piezoelectric element holding part 24 is evacuated, or the piezoelectric element holding part 24 has a nitrogen or argon atmosphere or the like. Configurations that hold the inside of the element holding portion 24 at a low humidity can also be adopted, and the deterioration of the piezoelectric element 300 can be more effectively prevented by these configurations.

Since the reservoir forming substrate 20 is a member that forms the base of the droplet discharge head 1 together with the flow path forming substrate 10, it is preferable that the reservoir forming substrate 20 be a rigid body, and the material forming the reservoir forming substrate 20 is substantially the same as the flow path forming substrate 10. It is more preferable to use a material having a thermal expansion coefficient.
In the present embodiment, since the flow path forming substrate 10 is made of silicon, a silicon single crystal substrate made of the same material as that is preferably used. When a silicon substrate is used, high-precision processing can be easily performed by anisotropic etching, so that an advantage that the piezoelectric element holding portion 24 and the like can be easily formed is obtained. In addition, similarly to the flow path forming substrate 10, the reservoir forming substrate 20 can be manufactured using glass, a ceramic material, or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the piezoelectric element 300 sealed by the piezoelectric element holding part 24 of the first sealing part 20A, the end on the −X side of the upper electrode film 80 extends to the center part in the figure. Yes. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, when a part of the lower electrode film 60 is arranged on the flow path forming substrate 10 in a substantially solid shape, the upper electrode film 80 extending outside the piezoelectric element holding portion 24 and An insulating film 600 is interposed between the lower electrode film 60 to prevent a short circuit therebetween.

  Similarly, in the piezoelectric element 300 sealed by the piezoelectric element holding part 24 of the second sealing part 20B, the + X side end of the upper electrode film 80 extends from the piezoelectric element holding part 24 to the central part in the figure. An insulating film 600 is interposed between the upper electrode film 80 and the lower electrode film 60 that extend and are located in a region outside the piezoelectric element holding portion 24. Further, although not shown, in the piezoelectric element 300 sealed by the third and fourth sealing portions, a part of the upper electrode film 80 is extended to the outside of the piezoelectric element holding portion. Yes.

  2 which penetrates the reservoir forming substrate 20 in the thickness direction at a position overlapping the tip of the upper electrode film 80 formed extending from each of the first sealing portion 20A and the second sealing portion 20B. Two connection holes 20a are provided. Conductive members 36 are respectively formed in these connection holes 20 a, and the end of the conductive member 36 on the −Z side (flow path forming substrate 10 side) is electrically connected to the upper electrode film 80. A pad 35 formed on the reservoir forming substrate 20 is connected to the end of the conductive member 36 on the + Z side, and the wiring pattern 34 and the conductive member 36 are electrically connected via the pad 35. ing. The wiring pattern 34 extends from the connection portion with the pad 35 to the outside in the figure (X-axis direction), and the driving circuit unit 200A or the driving circuit unit 200B is flip-chip mounted thereon.

With such a configuration, the drive circuit units 200A to 200D and the plurality of piezoelectric elements 300 corresponding to the respective drive circuit units are electrically connected, and the drive circuit units 200A to 200D form the piezoelectric element 300. It is designed to be driven.
In the case of the present embodiment, a part of the upper electrode film 80 that forms a connection portion with the conductive member 36 in the piezoelectric element 300 is a circuit connection portion of the piezoelectric element 300. In the configuration of the present embodiment, a part of the upper electrode film 80 constituting a part of the piezoelectric element 300 extends to the outside of the piezoelectric element holding portion 24 to form the circuit connection portion. It is also possible to form electrode wirings connected to each other on the flow path forming substrate 10 and to draw out the electrode wirings to the outside of the piezoelectric element holding portion 24 to be electrically connected to the conductive member 36. In this case, the electrode wiring electrically connected to the upper electrode film 80 becomes a circuit connection portion of the piezoelectric element 300.

  Here, the conductive connection structure between one end of the conductive member 36 and the piezoelectric element 300 (upper electrode film 80) may be a brazing material, an anisotropic conductive film (ACF) or an anisotropic conductive paste (ACP: An anisotropic conductive material including an anisotropic conductive paste) may be used. With a conductive connection structure using a brazing material or an anisotropic conductive material, the conductive connection between the conductive member 36 and the piezoelectric element 300 is performed simultaneously when the flow path forming substrate 10 and the reservoir forming substrate 20 are bonded. be able to.

  As described above, in the liquid droplet ejection head 1 of the present embodiment, the connection hole 20a penetrating the reservoir forming substrate 20 in the thickness direction is provided at a predetermined position of the reservoir forming substrate 20, and the conductive member 36 is formed therein. Yes. On the inner surface side (the flow path forming substrate 10 side) of the reservoir forming substrate 20, the circuit connecting portion (upper electrode film 80) of the piezoelectric element 300 extended from the piezoelectric element holding portion 24 is connected to the conductive member 36. The drive circuit portions 200A to 200D are mounted on the wiring pattern 34 that is electrically connected to one end and is connected to the other end of the conductive member 36 via the pad 35 on the outer surface side of the reservoir forming substrate 20. It has become. Thereby, in the droplet discharge head 1 of the present embodiment, a space for drawing a wire, such as a structure for connecting the drive circuit unit and the piezoelectric element by wire bonding, is not required, and the droplet discharge head 1 can be thinned. It has become a thing.

  Further, since the connection holes 20a for embedding the conductive members 36 can be accurately formed in the reservoir forming substrate 20 by photolithography, even when the nozzle openings 15 are narrowed, the connection holes 20a are narrowed accordingly. The conductive member 36 can be formed so as to be accurately positioned with respect to the arranged piezoelectric elements 300, and the droplet discharge head 1 capable of forming a high-definition image or a functional film pattern can be obtained.

  In order to eject droplets of the functional liquid by the droplet discharge head 1 having the above-described configuration, an external controller (not shown) connected to the droplet discharge head 1 is connected to the functional liquid inlet 25 (not shown). The external functional liquid supply device is driven. The functional liquid delivered from the external functional liquid supply device fills the internal flow path of the droplet discharge head 1 from the functional liquid introduction port 25 to the reservoir 100 to the nozzle opening 15.

Further, the external controller transmits drive power and a command signal to the drive circuit unit 200A and the like mounted on the reservoir forming substrate 20. The drive circuit units 200A to 200D that have received the command signal or the like transmit a drive signal based on the command from the external controller to each piezoelectric element 300 that is conductively connected via the wiring pattern 34, the pad 35, the conductive member 36, and the like. .
Then, as a result of applying a voltage between the lower electrode film 60 and the upper electrode film 80 corresponding to the pressure generating chamber 12, the elastic film 50, the lower electrode film 60, and the piezoelectric film 70 are displaced. Due to the displacement, the volume of each pressure generating chamber 12 changes to increase the internal pressure, and a droplet is ejected from the nozzle opening 15.

<Method for manufacturing droplet discharge head>
Next, a method for manufacturing the droplet discharge head 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 4 and the sectional process diagrams in FIGS.

First, the outline of the manufacturing process of the droplet discharge head 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
In order to manufacture the droplet discharge head 1, anisotropic etching is performed on the silicon single crystal substrate to form the pressure generation chamber 12, the supply path 14, the communication portion 13, and the like shown in FIG. 10 is manufactured (step SA1). Thereafter, the elastic film 50 and the lower electrode film 60 are laminated and formed on the flow path forming substrate 10, and then the piezoelectric film 70 and the upper electrode film 80 are patterned on the lower electrode film 60 to form the piezoelectric element 300. Form (step SA2).

  Further, in a step different from steps SA1 and SA2, anisotropic etching is performed on the silicon single crystal substrate to form the piezoelectric element 24 and the introduction path 36, and the connection hole 20a and the reservoir portion 21 are formed by using a dry etching method. By forming, the reservoir forming substrate 20 is produced (step SA3). Next, the conductive member 36 is formed in the connection hole 20a of the reservoir forming substrate 20, and the compliance substrate 30 is bonded onto the reservoir forming substrate 20 to form the wiring pattern 34 (step SA4).

Next, the reservoir forming substrate 20 that has undergone step SA4 is aligned with the position that covers the piezoelectric element 300 on the flow passage forming substrate 10 that has undergone step SA2 (step SA5), and then the flow path forming substrate 10 and the reservoir forming substrate. 20 is bonded, and the upper electrode film 80 (circuit connection portion) of the piezoelectric element 300 and the conductive member 36 are connected (step SA6). Next, the drive circuit portions 200A to 200D are flip-chip mounted on the wiring pattern 34 on the reservoir forming substrate 20 (step SA7).
Through the above steps, the droplet discharge head 1 can be manufactured.

Next, the manufacturing process (step SA3) of the reservoir forming substrate 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Each figure shown in FIG. 5 is a figure corresponding to the schematic cross-sectional structure along the AA line of FIG.
First, as shown in FIG. 5A, a silicon single crystal substrate 120 is prepared, and a silicon oxide film 121 is formed on the surface of the silicon single crystal substrate 120 using a thermal CVD method.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, the lower surface (−Z side surface) of the silicon single crystal substrate 120 is partially removed by anisotropic etching to form the piezoelectric element holding portion 24. Specifically, prior to anisotropic etching, a mask material (not shown) having an opening corresponding to a region to be removed is formed on the silicon oxide film 121 and wet etching using hydrofluoric acid or the like is performed. The silicon oxide film 121 in the region corresponding to the opening is removed. Thereafter, anisotropic etching is performed on the surface of the silicon single crystal substrate 120 exposed by the removal of the silicon oxide film 121 using a 35 wt% potassium hydroxide (KOH) aqueous solution. The mask material used for forming the piezoelectric element holding portion 24 is removed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, a mask film 122 which becomes an etching mask 123 (see FIG. 4D) for forming the connection hole 20a and the reservoir portion 21 in a later step is formed on the silicon single crystal substrate 120. Is formed on the upper surface (+ Z side surface). As the mask film 122, it is preferable to use a film of a metal material such as aluminum, which can obtain a high selectivity when etching silicon.

Next, the mask film 122 shown in FIG. 5C is partially removed by photolithography to form an etching mask 123 shown in FIG. In the etching mask 123, openings 123a and 123b for forming the reservoir portion 21 in the silicon single crystal substrate 120 and openings 123c and 123d for forming the connection hole 20a are formed.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, one reservoir portion 21 is provided for each of the pressure generating chamber groups 12 </ b> A to 12 </ b> D. Therefore, the openings 123 a and 123 b are formed in a rectangular shape in plan view extending in the Y-axis direction. The etching mask 123 is further formed with two openings having the same shape as the openings 123a and 123b. Further, since the connection hole 20a is used for electrically connecting the piezoelectric element 300 and the wiring pattern 34 formed on the upper surface of the reservoir forming substrate 20, it is formed on the flow path forming substrate 10. A plurality of piezoelectric elements 300 are provided corresponding to each piezoelectric element 300, and a plurality of the piezoelectric elements 300 are formed side by side in the Y-axis direction.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 5E, the connection hole 20 a and the reservoir portion 21 that penetrate the silicon single crystal substrate 120 in the thickness direction (Z-axis direction) are formed by dry etching through the etching mask 123. . Since the silicon single crystal substrate 120 usually has a thickness of about 600 μm, a high-speed Si etching method (for example, described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-93776) or Bosch capable of forming a through hole having a high aspect ratio. It is preferable to form the connection hole 20a and the reservoir portion 21 by using a process method (for example, described in US Pat. No. 5,501,893). According to these etching methods, high-speed etching of 20 μm / min or more is possible, and even deep through-holes can be formed quickly.
In this dry etching, the silicon oxide film 121 formed on the lower surface of the silicon single crystal substrate 120 functions as an etch stopper, and the etching stops when the silicon single crystal substrate 120 is penetrated.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5F, the etching mask 123 and the silicon oxide film 121 are removed from the silicon single crystal substrate 120, and then, as shown in FIG. The surface of the silicon single crystal substrate 120 including the surface of 21 is thermally oxidized to form an insulating film 124 made of silicon oxide on the surface. This insulating film 124 is provided in particular to insulate the inner surface of the connection hole 20a and prevent the wiring pattern and the like from being short-circuited.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (h), a conductive member 36 is formed by injecting a conductive material into the connection hole 20a in which the insulating film 124 is formed. As a method of forming the conductive member 36, for example, a method of injecting a conductive resin material or a brazing material (solder or the like) into the connection hole 20a by a vacuum injection method can be used. After the conductive member 36 is formed, next, pads 35 and 37 electrically connected to the upper and lower ends (end portions in the Z-axis direction) of the conductive member 36 are patterned using a photolithography method.

  Through the above steps, the reservoir forming substrate 20 in which the pads 35 and 37 provided on the upper and lower surfaces are electrically connected via the conductive member 36 can be manufactured. In the cross-sectional configuration of the droplet discharge head 1 shown in FIG. 3, the introduction path 26 communicating with the reservoir unit 21 is displayed outside the reservoir unit 21, but the display is omitted in FIG. 5. . Since the introduction path 26 is a through-hole penetrating the reservoir forming substrate 20 in the thickness direction, it is preferably formed simultaneously with the reservoir portion 21 and the connection hole 20a.

  In the manufacturing method according to the present embodiment, the connection hole 20a penetrating the silicon single crystal substrate 120 is formed in order to establish conduction between the upper and lower surfaces of the reservoir forming substrate 20. 21 and the above-described high-speed etching method, the number of man-hours can be saved and efficient formation can be achieved. Further, when the reservoir portion 21 is formed by anisotropic etching by wet processing, the inner wall surface becomes tapered, so that when the thickness of the silicon single crystal substrate 120 is increased, the flat area of the reservoir portion 21 is prevented from increasing. However, if the reservoir portion 21 is formed by dry etching as in this embodiment, the plane area of the reservoir portion 21 can be made constant regardless of the thickness of the silicon single crystal substrate 120. Therefore, according to the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the planar dimension of the reservoir forming substrate 20 can be reduced, and the method is suitable for manufacturing a small droplet discharge head 1.

  Next, the steps after the step of joining the reservoir forming substrate 20 manufactured in the step shown in FIG. 5 and the separately formed flow path forming substrate 10 (step SA5) will be described with reference to FIG. The partial cross-sectional structure shown in FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional structure corresponding to the central portion side of the first sealing portion 20A in the droplet discharge head 1 shown in FIG.

  First, prior to the bonding step (step SA5) described below, the compliance substrate 30 (the sealing film 31 and the fixing plate 32 shown in FIG. 3) is formed on the upper surface of the reservoir forming substrate 20 shown in FIG. At the same time, the wiring pattern 34 electrically connected to the pad 35 is formed. Further, in order to electrically connect the piezoelectric element 300 formed on the flow path forming substrate 10 and the pad 37, a conductive adhesive 39 made of a brazing material or an anisotropic conductive material is applied on the pad 37. A substrate bonding agent 38 for bonding to the flow path forming substrate 10 is applied to the lower surface of the reservoir forming substrate 20 other than the conductive adhesive 39. A thermosetting resin material or the like can be used for the substrate bonding agent 38, and it is preferable that moisture or the like is hardly transmitted to seal the piezoelectric element holding portion 24.

  Then, a flow path forming substrate prepared in a process (steps SA1 and SA2) different from the manufacturing of the reservoir forming substrate 20 shown in FIG. 5 is prepared. As shown in FIG. 6A, a pressure generating chamber 12 is formed in the flow path forming substrate 10, and a nozzle substrate 16 having a plurality of nozzle openings 15 is bonded to the lower surface side in the drawing. The vibration plate 400 (the elastic film 50 and the lower electrode film 60) is joined to the upper surface side in the drawing, and the piezoelectric element 300 (the piezoelectric film 70 and the upper electrode film 80) corresponding to the pressure generating chamber 12 is formed on the vibration plate 400. ) Is formed.

When the reservoir forming substrate 20 and the flow path forming substrate 10 are prepared, as shown in FIG. 6A, the piezoelectric element holding portion 24 of the reservoir forming substrate 20, the piezoelectric element 300 of the flow path forming substrate 10, Are positioned so that they face each other.
Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, the flow path forming substrate 10 and the reservoir forming substrate 20 are joined. Accordingly, the flow path forming substrate 10 and the reservoir forming substrate 20 are integrally bonded by the bonding agent 38 provided on the reservoir forming substrate 20, and the piezoelectric element holding portion 24 is sealed by the bonding agent 38.

  Further, the pad 37 and the upper electrode film 80 on the flow path forming substrate 10 side are electrically connected by the conductive adhesive 39 provided on the pad 37 (step SA6). When an anisotropic conductive material is used as the conductive adhesive 39, as shown in FIG. 6B, the conductive particles dispersed in the adhesive come into contact with each other in the thickness direction of the substrate due to the pressing force of bonding. Thus, the pad 37 and the upper electrode film 80 are electrically connected. In this way, the upper electrode film 80 of the piezoelectric element 300 and the wiring pattern 34 formed on the reservoir forming substrate 20 are electrically connected via the pad 35, the conductive member 36, and the pad 37.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6C, the drive circuit unit 200A is flip-chip mounted on the wiring pattern 34 on the reservoir forming substrate 20 (step SA7). Thereby, the drive circuit unit 200A and the piezoelectric element 300 are electrically connected, and the piezoelectric element 300 can be vibrated by an electric signal supplied from the drive circuit unit 200A. As described above, by mounting the drive circuit unit 200A on the reservoir forming substrate 20 provided with the wiring pattern 34, the entire droplet discharge head 1 can be made compact, and the driving of the wiring pattern 34 can be performed at the time of mounting. There is also an advantage that the positioning of the circuit unit 200A becomes easy.

  According to the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head 1 described above, the connection hole 20a in which the connection between the piezoelectric element 300 provided corresponding to the pressure generating chamber 12 and the drive circuit units 200A to 200D is formed by dry etching. The connection hole 20a is formed even when the distance in the Y-axis direction between the piezoelectric elements 300 becomes small (narrow) by reducing the nozzle pitch because the conductive member 36 is provided inside. It is easy to reduce the diameter and narrow the pitch according to the pitch of 300, and it is possible to easily manufacture the droplet discharge head 1 corresponding to the high definition of the image to be formed and the miniaturization of the functional film pattern. is there.

  Moreover, in the manufacturing method of this embodiment, since the said connection hole 20a is simultaneously formed in the same process as the reservoir | reserver part 21 connected to the pressure generation chamber 12, the formation of the connection hole 20a can be performed efficiently. Further, in the reservoir portion 21 formed at the same time, the inner wall of the opening portion is not tapered like the anisotropic etching by wet processing, and the opening area on the substrate surface can be reduced. The entire droplet discharge head 1 can be made compact.

<Droplet ejection device>
Next, an example of a droplet discharge device including the above-described droplet discharge head 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In this example, an ink jet recording apparatus including the above-described droplet discharge head will be described as an example.

  The droplet discharge head constitutes a part of a recording head unit having an ink flow path communicating with an ink cartridge or the like, and is mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus. As shown in FIG. 7, the recording head units 1A and 1B having the droplet discharge heads are detachably provided with cartridges 2A and 2B constituting ink supply means, and the recording head units 1A and 1B are mounted. The carriage 3 is attached to a carriage shaft 5 attached to the apparatus main body 4 so as to be movable in the axial direction.

  The recording head units 1A and 1B, for example, are configured to eject a black ink composition and a color ink composition, respectively. Then, the driving force of the driving motor 6 is transmitted to the carriage 3 via a plurality of gears and a timing belt 7 (not shown), so that the carriage 3 on which the recording head units 1A and 1B are mounted moves along the carriage shaft 5. It is like that. On the other hand, the apparatus body 4 is provided with a platen 8 along the carriage shaft 5, and a recording sheet S which is a recording medium such as paper fed by a paper feed roller (not shown) is conveyed onto the platen 8. It is like that. Since the ink jet recording apparatus having the above configuration includes the above-described droplet discharge head, the ink jet recording apparatus is small, highly reliable, and low in cost.

  In FIG. 7, an ink jet recording apparatus as a single printer is shown as an example of the droplet discharge apparatus of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a printer realized by incorporating such a droplet discharge head. It can also be applied to units. Such a printer unit is attached to a display device such as a television or an input device such as a whiteboard, and is used to print an image displayed or input by the display device or the input device.

  The droplet discharge head can also be applied to a droplet discharge apparatus for forming various devices by a liquid phase method. In this embodiment, as the functional liquid discharged from the droplet discharge head, a liquid crystal display device forming material for forming a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL forming material for forming an organic EL display device, an electronic circuit A material including a wiring pattern forming material for forming a wiring pattern is used. According to the manufacturing process in which these functional liquids are selectively arranged on a substrate by a droplet discharge device, the pattern arrangement of the functional material is possible without going through a photolithography process, so a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL device, a circuit board Etc. can be manufactured at low cost.

FIG. 2 is a perspective configuration diagram of a droplet discharge head according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective configuration diagram of the droplet discharge head as viewed from below. The cross-sectional block diagram which follows the AA line of FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a manufacturing process of a droplet discharge head. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram for explaining a manufacturing process of a droplet discharge head. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram for explaining a manufacturing process of a droplet discharge head. The perspective block diagram which shows an example of a droplet discharge device.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Droplet discharge head, 15 ... Nozzle opening, 15A-15D ... Nozzle opening group, 20 ... Reservoir formation board (protection board), 20a ... Connection hole, 21 ... Reservoir part (reservoir), 24 ... Piezoelectric element holding part ( Element holding part), 34 ... wiring pattern, 34A to 34D ... wiring group, 35, 37 ... pad, 36 ... conductive member, 70 ... piezoelectric film, 80 ... upper electrode film (circuit connection part), 200A-200D ... driving Circuit part, 300 ... piezoelectric element (driving element)

Claims (13)

A pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle opening for discharging droplets; a driving element disposed outside the pressure generating chamber to cause a pressure change in the pressure generating chamber; and the pressure generating chamber sandwiching the driving element And a protective substrate provided on the opposite side,
A drive circuit unit that supplies an electric signal to the drive element is provided on the opposite side of the drive element across the protective substrate,
A droplet characterized in that a conductive member for electrically connecting the drive circuit portion and the circuit connection portion of the drive element is provided in a connection hole penetrating the protective substrate in the thickness direction. Discharge head. A plurality of the nozzle openings, and the pressure generating chambers and the driving elements corresponding to the nozzle openings,
The protective substrate is provided with a plurality of the connection holes corresponding to the drive elements,
2. The droplet discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the drive circuit unit and each drive element are electrically connected via a conductive member disposed in each connection hole.   3. The concave element holding portion for accommodating the driving element and sealing between the pressure generating chamber and the driving element side of the protective substrate is formed. Droplet discharge head.   The drive element is disposed so as to partially extend outward from the element holding portion, and the extension portion is used as the circuit connection portion and is electrically connected to the conductive member. The droplet discharge head according to claim 3.   The end of the conductive member on the drive element side and the circuit connection portion of the drive element are electrically connected via a brazing material or a conductive adhesive. The droplet discharge head according to any one of the above.   The droplet discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the conductive member is made of a brazing material or a conductive resin material. A wiring pattern formed on the protective substrate is electrically connected to an end of the conductive member on the drive circuit unit side,
The liquid droplet ejection head according to claim 1, wherein the drive circuit unit is mounted on the wiring pattern.   The liquid droplet ejection head according to claim 7, wherein the drive circuit unit is flip-chip mounted on the wiring pattern. A pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle opening for discharging droplets; a driving element disposed outside the pressure generating chamber to cause a pressure change in the pressure generating chamber; and the pressure generating chamber sandwiching the driving element Manufacturing method of a droplet discharge head comprising: a protective substrate provided on the opposite side of the drive substrate; and a drive circuit unit provided on the opposite side of the drive element across the protective substrate and supplying an electric signal to the drive element Because
Forming a connection hole penetrating the protective substrate in the protective substrate;
Providing a conductive member inside the connection hole;
A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head, comprising:   The method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 9, wherein the connection hole is formed by a dry etching method.   11. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 9, wherein a liquid brazing material or a conductive resin material is injected into the opening when the conductive member is provided. Producing a flow path forming substrate having a plurality of the pressure generation chambers by partially removing a plate-like base material and a reservoir communicated with the plurality of pressure generation chambers;
Disposing the drive element at a position corresponding to the pressure generating chamber on the flow path forming substrate;
Bonding the protective substrate on the flow path forming substrate so as to cover the drive element,
When joining the flow path forming substrate and the protective substrate,
A bonding material made of a brazing material or a conductive adhesive is disposed on one end side of the conductive member provided on the protective substrate or on the circuit connection portion of the driving element disposed on the flow path forming substrate, and the bonding is performed. The method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 9, wherein the conductive member and the drive element are electrically connected via a material.   A droplet discharge apparatus comprising the droplet discharge head according to claim 1.

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