JP2006321206A - Inkjet head and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet head which makes the improvement of the shape stability of a liquid passage section and the enhancement of the adhesive strength (joining strength) between a liquid feeding member such as a manifold and the liquid passage compatible, while having higher stability for the structure and feeding, and a method for manufacturing the same head. <P>SOLUTION: In the inkjet head 10 (10'), the liquid passage 30 for delivering a liquid to the object to be drawn is formed on the upper surface of a substrate 20. The liquid passage 30 is provided with a passage 39 that is parallel to the upper surface of the substrate 20. A protective section 80 (80') is arranged on a feeding area 40 that is a part of the liquid passage 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet head for use in a fine dot forming apparatus for forming a fine pattern with fine dots and a method for manufacturing the same.

  2. Description of the Related Art Today, as printers that print characters or images on paper or the like, so-called ink jet printers that use a system in which fine ink droplets are sprayed onto paper for printing are widely used.

In addition, the above-described inkjet technology is also applied to the formation of fine patterns in color filters for liquid crystal display devices and the like, and the formation of conductor patterns on printed wiring boards, which were conventionally processed by photolithography technology. It has become so.
Therefore, in recent years, by applying this ink jet technology, fine ink dots can be applied to drawing objects (for example, color filters for liquid crystal displays, printed wiring boards, etc.), and fine dots can be formed with high accuracy. Development of forming equipment is active.

  Such a micro dot forming apparatus requires an ink jet head that can stably eject ink onto a drawing target and land ink dots with high accuracy at a desired position.

  By the way, in order to apply minute ink dots to a drawing target, it is necessary to control the shape of the liquid (ink) ejected from the inkjet head to a minute shape, for example, φ10 μm or less. However, the smaller the shape of the liquid, the greater the proportion of the cross-sectional area that receives air resistance compared to the inertial mass of the liquid. For this reason, in the ejection method that does not give acceleration to the fluid that floats in the air, the accuracy with which the ink dots are landed at a desired position is significantly reduced.

  Therefore, in order to land the minute ink dots as described above on the drawing target accurately, an electrostatic suction type ink jet that applies an electrostatic force to a fluid floating in the air is used.

  In this electrostatic suction type inkjet head, in order to spray a fluid onto a drawing target, it is necessary to sufficiently concentrate the electric field on the meniscus of the fluid formed on the nozzle surface of the inkjet head.

  In order to effectively concentrate the electric field on the meniscus, it is preferable that the liquid discharge port has a cylindrical structure protruding as much as possible. Further, in order to make the ink dots ejected to the drawing target minute, it is desirable that the shape of the opening provided in the nozzle is as small as possible.

  For example, a fine pattern forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 11 has been proposed as an ink jet apparatus that discharges such fine ink dots (Patent Document 1). FIG. 11 shows a conventional technique and is a cross-sectional view showing a main configuration of a fine pattern forming apparatus. That is, in this fine pattern forming apparatus, a through hole is formed in the silicon substrate as a fluid flow path (discharge fluid flow path) for discharging, and one opening of the through hole is used as a fluid discharge port. A configuration is disclosed.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the fine pattern forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a silicon substrate 102, a main electrode 106 and a support member 108 provided on the surface 102a side of the silicon substrate 102, and the silicon substrate 102. Counter electrode 107 disposed at a predetermined interval on the back surface 102b side, and a flow path 109 for supplying a discharge fluid to a gap between the silicon substrate 102 and the support member 108.

  The silicon substrate 102 includes a plurality of micro holes 103 penetrating from the front surface 102 a to the back surface 102 b, and a silicon oxide layer 104 is formed in the micro holes 103. Further, the opening 103b in the back surface 102b is exposed at the drawing medium side facing the ink jet head, and is formed at the tip of a nozzle 105 made of silicon oxide so as to protrude from the back surface 102b. The nozzle 105 is formed integrally with the silicon oxide layer 104 described above.

  Patent Document 2 discloses the production of a fine nozzle in a fine pattern forming apparatus in which a plating film is formed on a sidewall of a hole penetrating a substrate to form a flow path, and one end of the flow path is a fluid discharge port. A method is disclosed. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a fine nozzle showing the manufacturing method along the steps.

  That is, the manufacturing method of the fine nozzle is realized by the following steps.

  First, silicon nitride 251 is formed on the entire surface of the silicon substrate 202 (FIG. 12A). Next, a metal thin film 252 is formed on one surface of the silicon substrate 202, and the metal thin film 252 is patterned by photolithography and etching, thereby forming a fine opening 252a in the metal thin film 252 (FIG. 12B). )).

  Next, using the metal thin film 252 as a mask, the silicon substrate 202 is deep-etched into a shape corresponding to the fine opening 252a (FIG. 12B) to form the through-holes 203 (FIG. 12C). Further, the metal thin film 252 is removed, and a silicon oxide layer 204 is formed on the inner wall of the through microhole 203 (FIG. 12D). Further, by etching from the surface opposite to the surface on which the silicon nitride 251 (FIG. 12A) is formed in the silicon substrate 202, only the silicon substrate 202 is etched, and the silicon oxide formed inside the through microhole 203 The layer 204 is exposed so as to protrude from the etched surface of the silicon substrate 202 (FIG. 12E).

  Further, as Patent Document 3, a resin nozzle head 301 having a nozzle hole 303 penetrating from the front surface to the back surface is formed on the inner wall of the nozzle hole 303, and a part thereof protrudes in a cone shape from the tip of the nozzle hole. An ink jet printer having a protrusion 304 is disclosed.

  The inkjet printer is provided with a plurality of nozzle holes 303 (two-channel nozzle holes 303 in FIG. 13), and the protrusions 304 are formed in all channels. Further, all the channels are electrically short-circuited.

  In the ink jet printer shown in Patent Document 3, in each channel, the discharge liquid 307 is filled in a liquid flow path composed of the nozzle head 301 and the protrusion 304. The ink (discharge liquid) 307 is electrostatically sucked and discharged to the counter electrode 305 disposed opposite to the nozzle head 301 by the voltage applied by the discharge signal applying means 306 connected to the protrusion 304, and the paper ( (Drawing medium) 308.

  Moreover, in this patent document 3, as shown in FIG. 14, the manufacturing method of the nozzle head provided in the inkjet printer of the above structure is shown.

  That is, in this manufacturing method, first, as shown in FIG. 14A, a nozzle head 301 having nozzle holes 301a formed so as to penetrate the front and back surfaces of the resin member is prepared.

  Next, the copper plate 302 having the mold hole 302a whose inner surface is tapered is connected to the nozzle head 301 (FIG. 14B). Next, a nickel (Ni) layer 304 is formed by plating, and the Ni layer formed only on the medium facing surface of the nozzle is removed (FIG. 14C).

Then, only the copper plate 302 is removed using an etching solution that dissolves only copper, such as concentrated nitric acid or ammonia water (FIG. 14D). As a result, the Ni layer 304 formed on the inner wall of the copper plate 302 becomes a protrusion 304 having a shape protruding from the resin member of the nozzle head.
JP 2003-31944 A (published on November 6, 2003) JP 2002-96474 A (published April 2, 2002) JP 9-193400 A (published July 29, 1997)

  By the way, in order to form a fine dot by ejecting a liquid onto an object to be drawn by an ink jet printer, a fine fluid discharge port is required for an ink jet head provided in the ink jet printer.

  However, the nozzles of the ink jet printer shown in Patent Documents 1 to 3 form a flow path inside the nozzle, that is, a liquid flow path in the thickness direction of the substrate. As described above, in the configuration in which the liquid flow path is formed in the thickness direction of the substrate, as the flow path length of the liquid flow path increases, fine processing of deep holes with a high aspect ratio becomes indispensable. This greatly increases the difficulty of the manufacturing process.

  For this reason, in the ink jet printer shown in patent documents 1-3, the manufacturing cost at the time of manufacturing an ink jet head increases, and the problem that it becomes difficult to manufacture the ink jet head stably arises.

  Furthermore, in the configuration shown in Patent Documents 1 to 3, in addition to the difficulty in the manufacturing process of the deep hole processing described above, there is a limit of plating formation that the plating cannot be performed well at the bottom portion in the deep hole. .

  Therefore, in the ink jet printers shown in Patent Document 1 to Patent Document 3, the shape of the liquid channel is limited due to the difficulty of deep hole processing and the limit of plating formation described above, and the degree of design freedom for this channel is low. The problem arises.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an inkjet head and an inkjet head manufacturing method capable of improving the degree of freedom in designing the shape of a liquid channel. It is in.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an inkjet head according to the present invention is an inkjet head that receives a liquid and discharges the liquid to a drawing target in response to application of a voltage, and includes a substrate and a flow path through which the liquid flows. And a liquid flow path portion provided with a discharge port for discharging the liquid flowing through the flow path, and the flow path is parallel to the upper surface of the substrate. The liquid flow path portion is disposed, and a protection portion having the same height as the height from the upper surface to the surface facing the upper surface side of the liquid flow path portion is disposed. It is a feature.

  With the above configuration, the inkjet head according to the present invention can improve the degree of freedom in designing the shape of the flow path, and further improve the shape stability of the flow path provided in the liquid flow path section. In addition, it is possible to achieve both improvement in the adhesive strength between the liquid supply member such as a manifold and the liquid flow path portion.

  Specifically, in the ink jet head according to the present invention, a liquid channel portion provided with a channel so as to be configured in parallel with the upper surface is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate. For this reason, in the ink jet head according to the present invention, the shape of the flow path of the liquid flow path portion can be easily changed by patterning or the like.

  Therefore, in the ink jet head of the present invention, the degree of freedom in designing the shape of the flow path can be improved.

  That is, in the prior art, since the flow path is formed in the thickness direction of the substrate, the difficulty of the manufacturing process of deep hole processing has increased remarkably when trying to form fine dots. In such an ink jet head, since it is not necessary to perform deep hole processing by adopting the above-described configuration, even when trying to form fine dots, fine discharge ports and channels with long channel lengths are used. Can be easily manufactured.

  Thereby, the increase in the manufacturing cost at the time of manufacturing the inkjet head which became a problem in the prior art can be suppressed.

  In addition, with the above configuration, the flow path (and the liquid flow path portion provided with the flow path) is disposed along the upper surface of the substrate. A flow path capable of forming dots can be easily formed, and thus the flow path can be stably formed. Therefore, if it is set as said structure, compared with the structure of a prior art, an inkjet head can be manufactured stably.

  For example, even when plating is performed on the flow path, the flow path (and the liquid flow path portion provided with the flow path) is disposed along the upper surface of the substrate. Compared with the configuration, the plating can be successfully formed.

  Furthermore, by adopting the above-described configuration, the inkjet head of the present invention is provided on the upper surface of the substrate, together with the liquid channel portion, from the upper surface to the surface facing the upper surface side of the liquid channel portion. And a protective portion having the same height as the first and second heights.

  That is, in the inkjet head according to the present invention, a liquid supply member such as a manifold (hereinafter referred to as a manifold) for supplying liquid to the flow path of the liquid flow path portion on the substrate (specifically, on the liquid flow path portion). , Which is described as a manifold), the manifold can have not only the opposed surface of the liquid flow path portion but also the surface of the protective portion as an adhesion region. For this reason, even when the flow path is provided, even when the liquid flow path portion has a relatively weak strength against the pressure from the facing surface toward the upper surface of the substrate, the protective portion is not liquid when the manifold is bonded. Reinforce the strength of the flow path. Therefore, the flow path is not crushed by the pressure from the facing surface toward the top surface of the substrate.

  In addition, since the strength of the liquid flow path portion is increased due to the presence of the protective portion, it can be strongly pressed against the substrate when the manifold is bonded.

  Therefore, by adopting the above-described configuration, the inkjet head of the present invention can improve the shape stability of the flow path of the liquid flow path section, and improve the connection strength between the liquid supply member such as a manifold and the liquid flow path section. There is an effect that it is possible to achieve both.

  Furthermore, when the manifold is bonded, the bonding area is expanded more than the bonding area of the manifold when bonding only to the liquid flow path section on the upper surface of the substrate. Thereby, even if it is the adhesive agent thinly applied by stamping etc., it can adhere reliably and simply, and the reliability of the inkjet head provided with the manifold can be improved.

  Here, “the same height” includes not only the case where they are completely the same height but also the case where they are substantially the same height.

  An ink jet head according to the present invention is an ink jet head that receives a liquid and discharges the liquid onto a drawing target in response to application of a voltage in order to solve the above-described problem, and the substrate and the liquid flow. A liquid flow path portion provided with a flow path and a discharge port for discharging the liquid flowing through the flow path, and the flow path is parallel to the upper surface of the substrate. The liquid flow path portion is disposed as described above, and a protection portion higher than the height from the upper surface to the opposite surface of the surface on the upper surface side of the liquid flow path portion is disposed. It is said.

  With the above-described configuration, the inkjet head according to the present invention can improve the degree of freedom in designing the shape of the flow channel, and can further improve the shape stability of the flow channel of the liquid flow channel portion. In addition, the adhesive strength between the liquid supply member such as a manifold and the liquid flow path portion can be further improved as compared with the ink jet head having the above configuration.

  That is, in the ink jet head according to the present invention, first, a liquid flow path portion provided with a flow path so as to be configured in parallel with the upper surface is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate. For this reason, in the ink jet head according to the present invention, the shape of the flow path of the liquid flow path portion can be easily changed by patterning or the like.

  Therefore, the degree of freedom in designing the shape of the flow path can be improved.

  That is, in the prior art, since the flow path is formed in the thickness direction of the substrate, the difficulty of the manufacturing process of deep hole processing has increased remarkably when trying to form fine dots. By doing so, since it is not necessary to perform deep hole processing, even when trying to form fine dots, fine discharge ports and channels with long channel lengths can be easily manufactured. .

  Thereby, the increase in the manufacturing cost at the time of manufacturing the inkjet head which became a problem in the prior art can be suppressed.

  In addition, with the above configuration, the flow path (and the liquid flow path portion provided with the flow path) is disposed along the upper surface of the substrate. A flow path capable of forming dots can be easily formed, and thus the flow path can be stably formed. Therefore, with the above configuration, the ink jet head can be stably manufactured as compared with the conventional technique.

  In addition, for example, even when plating is formed on the flow path, the flow path (and the liquid flow path portion provided with the flow path) is disposed along the upper surface of the substrate. In comparison, plating can be successfully formed.

  Furthermore, by adopting the above-described configuration, the inkjet head of the present invention protects the upper surface of the substrate together with the liquid channel portion from the upper surface to a height higher than the height of the surface on the upper surface side of the liquid channel portion. Are disposed.

  For this reason, in the inkjet head according to the present invention, a substrate for connecting a liquid supply member (hereinafter referred to as a manifold) such as a manifold for supplying a liquid to the flow path of the liquid flow path section to the liquid flow path section. Even in the case of being arranged on the top, the manifold can have the surface of the protection portion as an adhesive region. That is, since the protection part is configured higher than the liquid channel part with respect to the upper surface of the substrate, when the manifold is provided above the liquid channel part, the manifold adheres to the protection part.

  As a result, the manifold is not directly bonded to the liquid flow path portion having a relatively weak strength against the pressure from the facing surface toward the upper surface of the substrate due to the provision of the flow path.

  Therefore, the flow path provided in the liquid flow path portion is not crushed by the pressure from the facing surface toward the upper surface of the substrate, and the flow path is provided even when the flow path is provided along the substrate. The shape stability can be realized.

  Further, since the strength of the liquid flow path portion is increased due to the presence of the protective portion, it can be strongly pressed against the substrate when the manifold is bonded.

  Therefore, it is possible to provide an ink jet head in which the flow path is provided along the substrate without reducing the connection strength between the liquid supply member such as a manifold and the liquid flow path portion.

  Further, in the ink jet head according to the present invention, in the above configuration, the protection portion is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate and is disposed so as to cover a part of the facing surface. It is preferable that the surface of the disposed protective portion is flush.

  As described above, if the protective part is also provided on the opposing surface of the liquid channel part, the liquid is relatively weak in strength against pressure from the opposing surface toward the upper surface of the substrate due to the provision of the channel. The strength of the channel portion can be reinforced. Therefore, even when the flow path is provided along the substrate, the shape stability of the flow path can be further improved as compared with the configuration in which the protective portion is not provided on the facing surface.

  In addition, since the surface of the protective part disposed on the upper surface of the substrate and the surface of the protective part disposed so as to cover a part of the opposing surface are flush with each other, In addition, the bonding area becomes wider than the bonding area of the manifold when bonding only to the liquid channel portion on the upper surface of the substrate. Thereby, even if it is the adhesive agent applied thinly, for example by stamping etc., it can adhere reliably and simply. Thereby, the reliability of the inkjet head provided with the manifold can be improved.

  Here, the term “level” includes not only the case where it is completely flush, but also the case where it is substantially flush.

  In the ink jet head according to the present invention, it is preferable that a part of the liquid channel portion including the discharge port protrudes from an end portion of the upper surface of the substrate.

  According to the above configuration, the portion having the discharge port for discharging the liquid in the liquid channel portion protrudes from the end portion of the upper surface of the substrate. For this reason, when applying a voltage and discharging a liquid from a discharge outlet, an electric field can be efficiently concentrated on the said discharge outlet. Thereby, the applied voltage can be reduced.

  In the ink jet head according to the present invention, the liquid flow path section includes a supply region having a supply port for supplying liquid to the flow channel, and a discharge region having a discharge port. The channel is preferably configured to be narrower than the channel in the supply region.

  According to the above configuration, since the flow path in the supply region is configured to be thicker than the flow path in the discharge region, the amount of liquid supplied to the discharge region is increased with respect to the amount of liquid discharged from the discharge port. Can do. That is, the inkjet head according to the present invention can increase the margin for supplying the liquid to be ejected.

  For this reason, the inkjet head can prevent the liquid from being insufficiently supplied even when the liquid discharge amount increases in accordance with the drawing pattern to be drawn on the drawing target.

  In the ink jet head according to the present invention, the liquid flow path portion includes a lower flow path layer and an upper flow path layer, and at least one of the lower flow path layer and the upper flow path layer is electrically conductive. It is preferable that it is a body.

  According to the above configuration, in the ink jet head according to the present invention, either the lower channel layer or the upper channel layer from the supply unit to the discharge unit is formed of a conductor.

  For this reason, when the charge necessary for electrostatic suction discharge is applied to the discharge port of the discharge unit, the inkjet head according to the present invention allows the discharge unit to discharge the charge through the lower flow path layer or the upper flow path layer. Since it can apply to the discharge port which has, it does not need to carry out through an ink.

  Therefore, the inkjet head can shorten the time required for forming an electric field necessary for the electrostatic attraction / ejection, and the ejection responsiveness is improved.

  Therefore, the ink jet head according to the present invention can improve the drawing speed and the drawing resolution.

  The inkjet head according to the present invention further includes a mounting portion to which a voltage for discharging the liquid from the discharge port is applied on the upper surface of the substrate, and the mounting portion is integrated with the conductor. It is preferable to be configured.

  According to the said structure, the said mounting part is comprised integrally with the said liquid flow-path part. That is, with the above-described configuration, a voltage applied from the outside can be directly supplied to the liquid channel portion via the mounting portion.

  For this reason, the transmission reliability of the voltage for applying to a liquid flow-path part can be improved.

  Further, since the mounting portion is provided on the upper surface of the substrate, it is possible to increase the pressing force applied to the mounting for bonding the mounting wiring to the mounting portion.

  That is, the inkjet head according to the present invention does not require the use of the back surface of the substrate (the surface opposite to the surface on which the liquid flow path portion is formed on the substrate), so that the mounting portion formed on the substrate can be easily fixed. it can. For this reason, a large pressing force can be applied from the surface side of the substrate (the surface on the side where the liquid flow path portion is formed) for mounting wiring connection to the mounting portion.

  Therefore, the ink jet head according to the present invention can improve the reliability of connection between the mounting portion and an external device that applies power.

  In the ink jet head according to the present invention, it is preferable that the protective part is made of an insulating material.

  According to the above configuration, the ink jet head can prevent crosstalk between adjacent channels because the protective portion is formed of an insulating material.

  Therefore, the ink jet head of the present invention has an effect that reliability and durability can be improved.

  In the ink jet head according to the present invention, it is preferable that the liquid channel portion includes an insulating layer that insulates the liquid channel portion and the substrate on the upper surface side of the substrate.

  According to said structure, since the liquid flow-path part which is an electroconductive substance is formed in the upper surface of an insulating layer, the electric current which conducts a liquid flow-path part flows into another member etc. via a board | substrate. Can be prevented.

  For example, when a plurality of the liquid channel portions are formed on the same substrate surface, a current flows to another liquid channel portion adjacent through the substrate, and there is a risk of crosstalk with the other liquid channel portions. Can be reduced.

  In the method of manufacturing an ink jet head according to the present invention, the protective part forming step includes laminating a material to be the protective part on the upper surface of the substrate on which the liquid channel part is formed, and then the surface of the layer. However, it is preferable to include a cutting / grinding step for cutting / grinding the layer or a removing step for removing the layer in order to be flush with the facing surface of the liquid channel portion.

  According to the above method, the step formed in the liquid flow path portion forming step can be eliminated, the adhesion surface with a liquid supply member such as a manifold can be flattened, and the adhesion surface can be expanded to the maximum. In addition, it is possible to prevent the adhesive from flowing out along the step pattern and deteriorating the adhesion stability.

  Therefore, it is possible to easily and reliably bond the liquid supply member such as a manifold and the liquid flow path formed on the substrate, and to provide a more reliable inkjet head that further improves the bonding strength. There is an effect that can be done.

  The inkjet head manufacturing method according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing an inkjet head that accepts a liquid and discharges the liquid to a drawing target in response to application of a voltage in order to solve the above-described problem. A liquid flow path portion forming step for forming a liquid flow path portion provided with a flow path parallel to the upper surface and a discharge port for discharging the liquid flowing through the flow path on the upper surface of the substrate; A protective part forming step for forming a protective part on the upper surface of the substrate that is higher than the height from the upper surface to the surface facing the upper surface side of the liquid flow channel part formed by the liquid flow channel part forming step. It is characterized by including.

  According to the above method, since the protective part forming step can be provided separately from the liquid channel part forming step, the protective part can be formed of a material different from the material constituting the liquid channel part. For this reason, the liquid flow path portion can be formed of a conductive member, and the protective portion can be formed of an insulating member.

  Therefore, according to the above method, since the protective portion can be formed of an insulating member, there is an effect that it is possible to supply an inkjet head in which crosstalk between adjacent channels is prevented.

  Further, in the method for manufacturing an ink jet head according to the present invention, in the protective part forming step, after the material to be the protective part is laminated on the upper surface of the substrate on which the liquid channel part is formed, the surface of the layer is formed. In order to make the surface flat, it is preferable to include a cutting / grinding step of cutting / grinding at least a part of the layer or a removing step of removing.

  According to the above method, the level difference formed in the liquid flow path portion forming step can be eliminated, the adhesion surface with a liquid supply member such as a manifold can be flattened, and the adhesion surface can be expanded to the maximum. It is possible to prevent the adhesive from flowing out along the step pattern and deteriorating the adhesion stability.

  Therefore, it is possible to easily and reliably bond the liquid supply member such as a manifold and the liquid flow path formed on the substrate, and to provide a more reliable inkjet head that further improves the bonding strength. There is an effect that can be done.

  In the inkjet head manufacturing method according to the present invention, the liquid channel portion forming step includes a lower channel layer forming step of forming a lower channel layer on an upper surface of the substrate via an insulating layer, and the lower portion A filling member forming step for forming a filling member for determining the shape of the flow channel along an upper surface of the substrate in a region of the lower flow channel layer formed by the flow channel layer forming step, and the filling member forming step. An upper flow path layer forming step of forming an upper flow path layer on the formed filling member and surrounding the filling member with the lower flow path layer and the upper flow path layer; and the filling member forming process It is preferable to include a filling member removing step of removing the filling member formed by.

  According to the above method, the filling member is surrounded by the lower flow path layer and the upper flow path layer. Since the shape of the filling member can be controlled by etching using, for example, photolithography, the shape of the filling member can be easily formed as a desired shape.

  In addition, the shape of the liquid flow path portion composed of the upper flow path layer and the lower flow path layer can be easily formed as desired shapes by etching the shapes of the upper flow path layer and the lower flow path layer.

  In the ink jet head manufacturing method according to the present invention, after the protective part is formed by the protective part forming step, a part including the discharge port in the liquid channel part protrudes from an end of the upper surface of the substrate. Thus, it is preferable to include a substrate removing step of removing a part of the substrate.

  By including the above steps, a part of the substrate can be removed, and one end of the liquid flow path can be projected from the end of the upper surface of the substrate. The removal of the substrate can be performed with an etching solution, for example.

  For this reason, by controlling the time for etching the substrate with this etching solution, the protruding length (projection amount) of the liquid flow path portion protruding from the end portion can be easily set to a desired length.

  Therefore, the inkjet head manufacturing method according to the present invention easily desires the shape of the liquid flow path portion, the shape of the liquid flow path portion, or the amount of protrusion of the liquid flow path portion from the end of the substrate. It can be a shape. For this reason, the manufacturing method of the inkjet head has an effect of greatly improving the degree of freedom of design.

  As described above, the ink jet head according to the present invention is an ink jet head that receives a liquid and discharges the liquid onto a drawing target in response to application of a voltage, and includes a substrate, a flow path through which the liquid flows, and the flow. A liquid flow path provided with a discharge port for discharging liquid flowing through the path, and the liquid flow path is arranged on the upper surface of the substrate so that the flow path is parallel to the upper surface. And a protective portion having the same height as the height from the upper surface to the opposing surface of the surface on the upper surface side of the liquid channel portion. Further, as described above, an inkjet head according to the present invention is an inkjet head that receives a liquid and discharges the liquid to a drawing target in response to application of a voltage, and includes a substrate, a flow path through which the liquid flows, and A liquid flow path provided with a discharge port for discharging the liquid flowing through the flow path, and the liquid is provided on the upper surface of the substrate so that the flow path is parallel to the upper surface. A flow path part is provided, and a protective part higher than the height from the upper surface to the surface facing the upper surface side of the liquid flow path part is provided.

  With the above configuration, the inkjet head according to the present invention can improve the degree of freedom in designing the shape of the flow path, and further improve the shape stability of the flow path provided in the liquid flow path section. In addition, it is possible to simultaneously improve the adhesive strength between the liquid supply member such as a manifold and the liquid flow path portion.

  In addition, since the flow path (and the liquid flow path portion provided with the flow path) is disposed along the upper surface of the substrate, even a flow path capable of forming fine dots is easily formed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing cost when manufacturing an inkjet head, which has been a problem in the prior art.

  Moreover, since it can be formed easily, the flow path can be formed stably, and therefore, the ink jet head can be stably manufactured as compared with the prior art.

  In addition to the liquid channel portion, a protective portion having the same height as the height from the upper surface to the surface facing the upper surface side of the liquid channel portion is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate. According to the configuration, even when the flow path is provided, even if the liquid flow path portion has a relatively weak strength against the pressure from the facing surface toward the upper surface of the substrate, Therefore, the strength of the liquid channel portion can be reinforced, and the channel is not crushed by the pressure from the facing surface toward the upper surface of the substrate.

  In addition, since the strength of the liquid flow path portion is increased due to the presence of the protective portion, it can be strongly pressed against the substrate when the manifold is bonded. There is an effect that the adhesive strength between the manifold and the liquid flow path can be improved.

  Further, the presence of the protective portion makes the bonding area wider than the bonding area of the manifold when bonding the manifold to only the liquid flow path portion on the upper surface of the substrate. Thereby, even if it is the adhesive agent thinly applied by stamping etc., it can adhere reliably and simply, and the reliability of the inkjet head provided with the manifold can be improved.

  Further, the upper surface of the substrate is configured such that a protective portion higher than the height from the upper surface to the surface facing the upper surface side of the liquid flow channel portion is disposed together with the liquid flow channel portion. For example, when the manifold is to be provided above the liquid flow path portion, the manifold adheres to the protection portion.

  As a result, the manifold is not directly bonded to the liquid flow path portion having a relatively weak strength against the pressure from the facing surface toward the upper surface of the substrate due to the provision of the flow path. Therefore, the flow path provided in the liquid flow path portion is not crushed, and the shape stability of the flow path can be further enhanced even when the flow path is provided along the substrate.

  The inkjet head manufacturing method according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing an inkjet head that accepts a liquid and discharges the liquid to a drawing target in response to application of a voltage as described above. A liquid channel part forming step for forming a liquid channel part provided with a channel parallel to the upper surface and a discharge port for discharging the liquid flowing through the channel; A protective portion forming step of forming a protective portion having the same height as the height from the upper surface to the opposing surface of the surface on the upper surface side in the liquid flow channel portion formed by the liquid flow channel portion forming step on the upper surface; It is characterized by including. The inkjet head manufacturing method according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing an inkjet head that accepts a liquid and discharges the liquid to a drawing target in response to application of a voltage as described above. A liquid channel part forming step for forming a liquid channel part provided with a channel parallel to the upper surface and a discharge port for discharging the liquid flowing through the channel; A protective part forming step of forming a protective part on the upper surface that is higher than the height from the upper surface to the opposing surface of the surface on the upper surface side in the liquid channel part formed by the liquid channel part forming step. It is characterized by.

  According to the above method, since the protective part forming step can be provided separately from the liquid channel part forming step, the protective part can be formed of a material different from the material constituting the liquid channel part. For this reason, the liquid flow path portion can be formed of a conductive member, and the protective portion can be formed of an insulating member.

  Therefore, according to the above method, since the protective portion can be formed of an insulating member, there is an effect that it is possible to supply an inkjet head in which crosstalk between adjacent channels is prevented.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  First, the configuration of the inkjet head 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

(Configuration of inkjet head)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an inkjet head 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow showing a state where the inkjet head 10 shown in FIG. 1 is cut along a cutting line AA ′.

  The ink jet head 10 according to the present embodiment is for ejecting fine droplets onto a drawing target, applies an electric field to the liquid, and discharges the liquid as a droplet onto the drawing target by electrostatic repulsion. It can be used as a so-called electrostatic discharge type ink jet head.

  In particular, the inkjet head 10 according to the present embodiment is a head of a micro dot forming apparatus (not shown) for forming a micro pattern with micro dots on a drawing target (for example, a color filter for liquid crystal display, a printed wiring board, etc.). It is suitable as.

Specifically, the inkjet head 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a discharge port formed in the discharge region 50 of the liquid flow path portion 30 that is a constituent member of the inkjet head 10 when a voltage is applied from an application unit (not shown). By concentrating the electric field in the vicinity of 51, the liquid in the flow path 39 provided in the liquid flow path section 30 (discharge area 50) can be discharged as fine droplets onto a drawing target (not shown). Therefore, the inkjet head 10 in the present embodiment includes a substrate 20, a liquid flow path part 30, a manifold 60, a mounting part 70, and a protection part 80 as shown in FIG. 1.
A plurality of the liquid flow path portions 30 are formed on the upper surface of the substrate 20, and a protection portion 80 and a manifold 60 are formed on the liquid flow path portion 30 so as to cover a part thereof.

The substrate 20 is made of single crystal silicon, and the upper surface of the substrate 20 on which the liquid channel portion 30 is formed is in relation to the mirror index (110) plane of the crystal lattice with the fastest silicon etching rate. It is preferably formed so as to be in a vertical direction (side surface of the substrate in this embodiment mode). Specifically, the upper surface of the substrate 20 preferably has a (100) plane with a Miller index of the crystal lattice.
The liquid flow path unit 30 is provided with a flow path 39 through which a liquid can flow, and is configured to flow a liquid (liquid substance) to be ejected onto a drawing target.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid flow path unit 30 includes a supply region 40 having a liquid supply port 41 for supplying the liquid to be drawn to the drawing target to the flow path 39, and the liquid in the flow path 39 as the drawing target. And a discharge region 50 having a discharge port 51 for discharging.

  Further, the liquid flow path portion 30 has a structure in which a part of the discharge region 50 including the discharge port 51 protrudes from the end portion 22 of the substrate 20. The length of the protruding portion (hereinafter referred to as the protruding amount) is the liquid discharge stability, the structural stability of the discharge region 50, and the magnitude of the voltage supplied to concentrate the electric field near the discharge port 51. Can be set as appropriate. For example, the protrusion amount can be set to 100 μm. However, the present invention is not limited to this protruding amount.

The size of the ejection region 50 is not limited to this, but can be, for example, 120 μm in the length direction, 7 μm in the width direction, and 6 μm in the height direction. Further, the discharge port 51 is opened at the end face of the discharge region 50 as shown in FIG. 1, and is not limited to this, but for example, it is 3 μm in the width direction and 2 μm in the height direction. Can do.
Here, the “length direction” is a direction in which the liquid flows from the supply region 40 toward the discharge region 50 in the liquid channel portion 30 (longitudinal direction in the liquid channel portion 30). The “height direction” is a direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate 20. The “width direction” is a direction perpendicular to the direction from the supply region 40 toward the discharge region 50 and also perpendicular to the height direction. Note that the terms “length direction (longitudinal direction)”, “height direction”, and “width direction” used in the following are based on the above definition unless otherwise specified.

  The liquid flow path section 30 is configured such that the cross-sectional area along the width direction is smaller on the ejection region 50 side than on the supply region 40 side. That is, in the present embodiment, for example, the size in the height direction inside the liquid channel portion 30 is 2 μm and is substantially constant, but the size in the width direction inside the liquid channel portion 30 is in the vicinity of the discharge port 51. The cross-sectional area is changed between the ejection port 51 and the liquid supply port 41, such as 3 μm and 40 μm near the liquid supply port 41.

  With this configuration, the amount of liquid supplied to the discharge region 50 can be increased with respect to the amount of liquid discharged from the discharge port 51. That is, the inkjet head 10 can increase the margin for supplying the liquid to be discharged.

  In the inkjet head 10 according to the present embodiment, three liquid flow path portions 30 are formed on the upper surface of the substrate 20. However, the present invention is not limited to that number.

  Moreover, each liquid flow path part 30 can be arrange | positioned on the board | substrate 20 surface at intervals of 169 micrometers, for example.

  Below, based on FIG. 2, the detailed structure of the said board | substrate 20 and the liquid flow-path part 30 is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid flow path portion 30 includes a lower flow path layer 32 and an upper flow path layer 33 having a base layer 35. A channel 39 is defined by the lower channel layer 32 and the upper channel layer 33.

  Each of the lower flow path layer 32 and the upper flow path layer 33 can be composed of, for example, a conductive member whose main component is nickel (Ni) having a thickness of 2 μm.

  It should be noted that at least one of the lower flow path layer 32 and the upper flow path layer 33 may be formed of Ni, but both are formed of Ni in order to prevent erosion by the etchant during etching of the substrate 20 described later. Preferably it is.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid flow path portion 30 includes an insulating layer 21 at a joint portion with the substrate 20. As the insulating layer 21, for example, an insulating material such as a Si oxide film or a Si nitride film having a thickness of 0.2 μm to 2 μm can be used.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface of the substrate 20 protrudes from the contact portion with the insulating layer 21 more than the non-contact portion. This is formed in the etching of silicon when forming the protruding structure. The side wall surface of the raised portion is a (111) surface, and the etching rate of this surface is very slow compared to other surfaces, and serves as a stopper layer. As a result, the etching of the (110) plane is performed without the substrate 20 positioned below the liquid flow channel portion 30 being completely dissolved by etching and the flow channel portion not being fixed to the substrate and being floated. Thus, a structure having an arbitrary protruding length can be formed.
The liquid supply port 41 of the supply region 40 shown in FIG. 1 can be, for example, a substantially square of 40 μm × 40 μm, and the upper flow path layer 33 and the base layer 35 of the liquid flow path unit 30 shown in FIG. It is formed to penetrate. Further, each of the liquid supply ports 41 provided in each liquid flow path portion 30 is provided at the same position in the supply region 40 of the liquid flow path portion 30. For this reason, the line which connects each liquid supply port 41 with which each liquid flow-path part 30 is provided is a straight line. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  In the above description, the “same position” includes not only the completely same position but also the substantially same position. In the above description, the term “straight line” includes not only a completely straight line but also a substantially straight line.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the protection unit 80 is provided on the upper surface of the substrate 20 so as to cover at least a part of the supply region 40.

  The protector 80 serves as an adhesive surface with the manifold 60 when the fluid supply hole 61 provided in the manifold 60 is connected to the liquid supply port 41 of the supply region 40. The protection unit 80 is formed of an insulating material such as a Si oxide film or a Si nitride film.

  Below, the effect of the protection part 80 of the inkjet head 10 in this embodiment is demonstrated using the comparative inkjet head 400 of the structure shown in FIG. 10 for a comparison object.

  FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the comparative inkjet head 400. The comparative inkjet head 400 does not include the protection unit 80 provided in the inkjet head 10 of this embodiment, but includes a substrate 402, a liquid flow path unit 403, a manifold 406, and a mounting unit 407. As shown in FIG. 10, the comparative inkjet head 400 is provided on the upper surface of the substrate 402 so that the manifold 406 directly covers each of the liquid flow path portions 403 provided on the upper surface of the substrate 402. ing. Since the comparative inkjet head 400 having such a configuration does not include the protection unit 80, the bonded portion of the manifold 406 is only the upper surface (opposing surface) of the liquid channel portion formed on the upper surface of the substrate 402. Therefore, when the manifold 406 is strongly pressed against the substrate 402 in the manufacturing process, the flow path 436 provided in the liquid flow path section 403 may be crushed. On the other hand, if the force pressing the manifold 406 is too weak, adhesion failure occurs, and there is a risk of the manifold 406 peeling off or liquid leakage. Further, the manifold 406 needs to have a step between the facing surface and the bonding surface to be bonded to the substrate so as to fit the shape of the liquid channel portion 403 formed on the upper surface of the substrate 402. Since this processing requires high-precision processing technology, the manufacturing cost of the manifold 406 may increase significantly. Furthermore, it is also difficult to apply an adhesive to the adhesive surface having this step, and if the amount applied is too large, it will flow into the inlet 441 of the liquid flow path portion 406 and clog the flow path 436, on the contrary. If the amount is too small, adhesion failure may occur, and the manifold 406 may peel off or leak.

  Therefore, in the inkjet head 10 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, by providing the protection unit 80, it is possible to effectively prevent the channel 39 provided in the liquid channel unit 30 from collapsing. That is, when the pressure is applied and the manifold 60 is installed on the supply region 40, the pressure may be pressed with a pressure stronger than the strength of the liquid flow path portion 30. Therefore, the flow path 39 does not collapse.

  Therefore, by providing the protection unit 80, it is possible to provide the inkjet head 10 having high stability in which the shape of the designed flow path 39 is ensured.

  Furthermore, in the comparative configuration shown in FIG. 10, the bonded portion of the manifold 406 is only the upper surface (opposing surface) of the liquid channel portion 403 formed on the upper surface of the substrate 402. On the other hand, in the inkjet head 10 of the present embodiment, since the substantially entire surface of the protection unit 80 that is flat across the plurality of liquid flow path units 30 can be used as the bonding location of the manifold 60, the bonding area increases. Therefore, the adhesive strength can be increased.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, by disposing a protective portion 80 also on the upper surface of the liquid flow path section 30, the liquid flow path section 30 formed of a conductive material can be insulated. Therefore, inadvertent discharge from the liquid flow path portion 30, damage due to the discharge, crosstalk between adjacent channels, and the like can be prevented, and the durability, safety, and reliability of the inkjet head 10 can be improved. it can.

  The width of the protective part 80 may be smaller than the width of the manifold 60. However, in order to prevent the surplus adhesive from flowing out and flowing along the pattern at the time of bonding, the discharge port 51 is blocked. It is preferable to set the width larger than 60.

  Here, the “width” refers to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the liquid flow path portion 30 and a direction parallel to the upper surface of the substrate 20 and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

The manifold 60 supplies the liquid for discharging to the drawing target to the flow path 39 of the liquid flow path section 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the manifold 60 is provided so as to cover a part of the supply region 40 of the liquid flow path part 30 via the protection part 80. The manifold 60 is made of an insulating material.
In the manifold 60, the same number of fluid supply holes 61 as the liquid flow path portions 30 are provided, and an opening portion formed at one end of each fluid supply hole 61 is connected to the liquid supply port 41 of the supply region 40. The fluid supply hole 61 and the flow path 39 are arranged to communicate with each other.
The size of the fluid supply hole 61 may be, for example, a cross-sectional area of 60 μm × 60 μm and a size in the length direction of 3 mm.

  Here, the “cross-sectional area” corresponds to the area of the opening portion in contact with the liquid supply port 41 of the supply region 40. The “length direction” is a direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate 20 on which the liquid flow path unit 30 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the opening portion of the fluid supply hole 61 is configured to be larger than the liquid supply port 41. Here, when the manifold 60 and the protection unit 80 (or the upper flow path layer 33) are bonded, surplus adhesive adhering to the vicinity of the liquid supply hole 61 of the manifold 60 flows out toward the inside of the liquid supply hole 61. there is a possibility. However, by configuring the opening portion of the fluid supply hole 61 to be larger than the liquid supply port 41, it is possible to avoid the risk that the liquid supply port 41 is filled with excess adhesive and the flow path 39 is clogged. I can do it.

However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the opening and the liquid supply port 41 may be the same size. Also, these shapes are not particularly limited.
The manifold 60 is connected to a common liquid chamber (not shown) for supplying liquid on the opposite side of the fluid supply hole 61 from the side where the fluid supply hole 41 matches the liquid supply port 41.

Next, the structure of the manifold 60 and the common liquid chamber 62 will be described with reference to FIG.
3 is cut along a cutting line CC ′ in a state where the common liquid chamber 62 is disposed on the opposite side of the fluid supply hole 61 of the inkjet head 10 shown in FIG. It is arrow sectional drawing which showed the state. The direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3 indicates the direction of crosstalk current generated by applying a voltage to the fluid supply hole 61 from an application means (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the common liquid chamber 62 can be provided on the opposite side of the fluid supply hole 61 from the side that matches the liquid supply port 41. As a result, assuming that a voltage is applied to one liquid flow path section 30 and this voltage leaks to the adjacent liquid flow path section 30 through the liquid, the voltage is applied to the liquid flow path section 30 to which the voltage is applied. Crosstalk indicated by an arrow from the flow path of the corresponding fluid supply hole 61 to the common liquid chamber 62 and to the flow path of the fluid supply hole 61 corresponding to the adjacent liquid flow path portion 30 to which no voltage is applied. A current path is formed.

  Here, a case where the manifold 60 is also used as a common liquid chamber will be considered as a comparative configuration. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the ink jet head showing this comparative configuration. FIG. 1 corresponds to a cross section taken along the section line C-C ′ of the ink jet head 10 in this embodiment. The comparison configuration shown in FIG. 4 includes a comparison manifold 506 provided with a common liquid chamber 504 instead of the fluid supply hole 61 of the manifold 60 in the present embodiment shown in FIG. That is, in the manifold 506 shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of openings 504 a provided in the common liquid chamber 504 are arranged in alignment with the liquid supply ports 541. In this comparative configuration, when a voltage is applied to an arbitrary liquid flow path portion 503a, a crosstalk current as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 4 flows through the ink in the common liquid chamber 504. In this case, as apparent from the present embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the path length of the crosstalk current is short. For this reason, in this comparative configuration, there is a high possibility that so-called crosstalk will occur, in which the liquid is also applied to the adjacent liquid flow path portion 503 and the liquid is discharged from an undesired liquid flow path portion 503b. .

Therefore, as in the present embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the fluid supply hole 61 is provided for each liquid channel portion 30, and the common liquid chamber 62 is provided on the side opposite to the side in contact with the supply region 40 of the liquid channel portion 30. When the voltage is leaked to the adjacent liquid flow path section 30 by the configuration arranged in the above, the path length of the crosstalk current becomes long, that is, the resistance value with respect to the voltage becomes large. The occurrence of crosstalk can be suppressed.
The mounting portion 70 is applied with a discharge signal for controlling the liquid to be discharged onto the drawing target, and is provided on the upper surface of the substrate 20 as shown in FIG.

  Specifically, the mounting part 70 is configured integrally with the liquid flow path part 30. That is, the liquid flow path section 30 has a flow path 39 on the rear side of the supply area 40 (on the side opposite to the end provided with the discharge port 50 in the longitudinal direction of the liquid flow path section 30). A portion that is not provided extends, and the mounting portion 70 is configured integrally with the extended portion. More specifically, the mounting portion 70 is configured integrally with the lower flow path layer 32 and / or the upper flow path layer 33 that are conductors of the liquid flow path section 30. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be electrically connected to the liquid flow path portion 30.

The mounting portion 70 is electrically connected to external signal transmission means such as a flexible substrate (not shown) by a mounting technique such as wire bonding.
With this configuration, the inkjet head 10 according to the present embodiment can directly apply a discharge signal to the electrically independent liquid flow path section 30. For this reason, it is possible to easily apply a discharge signal to the specific liquid channel part 30 and to improve the reliability of transmission of a voltage to be applied to the liquid channel part 30.

  Furthermore, as described above, the liquid flow path portion 30 (the lower flow path layer 32 and / or the upper flow path layer 33) is formed of Ni, so that the electric resistance for charge transfer is small and charges are discharged to the discharge ports 51. It can be easy to move. For this reason, electric charges for concentrating the electric field on the liquid meniscus formed at the discharge port 51 are concentrated on the discharge port 51 through the lower flow path layer 32 and / or the upper flow path layer 33. That is, in the ink jet head 10 according to the present embodiment, the liquid flow path portion 30 can act as an electrode in the ink jet head 10.

  As described above, when the inkjet head 10 according to the present embodiment is used, the flow path 39 (and the liquid flow path portion 30 provided with the flow path 39) is disposed along the upper surface of the substrate 20. Therefore, even the flow path 30 that can form fine dots can be easily formed. Thereby, the increase in the manufacturing cost at the time of manufacturing the inkjet head which became a problem in the prior art can be suppressed.

  For example, even when plating is performed on the flow path 39, the flow path 39 (and the liquid flow path portion 30 provided with the flow path 39) is disposed along the upper surface of the substrate 20. As a result, the plating can be formed better than in the prior art.

  In addition, the fact that the flow path 39 can be easily formed in this way means that the flow path 39 can be formed stably, so that the ink jet head can be manufactured more stably than in the prior art. .

  In addition, when the inkjet head 10 according to the present embodiment is used, a portion of the liquid flow path portion 30 having the discharge port 51 of the discharge region 50 protrudes from the end portion 22 of the substrate 20. For this reason, when applying a voltage and discharging a liquid from the discharge outlet 51, an electric field can be efficiently concentrated on the discharge outlet 51, and the voltage to apply can be reduced.

  Further, if the inkjet head 10 according to the present embodiment is used, the mounting portion 70 is provided on the upper surface of the substrate 20, so that the pressing force required for mounting for bonding the mounting wiring to the mounting portion 70 is increased. be able to.

  That is, in the inkjet head 10, it is not necessary to use the back surface of the substrate (the surface opposite to the surface (upper surface) on the substrate 20 where the liquid flow path portion 30 is formed). Therefore, a large pressing force can be applied for mounting wiring connection to the mounting portion 70 from the upper surface side (surface on which the liquid flow path portion 30 is formed) of the substrate 20, so that the mounting portion 70 can be simply fixed. can do.

  Therefore, by using the inkjet head 10, it is possible to improve the reliability of connection between the mounting unit 70 and an external device that applies power.

  In addition, when the inkjet head 10 according to the present embodiment is used, the liquid flow path portion 30 includes the insulating layer 21 that insulates the liquid flow path portion 30 and the substrate 20 on the upper surface side of the substrate 20. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the current that is conducted through the liquid flow path portion 30 from flowing to another member or the like via the substrate 20. In particular, when a plurality of liquid flow path portions 30 are formed on the upper surface of the substrate 20 as in the present embodiment, a current is supplied to the adjacent liquid flow path portions 30 via the substrate 20 by adopting the above configuration. The risk of crosstalk due to flow can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the height of the protection unit 80 from the upper surface of the substrate 20 is from the upper surface of the substrate 20 to the opposing surface of the surface on the upper surface side of the liquid flow path unit 30. It is configured higher than the height. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is only necessary that the height of the protection unit 80 be configured to be higher than the height from the surface of the substrate 20 to the facing surface. That is, the present invention may be configured as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another structure of the ink jet head according to the present invention. The inkjet head 10 ′ shown in FIG. 5 includes a protective portion 80 ′ having the same height as the height from the surface of the substrate 20 to the facing surface.

  Even in the configuration of the inkjet head 10 ′ shown in FIG. 5, the flow path 39 is provided along the upper surface of the substrate 20 as in the inkjet head 10 shown in FIG. The liquid flow path portion 30 having a relatively low strength against the pressure in the upper surface direction of the 20 can be reinforced by the protection portion 80 ′. Therefore, the flow path 39 is not crushed.

  Further, since the strength of the liquid flow path portion 30 is increased due to the presence of the protective portion 80 ′, it can be strongly pressed against the substrate when the manifold is bonded. There is an effect that the adhesive strength between the manifold and the liquid flow path portion can be improved.

  Further, in the case of the configuration of the inkjet head 10 ′ shown in FIG. 5, when only the liquid flow path portion becomes the bonding portion of the manifold 60 due to the protection portion 80 ′ (comparative configuration shown in FIG. 10). Rather than the adhesive area. That is, in the inkjet head 10 ′ shown in FIG. 5, the upper surface of the protection unit 80 ′ in addition to the liquid flow path unit 30 serves as a bonding location of the manifold 60. Therefore, since the adhesion area increases, the adhesion strength can be increased.

In the ink jet head according to the present invention, the protection unit 80 can be configured integrally with the substrate 20.
(Inkjet head manufacturing method)
Next, the manufacturing method of the inkjet head 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (j), FIGS. 7 (a) to 7 (d), and FIGS. This will be described with reference to d). FIGS. 6A to 6G show a method for manufacturing the inkjet head 10 according to the present embodiment. The inkjet head 10 shown in FIG. 1 is cut along a cutting line BB ′. The inkjet head 10 of each manufacturing process is shown by the arrow sectional views shown, and FIGS. 6 (h) to 6 (j) show a state where the inkjet head 10 shown in FIG. 1 is cut along a cutting line AA ′. It is arrow sectional drawing. FIGS. 7A to 7E show a method for manufacturing the inkjet head 10 according to the present embodiment, in which the liquid flow path portion 30 of the inkjet head 10 is cut in the longitudinal direction. It is sectional drawing shown. FIGS. 8A to 8D show the bonding process between the manifold 60 and the external wiring mounting means 71 of the inkjet head 10 according to the present embodiment.

  First, a process of forming the liquid flow path section 30 (liquid flow path section forming process) will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (e).

  For example, the insulating layer 21 is formed on the (100) plane of the substrate 20 made of single crystal silicon (FIG. 6A). In the step of forming the insulating layer 21, a silicon oxide film having a thickness of 0.5 μm, for example, is formed by a normal thermal oxidation method, and this can be used as the insulating layer 21.

  Here, the layer thickness of the insulating layer 21 is desirably set to a layer thickness that is sufficient to ensure insulation between the liquid flow path portion 30 formed on the insulating layer 21 and the substrate 20. However, if this layer thickness is set too thick, the time required for the manufacturing process of the inkjet head 10 becomes unnecessarily long. Therefore, the layer thickness of the insulating layer 21 is preferably 0.2 μm to 5 μm, and 0.2 μm to 2 μm is more preferable.

  Next, the lower flow path layer 32 is formed on the insulating layer 21 (lower flow path layer forming step) (FIG. 6B). Here, as described above, the lower flow path layer 32 can be formed of a metal material containing Ni as a main component. The lower flow path layer 32 can be formed on the insulating layer 21 with a thickness of about 2 μm by selective plating in which the plating adhesion region is previously limited by a resist or the like.

  The method for forming the lower flow path layer 32 is not limited to plating. After the lower flow path layer 32 is formed on substantially the entire surface of the substrate 20, a desired shape is formed by dry etching or wet etching. It may be patterned and formed.

  When the lower flow path layer 32 is formed by plating, the plating electrode 36 needs to be formed on the insulating layer 21. In this embodiment, Ni (lower flow path layer 32) can be formed on the insulating layer 21 by sputtering, but Ni (lower flow path layer 32) is formed on the entire surface of the substrate 20 by sputtering. After forming the lower flow path layer 32, it is necessary to remove unnecessary portions.

When the plating electrode 36 is formed and the lower flow path layer 32 is formed by plating, the plating electrode 36 has a thin film thickness that can secure the conductivity as the electrode and the adhesion with the insulating layer 21. In this embodiment, it can be set to 50 nm, for example.
In order to further improve the adhesion between the insulating layer 21 and the plating electrode 36, an adhesion layer such as Ta may be formed between the insulating layer 21 and the plating electrode 36. At this time, the adhesion layer and the plating electrode are preferably formed in the same vacuum.

  In addition to plating, a film forming method such as vapor deposition or sputtering can be used for forming the lower flow path layer 32.

Note that when the deposition of the lower flow path layer 32 is performed using vapor deposition, sputtering, or the like, the lower flow path layer 32 is set so that the direction perpendicular to the (110) plane of the substrate 20 is the shape of the flow path 39. It is necessary to pattern the shape.
It should be noted that the plating electrode 36 where the lower flow path layer 32 is not formed is an unnecessary part, and if not removed, the adjacent channel becomes conductive and causes crosstalk. Alternatively, it is removed by dry etching using Ar ions (FIG. 6B). As the etching solution, a mixed solution of nitric acid: hydrogen peroxide water: water is used.

  Next, a photoresist is exposed and developed on a part of the upper surface of the lower flow path layer 32 and patterned to form a liquid flow path layer (filling member) 34 (liquid flow path layer forming step (filling member formation) Step)) (FIG. 6C). The thickness of the liquid flow path layer 34 can be set to 2 μm, for example, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6C, the upper flow path layer 33 is formed on the entire surface where the insulating layer 21, the lower flow path layer 32, and the liquid flow path layer 34 are formed on the substrate 20. The underlying layer 35 is formed by vapor deposition (FIG. 6D).

  The underlayer 35 can be formed of a metal material mainly composed of Ni for plating the upper flow path layer 33, and the thickness thereof can be 50 nm.

Further, in the above vapor deposition, in order to promote the adhesion of the base layer 35 to the side surface of the liquid flow path layer 34, Ar is introduced into the vapor deposition atmosphere and the film is formed at a vacuum degree of about 10 ⁻⁴ Torr. Is preferred.

Further, the underlayer 35 may be formed by sputtering instead of vapor deposition.
Next, a region to be the upper flow path layer 33 is limited by a resist pattern patterned by photolithography. Then, the upper flow path layer 33 mainly composed of Ni, for example, is formed on the base layer 35 with a thickness of 2 μm, for example, by plating (upper flow path layer forming step). Further, the underlying layer 35 attached to unnecessary areas is removed by wet etching (FIG. 6E). As the etching solution, a mixed solution of nitric acid: hydrogen peroxide water: water is used.

  Next, the process of forming the protection part 80 will be described based on FIGS. 6F to 6J (protection part formation process). As a material for the protective portion 80 formed in FIG. 6F, an insulating material is preferably used in order to prevent crosstalk between adjacent channels. Further, in order to prevent erosion by the etchant in etching of the substrate 20 described later. The material is preferably durable to the etching solution.

  There are two methods for forming the protective portion 80, CVD using heat, light, plasma, etc., and PVD such as sputtering. However, CVD requires substrate heating, and the liquid flow path layer 34 formed of photoresist is denatured. However, there is a problem that it does not dissolve in a solution such as acetone or developer later. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is preferable to employ reactive sputtering and form a Si nitride film having a thickness of, for example, 10 μm.

  At this time, a photoresist is formed on the liquid supply port 41 so that no Si nitride film is formed inside the liquid supply port 41. In addition, the Si nitride film formed in an unnecessary portion is removed by a reactive etching method (RIE) using a reaction gas containing CF4 gas as a main component. At this time, a Ni film patterned using photolithography can be used as the mask material.

  In the step (substrate removal step) in which the substrate 20 described later is etched and a part of the discharge region 50 provided in the liquid flow path portion 30 protrudes from the end 22 (FIG. 1) of the substrate 20. Etching stopper. For this reason, it is necessary to remove the unnecessary insulating layer 21 before forming the protective portion 80. In this embodiment, a reactive etching method (RIE) using a reactive gas containing CF4 gas as a main component is used. ), The thermal oxide film which is a constituent member of the insulating layer 21 can be removed.

Next, it forms so that the end surface in which the discharge port 51 in each liquid flow path part 30 is formed is arrange | positioned on the straight line parallel to (110) plane. As will be described later, the discharge port 51 can be formed by dry etching with Ar. It can also be formed by wet etching. At this time, an etching protective layer is formed by patterning a photoresist at a portion where etching is not desired.
Thereafter, the vicinity of the discharge port 51 is diced and divided so that the (110) plane is exposed.

  Next, in order to planarize the protection part 80, it grind | polishes with a grinder (polishing process). The film thickness that is scraped off by polishing may be such that the photoresist disposed on the liquid supply port 41 appears on the surface (FIG. 6G).

  In addition, when forming the protection part 80 by CVD using heat, light, plasma, or the like, a step (filling member removal process) of removing the liquid flow path layer 34 formed of a photoresist to be described later is performed. It is necessary to carry out before the step of forming 80 and after removing the resist. At this time, since the Si nitride film is also laminated inside the liquid supply port 41 of the supply region 40, it is necessary to remove it.

  In this case, after forming the protection part 80 by CVD, the protection part 80 is planarized by a polishing process. Thereafter, Ni is sputtered, pattern formation is performed using a photolithography technique, and this is laminated on the liquid supply port 41 by a reactive etching method (RIE) using a reactive gas mainly composed of CF 4 gas as a mask material. The formed Si nitride film is removed.

  In the subsequent steps, there is no significant change in the shape of the inkjet head 10 in the BB ′ cross section in FIG. 1, so that the cross-sectional views along the cutting line AA ′ (FIGS. 6H to 6J). )). When the cross-sectional view taken along the cutting line B-B ′ is in the state of FIG. 6G, the cross-sectional view taken along the cutting line A-A ′ is as shown in FIG.

  From the state of FIG. 6H, a resist (in order to provide the flow path 39 in the liquid flow path section 30 using a solvent such as acetone or a resist stripping solution such as Tokyo Ohka stripping solution 106 is used. The liquid flow path layer 34) is removed (FIG. 6 (i)).

Next, the substrate 20 is immersed in an etching solution and etched to cause the discharge region 50 in each of the liquid flow path portions 30 to protrude from the end face 22 (FIG. 1) of the substrate 20. In addition, 40 weight% KOH aqueous solution can be heated and used for the said etching liquid at 80 degreeC. (Fig. 6 (j))
Here, the liquid flow path portion forming step shown in FIGS. 6 (f) to 6 (j) will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 7 (a) to 7 (e) shown below. That is, the steps after FIG. 6F described above with reference to the cross-sectional views in the longitudinal direction of the liquid flow path portion 30 of the inkjet head 10 shown in FIGS. 7A to 7E will be described. .

  6A to 6F described above, the insulating layer 21, the lower flow path layer 32, the liquid flow path layer 34, the base layer 35, and the upper flow path layer 33 are formed on the substrate 20. And the protection part 80 are formed, and the lower flow path layer 32, the upper flow path layer 33, and the protection part 80 are patterned.

  In such a state, the tip portions in the longitudinal direction of the patterns formed in the upper flow path layer 33 and the lower flow path layer 32 and the insulating layer 21 under these layers are dry-etched using Ar or CF 4. The discharge port 51 is formed by removing the gas by RIE using a gas (FIG. 7A). In this embodiment, it forms so that the end surface in which each discharge port 51 in each liquid flow path part 30 is formed is arrange | positioned on the straight line parallel to (110) plane.

  Here, the discharge port 51 is formed by dry etching with Ar, but the discharge port 51 may be formed by wet etching.

  Next, the substrate 20 is cut by a cutting means such as dicing at the tip end side of the pattern from the position where the discharge port 51 is formed (FIG. 7B). When the substrate 20 is cut, the (110) plane is exposed in the diced cross section 23. However, when the (110) plane is exposed in advance in the substrate 20, the cutting step shown in FIG. 7B can be omitted.

  Next, in order to planarize the protection part 80, it grind | polishes with a grinder (FIG.7 (c)). In flattening, the liquid flow path layer 34 may be set as a polishing stop position.

Next, a resist (liquid flow) is formed in order to form the flow path 39 provided in the liquid flow path section 30 by using a solvent that dissolves the resist, such as acetone, or a resist stripping liquid such as Tokyo Ohka stripping liquid 106. The road layer 34) is removed (FIG. 7D).
Next, for example, when the substrate 20 is made of single crystal silicon, the cut chip portion is immersed in an etching solution that is, for example, a 40 wt% KOH aqueous solution heated to 80 ° C. to etch the substrate 20. (FIG. 7 (e)).
In this etching solution, the (110) plane exposed by the dicing is etched earliest compared to the (100) plane and the (111) plane. For this reason, etching progresses substantially perpendicularly to the (110) plane exposed in the direction of the supply region 40 from the position of the discharge port 51, and the substrate on which a part of the discharge region 50 in the inkjet head 10 is formed. A part of the upper surface of 20 is also removed. As a result, a part of the discharge region 50 protrudes from the end 22 of the substrate 20.

  Since this etching method is very reproducible, the amount of protrusion of the ejection region 50 can be set to a desired value by managing the etching time. Although the (100) plane, which is the surface of the substrate 20, is also etched, the etching rate is reduced to approximately 1/500 when the (111) plane is exposed with the pattern edge of the lower flow path layer 32 as a base point. Almost stops.

  As described above, the etching of the upper surface of the substrate 20 also proceeds to a position where the (111) plane with the pattern edge of the lower flow path layer 32 as a base point is exposed. As a result, as shown in FIG. The substrate 20 is held in a state of being disposed on the raised upper surface. At this time, the cross-sectional shape of the inkjet head 10 taken along the cutting line A-A ′ is as shown in FIG.

  Further, the pattern edge is parallel to the largest portion in the width direction of the liquid flow path portion 30, that is, in the present embodiment, the <110> direction in the supply region 40, that is, the direction from the discharge port 51 to the supply region 40. This is an edge portion in contact with the surface of the substrate 20.

  Next, the process of bonding the manifold and the process of bonding the wire bond will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the adhesive 81 is spin-coated on the adhesive substrate 82 to form a thin film of the adhesive 81 (FIG. 8A). Next, the manifold 60 manufactured by the manufacturing method described later is stamped. Thereby, the adhesive agent 81 is apply | coated to the lower end part of the manifold 60 (FIG.8 (b)).

  Next, the manifold 60 is pressed against the supply region 40 and bonded (FIG. 8C). At this time, the substrate 20 is adsorbed and fixed by a substrate fixing member (not shown), and the side wall size of the substrate fixing member is designed to be approximately the same as that of the manifold. The shift is prevented from occurring. Therefore, the opening of the fluid supply hole 61 provided in the manifold 60 can be bonded so as to coincide with the liquid supply port 41 provided in the supply region 40 of the liquid flow path unit 30.

  Thus, in the inkjet head 10 of this embodiment, fine structures such as nozzles are not formed on the back surface of the substrate 20 (surface opposite to the surface of the substrate 20 on which the inkjet 10 is formed). That is, the inkjet head 10 of the present embodiment is different from the structure of the prior art (Patent Documents 1 to 3) in which nozzles and the like protrude from the back surface of the substrate. Therefore, in the bonding process of the manifold 60, the inkjet head 10 can be easily fixed by adsorbing the back surface of the substrate 20, and the bonding process of the manifold 60 to the liquid flow path unit 30 is stabilized. Can be done.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8D, external wiring 71 such as a flexible substrate connected to an external ejection signal generator (not shown) is mounted on the mounting portion 70 using mounting means such as wire bonding. Electrically connect to

As described above, the inkjet head 10 according to the present embodiment has no fine structure formed on the back surface of the substrate 20 (the surface opposite to the surface on which the liquid flow path portion 30 is formed). The head can be easily fixed.
Further, also in the mounting process of the liquid flow path section 30, a pressing force for connecting the mounting section can be applied from the surface side of the substrate 20 (the surface on the side where the liquid flow path section 30 is formed). Reliability can be improved.

(Manifold manufacturing process)
Here, the manufacturing method of the manifold 60 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  9A to 9C are diagrams showing the manufacturing process of the manifold 60 according to the present embodiment.

  First, a groove 91 having a width of 60 μm and a depth of 60 μm is formed in a first insulator 90 such as a glass material to be the manifold 60 by a machining method such as dicing (FIG. 9A).

  Here, the width of the groove is controlled by the thickness of the blade used for dicing, and the depth is controlled by the cutting depth. The interval between the grooves is adjusted to be equal to or less than the interval between the liquid supply ports 41 to be connected.

  Next, the second insulator 92 that has not been grooved is joined to the first insulator 90 that has been grooved with an epoxy adhesive (FIG. 9B).

  And after joining, the manifold 60 can be manufactured by cut | disconnecting to predetermined length by dicing so that it may orthogonally cross the longitudinal direction of the said groove | channel 91 (FIG.9 (c)).

  In addition, in order to improve the adhesive strength (connection strength) of the manifold 60 to the protection part 80, the adhesive surface with the protection part 80 in the manifold 60 (surface newly formed by dicing) is polished and flattened. Is preferred.

  As described above, the manifold 60 according to the present embodiment can be manufactured.

  As described above, by using the steps shown in FIGS. 6A to 6J, FIGS. 7A to 7E, and FIGS. 8A to 8D, The inkjet head 10 according to the embodiment can be stably manufactured.

  In the method for manufacturing the inkjet head 10 according to the present embodiment, the lower flow path layer 32 and the upper flow path layer 33 can be formed by a plating method. By using a plating method to form the lower flow path layer 32 and the upper flow path layer 33, the current density can be controlled and the internal stress of the Ni film to be formed can be controlled. Therefore, by controlling the internal stress of the Ni film formed in this way, the stress of the upper flow path layer 33 and the lower flow path layer 32 applied to the discharge region 50 is balanced and protrudes from the end of the substrate 20. It is possible to prevent a large warp from occurring in the discharge region 50 that is present.

  Note that the shape of the end surface (the surface from which the liquid is discharged) of the discharge area 50 of the discharge region 50 included in the inkjet head 10 is formed substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the liquid flow path portion 30. It was. However, the shape of the tip end face of the discharge region 50 is not limited to this, and the liquid flow path portion 30 is formed on the surface of the substrate 20, so that it is easy to change the shape of the resist pattern during etching. In addition, the shape of the end face of the discharge region 50 can be changed, and the inkjet head 10 having flexible discharge characteristics according to the application can be manufactured.

  Further, as described above, the shape of the flow path 39 of the liquid flow path section 30 according to the present embodiment is such that the supply area 40 is longer in the width direction than the discharge area 50, and the cross section of the liquid flow path section 30 ( The surface formed by the width direction and the height direction) is configured such that the area of the discharge region 50 is smaller than that of the supply region 40.

However, the shape of the flow path 39 (cross section) of the liquid flow path section 30 is not limited to this, and the liquid flow path section 30 is formed with a resist pattern, so that the shape of the liquid flow path section 30 can be easily made. Can be changed.
In addition, in the method of manufacturing the inkjet head 10, the lower flow path layer forming step for forming the lower flow path layer 32 on the substrate 20 and the liquid flow path layer 34 that becomes the flow path are formed on the lower flow path layer 32. A liquid channel layer forming step, an upper channel layer forming step for forming the upper channel layer 33 on the lower channel layer 32 and the liquid channel layer 34, a substrate removing step for removing a part of the substrate 20, The liquid flow path layer removing step for removing the liquid flow path layer 34, and the protection unit 80 on the substrate 20 so that the height from the upper surface of the substrate is higher than the height from the upper surface of the substrate to the upper flow path layer. It is preferable to include the protective part formation process formed in this.

  According to the above-described method, the lower flow path layer 32 and the upper flow path layer 33 are formed so as to embed the liquid flow path layer 34 to be the flow path 39, so that the shape of the flow path 39 is determined. The shape of the liquid flow path layer 34 can be controlled by photolithography. Therefore, the flow path 39 having a stable shape can be produced, and the shape can be easily changed only by changing the mask pattern used for photolithography, and the design freedom is greatly improved. Play.

  In addition, by manufacturing the protection unit 80 in a separate process from the liquid channel unit 30, it is not necessary to use the same material as the upper channel layer 33 and the lower channel layer 32. Therefore, the protection part 80 can be comprised with an insulating material, and there exists an effect of preventing the crosstalk of an adjacent channel.

  In addition, the manufacturing method of the inkjet head 10 includes a cutting / grinding process or a removing process such as etching in order to form the protective portion 80 so that the adhesive surface with the manifold 60 is parallel to the back surface of the substrate 20. It is preferable to include. Here, “parallel” includes not only completely parallel but also substantially parallel.

  According to the above-described method, the manifold 60 can be bonded to the flattened bonding surface (protection portion 80), and the bonding surface can be expanded to the maximum, and the adhesive flows out along the step pattern, thereby stabilizing the bonding. It is possible to prevent deterioration of the sex. Accordingly, the manifold 60 and the liquid flow path portion 30 formed on the substrate 20 can be simply and reliably bonded, and the ink jet head 10 having higher reliability and further improved adhesive strength is provided. There is an effect that can be done.

  In addition, it can be said that the inkjet head according to the present invention is characterized by the following points.

That is, an ink jet head according to the present invention is an ink jet head that receives a liquid and discharges the liquid onto a drawing target in response to application of a voltage, and is provided on a substrate and the upper surface of the substrate stacked on the substrate. An outer shell that forms a liquid channel section along the liquid shell, and the liquid channel section includes a discharge portion that has a discharge port for discharging the liquid formed on an end surface of the outer shell, and the liquid channel The unit includes a supply unit having an inlet for receiving the liquid inflow, and at least a part of the discharge unit protrudes from an end of the upper surface of the substrate, and the liquid flow channel unit discharges the liquid onto a drawing target. A mounting portion for receiving power to be applied to the substrate is provided on the substrate surface, and an adhesion protection portion is provided on at least a part of the upper surface of the substrate so that a height from the upper surface of the substrate is equal to or higher than the upper surface of the outer shell. Form It is also possible to characterized and.
In this case, it is preferable that the adhesion protection portion is formed so as to cover at least a part of the upper surface of the outer shell and is formed substantially parallel to the back surface of the substrate.

  In this case, it is preferable that the adhesion protection portion is formed of an insulating material.

  In addition, it can be paraphrased that the manufacturing method of the inkjet head according to the present invention is characterized by the following points.

  That is, a method for manufacturing an inkjet head that receives liquid and discharges fine droplets of the liquid onto a drawing target in response to application of a voltage, and determines a flow path shape of the liquid along the upper surface of the substrate. Forming a filling member on the substrate surface, forming an outer shell so as to cover the filling member between the substrate surface, removing the filling member, and the outer shell A member for removing a part of the substrate so that one end of the substrate protrudes from the end on the substrate surface, and a member for allowing liquid to flow into the inlet formed in the outer shell And a step of forming, on the upper surface of the substrate of the bonding portion, an adhesion protection portion whose height from the upper surface of the substrate is equal to or higher than the upper surface of the outer shell. is there.

  In this case, it is preferable that the adhesion protection part forming step includes a cutting / grinding process for forming the adhesion protection part substantially parallel to the back surface of the substrate, or a removal process such as etching.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A various change is possible in the range shown to the claim. That is, embodiments obtained by combining technical means appropriately modified within the scope of the claims are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The ink-jet head according to the present embodiment can be applied to various ink-jet heads in which a manifold is bonded in the vicinity of a hollow supply part to which a liquid channel part for discharging a liquid to a drawing target is coupled.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an inkjet head according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is arrow sectional drawing which showed the state which cut | disconnected the inkjet head shown in FIG. 1 by cutting line A-A '. It is arrow sectional drawing which showed the state cut | disconnected by the cutting | disconnection line C-C 'of the inkjet head shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the comparison structure of the inkjet head which concerns on this Embodiment. In this Embodiment, it is the perspective view which showed the structure of the inkjet head at the time of providing the protection part of another structure. FIG. 1 shows a method of manufacturing the ink jet head shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 1A to 1G show a state cut along the cutting line BB ′ of FIG. 1 in the manufacturing process of the ink jet head. Arrow sectional views, FIGS. (H) to (j) are sectional views taken along the cutting line AA ′ of FIG. 1 in the manufacturing process of the inkjet head. The manufacturing method of the inkjet head concerning this Embodiment is shown, The figure (a)-the figure (d) is sectional drawing in the longitudinal direction of the flow path provided in the liquid flow-path part of the inkjet head. is there. FIGS. 2A and 2B show a method of bonding an ink jet head manifold and an external wiring mounting unit according to the present embodiment, wherein FIGS. 1A to 1C show a manifold bonding process, and FIG. It is a figure which shows an adhesion process with a wiring mounting means. FIGS. 3A to 3C are perspective views illustrating a method for manufacturing a manifold provided in the ink jet head according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a comparative configuration of the inkjet head according to the present embodiment and showing the configuration of the inkjet head. It is sectional drawing which shows a prior art and shows the principal part structure of a fine pattern formation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the prior art and shows the manufacturing method of a fine nozzle. It is sectional drawing which shows a prior art and shows the principal part structure of the nozzle with which an inkjet printer is provided. It is a figure which shows a prior art and shows the manufacturing method of a nozzle.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 10 'Inkjet head 20 Substrate 21 Insulating layer 22 End 23 Cross section 30 Liquid flow path part 32 Lower flow path layer 33 Upper flow path layer 34 Liquid flow path layer (filling member)
35 Underlayer 36 Electrode for Plating 39 Channel 40 Supply Area 41 Liquid Supply Port 50 Discharge Area 51 Discharge Port 60 Manifold 61 Fluid Supply Hole 62 Common Liquid Chamber 70 Mounting Portion 71 External Wiring 80, 80 ′ Protection Portion 81 Adhesive 82 Substrate 90 Substrate 91 Groove 92 Substrate 502 Substrate 503 Liquid flow path portion 504 Common liquid chamber 506 Manifold 508 Protection portion 510 Crosstalk current

Claims (15)

An inkjet head that receives liquid and discharges the liquid onto a drawing target in response to application of a voltage,
A substrate,
A flow path through which the liquid flows, and a liquid flow path section provided with a discharge port for discharging the liquid flowing through the flow path,
The liquid channel portion is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate so that the flow channel is parallel to the upper surface, and the upper surface side surface of the liquid channel portion from the upper surface. An ink jet head, comprising: a protective portion having a height equal to the height to the opposite surface. An inkjet head that receives liquid and discharges the liquid onto a drawing target in response to application of a voltage,
A substrate,
A flow path through which the liquid flows, and a liquid flow path section provided with a discharge port for discharging the liquid flowing through the flow path,
The liquid channel portion is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate so that the flow channel is parallel to the upper surface, and the upper surface side surface of the liquid channel portion from the upper surface. An ink jet head, wherein a protective part higher than the height to the opposite surface is disposed.   The protection unit is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate and is disposed so as to cover a part of the facing surface, and the surface of the protection unit disposed on each surface is flush. The inkjet head according to claim 2.   4. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein a part of the liquid channel portion including the discharge port protrudes from an end portion of an upper surface of the substrate. The liquid flow path section has a supply region having a supply port for supplying liquid to the flow channel, and a discharge region having the discharge port,
5. The inkjet head according to claim 1, wherein the flow path in the discharge area is configured to be narrower than the flow path in the supply area. The liquid channel part forms the channel by a lower channel layer and an upper channel layer,
6. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the lower channel layer and the upper channel layer is a conductor. The upper surface of the substrate includes a mounting portion to which a voltage for discharging the liquid from the discharge port is applied,
The inkjet head according to claim 6, wherein the mounting portion is configured integrally with the conductor.   The inkjet head according to claim 1, wherein the protective part is made of an insulating material.   The said liquid flow path part is equipped with the insulating layer which insulates the said liquid flow path part and the said board | substrate on the upper surface side of the said board | substrate, The any one of Claim 1 to 8 characterized by the above-mentioned. Inkjet head. A method of manufacturing an inkjet head that receives liquid and discharges the liquid onto a drawing target in response to application of a voltage,
A liquid flow path portion forming step for forming a liquid flow path portion provided with a flow path parallel to the upper surface and a discharge port for discharging the liquid flowing through the flow path on the upper surface of the substrate; ,
A protective unit that forms a protective unit on the upper surface of the substrate having the same height as the height from the upper surface to the opposing surface of the surface on the upper surface side in the liquid channel unit formed by the liquid channel unit forming step. And a forming step. An ink jet head manufacturing method comprising: A method of manufacturing an inkjet head that receives liquid and discharges the liquid onto a drawing target in response to application of a voltage,
A liquid flow path portion forming step for forming a liquid flow path portion provided with a flow path parallel to the upper surface and a discharge port for discharging the liquid flowing through the flow path on the upper surface of the substrate; ,
A protective portion forming step of forming a protective portion on the upper surface of the substrate higher than the height from the upper surface to the opposing surface of the surface on the upper surface side in the liquid flow channel portion formed by the liquid flow channel portion forming step; An ink jet head manufacturing method comprising:   In the protective part forming step, after the material to be the protective part is laminated on the upper surface of the substrate on which the liquid channel part is formed, the surface of the layer faces the opposing surface of the liquid channel part. The method for manufacturing an ink jet head according to claim 10, further comprising a cutting / grinding step for cutting / grinding the layer or a removing step for removing the layer.   In the protective part forming step, after laminating the material to be the protective part on the upper surface of the substrate on which the liquid channel part is formed, at least a part of the layer is formed in order to flatten the surface of the layer. The inkjet head manufacturing method according to claim 11, further comprising a cutting / grinding step of cutting / grinding or a removing step of removing. The liquid flow path portion forming step includes
A lower channel layer forming step of forming a lower channel layer on the upper surface of the substrate via an insulating layer;
A filling member forming step of forming a filling member for determining the shape of the flow channel along an upper surface of the substrate in a region of the lower flow channel layer formed by the lower flow channel layer forming step;
An upper channel layer forming step of forming an upper channel layer on the filler member formed by the filler member forming step and surrounding the filler member with the lower channel layer and the upper channel layer; ,
The inkjet head manufacturing method according to claim 11, further comprising a filling member removing step of removing the filling member formed by the filling member forming step.   The substrate from which a part of the substrate is removed so that a part including the discharge port in the liquid channel portion protrudes from an end portion of the upper surface of the substrate after the protection portion is formed by the protection portion forming step. The inkjet head manufacturing method according to claim 11, further comprising a removing step.

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