JP2007118585A - Manufacturing method for nozzle plate, and manufacturing method for liquid droplet jet apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily form a nozzle of a liquid droplet jet apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: In order to form a plurality of nozzle array groups in a base 25 of an inkjet head, firstly, a laser irradiation source and a masking material 51, in which a plurality of holes 51a arranged in two lines are formed, are arranged above a position in which the one nozzle array group of the base 25 is formed (a masking material shifting step). Next, an ultraviolet laser is applied to the masking material 51 from above the masking material 51 (a laser irradiation step). The applied ultraviolet laser passes through the hole 51a so as to be applied to the base 25. A plurality of nozzles 15, which are composed of the two nozzle arrays and which constitute the one nozzle array group, are formed in the part, irradiated with the ultraviolet laser, of the base 25 at a time. The masking material shifting step and the laser irradiation step are repeatedly performed so that the plurality of nozzle array groups can be formed in the base 25. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a droplet ejecting apparatus that ejects droplets from a nozzle, and a method for manufacturing a nozzle plate constituting the droplet ejecting apparatus.

In an inkjet head that ejects ink from nozzles, there is an inkjet head in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged to form a plurality of rows each extending in a predetermined direction. For example, in the inkjet printer head (inkjet head) described in Patent Document 1, two nozzle rows are formed by arranging a plurality of nozzles along one direction on a nozzle plate made of a synthetic resin material. The two nozzle rows are arranged close to each other. The plurality of nozzles are formed by laser processing using an excimer laser, a YAG laser, a carbon dioxide gas laser, or the like.
JP 2003-251811 (FIGS. 11 and 12)

  However, in the inkjet head described in Patent Document 1, if the nozzles are individually formed by laser processing one by one, it takes time to form the nozzles. Then, as the number of nozzles included in each nozzle row and / or the number of nozzle rows increases, it takes time to form the nozzles.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method of a droplet ejecting apparatus with a simple manufacturing process, a manufacturing method of a nozzle plate with a simple manufacturing process, a nozzle plate with easy manufacturing, and a liquid droplet ejecting apparatus with easy manufacturing. That is.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a nozzle plate, wherein a plurality of mask hole arrays are formed by a plurality of mask holes arranged in a first direction, and are orthogonal to the first direction. A step of providing a masking material in which a mask hole row group is formed by the plurality of mask hole rows arranged in the direction 2 and a base material, and the masking material is moved above a predetermined position on the surface of the base material. Masking material transfer process;
A laser irradiation step of irradiating the surface of the base material with a laser from the opposite side of the base material of the masking material, the base material having a plurality of nozzles arranged in a row in a first direction There is provided a nozzle plate manufacturing method including a nozzle row group forming step of forming a plurality of nozzle row groups formed by arranging the nozzle rows in a second direction.

  According to this, a plurality of nozzle rows included in one nozzle row group are simultaneously formed by the nozzle row group forming step. Therefore, it is possible to easily form a nozzle plate including a nozzle row group formed by arranging a plurality of nozzle rows having a plurality of nozzles arranged in a row in a direction orthogonal to the row direction.

  In the nozzle plate manufacturing method of the present invention, the plurality of nozzle row groups may be formed by repeatedly performing the masking material moving step and the nozzle row group forming step. In this case, a plurality of nozzle row groups can be efficiently formed by repeatedly performing the masking material moving step and the nozzle row group forming step. Therefore, the nozzle row group can be easily formed.

  In the nozzle plate manufacturing method of the present invention, in the nozzle row group forming step, the nozzle row group may be formed using an ultraviolet laser. According to this, laser irradiation can be performed with a uniform energy density over a relatively wide area by using an ultraviolet laser, and therefore, a plurality of nozzle arrays included in the nozzle array group can be accurately formed in the laser irradiation process. be able to.

  In the nozzle plate manufacturing method of the present invention, the length of the mask hole array group in the second direction of the masking material may be 2 mm or less. Alternatively, the length of the mask hole array group in the first direction of the masking material may be 20 mm or less. In these cases, since the laser beam is irradiated to the mask holes of the plurality of mask hole rows of the masking material with a substantially uniform energy density, the nozzle row group can be formed with high accuracy.

  In the nozzle plate manufacturing method of the present invention, the nozzle array group forming step includes the laser irradiation step, and then the step of performing the laser irradiation step after moving the masking material in the first direction. Alternatively, a nozzle row group that is longer than the nozzle row group in the first direction may be formed. In this case, with respect to the first direction, in the case of forming a nozzle array group longer than a certain limit length capable of irradiating the laser with a uniform energy density, that is, in a single laser irradiation step, such a long length is required. Even when the entire nozzle row group cannot be formed at once, the nozzle row group can be easily formed in the nozzle row group forming step.

  In the nozzle plate manufacturing method of the present invention, the base material may be polyimide. In this case, the substrate can be easily processed, and the nozzle can be easily formed particularly in the laser irradiation process.

  In the nozzle plate manufacturing method of the present invention, the laser may be an excimer laser. In this case, since the base material can be irradiated with an ultraviolet laser having a high energy density, the base material can be easily processed.

  In the nozzle plate manufacturing method of the present invention, the masking material may include a quartz glass substrate and a chromium layer formed on the surface of the glass substrate, and the mask hole may be formed in the chromium layer. . In this case, the mask hole can be formed with high accuracy by photolithography.

  In the nozzle plate manufacturing method of the present invention, the mask holes of each of the mask hole arrays are formed at regular intervals in the first direction, and the mask hole arrays are arranged so as to be shifted from each other in the first direction. May be. In this case, nozzles arranged at high density in the first direction can be formed.

  In the nozzle plate manufacturing method of the present invention, the mask hole row may be displaced from the adjacent mask row by a quarter of the predetermined interval in the first direction. In this case, it is possible to form nozzles arranged at high density and at equal intervals in the first direction.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, a step of providing the first plate material, a plurality of pressure chambers corresponding to the plurality of nozzles are formed in the first plate material, and the nozzle plate manufacturing method of the present invention is used. Joining the manufactured nozzle plate and the first plate to form a flow path unit in which the plurality of nozzles and a plurality of pressure chambers communicating with the plurality of nozzles are formed; and the plurality of pressures A step of disposing a second plate so as to cover the chamber, a step of forming a piezoelectric layer on the opposite side of the pressure plate of the second plate, and a surface of the piezoelectric layer on the side opposite to the pressure chamber. Forming a plurality of individual electrodes facing each of the pressure chambers, and pulling out a plurality of first contacts in the same direction from the plurality of individual electrodes to a region not facing the pressure chamber, and the pressure of the piezoelectric layer On the room side surface, Forming a common electrode facing a plurality of individual electrodes, and wiring members each having a plurality of second contacts and supplying a driving voltage to each of the plurality of individual electrodes are connected to the plurality of first contacts, respectively. A method of manufacturing a droplet ejecting apparatus including the steps is provided.

  In this case, since the first contacts of the plurality of individual electrodes are all drawn out in the same direction, the interval between the first contacts is not locally reduced. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the second contacts and the wiring patterns of the wiring member provided corresponding to the first contacts from being locally concentrated and to reduce the manufacturing cost of the wiring member. Further, the connection between the first contact of the individual electrode and the second contact of the wiring member is facilitated.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to the manufacture of an inkjet head that ejects ink from nozzles.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet printer according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, an inkjet printer 1 includes a carriage 2 that can move in a scanning direction (left and right in FIG. 1), a serial inkjet head 3 that is attached to the carriage 2 and that ejects ink onto a recording sheet P, recording A paper transport roller 4 for transporting the paper P forward (paper transport direction) in FIG. 1 is provided. The inkjet head 3 prints on the recording paper P by ejecting ink from nozzles 15 (see FIG. 2) on the lower surface of the carriage 2 while moving integrally with the carriage 2. The recording paper P printed by the inkjet head 3 is discharged by the paper transport roller 4 in the paper feeding direction.

  Next, the inkjet head 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the inkjet head 3 is disposed on the upper surface of the flow path unit 31 in which a plurality of individual ink flow paths each including a plurality of pressure chambers 10 are formed, and on the upper surface of the flow path unit 31. And a piezoelectric actuator 32 that applies pressure to the ink in the chamber 10.

  The flow path unit 31 includes a cavity plate 20, a base plate 21, a manifold plate 22, and a nozzle plate 23, and these four plates 20 to 23 are joined in a stacked state. Of these, the three plates 20 to 22 excluding the nozzle plate 23 are made of a metal material such as stainless steel, and ink channels such as a pressure chamber 10 and a manifold channel 11 described later are formed by a method such as etching. Is formed. The nozzle plate 23 is made of a synthetic resin material such as polyimide and is bonded to the lower surface of the manifold plate 22.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a plurality of pressure chambers 10 are formed in the cavity plate 20, and the plurality of pressure chambers 10 are arranged in four rows arranged in the paper feeding direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2). A pressure chamber row is formed. Each pressure chamber 10 has a substantially oval shape that is long in the scanning direction (left-right direction in FIG. 2). In plan view, the base plate 21 overlaps with the left end in the longitudinal direction of the pressure chambers 10 belonging to the first and third pressure chamber rows from the left in FIG. 2, and the second row from the left in FIG. A communication hole 12 is formed at a position overlapping the right end portion in the longitudinal direction of the pressure chambers 10 belonging to the fourth pressure chamber row. The base plate 21 has a communication hole 13 at a position overlapping the end of the pressure chamber 10 opposite to the communication hole 12 in the longitudinal direction in plan view.

  The manifold plate 22 is formed with a manifold channel 11 extending in three in the paper feed direction. Among these, the right and left manifold channels 11 in FIG. 2 are substantially the left half of the pressure chambers 10 belonging to the first pressure chamber row from the left in FIG. 2 and the fourth pressure chamber row in plan view, respectively. Are arranged so as to overlap with the substantially right half of the pressure chamber 10 belonging to. The central manifold channel 11 in FIG. 2 is substantially the right half of the pressure chamber 10 belonging to the second pressure chamber row from the left in FIG. 2 and the pressure chamber 10 belonging to the third pressure chamber row in plan view. It is arranged to overlap the left half. Further, the width of the central manifold channel 11 is larger than the two manifold channels 11 at both ends. Ink is supplied to the manifold channel 11 from an ink supply port 9 formed in a vibration plate 40 described later. The manifold plate 22 has a communication hole 14 in a region overlapping the communication hole 13 in plan view.

  In the nozzle plate 23, a plurality of nozzles 15 are formed in a region overlapping the communication hole 14 in plan view. The plurality of nozzles 15 are arranged at intervals P in the paper feed direction (vertical direction in FIG. 5, first direction) to form four nozzle rows 16a to 16d. Further, the nozzle row 16a and the nozzle row 16b, and the nozzle row 16c and the nozzle row 16d are arranged close to each other in the scanning direction (left and right direction in FIG. 5, the second direction). 17a and nozzle row group 17b are formed. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the plurality of nozzles 15 included in the nozzle row 16a and the plurality of nozzles 15 included in the nozzle row 16b, and the plurality of nozzles 15 included in the nozzle row 16c and the plurality included in the nozzle row 16d. The nozzles 15 are arranged so as to be shifted by P / 4 with respect to the paper feeding direction. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the adjacent nozzle row group 17a and the nozzle row group 17b are arranged apart from each other in the scanning direction, and the plurality of nozzles 15 included in the nozzle row groups 17a and 17b They are offset from each other by P / 2 with respect to the direction. Thus, since the nozzles 15 are arranged at a pitch of P / 4 with respect to the paper feeding direction, the position of the nozzles 15 with respect to the paper feeding direction is the same among the four nozzle rows. Thus, the nozzles 15 are arranged with high density in the paper feeding direction. Such a plurality of nozzles 15 can be formed by irradiating the nozzle plate 23 with an ultraviolet laser such as an excimer laser, as will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the manifold channel 11 communicates with the pressure chamber 10 via the communication hole 12, and the pressure chamber 10 communicates with the nozzle 15 via the communication holes 13 and 14. Yes. As described above, the flow path unit 31 is formed with a plurality of individual ink flow paths from the manifold flow path 11 through the pressure chambers 10 to the nozzles 15.

  Next, the piezoelectric actuator 32 will be described. The piezoelectric actuator 32 includes a vibration plate 40 disposed on the upper surface of the flow path unit 31, a piezoelectric layer 41 formed on the upper surface of the vibration plate 40, and a plurality of pressure chambers 10 on the upper surface of the piezoelectric layer 41. A plurality of individual electrodes 42 formed.

  The diaphragm 40 is a substantially rectangular plate-like body in plan view, and is made of, for example, an iron-based alloy such as stainless steel, a copper-based alloy, a nickel-based alloy, or a titanium-based alloy. The vibration plate 40 is disposed on the upper surface of the cavity plate 20 so as to cover the plurality of pressure chambers 10, and is joined to the cavity plate 20. The metal diaphragm 40 has conductivity and also serves as a common electrode for applying an electric field to the piezoelectric layer 41 sandwiched between the individual electrodes 42 and is always held at the ground potential.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a piezoelectric layer 41 mainly composed of lead gluconate titanate (PZT), which is a solid solution of lead titanate and lead gluconate, is formed on the upper surface of the diaphragm 40. Yes. The piezoelectric layer 41 is continuously formed across the plurality of pressure chambers 10. The piezoelectric layer 41 can be formed by, for example, aerosol deposition (AD method) in which particles of very small piezoelectric material are sprayed onto the substrate and collided at high speed to deposit on the surface of the substrate. The piezoelectric layer 41 can also be formed by sputtering, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), sol-gel method, or hydrothermal synthesis method. Alternatively, a piezoelectric sheet obtained by firing a PZT green sheet may be cut into a predetermined size and attached to the upper surface of the diaphragm 40.

  On the upper surface of the piezoelectric layer 41, a plurality of substantially elliptical individual electrodes 42 that are slightly smaller than the pressure chambers 10 are formed at positions overlapping the pressure chambers 10 in plan view. The individual electrode 42 is made of a conductive material such as gold, copper, silver, palladium, platinum, or titanium. The left ends of the plurality of individual electrodes 42 in FIG. 2 are drawn out by the same distance up to a region that does not overlap the pressure chamber 10 in plan view, and these portions form a contact (first contact) 42a. Yes. The individual electrodes 42 and the contacts 42a are formed by screen printing, sputtering, or the like.

  A flexible wiring board (FPC) (wiring member) 45 as shown in FIG. 6 is disposed on the upper surface of the piezoelectric actuator 32. The FPC 45 includes a substantially rectangular contact (second contact) 46 that electrically connects the contact 42a to a portion that overlaps the contact 42a in plan view, and a wiring 47 that extends from each contact 46 to the left in FIG. Is formed. The wiring 47 is electrically connected to a driver IC (not shown), and the potential of the individual electrode 42 is controlled via the wiring 47 and the contact 46 by the driver IC. That is, the drive voltage is supplied to the individual electrode 42 by the driver IC.

  Here, the contacts 42a are drawn from the individual electrodes 42 by the same distance in the same direction. As shown in FIG. 2, since the contacts 42a are arranged uniformly, the distance between the contacts 42a is not locally narrowed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, in the FPC 45 arranged on the upper surface of the piezoelectric actuator 32, the contacts 46 connected to the contacts 42a and / or the wirings 47 connected to the contacts 46 are locally densely arranged. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the FPC 45 can be reduced. Further, the connection between the contact 42a of the individual electrode 42 and the contact 46 of the FPC 45 is facilitated.

  Next, the operation of the inkjet head 3 will be described. When a predetermined potential is selectively applied to the individual electrode 42 by the driver IC, a potential difference is generated between the individual electrode 42 to which the predetermined potential is applied and the diaphragm 40 as a common electrode held at the ground potential. To do. At this time, an electric field in the thickness direction acts on a portion of the piezoelectric layer 41 sandwiched between the individual electrode 42 and the diaphragm 40. At this time, when the polarization direction of the piezoelectric layer 41 and the direction of the electric field are the same, the piezoelectric layer 41 contracts in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the thickness direction. As the piezoelectric layer 41 contracts, the diaphragm 40 is deformed so as to protrude toward the pressure chamber 10, and the volume of the pressure chamber 10 decreases. As a result, the pressure of the ink in the pressure chamber 10 rises, and the ink is ejected from the nozzle 15 communicating with the pressure chamber 10.

  Next, a method for manufacturing such an ink jet head 3 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In order to manufacture the ink-jet head 3, first, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 8A, above the portion where the nozzle row group 17a of the base material 25 to be the nozzle plate 23 is formed, 8, a masking material 51 having a plurality of holes 51a arranged in two rows in the vertical direction and a laser irradiation source (150) for irradiating a laser are arranged (masking material moving step). Note that the masking material 51 and the laser irradiation source (150) can move while maintaining their positional relationship.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, a laser is irradiated from above the masking material 51 (on the side opposite to the nozzle plate 23) toward the masking material 51 (laser irradiation step, nozzle row group formation forming step). The laser light passes through the hole (mask hole) 51a and is irradiated on the upper surface of the substrate 25. A plurality of nozzles 15 (nozzle row, nozzle row group 17a (see FIG. 5)) arranged in two rows in the vertical direction in FIG. 8 are formed in the portion of the base material 25 irradiated with the laser.

  Here, in the case where a laser having a wavelength in the infrared region such as a carbon dioxide laser or a YAG laser is used to form the nozzle 15, the beam is narrowed down and irradiated onto the base material, and the base material is melted and evaporated to cause the nozzle 15. Need to be formed one by one, and it takes time to form the nozzle 15. Therefore, in this embodiment, an ultraviolet laser such as an excimer laser is used. In this case, energy can be instantaneously absorbed by the base material 25, the intermolecular bond can be broken, and the base material 25 can be gasified and made into ultrafine particles. Therefore, it is not necessary to narrow the beam finely, and it is possible to irradiate the laser with a uniform energy density over a predetermined area. Thereby, if all of the plurality of holes 51a of the masking material 51 are within this region, a plurality of nozzles 15 corresponding to the plurality of holes 51a can be formed simultaneously by one laser irradiation. In the case of an excimer laser, the area of a region that can be irradiated with a uniform energy density is, for example, about 2 mm wide × 20 mm long. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9A, the full width W of the two rows of holes 51a of the masking material 51, that is, the left row of the holes 51a (mask hole rows) formed in the masking material 51 in two rows. The distance in the left-right direction in FIG. 9 (a) between the left end of the holes 51a formed in the right side and the right end of the holes 51a formed in the right column is preferably 2 mm or less. The length L in the vertical direction in FIG. 9A between the upper end of the row of the left holes 51a in a) and the lower end of the row of the right holes 51a in FIG. 9 is preferably 20 mm or less.

  As shown in FIG. 9B, the masking material 51 has a chromium layer 152b formed on the surface of a transparent quartz glass substrate 151a called a mask blank, and a hole 51a is formed in the chromium plating layer 151b. Is formed. When the masking material 51 is irradiated with an ultraviolet laser, the laser is blocked in the region of the masking material 51 where the chromium layer 152b is formed, and the laser is transmitted in the region where the hole 51 is formed. The hole 51a is formed by, for example, a lithography method using electron beam exposure.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 8B, the masking material 51 and the laser irradiation source (150) are formed above the portion of the base member 25 where the nozzle row group 17b (see FIG. 5) is formed. ) Are moved (masking material moving step). At this time, the plurality of nozzles 15 included in the nozzle row group 17a (see FIG. 5) and the plurality of nozzles 15 included in the nozzle row group 17b (see FIG. 5) are arranged at positions shifted with respect to the arrangement direction of the nozzles 15. ing. Therefore, the masking material 51 is moved to the lower right in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, a laser is irradiated from above the masking material 51 (laser irradiation step) to form a plurality of nozzles 15 included in the nozzle row group 17b (see FIG. 5).

  In this way, two nozzle row groups 17a and 17b (see FIG. 5) are sequentially formed by repeating the masking material moving step and the laser irradiation step (nozzle row group forming step) twice.

  As shown in FIG. 7C, the nozzle plate 23 in which the plurality of nozzles 15 included in the two nozzle row groups 17a and 17b (see FIG. 5) are formed and the above-described plates 20 to 22 are stacked. The flow path unit 31 is formed by joining together. As shown in FIG. 7D, the diaphragm 40 is disposed on the upper surface of the flow path unit 31, and the piezoelectric layer 41 is formed by the AD method. As shown in FIG. 7 (e), the individual electrode 42 and the contact 42a drawn from the individual electrode 42 are formed on the surface of the piezoelectric layer 41 opposite to the pressure chamber, and the contact 42a and the contact 46 of the FPC 45 are connected. Thus, the piezoelectric actuator 32 is formed. Thus, the manufacturing process of the inkjet head 3 is completed. In this embodiment, since the diaphragm is a metal, the diaphragm also serves as a common electrode. However, when the diaphragm is formed of an insulating material, the diaphragm is formed on one surface of the diaphragm. It is necessary to form a conductive layer such as metal by vapor deposition, for example.

  According to the embodiment described above, one nozzle row group is formed by the masking material moving step of moving the masking material 51 above the nozzle plate 23 and the laser irradiation step of irradiating the ultraviolet laser from above the masking material 51. A plurality of nozzles 15 to be formed can be formed at a time. Moreover, two nozzle row groups can be easily formed by repeating the masking material forming step and the laser irradiation step.

  Further, by using an ultraviolet laser such as an excimer laser, a relatively wide region can be irradiated with a laser having a uniform energy density. Therefore, a plurality of nozzle rows 16a to 16a belonging to the nozzle row groups 17a and 17b in the laser irradiation step. 16d (a plurality of nozzles 15) can be formed accurately and efficiently.

  Next, modified examples in which various changes are made to the present embodiment will be described. However, components having the same configuration as in the present embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted as appropriate.

<First modification>
As described above, if an ultraviolet laser is used, it is possible to irradiate a relatively wide area with a uniform energy density. However, if the length of the nozzle array group is longer than that area, the laser irradiation is performed once. The entire nozzle array group cannot be formed in the process. In that case, first, in the masking material moving step, the masking material 51 is disposed so as to be positioned above a portion where one nozzle row group is formed, and laser irradiation is performed in the same manner as in the embodiment. After performing the process, the masking material 51 is moved in the nozzle arrangement direction, and laser is irradiated from above the masking material 51. One series of nozzle rows may be formed by repeating such a series of operations one or more times. As an example, as shown in FIG. 10, the lengths of the nozzle row group 67a constituted by the nozzle rows 66a and 66b and the nozzle row group 67b constituted by the nozzle rows 66c and 66d are made uniform by the ultraviolet laser in this direction. A case where the energy density is about twice the limit length (for example, 20 mm) of the region that can be irradiated with laser will be described.

  In this case, first, as shown in FIG. 10A, the masking material 51 and the laser irradiation source are arranged above the base material 63 at a position overlapping the upper half of the nozzle row group 67a in plan view (masking). Material transfer process). Similarly to the embodiment, the masking material 51 is irradiated with an ultraviolet laser such as an excimer laser from above the masking material 51 to form a half of the nozzle array group 67a (laser irradiation process). Next, as shown in FIG. 10B, in the downward direction (first direction) in FIG. 10B, the masking material 51 and the laser irradiation source overlap with the lower half of the nozzle array group 67a in plan view. And the lower half (the remaining part) of the nozzle array group 67a is formed by irradiating the masking material 51 with an ultraviolet laser from above.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10C, the masking material 51 and the laser irradiation source 150 are moved to corresponding positions in the adjacent nozzle row group 67b. That is, the masking material 51 and the laser irradiation source are moved to a position overlapping the lower half of the nozzle row group 67b in a plan view (masking material moving step). Then, the upper half of the nozzle array group 67 b is formed by irradiating the masking material 51 with an ultraviolet laser from above the masking material 51. In the masking material moving step, the masking material 51 may be moved to a position overlapping the upper half of the nozzle row group 67b in plan view. However, when the masking material 51 is moved to a corresponding position of the nozzle row group 67b, that is, a position overlapping the lower half of the nozzle row group 67b, the moving distance of the masking material 51 and the laser irradiation source is larger than the above-described case. Therefore, the time required for the masking material moving step can be shortened, and the nozzle 65 can be formed efficiently.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10 (d), the masking material 51 and the laser irradiation source are moved upward (first direction) in FIG. 10 (d) so that the upper half of the nozzle array group 67b is seen in plan view. Arrange them in overlapping positions. The masking material 51 is irradiated with an ultraviolet laser from above the masking material 51 to form the upper half (remaining part) of the nozzle row group 67b.

  As described above, even when the lengths of the nozzle row groups 67a and 67b are large, the masking material 51 and the laser irradiation source are moved in the arrangement direction of the nozzles 65 after the masking movement process and the laser irradiation process, The nozzle array groups 67a and 67b can be easily formed by irradiating with an ultraviolet laser. If the length of the nozzle row group is longer than the nozzle row groups 67a and 67b in FIG. 10, the masking material 51 is moved in the arrangement direction of the nozzles 65 after the masking material moving step and the laser irradiation step, and masking is performed. An ultraviolet laser is irradiated from above the material 51 toward the masking material 51. Such a series of steps may be repeated a plurality of times to form the remaining part of the nozzle row group. Moreover, in this modification, a series of processes including the first laser irradiation process, the masking material moving process and the laser irradiation process that are repeated one or more times thereafter are the nozzle row group forming process.

<Second modification>
In the case of an inkjet head that ejects ink of a plurality of colors, the positions in the arrangement direction of nozzles that eject ink of each color may coincide. In this case, the landing positions on the recording paper P (see FIG. 1) can be matched with each color ink. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, an example of an inkjet head that ejects ink of two colors, black (K) ink and cyan (C) ink, will be described. In the nozzle plate 73, the plurality of nozzles 75 included in the nozzle row 76 a and the nozzle row 76 c that eject black ink are arranged with a shift of P / 2 in the vertical direction of FIG. 11, and the nozzle row 76 b that ejects cyan ink. The nozzles 75 included in the nozzle row 76d are displaced by P / 2 with respect to the vertical direction in FIG. The plurality of nozzles 75 included in the nozzle row 76a and the nozzle row 76b, and the plurality of nozzles 75 included in the nozzle row 76c and the nozzle row 76d may be arranged at the same position in the vertical direction of FIG. In this case, the nozzles 75 that eject ink of the same color are arranged at a pitch of P / 2 in the vertical direction of FIG. Therefore, the nozzle 75 is denser in the vertical direction in FIG. 11 than in the case where the positions of the nozzles 75 in the vertical direction in FIG. 11 coincide between the nozzle rows 76a and 76c and between the nozzle rows 76b and 76d. Be placed. In the present modified embodiment, inks of colors other than black and cyan may be ejected.

<Third modification>
As shown in FIG. 12, the contact 82a of the individual electrode 82 corresponding to the pressure chambers 10 arranged in a row extends from the individual electrode 82 to the lower left, and the end of the contact 82a is the individual electrode 82 and You may be located in the center of the area | region enclosed by the three individual electrodes 82 adjacent to this individual electrode 82 in the lower left, upper left, and lower left of this individual electrode 82, respectively. In FIG. 12, the contact portion 82a of the individual electrode 82 corresponding to the lowermost pressure chamber of each pressure chamber row and the contact portion of the individual electrode 82 corresponding to the pressure chamber 10 belonging to the leftmost pressure chamber row. 82a also extends in the same direction as the contacts 82a of the other individual electrodes 82 by the same length.

  In this case, the separation distance between each contact 82a and the individual electrode 82 located around the contact 82a is uniform, and the separation distance between the contact 82a and the individual electrode 82 located around the contact 82a is not locally reduced. As a result, when connecting to the FPC, it is possible to prevent solder or the like from flowing to the individual electrodes 82 and erroneously connecting the contacts 82a and the individual electrodes 82 arranged around the contacts 82a. Easily connected to FPC.

  The inkjet head may have three or more nozzle row groups. In this case, a plurality of nozzle row groups can be formed by repeating the masking material moving step and the laser irradiation step three or more times.

  Each nozzle row group may be composed of three or more nozzle rows. In this case, the masking material 51 in which three or more rows of holes 51a corresponding to the nozzle rows are formed is disposed above the base material of the nozzle plate 23, and an ultraviolet laser is irradiated from above the masking material 51. A plurality of nozzle rows can be formed simultaneously. However, when each nozzle row group has two nozzle rows as in the case of the embodiment, a flow path such as a pressure chamber 10 communicating with the nozzle rows is arranged close to the nozzle rows. Since the nozzle array can be formed on the opposite side of the nozzle array, the configuration of the flow path becomes simpler than when each nozzle array group has three or more nozzle arrays (see FIG. 3). As a result, the number of stacked plates can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the nozzle 15 is formed by directly irradiating the nozzle plate 23 with the ultraviolet laser beam that has passed through the hole 51 a of the masking material 51, but a reduction optical system such as a lens between the masking material 51 and the nozzle plate 23. And the base material 25 may be irradiated with an ultraviolet laser that has passed through the hole 51a via a reduction optical system. In this case, the diameter of the nozzle 15 formed in the base material 25 is smaller than the hole 51a, and the interval between the nozzles 15 is smaller than the interval between the holes 51a. Therefore, it is only necessary to form holes 51a having a diameter larger than the diameter of the nozzle 15 in the masking material 51 at intervals larger than the interval between the nozzles 15, and the formation of the holes 51a becomes easy. At this time, since the magnitude of the pattern error generated when the pattern is formed on the masking material 51 is also reduced, the error in the diameter of the nozzle to be formed can be kept small.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to an ink jet head has been described. In addition, a liquid that ejects liquids other than ink, such as reagents, biological solutions, wiring material solutions, electronic material solutions, refrigerants, and fuels. It is also possible to apply to a droplet ejecting apparatus.

1 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the inkjet head of FIG. It is the III-III sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the IV-IV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a top view of the nozzle plate of FIG. It is a top view of FPC arrange | positioned on the upper surface of the inkjet head of FIG. FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a manufacturing process of the inkjet head of FIG. 2, FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating a masking material moving process, and FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating a nozzle array group forming process; FIG. 7C is a diagram illustrating a process of forming the flow path unit, and FIG. 7D is a diagram illustrating a process of disposing the diaphragm and forming the piezoelectric layer, and FIG. These are figures showing the process of forming an individual electrode and connecting a wiring member. FIG. 8A is a plan view illustrating a manufacturing process of the inkjet head of FIG. 2, FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating a first masking material movement process, and FIG. 8B is a second masking material movement process. FIG. FIG. 9A is an enlarged plan view of the masking material of FIG. 7, and FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IXB-IXB of FIG. 9A. It is a top view showing the manufacturing process of the 1st modification, and Drawing 10 (a)-(d) is a figure showing the masking material movement process of the 1st-4th time, respectively. It is a top view equivalent to Drawing 5 of the 2nd modification. It is a top view equivalent to FIG. 2 of a 3rd modification.

Explanation of symbols

3 Inkjet head 10 Pressure chamber 15 Nozzle 16a-16d Nozzle row 17a, 17b Nozzle row group 23 Nozzle plate 25 Base material 31 Channel unit 32 Piezoelectric actuator 40 Diaphragm 41 Piezoelectric layer 42 Individual electrode 42a Contact 45 FPC
46 Contact point 51 Masking material 51a Hole 63 Base material 65 Nozzle 66a-66d Nozzle row 67a, 67b Nozzle row group 73 Nozzle plate 75 Nozzle 76a-76d Nozzle row 82 Individual electrode 82a Contact point

Claims (17)

A nozzle plate manufacturing method comprising:
Masking in which a plurality of mask hole rows are formed by a plurality of mask holes arranged in a first direction, and a mask hole row group is formed by the plurality of mask hole rows arranged in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction Providing a material and a substrate;
A masking material moving step of moving the masking material above a predetermined position on the surface of the substrate;
A laser irradiation step of irradiating the surface of the base material with a laser from the opposite side of the base material of the masking material, the base material having a plurality of nozzles arranged in a row in a first direction And a nozzle row group forming step of forming a plurality of nozzle row groups formed by arranging the nozzle rows in the second direction.   The method of manufacturing a nozzle plate according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of nozzle row groups are formed by repeatedly performing the masking material moving step and the nozzle row group forming step.   The method for manufacturing a nozzle plate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in the nozzle row group forming step, the nozzle row group is formed using an ultraviolet laser.   The method for manufacturing a nozzle plate according to claim 3, wherein a length of the mask hole array group in the second direction of the masking material is 2 mm or less. The nozzle row group forming step includes
The laser irradiation step;
Next, the step of moving the masking material in the first direction and then performing the laser irradiation step one or more times, and
The method for manufacturing a nozzle plate according to claim 1, wherein a nozzle row group that is longer than the nozzle row group in the first direction is formed.   The said base material is a polyimide, The manufacturing method of the nozzle plate in any one of Claims 1-5.   The method for manufacturing a nozzle plate according to claim 1, wherein the laser is an excimer laser.   The method for manufacturing a nozzle plate according to claim 3 or 4, wherein a length of the mask hole array group in the first direction of the masking material is 20 mm or less.   The nozzle according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the masking material has a quartz glass substrate and a chromium layer formed on a surface of the glass substrate, and the mask hole is formed in the chromium layer. Plate manufacturing method. The mask holes of each mask hole row are formed at regular intervals in the first direction,
The method for manufacturing a nozzle plate according to claim 1, wherein the mask hole rows are arranged so as to be shifted from each other in the first direction.   The nozzle plate manufacturing method according to claim 10, wherein the mask hole row is shifted from the adjacent mask row by a quarter of the predetermined interval in the first direction. A method for manufacturing a droplet ejection device, comprising:
Providing a first plate material;
A plurality of pressure chambers are formed in the first plate member corresponding to the plurality of nozzles, the nozzle plate manufactured by the nozzle plate manufacturing method according to claim 1 and the first plate member are joined, Forming a flow path unit in which a plurality of nozzles and a plurality of pressure chambers respectively communicating with the plurality of nozzles are formed;
Disposing a second plate so as to cover the plurality of pressure chambers;
Forming a piezoelectric layer on the opposite side of the second plate member from the pressure chamber;
On the surface of the piezoelectric layer opposite to the pressure chamber, a plurality of individual electrodes are formed to face the plurality of pressure chambers, respectively, and a plurality of first electrodes are formed from the plurality of individual electrodes to a region not facing the pressure chamber. Drawing one contact point in the same direction;
Forming a common electrode facing the plurality of individual electrodes on the pressure chamber side surface of the piezoelectric layer;
And a step of connecting a wiring member that has a plurality of second contacts and supplies a drive voltage to each of the plurality of individual electrodes to each of the plurality of first contacts.   The manufacturing method of the droplet ejecting apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the plurality of nozzle row groups are formed by repeatedly performing the masking material moving step and the nozzle row group forming step.   The method of manufacturing a droplet ejecting apparatus according to claim 12 or 13, wherein, in the nozzle row group forming step, the nozzle row group is formed using an ultraviolet laser.   The method for manufacturing a droplet ejecting apparatus according to claim 12, wherein a length of the mask hole array group in the second direction of the masking material is 2 mm or less.   The method for manufacturing a liquid droplet ejecting apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the base material is polyimide.   The method for manufacturing a droplet ejecting apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the laser is an excimer laser.

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