JP2007196431A - Liquid droplet delivering head, and method for manufacturing liquid droplet delivering head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing more easily a liquid droplet delivering head. <P>SOLUTION: As a second electrode layer is formed on a flat face and an individual electrode 136 is formed by dividing and removing (patterning) it by etching or the like, an operation is easy. In addition, the individual electrode 136 is formed larger than an active region part 100A. In other words, the individual electrode covers the active region part 100A by plan view. Therefore, a region of bending deformation of a piezoelectric body 100 becomes a dimension of a common electrode 137 on one face of the active region part 100A, namely, the active region part 100A formed by a channel part 102. Namely, as the processing accuracy of the channel part 102 is accuracy of the region of bending deformation, it is highly accurate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge head and a method for manufacturing the droplet discharge head.

  Piezoelectric elements used in inkjet recording heads are manufactured by cutting a sintered ceramics (PZT) ingot to a thickness of approximately 100 μm and then dividing the piezoelectric material thinned to a thickness of approximately 35 μm by machining. is doing.

  When the variation in the thickness of the piezoelectric element (piezoelectric material divided into thin films) increases, the amount of deformation of each piezoelectric element differs even when the same voltage is applied. That is, the amount of ink droplets to be ejected is different, and the print quality is reduced. For this reason, a piezoelectric element having a small thickness variation is relatively easily obtained by thinning the film using a double-side polishing method.

  However, the double-side polishing method cannot reinforce the thin-film piezoelectric body because both sides of the plate-like piezoelectric body must be in contact with the polishing board during processing. Therefore, when thinning is completed, the film is very brittle and easily damaged. For this reason, in the process of taking out the thinned piezoelectric material from the polishing board and cleaning, defects (such as cracks and chips) due to the handling of the thinned piezoelectric material are likely to occur, so that the manufacture is not easy.

  When the piezoelectric element is thin, the influence of the rigidity of the piezoelectric element itself on the deformation is reduced, so that the deformation efficiency is improved, that is, the ink droplet ejection efficiency is improved. Therefore, further thinning is demanded.

  However, as described above, defects due to the handling of the thin film piezoelectric material still occur at the present time. Therefore, in consideration of the handleability of the thin film piezoelectric material, the double-side polishing processing method uses a piezoelectric material. The limit of thinning (thickness) of the body (piezoelectric element) seems to be around 30 μm. Therefore, further thinning is difficult with the double-side polishing method.

  Furthermore, at present, the piezoelectric body has a disk shape with a diameter of about 30 mm. However, in order to obtain a larger number of piezoelectric elements, if the outer shape of the piezoelectric body is increased, handling (handling) is further improved. Since it gets worse, thinning becomes more difficult.

  In order to improve handling (handling), a method has been proposed in which a plurality of piezoelectric elements are bonded to a diaphragm and then the plurality of piezoelectric elements are collectively reduced to a predetermined thickness. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  However, the thickness of the piezoelectric element targeted by this method is about 0.1 mm to 0.15 mm, and it is still difficult to handle when the thickness is further reduced.

  A thin piezoelectric element can be manufactured by a sputtering method. However, the sputtering method is very inefficient in manufacturing, and the thickness obtained in practice is considered to be about several μm. Therefore, for example, it is very difficult to make the thickness about 15 μm in view of manufacturing efficiency. Furthermore, if the piezoelectric element is too thin, the piezoelectric element cannot withstand the reaction force of the ink, and conversely, the deformation efficiency decreases (ink droplet ejection efficiency decreases). For this reason, when manufacturing using a sputtering method, an expensive MgO or the like is formed on the piezoelectric element in order to obtain sufficient piezoelectricity, and a complicated manufacturing process is performed at a high cost, such as aligning the crystal axis orientation. There is a need. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).

  An inkjet recording head having a structure in which one surface of a pressure chamber is closed by a plurality of piezoelectric sheets, a common electrode is provided between the piezoelectric sheets, and individual electrodes having a shape corresponding to each pressure chamber are provided. It has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

In such a structure, a region corresponding to the individual electrode is a region that bends and deforms. In this case, in order to make the ejection characteristics uniform, it is necessary to accurately pattern the shape of the individual electrodes. In addition, since the portion other than the region of the individual electrode (the region that does not bend and deform) restrains the bending deformation of the piezoelectric body, the deformation efficiency of the piezoelectric body is not so good.
Japanese Patent No. 270452 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-286953 JP 2004-160966 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to more easily manufacture a droplet discharge head.

  In order to achieve the above object, a method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 1 is a method of displacing a diaphragm that forms part of a wall surface of a pressure chamber and discharging droplets from a nozzle communicating with the pressure chamber. A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head, comprising: a first step of forming a first electrode layer on one surface of a plate-like piezoelectric body; and one surface of the piezoelectric body on which the first electrode layer is formed A groove portion having a predetermined depth is formed in the active region portion corresponding to the pressure chamber, and the first electrode layer serves as a common electrode provided over the entire area of one surface of the active region portion. Two steps; a third step of bonding the diaphragm to the active region; a fourth step of bonding a first support member to the diaphragm; and thinning the piezoelectric body to be thicker than the depth of the groove. And a sixth process for forming a second electrode layer on the other surface of the thinned piezoelectric body. And a seventh step of dividing the second electrode layer to form an individual electrode corresponding to the active region, an eighth step of removing the first support member, and the piezoelectric body being joined And a ninth step of joining the diaphragm to the flow path portion including the pressure chamber.

  In the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 1, the first electrode layer is formed on one surface of the plate-like piezoelectric body in the first step, and the groove portion having a predetermined depth is formed in the second step. The active region portion corresponding to the pressure chamber is formed. Further, the first electrode layer becomes a common electrode provided over the entire area of one surface of the active region portion by the groove portion. That is, by forming the groove portion, it is possible to form an active region portion in which a common electrode is provided over the entire area of one surface.

  In the third step, the diaphragm is joined to the active region, and in the fourth step, the first support substrate is joined to the diaphragm. In the fifth step, the piezoelectric body is thinned to be thicker than the depth of the groove. At this time, the first support substrate is bonded to the piezoelectric body. Further, since the piezoelectric body is not completely divided, the piezoelectric body is not easily damaged even if the piezoelectric body is thinned. For this reason, handling is very easy. (Handling is very good).

  In the sixth step, a second electrode layer is formed on the other surface of the thinned piezoelectric body, and in the seventh step, the second electrode layer is divided by, for example, etching, and individual electrodes corresponding to the active region portion And At this time, since the other surface of the piezoelectric body is flat, the sixth step and the seventh step can be easily performed.

  Thus, the droplet discharge head is easily manufactured.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the manufacturing method of the first aspect, in the seventh step, in the seventh step, the individual electrode is arranged so that the individual electrode covers the active region portion when viewed in plan. Is formed larger than the active region portion.

  In the method of manufacturing the droplet discharge head according to the second aspect, in the seventh step, the individual electrode is formed larger than the active region so that the individual electrode covers the active region.

  Therefore, the region where the piezoelectric body is bent and deformed is the size of the common electrode on one surface of the active region portion. In other words, the region where the bending deformation occurs depends on the accuracy of the active region formed by the groove. Therefore, for example, as in the case where the electrode is formed by patterning, there is no variation in the region to be bent and deformed due to misalignment of the electrode formation.

  Furthermore, the accuracy of the positional deviation of the individual electrodes may be rough. Further, since the wiring space is increased by increasing the size of the individual electrode, the reliability of the wiring to the individual electrode is improved.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the method of manufacturing the liquid droplet ejection head according to the second aspect, in the second step, the groove portion is formed so that the active region portion is accommodated in the pressure chamber when viewed in plan. In the seventh step, the individual electrode is formed to have an electrode pad portion protruding from the region of the pressure chamber when viewed in plan.

  In the method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 3, when viewed in plan, a groove is formed so that the active region fits in the pressure chamber, and the individual electrode includes an electrode pad portion protruding from the pressure chamber region. It is formed as follows.

  Thus, the reliability of wiring improves more by enlarging an individual electrode and providing an electrode pad part.

  Further, the active region portion is accommodated in the pressure chamber, and a groove portion is formed in the other region on one surface. Therefore, the restraint with respect to the bending deformation of the active region portion is reduced, and the deformation efficiency is improved.

  The manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head according to claim 4 is the manufacturing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sixth surface is formed on the other surface of the piezoelectric body. The second electrode layer is formed as the individual electrode, and the seventh step is omitted.

  In the method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 4, since the second electrode layer is formed as an individual electrode by patterning, for example, on the other surface of the piezoelectric body in the sixth step, the seventh step includes Omitted.

  The manufacturing method of a droplet discharge head according to claim 5 is the manufacturing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the other surface of the piezoelectric body is formed before the eighth step. It has the process of joining a 2nd support member, It has the process of removing said 2nd support member after the said 9th process, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  In the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 5, since the second support member is joined to the other surface of the piezoelectric body before the eighth step, the handling after removing the first support member is performed. It has become easier.

  The droplet discharge head according to claim 6 is a droplet discharge head that displaces a diaphragm that forms a part of the wall surface of the pressure chamber and discharges a droplet from a nozzle that communicates with the pressure chamber. A groove formed on one surface, an active region divided by the groove, corresponding to the pressure chamber and provided with a common electrode over the entire surface, and formed on the other surface corresponding to the active region. And a plate-like piezoelectric body in which the active region portion is joined to the diaphragm, and a flow path portion having the pressure chamber and joined to the diaphragm. .

  In the droplet discharge head according to the sixth aspect, the active region portion in which the common electrode is provided over the entire area of one surface of the active region portion is easily formed by the groove portion.

  Further, since the individual electrode corresponding to the active region is formed on the other surface of the flat piezoelectric body, it is easy to form the individual electrode.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the liquid droplet ejection head according to the sixth aspect, the individual electrode is formed larger than the active region portion so that the individual electrode covers the active region portion. Yes.

  In the droplet discharge head according to the seventh aspect, the individual electrode is formed larger than the active region portion so that the individual electrode covers the active region portion.

  Therefore, the region where the piezoelectric body is bent and deformed is the size of the common electrode on one surface of the active region portion. That is, it depends on the accuracy of the active region formed by the groove. Therefore, for example, as in the case where the electrode is formed by patterning, there is very little variation in the region where the electrode is bent and deformed due to misalignment of the electrode formation.

  Furthermore, the accuracy of the positional deviation of the individual electrodes may be rough. Moreover, since the wiring space is increased by increasing the size of the individual electrode, the reliability of the wiring to the individual electrode is also improved.

  According to a eighth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the seventh aspect, the active region portion fits in the pressure chamber and the electrode pattern protrudes from the pressure chamber region when viewed in plan. An electrode pad is provided.

  In the droplet discharge head according to the eighth aspect, when viewed in plan, the groove portion is formed so that the active region portion is accommodated in the pressure chamber, and the individual electrode is formed to have the electrode pad portion protruding from the pressure chamber. .

  Thus, the reliability of wiring improves more by enlarging an individual electrode and providing an electrode pad part.

  Further, the active region portion is accommodated in the pressure chamber, and a groove portion is formed in the other region on one surface. Therefore, the restraint with respect to the bending deformation of the active region portion is reduced, and the deformation efficiency is improved.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a droplet discharge head can be easily manufactured.

  First, the outline | summary about the inkjet recording device provided with the inkjet recording head which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet recording apparatus 110 is provided with a carriage 114. On the carriage 114, black, yellow, magenta, and cyan inkjet recording heads 112 having nozzles 10 (see FIG. 2) are mounted such that the paper P and the nozzles 10 face each other. The carriage 114 is moved in the main scanning direction (indicated by an arrow X) by the main scanning mechanism 118 based on the scanning position signal. As a result, the ink jet recording head 112 ejects ink droplets according to image information onto the paper P conveyed in the sub-scanning direction (indicated by the arrow Y) by the sub-scanning mechanism 120, thereby causing the image on the entire surface of the paper P Record.

  Next, the ink jet recording head will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the ink jet recording head 112 includes nozzles 10 for discharging ink droplets arranged in a matrix and a pressure chamber 12 having a rhombus shape. The nozzle 10 and the pressure chamber 12 are communicated with each other through a nozzle communication path 16.

  In addition, a common ink flow path 14 that is filled with ink introduced from an ink supply unit (not shown) is provided. The opening 20 of the common ink flow path 14 and the pressure chamber 12 are communicated with each other through an ink supply path 18.

  In the pressure chamber 12, a diaphragm 34 constitutes a part of the wall surface. A plate-like piezoelectric body 100 is bonded to the vibration plate 34. Further, individual electrodes 136 corresponding to the respective pressure chambers 12 are formed on the surface of the piezoelectric body 100 opposite to the bonding surface with the vibration plate 34. The wiring board 38 (see FIG. 3B) is bonded to the electrode pad portion 136B of the individual electrode 136 via the ball solder 40.

  In addition, let the adhesive surface side with the diaphragm 34 of the piezoelectric material 100 be one surface, and let the other side be the other surface.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the nozzle 10 is located at the diamond-shaped corner of the pressure chamber 12, and the ink supply path 18 communicates with the corner opposite to the position of the nozzle 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 3B, 6, and 7, a wide groove portion 102 is formed on one surface (bonding surface side) of the piezoelectric body 100 with the vibration plate 34, and other than the groove portion 102. Is the active region portion 100A. These active region portions 100 </ b> A are respectively disposed in regions corresponding to the pressure chambers 12, and their sizes are slightly smaller than the pressure chambers 12 and have substantially the same shape as the pressure chambers 12. Further, when viewed in plan, the active region portion 100A is accommodated in the pressure chamber 12 (see also FIG. 3A).

  Further, a common electrode 137 (details will be described later) is formed over the entire area of one surface of the active region portion 100A, and the diaphragm 34 and the active region portion 100A are electrically joined by the common electrode 137.

  As described above, the individual electrode 136 including the electrode pad portion 136B is formed on the other surface of the piezoelectric body 100 (the surface opposite to the vibration plate 34). The individual electrode 136 is larger than the active region portion 100A, and covers the active region portion 100A in plan view. Further, the electrode pad portion 136B is a portion that extends outside the region of the pressure chamber 12, and is connected to the wiring substrate 38 via the ball solder 40 (see also FIG. 3A).

  Since the inkjet recording head 112 has such a configuration, when a driving voltage is applied between the electrode pad portion 136B and the diaphragm 34, the active region portion 100A of the piezoelectric body 100 is bent and deformed, and the pressure chamber The ink in the nozzle 12 is pressurized and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle 10.

  Next, the manufacturing process of the ink jet recording head 112 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 4A (and also see FIGS. 2 and 3), the nozzle plate 22 in which the nozzles 10 are formed, and the ink in which the holes that become the nozzle communication paths 16 and the common ink flow path 14 are formed. Pool plates 24, 26, a through plate 28 in which holes that serve as openings 20 of the nozzle communication path 16 and the common ink flow path 14 are formed, and an ink supply path plate 30 in which holes that serve as ink supply paths 18 are formed. The pressure chamber plate 32 in which holes to be the pressure chambers 12 are formed are laminated and joined in order.

  In addition, let FIG. 4 (A) with which each plate was joined be the flow-path part 111. FIG.

  The material of the nozzle plate 22 is polyimide, and the material of the nozzle plate 22, the ink pool plates 24 and 26, the through plate 28, and the pressure chamber plate 32 is SUS. Moreover, each hole used as the pressure chamber 12 etc. is formed by the etching process.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, the surface of the nozzle plate 22 is covered with a water repellent coating film (not shown), and the nozzle 10 is opened with an excimer laser.

  As shown in FIG. 4D, the vibration plate 34 to which the piezoelectric body 100 is bonded is bonded to the pressure chamber plate 32 after the nozzle 10 is formed. The details of the manufacturing method for the diaphragm 34 to which the piezoelectric body 100 is bonded will be described later.

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 4E and 4F, ball solder 40 is formed for each individual electrode 136 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) (for each active region 100A and for each pressure chamber 12). The wiring board 38 is bonded.

  As described above, the common electrode 137 (see FIG. 3B) is formed over the entire area of one surface of the active region 100A of the piezoelectric body 100. The diaphragm 34 is electrically connected by being adhesively bonded with a conductive material (such as a thermosetting epoxy adhesive containing a conductive filler).

  Next, details of a method for manufacturing the diaphragm 34 to which the piezoelectric body 100 is bonded will be described.

  Fine particles (PZT (lead zirconate titanate) particles having an average particle size of about 3.0 μm) as raw materials of the piezoelectric body 100 are placed in a sintering cylindrical furnace and fired while being pressed. The ingot of the sintered fine grain sintered body is taken out. Then, the ingot is cut out and polished to obtain a disk-shaped piezoelectric body (not shown) having a diameter of 31 mm and a thickness of 0.2 mm (200 μm).

  As shown in FIG. 5A, a first electrode layer 237 to be a common electrode 137 is formed on one surface (surface bonded to the diaphragm 34) of a disk-shaped piezoelectric body by sputtering, plating, printing, or the like. At the same time, it is cut into a predetermined shape (in this embodiment, a square with a side of 10 mm) to form a plate-like piezoelectric body 200.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, a groove 102 having a predetermined depth is formed on one surface of the plate-like piezoelectric body 200 (surface joined to the vibration plate 34). The remaining portion other than the groove portion 102 becomes the active region portion 100A. Further, by forming the groove portion 102, the first electrode layer 237 becomes a common electrode 137 provided over the entire area of one surface of the active region portion 100A.

  As shown in FIG. 5C, one or several plate-like piezoelectric bodies 202 with grooves 102 formed are covered so as to cover a plurality of pressure chambers 12 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). After the placement, it is bonded to a diaphragm 34 (see FIG. 3) made of SUS of about 0.02 mm (20 μm) with a thermosetting epoxy adhesive.

  Furthermore, the diaphragm 34 and the support substrate 500 are joined using melt wax.

  A lap stopper 502 is arranged so as to surround the plate-like piezoelectric body 202. The lap stopper 502 may not be joined to the diaphragm 34. However, since there is a possibility of damaging the periphery of the plate-like piezoelectric body 202, the lap stopper 502 may be joined to the diaphragm 34 with melt wax or the like with high accuracy. desirable. The lap stopper 502 is not always necessary and may be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5D, the other surface of the plate-like piezoelectric body 202 (the surface on which the support substrate 500 and the vibration plate 34 are not joined) is polished by polishing, and from the depth of the groove 102. The thin film piezoelectric body 100 is formed into a thin desired thickness (about 15 μm in this embodiment). Note that the lap stopper 502 has the same height as the desired thickness, and if the lap stopper 502 is polished up to the desired thickness, the thin film-like piezoelectric body 100 is thinned to the desired thickness. Thinning (machining) is possible.

  In addition, since it is bonded to the support substrate 500, warping of the thin film piezoelectric body 100 accompanying thinning can be suppressed. Further, although the thin film piezoelectric body 100 is brittle and easily broken, since it is bonded to the support substrate 500, it can be easily handled in the subsequent steps (good handling properties). Furthermore, since it is not completely divided, handling and the like are further facilitated. Therefore, manufacturing is easy and the yield is improved. In addition, it is easy to make the thickness thinner than before and improve the deformation efficiency of the bending deformation.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5E, a second electrode layer 236 to be the individual electrode 136 is formed over the entire polished surface (the other surface) of the thin film piezoelectric body 100. Since the second electrode layer 236 is formed on a flat surface, it can be easily formed uniformly.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5F, the second electrode layer 236 is divided and removed by etching or the like to form individual electrodes 136 (patterning). Similarly, since the second electrode layer 236 is a flat surface, it is easy to form a mask during etching.

  Then, heating is performed at a predetermined temperature to melt the melt wax, and the support substrate 500 and the lap stopper 502 are removed.

  Further, the reverse substrate 506 may be bonded to the other surface with hot melt wax or the like.

  The vibration plate 34 thus bonded to the thin film piezoelectric body 100 is bonded to the flow path portion 111 as described above. (See FIG. 4D). When the reversal substrate 506 is bonded, the vibration plate 34 is kept flat. Therefore, bonding with higher accuracy is possible. It is also easier to handle.

  And after joining, it heats at predetermined temperature, a melt wax is melted, and the inversion board | substrate 506 is removed.

  In this embodiment, melt wax is used for bonding the support substrate 500 and the reversal substrate 506. However, other materials can be used as long as they can be bonded with high accuracy and can be easily peeled off by some trigger such as heat. You may join by the method. For example, it may be bonded using a heat-foamable adhesive film that has the property of foaming and greatly reducing the adhesive strength when heated at a predetermined temperature.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  Since the thin-film piezoelectric body 100 is not completely divided, it can be easily handled (see FIGS. 8A and 8C for comparison).

  Further, as described above, as shown in FIGS. 5E and 5F, the second electrode layer 236 is formed on a flat surface and is divided and removed (patterned) by etching or the like to form the individual electrode 136. So work is easy.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 3A, the individual electrode 136 is formed larger than the active region portion 100A, and when viewed in plan, the individual electrode 136 covers the active region portion 100A (FIG. 3A). reference). Therefore, the region where the piezoelectric body 100 is bent and deformed is the size of the common electrode 137 on one surface of the active region portion 100A, that is, the active region portion 100A formed by the groove portion 102. That is, since the processing accuracy of the groove portion 102 becomes the accuracy of the region to be bent and deformed, the accuracy is high. Therefore, for example, as in the case where the electrode is formed by patterning, there is no variation in the region to be bent and deformed due to misalignment of the electrode formation.

  Further, it is not affected by the accuracy of the positional deviation of the individual electrode 136 (the positional deviation can be allowed by X in FIG. 6B).

Further, when viewed in plan, the groove portion 102 is formed so that the active region portion 100 </ b> A fits in the region of the pressure chamber 12, and the individual electrode 136 is formed so as to include the electrode pad portion 136 </ b> B protruding from the region of the pressure chamber 12. . (See also Fig. 3 (A))
Thus, the wiring space becomes large by increasing the individual electrode 136 and providing the electrode pad portion 136B. Therefore, the reliability of wiring is further improved.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7 which is an AA cross section of FIG. 6B, the active region portion 100A is accommodated in the region of the pressure chamber 12, and the region corresponding to the piezoelectric pad portion 136B is the groove portion 102. Is formed. That is, there is no piezoelectric body in the Y portion in the figure. Therefore, the constraint on the bending deformation of the active region portion 100A is reduced, and the deformation efficiency is improved. (There is no constraint on the Y portion of the piezoelectric body). An arrow W in the drawing represents the size of a conventional piezoelectric element (for example, the piezoelectric element 600 in FIG. 8A).

  FIG. 8A schematically shows a configuration in which the piezoelectric body is completely divided and joined as a plurality of piezoelectric elements 600. In such a configuration, since the piezoelectric element 600 is completely divided, the deformation efficiency is good, but further thinning is difficult. Also, handling is relatively difficult. Furthermore, there is little wiring space.

  Further, in FIG. 8B, an area where the piezoelectric body 602 is bent and deformed without being divided is defined by the individual electrode 604. Such a configuration is relatively easy to handle because the piezoelectric body 602 is not divided, but the deformation efficiency is not very good. In addition, since the deformation area is determined by the formation accuracy (pattern positioning accuracy, etc.) of the individual electrodes 604, various errors (positional deviation and size) are relatively large.

  In contrast, as shown in FIG. 8C, in the present embodiment, the piezoelectric body 100 is not completely separated. Therefore, even if the thickness is reduced, handling is easier than in FIG. Furthermore, since the accuracy of the groove portion 102 is the accuracy of the region (active region portion 100A) that bends and deforms, there are few positional deviations and variations in size of the region that bends and deforms. Further, the deformation efficiency is also inferior to that of FIG. 8A, but is much better than that of FIG. Furthermore, since the individual electrodes are large and the wiring space is large, the reliability of the wiring is high.

  Next, a modification of the method for manufacturing the diaphragm 34 to which the piezoelectric body 100 is bonded will be described.

  Since (A) to (D) in FIG. 9 are the same as in FIG. 5, description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 9E, the individual electrodes 136 are formed on the polished surface of the thin film piezoelectric body 100 by patterning or the like. The individual electrode 136 can be easily formed because it is formed on a flat surface.

  Then, heating is performed at a predetermined temperature to melt the melt wax, and the support substrate 500 and the lap stopper 502 are removed. Further, the reverse substrate 506 may be bonded to the other surface with hot melt wax or the like.

  As described above, since the individual electrodes 136 are formed at a time, the number of work steps can be reduced once compared with the method of FIG.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment.

  For example, in the inkjet recording apparatus 110 of the above-described embodiment, an example of a partial width array (PWA) having the main scanning mechanism 118 and the sub-scanning mechanism 120 has been described. However, inkjet recording in the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, one-pass printing corresponding to the paper width, so-called full width array (FWA) may be used.

  Further, for example, in the inkjet recording apparatus 110 of the above-described embodiment, black, yellow, magenta, and cyan inkjet recording heads 112 are respectively mounted on the carriage 114, and the inkjet recording heads 112 of the respective colors are based on image data. Ink droplets are selectively ejected and a full-color image is recorded on the recording paper P. However, inkjet recording in the present invention is limited to recording characters and images on the recording paper P. is not.

  That is, the recording medium is not limited to the recording paper P, and the liquid to be ejected is not limited to ink. For example, ink droplets are ejected onto a polymer film or glass to create a color filter for display, or welded solder is ejected onto a substrate to form component mounting bumps. In addition, the present invention can be applied to all droplet discharge apparatuses.

It is a figure which shows an inkjet recording device. (A) is a partial cross-sectional perspective view showing the main part inside the ink jet recording head, and (B) is an enlarged view of the X part of (A). (A) is the figure which planarly viewed the principal part inside an inkjet recording head, (B) is sectional drawing of the AA cross section of (A). It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of an inkjet recording head in order from (A) to (F). It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process which manufactures the diaphragm which the piezoelectric material joined, in order from (A) to (F). (A) is sectional drawing of the principal part inside an inkjet recording head, (B) is an enlarged view of the part enclosed with the circle of (A). It is sectional drawing of the AA cross section of FIG. 6 (B). (A) is a figure which shows typically the structure which divided | segmented the piezoelectric material completely, and was set as the piezoelectric element, (B) is a figure which shows typically the structure which has not divided | segmented the piezoelectric material, (C) It is a figure which shows the structure of this invention typically. It is explanatory drawing which shows in order from (A) to (F) the modification of the manufacturing process which manufactures the diaphragm which the piezoelectric material joined.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Nozzle 12 Pressure chamber 34 Diaphragm 100 Piezoelectric body 100A Active area part 102 Groove part 111 Flow path part 112 Inkjet recording head (droplet discharge head)
136 Individual electrode 136B Electrode pad part 137 Common electrode 236 Second electrode layer 237 First electrode layer 500 Support substrate (first support member)
506 Reverse substrate (second support member)

Claims (8)

Displacement of a diaphragm constituting a part of the wall surface of the pressure chamber, and a method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head for discharging droplets from a nozzle communicating with the pressure chamber,
A first step of forming a first electrode layer on one surface of a plate-like piezoelectric body;
A groove having a predetermined depth is formed on one surface of the piezoelectric body on which the first electrode layer is formed, an active region corresponding to the pressure chamber is formed, and the first electrode layer is formed on the active region. A second step to be a common electrode provided over the entire area of one side of the part;
A third step of joining the diaphragm to the active region portion;
A fourth step of joining the first support member to the diaphragm;
A fifth step of thinning the piezoelectric body thicker than the depth of the groove;
A sixth step of forming a second electrode layer on the other surface of the thin piezoelectric body;
A seventh step of dividing the second electrode layer to form an individual electrode corresponding to the active region portion;
An eighth step of removing the first support member;
A ninth step of joining the diaphragm, to which the piezoelectric body is joined, to a flow path portion including the pressure chamber;
A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head, comprising:   2. The droplet discharge head according to claim 1, wherein in the seventh step, the individual electrode is formed larger than the active region portion so that the individual electrode covers the active region portion when seen in a plan view. Production method. In the second step, when viewed in plan, the groove portion is formed so that the active region portion fits in the pressure chamber,
3. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 2, wherein in the seventh step, the individual electrode is formed to include an electrode pad portion protruding from the pressure chamber when viewed in plan. In the sixth step, the second electrode layer is formed as the individual electrode on the other surface of the piezoelectric body,
The method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the seventh step is omitted. Before the eighth step, having a step of bonding a second support member to the other surface of the piezoelectric body;
5. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 1, further comprising a step of removing the second support member after the ninth step. 6. A droplet discharge head that displaces a diaphragm that forms part of the wall surface of the pressure chamber and discharges droplets from a nozzle that communicates with the pressure chamber,
A groove formed on one surface, an active region divided by the groove corresponding to the pressure chamber and provided with a common electrode over the entire surface, and an active region formed on the other surface corresponding to the active region A plate-like piezoelectric body having the active region portion joined to the diaphragm,
A flow path section including the pressure chamber and having a diaphragm joined thereto;
A droplet discharge head characterized by comprising:   The liquid droplet ejection head according to claim 6, wherein the individual electrode is formed larger than the active region portion so that the individual electrode covers the active region portion when seen in a plan view. In plan view,
The active region portion is accommodated in the pressure chamber,
The liquid droplet ejection head according to claim 7, wherein the electrode pattern includes an electrode pad that protrudes from the pressure chamber.

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