JP2008105418A - Method of manufacturing liquid ejection head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize reduction in the cost of manufacturing a liquid ejection head in which the pressure chamber is simultaneously arranged at high density, while securing the shape, dimensions and dimensional accuracy of the restrictor. <P>SOLUTION: Two first spaces having two opposing planes (111) and two inclined planes(111) in the wall surfaces, being perpendicular with respect to the surface of a silicon substrate in crystal plane orientation (110), are formed for the liquid supply channel and the pressure chamber by performing anisotropic etching. An etching protective film in the silicon substrate with the two first spaces formed thereon, is formed. An etching mask is made for forming second spaces for the restrictor having two inclined planes (111) in the wall surfaces with respect to the surface of the silicon substrate, which interconnect the two first spaces. The second spaces are formed by performing anisotropic etching, using the etching mask. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head, and in particular, a liquid discharge that supplies liquid from a liquid supply path to a pressure chamber, applies pressure to the liquid in the pressure chamber, and discharges the liquid from a nozzle that communicates with the pressure chamber. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a head.

  Conventionally, as a liquid discharge head, a nozzle (discharge port) that supplies ink to a pressure chamber from an ink tank through an ink supply path, generates pressure in the pressure chamber by pressure generating means such as a piezoelectric element, and communicates with the pressure chamber. Ink discharge heads (inkjet heads) that discharge ink from the same are known.

  An inkjet recording apparatus (inkjet printer) that forms an image on a recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles of the inkjet head toward the recording medium while relatively moving the inkjet head and the recording medium. Are known.

  Thus, in an ink jet printer, an image is formed by combining ink dots formed by ink ejected from a nozzle onto a recording medium. In recent years, it has been desired to improve the quality of recorded images as well as photographic prints in an ink jet printer.

  For this purpose, it is necessary to arrange the nozzles and pressure chambers communicating with the nozzles with high density, and to form a supply path for supplying ink to the pressure chambers with high accuracy. For this reason, various proposals have been made conventionally.

  For example, in an inkjet head having a plurality of ink pressure chambers with one end communicating with an ink reservoir via an ink supply path and the other end communicating with a nozzle for ejecting ink droplets, the ink supply path has a crystal orientation (110 ) Surface is formed by two (111) plane walls inclined with respect to the surface of the single crystal silicon substrate, and the pressure chamber is at least two perpendicular to the surface of the silicon substrate. An ink jet head formed by a (111) plane wall surface is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  A method for manufacturing the ink jet head disclosed in Patent Document 1 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 16 is an enlarged plan view showing an ink reservoir, a pressure chamber, and a supply path formed on the single crystal silicon substrate. As shown in FIG. 16, a silicon oxide film 200 is formed on a single crystal silicon substrate 100 having a surface crystal orientation of (110), and a mask is patterned on the silicon oxide film 200 to form a cavity serving as a pressure chamber 101. Then, the cavity and the supply path 102 serving as the ink reservoir 103 are formed by crystal anisotropic wet etching. Then, by further performing wet etching, the (111) plane formed above is eliminated by etching. Finally, the partition wall 204a between the pressure chamber 101 and the supply path 102 and the partition wall 204b between the ink reservoir 103 and the supply path 102 are etched using isotropic wet etching, and the pressure chamber 101, the supply path 102, and the supply path are etched. 102 communicates with the ink reservoir 103. At the same time, the silicon oxide film 200 is removed.

Further, in this ink jet head manufacturing method, the depth of the supply path 102 is to be defined by the mask opening width, and in the above process, the shape and dimension accuracy is to be ensured.
Japanese Patent No. 3161452

  However, if the base material 100 is immersed in a wet etchant for a long time in order to eliminate the forward-tapered (111) surface formed in the cavity serving as the pressure chamber 101 in the manufacturing process of the inkjet head, the lower part of the mask As the side etching progresses, the (111) plane forming the recess of the supply path 102 recedes, and the dimension of the supply path 102 deviates from the design dimension. In general, there is a problem that the wet etching rate in the surface of the base material varies so that the dimensions vary and the dimensional accuracy cannot be ensured.

  Furthermore, in the manufacturing process of the inkjet head, the shape of the supply path 102 formed in advance is changed to an isotropic shape by etching the partition 204a and the partition 204b by isotropic wet etching. The shape cannot be secured. Further, for the same reason as described above, there is a problem that it is difficult to ensure dimensional accuracy.

  In general, the shape, dimensions, and dimensional accuracy of the flow path cannot be ensured after the flow path is processed, resulting in variations in ink ejection characteristics. In particular, when the supply path 102 is used as a supply restrictor (resistance channel section), the influence on the discharge characteristics is large.

  The thickness of the partition walls 204a and 204b is the same as the thickness of the silicon oxide film 200 used as an etching mask, so that the silicon oxide film 200 is simultaneously formed with the isotropic wet etching of the partition walls 204a and 204b. In general, the wet etching rate in the substrate surface varies, and therefore, the etching rate between the partition walls and the silicon oxide film varies. There is a high possibility of etching the substrate surface below the film 200 (the silicon surface that is not intended to be etched). As a result, there is a problem that a desired shape cannot be obtained and the ejection characteristics are affected.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is a liquid discharge capable of simultaneously realizing reduction in manufacturing cost, high-density arrangement of pressure chambers, and securing of the shape, size, and dimensional accuracy of the throttle. An object is to provide a method for manufacturing a head.

  In order to achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 is a method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head that discharges the liquid supplied from the liquid supply path to the pressure chamber through the restriction from the discharge port communicating with the pressure chamber. The liquid supply path having two (111) planes perpendicular to the surface of the silicon substrate having a crystal plane orientation (110) and two inclined (111) planes on the wall surface; Two first spaces forming the pressure chamber are formed by anisotropic etching, an etching protective film is formed on the silicon substrate in which the two first spaces are formed, and the surface of the silicon substrate is formed. And forming an etching mask for forming a second space for forming the aperture for communicating the two first spaces with each other, the etching mask being make use of Anisotropic etching is carried out to provide a method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head and forming the second space.

  As a result, the pressure chambers can be arranged at high density, and a liquid discharge head that secures the shape, size, and dimensional accuracy of the diaphragm can be manufactured at low cost.

Moreover, as shown in claim 2, the opening in the communication direction of the etching mask for forming the second space is longer than the length in the communication direction of the second space, A part of each of the two first spaces overlaps.

  As a result, the diaphragm, the ink supply path, and the pressure chamber can be reliably and accurately communicated with each other.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to manufacture at low cost a liquid discharge head in which pressure chambers are arranged with high density and the shape, size, and dimensional accuracy of the throttle are ensured.

  Hereinafter, a manufacturing method of a liquid discharge head according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of a pressure chamber of an ink jet head as a liquid discharge head manufactured by the method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, an inkjet head 50 is formed by laminating a plurality of plates, in which a pressure chamber 52, an ink supply path 54, and the like are formed.

  The nozzle 51 communicates with the pressure chamber 52 via the nozzle flow path 51 a and the ink supply path 54 communicates with the pressure chamber 52 via the aperture 53. A common liquid chamber 55 communicates with the ink supply path 54. The common liquid chamber 55 supplies ink supplied from an ink tank (not shown) to each ink supply path 54 that is an individual flow path.

  One surface (the top surface in the figure) of the pressure chamber 52 is constituted by a diaphragm 56, and a piezoelectric element 58 that applies pressure to the diaphragm 56 to deform the diaphragm 56 is joined to the upper side of the diaphragm 56. Although not shown, an individual electrode is formed on the upper surface of the piezoelectric element 58, the diaphragm 56 also serves as a common electrode, and the piezoelectric element 58 is sandwiched between the common electrode and the individual electrode.

  The piezoelectric element 58 is deformed by applying a driving voltage to the common electrode and the individual electrodes. Due to the deformation of the piezoelectric element 58, the diaphragm 56 is pushed toward the pressure chamber 52, the volume of the pressure chamber 52 decreases, pressure is applied to the ink in the pressure chamber 52, and ink is ejected from the nozzle 51. Yes. When the voltage application to these electrodes is released, the piezoelectric element 58 returns to its original state, the volume of the pressure chamber 52 is restored to its original size, and the common channel 55 passes through the ink supply channel 54 and the restrictor 53. New ink is supplied to the pressure chamber 52.

  Further, in order to ensure such deformation of the piezoelectric element 58 and protect the piezoelectric element 58, a piezo cover 59 is formed above the diaphragm 56 and the piezoelectric element 58. A space 58a is formed on the upper side of the piezoelectric element 58 by the piezo cover 59, so that the piezoelectric element 58 is freely driven.

  Hereinafter, an ink jet head manufacturing method will be described as an embodiment of a liquid discharge head manufacturing method according to the present invention. First, prior to that, generally, a silicon substrate having a crystal plane orientation of (110) is generally used. A case where the concave portion is formed by crystal anisotropic wet etching will be described.

First, crystal anisotropic wet etching is performed on a silicon (Si) substrate having a crystal plane orientation (110) using an etching mask having a substantially parallelogram shape, and at least two surfaces are perpendicular to the substrate surface. The case where a recessed part is formed is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 2, with respect to a silicon substrate having a crystal plane orientation of (110), one side of an etching mask having a substantially parallelogram shape having sides in the <211> orientation is placed on the substrate < 211> Alignment is performed, and concave portions are formed by crystal anisotropic wet etching.

  At this time, the mask is arranged at a position where one side of the substantially parallelogram shaped mask is rotated counterclockwise by γ = 54.74 ° with respect to the <110> orientation of the orientation flat of the silicon substrate shown in the figure. In the figure, the mask shapes are α = 109.47 ° and β = 70.53 °.

  FIGS. 3 and 4 show etching shapes obtained by performing crystal anisotropic wet etching using an etching mask having a shape as shown in FIG. 3 is a top view of the etched shape, FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3, and FIG. 4B is a line BB in FIG. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the four wall surfaces of the substantially parallelogram-shaped recess formed by etching are (111) planes. Specifically, the cross section taken along line AA in FIG. 3 shows that the pair of opposing wall surfaces are perpendicular to the substrate surface (90 °) as shown in FIG. Then, the remaining two surfaces become forward tapered surfaces inclined by 35.26 ° with respect to the substrate surface as shown in FIG. 4B in a cross-sectional view along the line BB in FIG.

  At this time, when the wet etching is further advanced, all the four wall surfaces of the recess are formed in a (111) plane perpendicular to the substrate surface.

  Next, a case where an etching mask having a substantially parallelogram shape with respect to a silicon substrate having a crystal plane orientation (110) is arranged at a position different from the above-described example and crystal anisotropic wet etching is performed to form a recess. explain.

  Any of the <110> orientations of the substantially parallelogram-shaped etching mask having a pair of opposite sides of the <110> orientation and the <211> orientation with respect to the silicon substrate having a crystal plane orientation of (110) One side is aligned with the <110> orientation of the substrate, and crystal anisotropic wet etching is performed to form a recess.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a substantially rectangular etching mask is parallel to the <110> orientation of the orientation flat of the silicon substrate (that is, γ in FIG. 2). = Equivalent to 0 °).

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the shape of a recess formed by performing crystal anisotropic wet etching using such an etching mask. The cross section of the recess is V-shaped, and its wall surface is a (111) plane.

  FIG. 7A shows a cross-sectional view taken along the plane A shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 7B shows a cross-sectional view taken along the plane B shown in FIG. Further, as shown in the enlarged view of the V-shaped cross section of FIG. 7A in FIG. 7C, the depth D of the recess can be defined by the mask opening width W in the <211> direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 7C, D = (W / 2) × tan 35.26 °.

  The present invention makes it possible to manufacture a liquid discharge head having a high-density pressure chamber arrangement at a low cost by combining the two types of crystal anisotropic wet etching described above. That is, the present invention combines the following contents.

  (A) Wet etching is used to reduce manufacturing costs.

(B1) In order to form the pressure chambers in a high-density arrangement, one side of a substantially parallelogram shape having each side in the <211> orientation with respect to the silicon substrate having a crystal plane orientation of (110) Using an etching mask aligned with the <211> orientation of the base material, crystal anisotropic wet etching forms a recess with two wall surfaces perpendicular to the base material surface and the remaining two surfaces being forward tapered surfaces. To do.

  (B2) A substantially parallelogram-shaped <110 having a pair of sides opposed to the <110> orientation and the <211> orientation with respect to a silicon substrate having a crystal plane orientation of (110) for forming a diaphragm. > Using an etching mask in which one side of the orientation is aligned with the <110> orientation of the substrate surface, the cross-section is V-shaped by crystal anisotropic wet etching, and the depth is a recess defined by the mask opening. Form.

  By combining the above (a), (b1), and (b2), a liquid discharge head having a high-density pressure chamber arrangement can be manufactured at low cost.

  In addition, the high-density pressure chamber arrangement means that if the vertical wall can be made with respect to the base material, the partition wall size of the pressure chamber can be reduced, and a high-density pressure chamber arrangement can be realized. This means that it can be connected to a high-density nozzle arrangement. In addition, the low cost means that the silicon substrate is not processed by using a dry etching apparatus that uses a vacuum apparatus, but wet etching is used. For example, about 25 wafers at a time. Can be processed at low cost.

  Further, by combining the following steps, the shape, size and dimensional accuracy of the diaphragm can be ensured.

(C) In order to ensure the shape, dimensions, and dimensional accuracy of the diaphragm,
(C1) After forming a recess other than the aperture,
(C2) forming an etching protective film on the substrate;
(C3) Photolithography is performed by aligning a mask for forming a diaphragm in a processed recess other than the diaphragm,
(C4) Finally, a throttle is formed to connect the flow paths.

  As a feature of the step (c), first, after forming a recess having a deeper depth than the stop, the stop is finally formed. Secondly, in addition to using the protective film in the step (c2) as an etching mask in the step (c4), it is possible to reduce the size of the aperture by etching that connects the recess and the aperture other than the aperture processed in the step (c1). It is also used for etching protection in the length direction. Thirdly, the aperture forming mask in the step (c3) is designed so as to overlap with a recess to which the aperture is to be communicated.

  According to the step (c), the depth of the aperture can be defined by the aperture size of the aperture forming mask, and the length of the aperture can be determined by the mask size (more precisely, the walls of the two channels) in the above step (c3). Therefore, the shape, dimensions, and dimensional accuracy of the diaphragm can be ensured.

  In general, by combining the above (a), (b1), (b2) and (c), it is possible to simultaneously reduce the manufacturing cost, arrange the pressure chambers in high density, and ensure the shape, dimensions and dimensional accuracy of the throttle. Can be realized.

  Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the liquid discharge head according to the present invention will be described more specifically with respect to the manufacturing process of the ink supply path 54, the pressure chamber 52, and the diaphragm 53 that constitute the lower portion of the inkjet head shown in FIG.

  An etching mask having a substantially parallelogram shape is aligned with the <211> direction of the substrate as shown in FIG. 2 with respect to the single crystal silicon substrate having a plane orientation of (110), and the ink supply path 54 and the pressure chamber 52 are crystallized. After forming by anisotropic wet etching, a silicon nitride film obtained by thermally oxidizing the substrate is formed to form an etching protective film at the time of etching, which will be described later, and finally an approximately rectangular etching mask is shown in FIG. The substrate is aligned in the <110> direction of the substrate, and crystal anisotropic wet etching using the above-described protective film is performed to form a V-shaped cross section consisting of two (111) planes, and the ink supply path 54 communicates with the pressure chamber 52. At this time, when the aperture is wet-etched, the wet etching in the length direction can be stopped by the above-described protective film.

  First, an approximately parallelogram-shaped etching mask is used for a single crystal silicon substrate having a plane orientation of (110), and two concave portions that become an ink supply path 54 and a pressure chamber 52 are formed by crystal anisotropic wet etching, respectively. Form. Next, an aperture for communicating these two recesses is formed.

  FIG. 8 shows the positional relationship of the aperture forming mask 60 for forming the aperture 53 with respect to the ink supply path 54 and the pressure chamber 52 which are two processed recesses.

  Hereinafter, the manufacturing process of the ink supply path 54, the pressure chamber 52, and the throttle 53 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  In each of FIGS. 9 to 15 below, (a) is a top view, and (b) is an ink supply path 54 communicating with each other as shown in FIG. 15 (a) (or FIG. 8), for example. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view cut along the throttle 53 and the pressure chamber 52.

  First, in step (1) shown in FIG. 9 (particularly FIG. 9B), a silicon (Si) substrate 70 having a surface orientation of (110) is prepared, polished on both sides, and then thermally oxidized to cover the entire surface of the silicon substrate 70. A silicon oxide film 72 is formed with a thickness of 1500 Å (angstrom). Subsequently, a silicon nitride film 74 having a high durability against etching of a potassium hydroxide aqueous solution that is a wet etchant is formed with a thickness of 1000 Å by the CVD method. These silicon oxide film 72 and silicon nitride film 74 are used as an etching mask in wet etching for forming an ink supply path 54 and a pressure chamber 52, which will be described later with reference to FIG. Note that the silicon oxide film 72 has a stress relaxation function of the silicon nitride film 74.

  Next, in the step (2) shown in FIG. 10, a substantially parallelogram-shaped wet etching mask 76 for forming a concave portion that becomes the ink supply path 54 and the pressure chamber 52 is aligned in the <211> direction of the silicon substrate 70. Then, it is formed by photolithography.

  Specifically, a photosensitive photoresist is applied on the silicon substrate 70 (more precisely, on the silicon nitride film 74 formed in the above step (1)) by spin coating, and the ink supply path 54 and the pressure are applied. The photosensitive photoresist is patterned with a photomask for forming the chamber 52. Thereafter, using the patterned resist mask, the silicon nitride film 74 and the silicon oxide film 72 formed in the step (1) are patterned. Finally, the photosensitive photoresist is removed with a resist stripping solution, oxygen plasma, or the like to form an opening for wet etching the ink supply path 54 and the pressure chamber 52, as shown in FIG. The silicon surface 70a is exposed to form a substantially parallelogram-shaped wet etching mask 76 as shown in FIG.

The silicon nitride film 74 is wet-etched using hot phosphoric acid, and the silicon oxide film 72 is patterned using a fluorine wet etchant. Further, dry etching may be used for patterning each film. In the dry etching of the silicon nitride film 74, a fluorine-based etching gas such as CF ₄ , CF ₄ + H ₂ , CH ₂ F ₂ , CH ₃ F, or CHF ₃ can be used. In the dry etching of the silicon oxide film 72, a fluorine-based etching gas such as CF ₄ + H ₂ , CHF ₃ , C ₂ F ₆ can be used.

  Next, in step (3) shown in FIG. 11, a recess 54 a that becomes the ink supply path 54 and a recess 52 a that becomes the pressure chamber 52 are formed using crystal anisotropic wet etching.

  In wet etching, an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution having a large difference in etching rate between the (111) plane and other crystal planes is suitable as an etchant. In general, in the case of an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution, the ratio of the etching rate between the (111) plane and the (100) plane is R (100) / R (111) = 400, and R (110)> R (100 ) >> R (111).

  Etching depth is controlled by time management. The etching rate of the potassium hydroxide aqueous solution is 0.5 to 2.0 μm / min at an etchant temperature of 60 to 80 ° C. A silicon substrate 70 having a plane orientation of (110) is formed into a pressure chamber 52 having a height of 100 μm using a potassium hydroxide aqueous solution (etching rate is about 1.7 μm / min) having a concentration of 40% and a temperature of 70 ° C. The power recess 52a can be formed in about 60 minutes.

  Further, since the etching rate changes depending on the etching conditions, that is, the etchant type, temperature, concentration, or stirring state, an etch stop layer may be provided so that the etching can be stopped at a desired depth.

  The wall surfaces of the two recesses are formed by (111) planes, the pair of opposing surfaces is the (111) plane perpendicular to the substrate surface, and the other pair of surfaces is the substrate surface. This is a forward tapered surface inclined by 35.26 °.

  Next, in the step (4) shown in FIG. 12, the silicon nitride film 74 and the silicon oxide film 72 which are the wet etching mask used in the step (3) are respectively removed by the method described in the step (2). . Next, the silicon substrate 70 is thermally oxidized to form a silicon oxide film 82 with a thickness of 1500 Å (angstrom) on the entire surface of the silicon substrate 70, and then a silicon nitride film 84 is formed with a thickness of 1000 Å (angstrom) by the CVD method. .

  The silicon oxide film 82 and the silicon nitride film 84 are used as an etching protective film in addition to being used as an etching mask for wet etching in step (6) in FIG.

  Specifically, in the concave portion 54a to be the ink supply path 54 processed in the step (3) and the concave portion 52a to be the pressure chamber 52, a portion where the wet etching is not desired in the step (6) described later is used as a wet etchant. Protects against etching when exposed.

  Next, in the step (5) shown in FIG. 13, in order to form a throttle 53 (to become a recess) that allows the ink supply path 54 (to become a recess 54 a) and the pressure chamber 52 (to become a recess 52 a) to communicate with each other. A substantially parallelogram shaped wet etching mask is aligned in the <110> direction and formed by photolithography.

  The wet etching mask is configured so that the recesses 54a and the recesses 52a partially overlap each other in order to ensure communication between the recesses 54a serving as the ink supply passages 54 and the recesses 52a serving as the pressure chambers 52. The opening in the communication direction of the etching mask is formed to be longer than the length of the opening in the communication direction of the recess that becomes the diaphragm 53.

  More specifically, a photosensitive photoresist is applied on the silicon substrate 70 (more precisely, on the silicon nitride film 84 already formed in the above step (4)) by spin coating or spray coating, and a drawing photo. Pattern the photosensitive photoresist with a mask. Then, using the patterned resist mask, the silicon nitride film 84 and the silicon oxide film 82 formed in the step (4) are patterned. Finally, the photosensitive photoresist is removed with a resist stripping solution, oxygen plasma, or the like to form an opening for wet etching of the diaphragm, and as shown in FIG. 13B, the silicon substrate surface 70b is exposed.

  In the aperture-forming photomask, the aperture pattern size is designed to be larger than the distance between the ink supply path 54 (being the recess 54a) and the pressure chamber 52 (being the recess 52a), and after patterning by photolithography, the aperture pattern shape As shown in FIG. 13A, the photoresist of FIG. 13A has portions 86a and 86b that overlap the processed ink supply path 54 (the concave portion 54a) and the pressure chamber 52 (the concave portion 52a), respectively. To form. By providing the overlap portions 86a and 86b as described above, the three flow paths (the ink supply path 54, the throttle 53, and the pressure chamber 52) can be communicated with each other in the wet etching in the step (4). The overlap amount between the ink supply path 54 and the throttle 53 (width of the overlap portion 86a) and the overlap amount between the pressure chamber 52 and the throttle 53 (width of the overlap portion 86b) must both be 2 μm or more. Preferably, about 5 μm is required.

  This is because when the overlap amount is less than 2 μm, at least one of the two communicating portions may not communicate at the time of photolithography of the aperture pattern. At this time, if etching is performed excessively so as to make the non-communication portion communicate with each other, etching of the (111) plane proceeds, and a diaphragm having a desired shape, size, and dimensional accuracy cannot be processed. Therefore, the overlap amount needs to be 2 μm or more.

  The overlap amount needs to be 2 μm or more until the overlap portions 86a and 86b collide with one side (wall surface) of each of the recesses 54a and 52a and then the next side (wall surface). Do not overlap. This is to prevent other etchings from being affected.

  The portion where the resist overlaps the processed recess is the forward tapered surface in step (3), and if the depth is 20 μm or more, the resist is uniformly applied to the substrate surface using the spray coating method. Is preferred.

  In addition, when a resist is applied in a stepped shape using the spray coating method, it is difficult to completely cover a portion to be covered with the resist depending on the shape of the step. In particular, it is difficult to coat a vertical wall with a resist. The silicon nitride film and the silicon oxide film or the silicon oxide film below the portion covered with the resist function as an etching protective film for wet etching in the next step (6).

  In this embodiment, a resist can be applied to the forward tapered surface composed of the substrate surface and the (111) plane. However, a forward tapered surface made of (111) surface and a surface perpendicular to the substrate made of (111) surface (a vertical wall surface in the vicinity of the forward tapered surface on the side where the aperture pattern is formed, out of a pair of forward tapered surfaces) It is difficult to apply a resist.

  In the case where the resist coating on the tapered surface and the vertical surface is incomplete and the silicon nitride film is exposed after the resist patterning (before the silicon nitride film patterning), the silicon nitride film is patterned (step (2)). It is preferable to perform dry etching while applying a substrate bias using the gas species described in 1. In the dry etching described above, the reactive gas collides with the tapered surface or the substrate surface, but it does not easily collide with the vertical wall. Therefore, even if the silicon nitride film is exposed on the vertical wall, the etching of the film proceeds so much. Instead, the silicon nitride film on the vertical wall can be left after the patterning of the silicon nitride film. The subsequent patterning of the silicon oxide film is also performed by dry etching while applying a substrate bias using the gas species described in step (2), so that the silicon oxide on the vertical wall is patterned after the patterning of the silicon oxide film. A film can be left.

  On the other hand, since the overlap portion of the aperture-shaped pattern in the forward taper portion is covered with a resist and exposed when the resist is patterned, the silicon nitride film and the silicon oxide film are likely to be exposed after the resist is patterned. However, since the tapered surface is formed by the (111) plane even if it is exposed, the etching of the (111) plane that has been formed in the wet etching in the step (6) In the wet etching time (about 30 minutes), the etching hardly progresses and the shape is less affected.

  If the part to be covered with the resist is completely covered after the resist patterning, both the silicon nitride film and the silicon oxide film formed in the step (4) may be patterned by wet etching. In this case, the patterning method by wet etching of the silicon nitride film and the silicon oxide film is as described in the step (2).

  Next, in the step (6) shown in FIG. 14, a concave portion 53a to be the aperture 53 is formed by using crystal anisotropic wet etching. The conditions for wet etching (that is, the type of etchant and its temperature and concentration) are as described in step (3).

  A silicon substrate having a plane orientation of (110) is used with a potassium hydroxide aqueous solution (etching rate is about 1.7 μm / min) having a concentration of 40% and a temperature of 70 ° C., and an aperture 53 (depth) having an opening width of 100 μm. Can be formed in about 20 minutes.

  If the shape and arrangement of the aperture pattern in the present invention and the arrangement (alignment in the <110> direction) are used, the etching automatically stops when the two (111) surfaces formed by etching collide with each other. There is no need to provide an etching stop layer in the depth direction.

  Further, the length direction of the diaphragm 53 is etched in the length direction by the etching protective film described in the step (4), so that the ink supply path 54 and the pressure chamber on the photomask used in the step (2). It can be defined by the distance to 52.

  A part of the tapered surface on the ink supply path 54 side at the connection part between the ink supply path 54 and the throttle 53 and a part of the taper surface on the pressure chamber 52 side at the connection part between the pressure chamber 52 and the throttle 53 are the diaphragm. It is exposed to an etchant during wet etching for forming 53. However, both are formed with a (111) plane, and the etching does not progress so much. Even if the etching proceeds, the etching proceeds at a position deeper than the depth of the diaphragm 53 in the above-described two portions, so that the length direction of the diaphragm 53 is not affected.

  Finally, in step (7) shown in FIG. 15, the silicon nitride film 84 and the silicon oxide film 82 are peeled off to form the ink supply path 54, the pressure chamber 52, and the throttle 53 that connects these.

  The peeling method of these two films is as described in the step (2). When the inner surface of the flow path needs to be subjected to a hydrophilic treatment or an ink resistance treatment, for example, a processed silicon substrate may be thermally oxidized to form a silicon oxide film on the surface. The material applied in the treatment may be a silicon nitride film or a silicon carbide film in addition to the silicon oxide film, and the formation method may be a diffusion method, a CVD method or a sputtering method.

  In this way, the ink supply path 54, the throttle 53, and the pressure chamber 52 in FIG. 1 are formed. In contrast, a nozzle channel 51a is formed in the pressure chamber 52, and a nozzle plate on which the nozzle 51 is separately formed is attached to the lower side of the pressure chamber 52. An ink jet head is formed by attaching the piezoelectric element 58 and the piezo cover 59 thereon. Note that the method for forming the nozzle 51, the piezoelectric element 58, and the like is not particularly limited.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, after the concave portions that become ink supply passages and pressure chambers other than the diaphragm are formed first, the diaphragm is formed last, and the pattern of the diaphragm is It is made to overlap with recessed parts other than an aperture.

  For this reason, the processed surface of the recesses other than the diaphragm is located at a position deeper than the depth of the diaphragm. Therefore, when etching the diaphragm, the etching proceeds at a position deeper than the diaphragm, affecting the dimension in the length direction of the diaphragm. Hateful. In addition, there is an advantage that the throttle portion (particularly, the flow path connecting portion) is not exposed to the etchant for a long time, so that the shape can be easily maintained. As a result, the shape, size, and dimensional accuracy of the diaphragm can be ensured. At the same time, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the pressure chambers can be arranged at high density.

  Although the liquid ejection head manufacturing method of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Of course it is good.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of a pressure chamber of an ink jet head as a liquid discharge head manufactured by the method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the etching mask at the time of crystal anisotropic wet etching of the silicon substrate of a surface orientation (110). It is a top view which shows the etching shape etched using the etching mask of FIG. (A) is sectional drawing along the AA line in FIG. 3, (b) is sectional drawing along the BB line in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the etching mask at the time of crystal anisotropic wet etching of the silicon substrate of a surface orientation (110). It is a perspective view which shows the etching shape etched using the etching mask of FIG. (A) is sectional drawing by the A surface in FIG. 6, (b) is sectional drawing by the B surface in FIG. 6, (c) is an enlarged view of the V-shaped part of FIG. 7 (a). is there. It is explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of the two recessed parts used as the processed ink supply path and a pressure chamber, and the aperture formation mask for forming an aperture. It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the inkjet head of this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is sectional drawing. Similarly, it is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the inkjet head of this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is sectional drawing. Similarly, it is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the inkjet head of this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is sectional drawing. Similarly, it is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the inkjet head of this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is sectional drawing. Similarly, it is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the inkjet head of this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is sectional drawing. Similarly, it is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the inkjet head of this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is sectional drawing. Similarly, it is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the inkjet head of this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is sectional drawing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the conventional inkjet head.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 50 ... Inkjet head, 51 ... Nozzle, 52 ... Pressure chamber, 53 ... Restriction, 54 ... Ink supply path, 55 ... Common liquid chamber, 56 ... Vibration plate, 58 ... Piezoelectric element, 59 ... Piezo cover, 70 ... Silicon substrate 72 ... Silicon oxide film, 74 ... Silicon nitride film, 76 ... Wet etching mask

Claims (2)

A liquid discharge head manufacturing method for discharging a liquid supplied from a liquid supply path to a pressure chamber via a throttle from a discharge port communicating with the pressure chamber,
The liquid supply path and the pressure chamber having two (111) planes perpendicular to the surface of a silicon substrate having a crystal plane orientation (110) and two inclined (111) planes on the wall surface. Forming two first spaces to be formed by anisotropic etching;
Forming an etching protective film on the silicon substrate in which the two first spaces are formed;
An etching mask for forming a second space that has two (111) planes inclined with respect to the surface of the silicon substrate on the wall surface and forms the diaphragm for communicating the two first spaces. Forming,
A method of manufacturing a liquid ejection head, wherein anisotropic etching is performed using the etching mask to form the second space.   The opening in the communication direction of the etching mask for forming the second space is longer than the length of the second space in the communication direction, and part of each of the two first spaces. The method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the two overlap each other.

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