JP2009262414A - Nozzle substrate made of silicone, droplet discharge head, liquid discharge apparatus, manufacturing method of nozzle substrate made of silicone, manufacturing method of droplet discharge head, and manufacturing method of droplet discharge apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a nozzle substrate made of silicone, or the like, in which underlaying silicone is prevented from being eluted because a discharge liquid erodes a protective film. <P>SOLUTION: The nozzle substrate 1 made of silicone has a nozzle hole 11. A discharge liquid resistant protective film A is formed continuously from a surface 1a on the droplet discharge side of the nozzle hole 11 to the opposite surface 1b of the surface on the droplet discharge side via the inner wall 11c of the nozzle hole 11. The discharge liquid resistant protective film A is an oxide film 12 formed by anodic oxidization. The manufacturing method of the nozzle substrate 1 made of silicone includes steps of: forming a recess 110 in a silicone base material 100; laminating a supporting substrate 50 having a through-hole 50a of a larger diameter than the recess 110 so that the recess 110 and the through-hole 50a are coaxially arranged; opening the recess 110 by thinning the opposite surface 100c of the surface with the recess formed therein; forming a continuous oxide film 12 by anodizing the silicone base material 100; and peeling off the supporting substrate 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a silicon nozzle substrate, a droplet discharge head, a droplet discharge device, a method for manufacturing a silicon nozzle substrate, a method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head, and a method for manufacturing a droplet discharge device.

  In the droplet discharge device, when the discharge liquid is a corrosive liquid, it is necessary to form a protective film to protect the silicon substrate and prevent the elution of silicon as a base. When forming a protective film on a silicon substrate, a nozzle recess is provided on the silicon substrate to form a thermal oxide film, a support substrate is attached, the nozzle recess is opened, and a low-temperature oxide film is formed on the open side surface. Was forming. The reason why the oxide film is formed by the low-temperature oxidation process is that the support substrate is peeled off by heat when formed by the thermal oxidation process (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-98888 (pages 9-10, FIG. 7)

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, the crystal becomes discontinuous at the interface of the protective film composed of the thermal oxide film and the low-temperature oxide film, the discharge liquid erodes from this part, and the underlying silicon is eluted to drop the droplet discharge device. There was a risk of damaging it.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a silicon nozzle substrate, a droplet discharge head, and a droplet discharge device in which a discharge liquid does not erode a protective film and elute the underlying silicon. Another object is to provide a method for manufacturing a silicon nozzle substrate, a method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head, and a method for manufacturing a droplet discharge device.

The silicon nozzle substrate according to the present invention has a nozzle hole for discharging a droplet, and is a surface opposite to the surface on the droplet discharge side from the surface on the droplet discharge side of the nozzle hole through the inner wall of the nozzle hole. The discharge-resistant protective film is formed continuously until the discharge-resistant protective film is an oxide film formed by anodic oxidation.
Since the discharge-resistant protective film is continuously formed from the surface on the droplet discharge side through the nozzle hole inner wall to the surface opposite to the surface on the droplet discharge side, the discharge liquid erodes the discharge-resistant protective film. It does not damage silicon and has excellent durability.

A droplet discharge head according to the present invention includes the above-described silicon nozzle substrate.
A droplet discharge head having a long life and high reliability can be obtained.

A droplet discharge apparatus according to the present invention is equipped with the above-described droplet discharge head.
A droplet discharge apparatus equipped with a droplet discharge head having a long life and high reliability can be obtained.

The method of manufacturing a silicon nozzle substrate according to the present invention includes a step of forming a recess in a silicon base material, and a support substrate having a through-hole having a diameter larger than the recess on the surface on which the recess is formed. The step of laminating so that the surface is coaxial, the step of opening the recess by thinning the surface opposite to the surface on which the recess is formed, and the continuous oxidation on the surface by anodizing the silicon substrate It has the process of forming a film | membrane, and the process of peeling a support substrate.
Since a continuous oxide film is formed by one process, the formed oxide film is uniform, and the discharge liquid does not erode the oxide film and elute the underlying silicon. Further, when forming a continuous oxide film, only a low-temperature oxidation process is used and a thermal oxidation process is not used, so that the number of steps can be reduced during manufacturing. Furthermore, since the silicon base material and the support substrate are bonded together when anodizing, the silicon base material can be prevented from cracking and the yield can be improved.

The method for producing a silicon nozzle substrate according to the present invention comprises anodizing an inorganic material on the surface of a silicon substrate.
Silicon can be protected from the discharge liquid by an oxide film using an inorganic material.

In the method for manufacturing a silicon nozzle substrate according to the present invention, the inorganic material is one or both of tantalum and titanium.
Silicon can be protected from the discharge liquid by an oxide film using an inorganic material such as tantalum or titanium.

In the method for producing a silicon nozzle substrate according to the present invention, an electrode pattern is provided on a surface on which a support substrate of a silicon base is attached, is immersed in an electrolytic solution, and is anodized.
An electrode can be inserted between the silicon substrate and the support substrate to perform anodization, and the potential reaches the entire surface of the silicon substrate.

The method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention is to apply the above-described method for manufacturing a silicon nozzle substrate to form a nozzle substrate portion of the droplet discharge head.
A droplet discharge head having a long life and high reliability can be obtained.

A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge device according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing a droplet discharge device by applying the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head described above.
A droplet discharge apparatus equipped with a droplet discharge head having a long life and high reliability can be obtained.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a section of an ink jet head (an example of a droplet discharge head) according to the first embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the vicinity of the nozzle hole of FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inkjet head 10 is provided with a nozzle substrate 1 in which a plurality of nozzle holes 11 are provided at a predetermined pitch, and an ink supply path is provided independently for each nozzle hole 11. The cavity substrate 2 is bonded to the electrode substrate 3 on which the individual electrodes 31 are disposed so as to face the vibration plate 22 of the cavity substrate 2.

  The nozzle substrate 1 is made of a silicon single crystal base material (hereinafter also simply referred to as a silicon base material). Nozzle holes 11 for discharging droplets (ink droplets) are opened in the nozzle substrate 1, and each nozzle hole 11 is formed in, for example, a two-stage cylindrical shape having different diameters as shown in FIG. The nozzle hole portion thus formed, that is, a discharge portion (hereinafter referred to as a first nozzle hole) 11a having a small diameter and located on the droplet discharge surface 1a side and having a tip opening to the droplet discharge surface 1a, and the cavity substrate 2 And a large-diameter introduction portion (hereinafter referred to as a second nozzle hole portion) 11b that is located on the side of the joining surface 1b to be joined and opens at the joining surface 1b. It is formed on the same axis.

The silicon substrate 1 has a joint surface 1b (in the present embodiment, the periphery of the nozzle hole 11) that is the surface opposite to the droplet discharge surface 1a from the droplet discharge surface 1a of the nozzle hole 11 through the inner wall 11c of the nozzle hole 11. The oxide film 12 formed by anodic oxidation is continuously formed up to the bonding surface 1b). The oxide film 12 may be a silicon oxide film (SiO ₂ film) formed by anodizing the surface of the silicon base material, or anodizing an inorganic material formed on the surface of the silicon base material. The formed oxide film of the inorganic material may be sufficient. In the case of an oxide film of an inorganic material, for example, a tantalum (Ta) oxide film, a titanium (Ti) oxide film, or an oxide film made of tantalum (Ta) and titanium (Ti) is preferable. These oxide films 12 form a discharge-resistant protective film A.

  A water repellent film (ink repellent film) 13 is formed on the droplet discharge surface 1 a of the discharge resistant protective film A. On the other hand, a hydrophilic film (parent ink film) 14 is formed from the inner wall 11c of the nozzle hole 11 to the bonding surface 1b with the discharge port edge 11d of the nozzle hole 11 as a boundary.

The cavity substrate 2 is made of a silicon single crystal substrate (this substrate is also simply referred to as a silicon substrate hereinafter). Then, anisotropic wet etching is performed on the silicon substrate to form recesses 240 and 250 for forming the discharge chamber 24 and the reservoir 25 of the ink flow path, and a recess 230 for forming the orifice 23, respectively.
A plurality of recesses 240 are independently formed at positions corresponding to the nozzle holes 11. Therefore, when the nozzle substrate 1 and the cavity substrate 2 are joined, the respective recesses 240 form the discharge chamber 24, and each communicates with the nozzle hole 11 and also with the orifice 23 that is an ink supply port. The bottom wall of the discharge chamber 24 (recess 240) serves as the diaphragm 22.

The other concave portion 250 is for storing liquid ink, and constitutes a reservoir (common ink chamber) 25 common to the ejection chambers 24. The reservoirs 25 (recesses 250) communicate with all the discharge chambers 24 through the orifices 23, respectively. Further, a hole penetrating an electrode substrate 3 to be described later is provided at the bottom of the reservoir 25, and ink is supplied from an ink cartridge (not shown) through an ink supply hole 34 formed by this hole.
Further, an insulating film 26 made of a silicon oxide film or the like is formed on the entire surface of the cavity substrate 2 or at least the surface facing the electrode substrate 3, and this insulating film 26 is formed when the ink jet head is driven. Prevent dielectric breakdown and short circuit.

  The electrode substrate 3 is made from a glass substrate. As the glass substrate, it is preferable to use a borosilicate heat-resistant hard glass having a thermal expansion coefficient close to that of the silicon substrate of the cavity substrate 2. This is because when the electrode substrate 3 and the cavity substrate 2 are anodically bonded, the thermal expansion coefficients of both the substrates 3 and 2 are close, so the stress generated between the electrode substrate 3 and the cavity substrate 2 can be reduced. As a result, the electrode substrate 3 and the cavity substrate 2 can be firmly bonded without causing problems such as peeling.

  On the surface of the electrode substrate 3 facing the cavity substrate 2, concave portions 32 are provided at positions facing the respective diaphragms 22 of the cavity substrate 2. In each recess 32, an individual electrode 31 made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) is generally formed, and a gap (gap) formed between the diaphragm 22 and the individual electrode 31 is formed. ) G greatly affects the ejection characteristics of the inkjet head. In addition, although the metal of chromium etc. may be used for the material of the individual electrode 31, since ITO is transparent and it is easy to confirm whether it discharged or not, ITO is generally used.

  The individual electrode 31 has a lead part 31a and a terminal part 31b connected to a flexible wiring board (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal portion 31b is exposed in the electrode extraction portion 29 in which the end portion of the cavity substrate 2 is opened for wiring.

  The nozzle substrate 1, the cavity substrate 2, and the electrode substrate 3 described above are generally manufactured individually, and are bonded together as shown in FIG. 2, thereby manufacturing the main body of the inkjet head 10. That is, the cavity substrate 2 and the electrode substrate 3 are bonded by, for example, anodic bonding, and the nozzle substrate 1 is bonded to the upper surface of the cavity substrate 2 (the upper surface in FIG. 2) with an adhesive or the like. Furthermore, the open end of the gap G formed between the diaphragm 22 and the individual electrode 31 is sealed with a sealing material 27 made of a resin such as epoxy. As a result, moisture, dust and the like can be prevented from entering the gap G.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the drive control circuit 4 such as an IC driver is connected to a flexible wiring board (not shown) on the terminal portion 31 b of each individual electrode 31 and the common electrode 28 provided on the cavity substrate 2. ) Is connected through.

  In the inkjet head 10 configured as described above, when a pulse voltage is applied between the cavity substrate 2 and the individual electrode 31 by the drive control circuit 4, an electrostatic force is generated between the diaphragm 22 and the individual electrode 31. The diaphragm 22 is attracted to the individual electrode 31 side and bent due to the suction action, and the volume of the discharge chamber 24 is increased. As a result, the ink accumulated in the reservoir 25 flows into the discharge chamber 24 through the orifice 23. Next, when the application of voltage to the individual electrode 31 is stopped, the electrostatic attraction force disappears, the diaphragm 22 is restored, and the volume of the discharge chamber 24 contracts rapidly. As a result, the pressure in the discharge chamber 24 increases rapidly, and ink droplets are discharged from the nozzle holes 11 communicating with the discharge chamber 24.

Next, the manufacturing method of the inkjet head 10 is demonstrated using FIGS. FIG. 4 is a top view showing the nozzle substrate 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 5 to 8 are cross-sectional views showing the manufacturing process of the nozzle substrate 1 (cross-sectional views taken along line II in FIG. 4). is there. FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are cross-sectional views showing a bonding process between the cavity substrate 2 and the electrode substrate 3. Here, a method of manufacturing the cavity substrate 2 mainly after bonding the silicon base material 200 to the electrode substrate 3. Indicates.
First, the manufacturing method of the nozzle substrate 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the numerical value described below shows an example, and is not limited to this.

(A) As shown to Fig.5 (a), the silicon base material 100 (nozzle board | substrate 1) is prepared, and it sets to a thermal oxidation apparatus.

(B) The silicon substrate 100 is subjected to thermal oxidation treatment under conditions in a predetermined oxidation temperature, oxidation time, and mixed atmosphere of oxygen and water vapor, and as shown in FIG. A silicon oxide film (SiO ₂ film) 101 serving as an etching protection film is uniformly formed on 100c.

(C) As shown in FIG. 5C, the silicon oxide film 101 formed on the bonding surface 100b on the side bonded to the cavity substrate 2 corresponds to the second nozzle recess 110b (see FIG. 6F). The second concave portion 101b and the first concave portion 101a corresponding to the first nozzle concave portion 110a (see FIG. 6 (f)) are formed by patterning concentrically therewith. In this case, first, the second recess 101b is formed by half-etching with BHF (Buffered HF), and then the first recess 101a is formed by etching with BHF so that the remaining thickness becomes zero. .

(D) As shown in FIG. 6D, anisotropic dry etching is performed vertically by Deep-RIE (Deep Reactive Ion Etching) to form the first nozzle recess 110a.

(E) As shown in FIG. 6E, the silicon oxide film 101 is etched with BHF so that the remaining thickness of the second recess 101b becomes zero.

(F) As shown in FIG. 6F, anisotropic dry etching is performed vertically by Deep-RIE to form the second nozzle recess 110b. At the same time, the first nozzle recess 110a is simultaneously anisotropically dry etched by the same depth. Thus, the nozzle recess 110 is formed.

(G) As shown in FIG. 6G, the silicon oxide film 101 (see FIG. 6F) remaining on the surface of the silicon substrate 100 is removed.

(H) As shown in FIG. 7 (h), a double-sided adhesive sheet 51 is attached to a support substrate 50 such as glass, and is faced to the bonding surface 100b of the silicon substrate 100 (silicon wafer). to paste together. The through-hole 50a (including the through-hole 51a of the double-sided adhesive sheet) of the support substrate is formed in the nozzle recess 110 and the supporting substrate 50 (including the double-sided adhesive sheet 51) in the periphery thereof, and these through-holes 50a, 51a has the same diameter, but is formed larger than the diameter of the second nozzle hole 110b of the nozzle recess 110, and a part of the joint surface 100b is exposed from these through holes 50a and 51a.

(I) As shown in FIG. 7 (i), the surface 100c (see FIG. 7 (h)) of the silicon substrate 100 to be thinned is ground by a grinder and thinned to open the nozzle recess 110, and the nozzle Hole 11 is formed. The thinned surface 100c (see FIG. 7H) of the silicon substrate 100 becomes a thinned surface, that is, a droplet discharge surface 100a (1a).

(J) As shown in FIG. 7 (j), in a state where the silicon base material 100 and the support substrate 50 are bonded together, the silicon base material 100 is immersed in an electrolytic solution and anodized. In this case, the silicon substrate 100 side is positively charged as the anode. Then, an electrode pattern is provided on the back surface side of the silicon base material 100, that is, the bonding surface 100b side where the support substrate 50 is located, so that the potential reaches the entire surface of the silicon base material 100. The electrode portion is attached so as to be inserted between the silicon base material 100 and the support substrate 50, for example. Thus, the oxide film 12 is formed on the droplet discharge surface 100a, the nozzle hole inner wall 11c, and the bonding surface 100b (the bonding surface 100b of the portion exposed by the through holes 50a and 51a) by a single process. At this time, the cathode side such as platinum (Pt) and gold (Au) is also immersed in the electrolytic solution at the same time. As the electrolytic solution, sulfuric acid, citric acid, nitric acid, acetic acid, phosphoric acid, ozone-dissolved water, hydrogen peroxide water, sodium hydrogen carbonate, or the like is used.
The electrolytic bath is sealed and anodized at atmospheric pressure or higher, so that the liquid temperature can be used at 100 ° C. or higher, and the pressure on the surface of the silicon substrate 100 is increased. Further, it is for dissolving ozone. In addition, ultrasonic irradiation is performed to increase the pressure on the surface of the silicon substrate 100, and cavitation is used.

  The processing conditions are, for example, a voltage of 2V to 100V, a processing time of 1 min to 60 min, and a liquid temperature of 23 ° C to 90 ° C. The pressure state is a state equal to or higher than atmospheric pressure (100 kPa), for example, 100 kPa to 300 kPa. Treat with ultrasonic waves to 150 kHz to 500 kHz.

The oxide film 12 formed on the surface of the silicon substrate 100 by the anodic oxidation is a silicon oxide film, but may be an oxide film made of an inorganic material.
When the oxide film 12 is a silicon oxide film, the surface of the silicon substrate 100 is anodized as it is. However, when the oxide film 12 is an oxide film of an inorganic material, the inorganic material formed on the surface of the silicon substrate 100 is anodized. To do. In the case of an oxide film made of an inorganic material, an inorganic material is formed on the silicon substrate 100 by sputtering or CVD, and anodized to form an inorganic material oxide film. The film formation of the inorganic material is performed in two steps from the both surfaces 100a and 100b side of the silicon substrate 100, but can also be performed in one step. The inorganic material is, for example, tantalum (Ta), titanium (Ti), or a mixed material of tantalum (Ta) and titanium (Ti).
Thus, the discharge-resistant protective film A is formed by the oxide film 12 (silicon oxide film or inorganic material oxide film).

(K) As shown in FIG. 7 (k), UV light is irradiated from the support substrate 50 side, the double-sided adhesive sheet 51 is peeled off, and the support substrate 50 is removed from the silicon base material 100.

(L) As shown in FIG. 8 (l), a double-sided adhesive sheet 61 is attached to the support substrate 60, and this is opposed to the bonding surface 100b of the silicon base material 100 and attached in a vacuum. The support substrate 60 (and the double-sided adhesive sheet 61) used at this time is different from the support substrate 50 (and the double-sided adhesive sheet 51) used in FIGS. No through-hole is formed in this.
Next, a water-repellent film 13 mainly composed of a silicon compound containing fluorine atoms is formed on the droplet discharge surface 100a by dipping.

(M) As shown in FIG. 8 (m), the dicing tape 70 is attached to the droplet discharge surface 100a as a support tape.

(N) As shown in FIG. 8 (n), UV light is irradiated from the support substrate 60 side, the double-sided adhesive sheet 61 is peeled off, and the support substrate 60 is removed from the silicon base material 100.

(O) As shown in FIG. 8 (o), sputtering is performed with argon (Ar) from the surface from which the support substrate 60 is removed, that is, the bonding surface 100b side, and the surfaces other than the droplet discharge surface 100a are made hydrophilic. To form a hydrophilic film 14.
When the dicing tape 70 is peeled off, the nozzle substrate 1 is completed from the silicon base material 100 (see FIG. 3).

  According to the nozzle substrate 1 according to the first embodiment, the oxide film 12 (silicon oxide film) extends from the droplet discharge surface 1a through the nozzle hole inner wall 11c to the bonding surface 1b (the bonding surface 1b around the nozzle hole 11). Alternatively, since the discharge-resistant protective film A made of an oxide film made of an inorganic material is continuously formed, the discharge liquid does not erode or the underlying silicon does not elute, and is excellent in durability and reliability. . In this way, it is possible to obtain a droplet discharge head with stable discharge characteristics, high-quality printing, and a long life.

  In manufacturing the nozzle substrate, the oxide film 12 (a silicon oxide film or an oxide film made of an inorganic material) is collectively formed by a low-temperature process, so that the oxide film 12 is continuously formed with the support substrate 50 attached. It can be formed, and the number of processes can be reduced in manufacturing. Furthermore, since the anodic oxidation is performed in a state where the silicon base material 100 and the support substrate 50 are bonded to each other, insufficient strength of the silicon base material can be compensated for, and the yield is improved. In addition, since the electrode pattern is provided on the surface of the silicon base material 100 on which the support substrate 50 is attached, that is, the bonding surface 100b side, the potential reaches the entire surface of the silicon base material 100.

Next, a method for manufacturing the cavity substrate 2 and the electrode substrate 3 will be described.
Here, a method of manufacturing the cavity substrate 2 from the silicon substrate 200 after bonding the silicon substrate 200 to the electrode substrate 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

(A) As shown in FIG. 9A, a glass substrate 300 (glass substrate 3) made of borosilicate glass or the like is etched with hydrofluoric acid using, for example, a gold / chromium etching mask to form a recess 32. Form. The recess 32 has a groove shape slightly larger than the shape of the individual electrode 31, and a plurality of the recesses 32 are formed for each individual electrode 31.
Then, an individual electrode 31 made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) is formed on the bottom of the recess 32 by sputtering, for example.
Then, the electrode substrate 3 is manufactured by forming a hole 34a to be the ink supply hole 34 by a drill or the like.

(B) As shown in FIG. 9B, after both surfaces of the silicon base material 200 (cavity substrate 2) are mirror-polished, one side of the silicon base material 200 is made of silicon made of TEOS (TetraEthyl Ortho Silicate) by plasma CVD. An oxide film (insulating film) 26 is formed. Before forming the silicon substrate 200, an etching stop technique may be used to form a boron doped layer for forming the thickness of the diaphragm 22 with high accuracy. The etching stop is defined as a state in which bubbles generated from the etching surface are stopped. In actual wet etching, it is determined that the etching is stopped when the generation of bubbles is stopped.

(C) The silicon substrate 200 and the electrode substrate 3 manufactured as shown in FIG. 9A are heated to, for example, 360 ° C. as shown in FIG. The anode is connected to the electrode substrate 3, and the cathode is connected to the electrode substrate 3, and a voltage of about 800 V is applied to join the electrodes by anodic bonding.

(D) After anodic bonding of the silicon substrate 200 and the electrode substrate 3, the bonded silicon substrate 200 is etched with an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution or the like, and as shown in FIG. Thin plate.

(E) Next, a silicon oxide film 201 (see FIG. 10E) is formed by plasma CVD on the entire upper surface of the silicon substrate 200 (the surface opposite to the surface to which the electrode substrate 3 is bonded). . The silicon oxide film 201 is patterned with a resist for forming a recess 240 serving as the discharge chamber 24, a recess 230 serving as the orifice 23, a recess 250 serving as the reservoir 25, and the like, and the silicon oxide film 201 in these portions is patterned. Is removed by etching.
Thereafter, the silicon substrate 200 is etched with a potassium hydroxide aqueous solution or the like, and as shown in FIG. 10E, a recess 240 serving as the discharge chamber 24, a recess 230 serving as the orifice 23, and a recess 250 serving as the reservoir 25 are formed. Form. At this time, the portion 29a serving as an electrode extraction portion for wiring is also etched and thinned. In the wet etching step shown in FIG. 10E, for example, a 35% by weight potassium hydroxide aqueous solution can be used first, and then a 3% by weight potassium hydroxide aqueous solution can be used. Thereby, surface roughness of the diaphragm 22 can be suppressed.

(F) After the etching of the silicon substrate 200 is completed, as shown in FIG. 10F, the silicon oxide film 201 formed on the upper surface of the silicon substrate 200 is removed by etching with a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution. .

(G) As shown in FIG. 10G, a silicon oxide film (insulating film) 26 is formed on the surface of the silicon substrate 200 on which the recesses 240 and the like serving as the discharge chambers 24 are formed.

(H) As shown in FIG. 10 (h), the electrode extraction portion 29 is opened by RIE or the like. In addition, laser processing is performed from the hole 34 a serving as the ink supply hole 34 of the electrode substrate 3, and the bottom of the recess 250 serving as the reservoir 25 of the silicon base material 200 is penetrated to form the ink supply hole 34. Further, sealing is performed by filling the open end of the gap G between the diaphragm 22 and the individual electrode 31 with a sealing material 27 such as epoxy resin. Further, the common electrode 28 shown in FIG. 2 is formed on the end of the upper surface of the silicon base material 200 (the surface on the side bonded to the nozzle substrate 1) by sputtering.

As described above, the cavity substrate 2 is manufactured from the silicon base material 200 bonded to the electrode substrate 3.
Finally, the main body of the inkjet head 10 shown in FIG. 2 is manufactured by bonding the nozzle substrate 1 manufactured as described above to the cavity substrate 2 with an adhesive or the like.

  According to the manufacturing method of the cavity substrate 2 and the electrode substrate 3 according to the first embodiment, the cavity substrate 2 is manufactured from the silicon base material 200 in a state of being bonded to the electrode substrate 3 manufactured in advance. Thus, the silicon base material 200 is supported, and even if the silicon base material 200 is thinned, it is not cracked or chipped, and handling becomes easy. Therefore, the yield is improved as compared with the case where the cavity substrate 2 is manufactured alone.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an ink jet recording apparatus equipped with the ink jet head 10 according to the first embodiment. An ink jet recording apparatus 400 shown in FIG. 11 is an ink jet printer, and is equipped with the ink jet head 10 of the first embodiment. Therefore, durability against discharge liquid is improved, discharge characteristics are stable, and high quality printing is performed. Is possible.
In addition to the ink jet printer shown in FIG. 11, the ink jet head 10 according to Embodiment 1 can produce various color droplets to produce a color filter for a liquid crystal display and form a light emitting portion of an organic EL display device. It can be used as a droplet discharge device for various uses such as production of microarrays of biomolecule solutions used for genetic testing and the like.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a droplet discharge head according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part in a state where the droplet discharge head of FIG. 1 is assembled. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which expanded the nozzle hole part of FIG. The top view of the nozzle substrate of FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process which shows the manufacturing method of the nozzle substrate which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process of the nozzle substrate following FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process of the nozzle substrate following FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process of the nozzle substrate following FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process which shows the manufacturing method of the cavity board | substrate and electrode substrate which concern on Embodiment 1. FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process following FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an ink jet recording apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Nozzle substrate, 1a Droplet discharge surface (surface on the droplet discharge side), 1b Bonding surface, 2 Cavity substrate, 3 Electrode substrate, 10 Inkjet head, 11 Nozzle hole, 11a First nozzle hole, 11b Second Nozzle hole, 11c Nozzle hole inner wall, 11d Discharge port edge, 12 Oxide film, 13 Water repellent film, 14 Hydrophilic film, 22 Vibration plate, 23 Orifice, 24 Discharge chamber, 25 Reservoir, 31 Individual electrode, 34 Ink supply Hole, 50 Support substrate, 50a Through hole of support substrate, 100 Silicon base material, 110 Nozzle recess (recess), 400 Ink jet recording apparatus, A Anti-discharge liquid protective film.

Claims (9)

Having nozzle holes for discharging droplets,
A continuous discharge-resistant liquid protective film is formed from the surface on the droplet discharge side of the nozzle hole through the inner wall of the nozzle hole to the surface opposite to the surface on the droplet discharge side,
The silicon nozzle substrate, wherein the discharge liquid protective film is an oxide film formed by anodic oxidation.   A droplet discharge head comprising the silicon nozzle substrate according to claim 1.   A droplet discharge apparatus comprising the droplet discharge head according to claim 2. Forming a recess in the silicon substrate;
A step of bonding a support substrate having a through-hole having a diameter larger than the recess to the surface on which the recess is formed, so that the recess and the through-hole are coaxial.
Thinning the surface opposite to the surface on which the recess is formed to open the recess; and
A step of anodizing the silicon substrate to form a continuous oxide film on the surface thereof;
Peeling the support substrate;
A method for producing a silicon nozzle substrate, comprising:   5. The method for producing a silicon nozzle substrate according to claim 4, wherein an inorganic material is formed on the surface of the silicon substrate and anodized.   6. The method of manufacturing a silicon nozzle substrate according to claim 5, wherein the inorganic material is one or both of titanium and tantalum.   The silicon nozzle substrate according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein an electrode pattern is provided on a surface of the silicon substrate on which the support substrate is attached, and the substrate is immersed in an electrolytic solution and anodized. Method.   A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head, comprising applying the method for manufacturing a silicon nozzle substrate according to claim 4 to form a nozzle substrate portion of the droplet discharge head.   A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge device, wherein the droplet discharge device is manufactured by applying the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 8.

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