JP2011110765A - Method of manufacturing liquid ejection head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress swelling or shrinkage of a resin layer due to contact of the resin layer with an organic solvent used in a manufacturing process. <P>SOLUTION: A resin layer 7 having a filter 29 at a region provided with a supply hole 3 and including metallic particles is provided on a substrate 1. After that, a plating layer 9 is provided on a face of the resin layer 7 at a side having the supply hole 3 by using the metallic particles as a catalyst. While the filter 29 is brought into contact with an organic solvent when a protection material 10 or a mold material 13 is removed, the resin layer 7 is held by the plating layer 9 so that deformation of the resin layer 7 is prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head that discharges liquid.

  A liquid discharge head that performs a recording operation by discharging a liquid from the discharge port has a supply port that penetrates the substrate in order to supply the liquid to a flow path that communicates with the discharge port and an energy generating element that discharges the liquid. have. The liquid is supplied from a supply port provided in the substrate, passes through the flow path, and is discharged from the discharge port. Such a liquid discharge head is required to prevent foreign substances from being mixed in because the liquid cannot be supplied and the recording operation cannot be performed if foreign substances such as dust enter the discharge port or the flow path. Yes. Such foreign substances are considered to be generated during the manufacturing process, adhere to the supply port, etc., and then enter the discharge port and the flow path together with the liquid. Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration that prevents foreign matters from being mixed into the flow path of the liquid discharge head.

  FIG. 4 shows a liquid discharge head disclosed in Patent Document 1. The liquid discharge head is provided by joining a substrate 61 including an energy generating element 62 and a supply port 73 and a flow path wall member 69 having a flow path wall communicating with the discharge port 71. Since the resin member 67 having the filter hole 67a is provided between the substrate and the flow path wall member, foreign matter is prevented from entering the flow path from the supply port.

JP 2005-178364 A

  However, the liquid discharge head disclosed in Patent Document 1 performs the process of removing the protective material used when the supply port is opened and forming the flow path with the supply port opened and the resin member 67 exposed. The resin member 67 comes into contact with the organic solvent used in the process. In such a case, depending on the material of the resin member 67, there is a concern that the resin member 67 may be deformed due to swelling and contraction, which may cause the resin member 67 to be deformed. .

  The present invention has been invented in view of the above-described technical problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable liquid discharge head that can further suppress the entry of foreign matter from a supply port into a flow path.

  The method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to the present invention includes a substrate having a first surface including an energy generating element that generates energy for discharging liquid from the discharge port, and a channel wall communicating with the discharge port. And a flow path wall member that constitutes the flow path by being in contact with the substrate, the resin layer containing metal particles and having a plurality of openings so as to cover the first surface Providing a mold material for the flow path so as to cover the plurality of openings and a part of the resin layer, and to enter the plurality of openings, and to cover the mold material and the mold material. A step of providing the flow path wall member so as to cover the resin layer not covered, a step of providing a protective material for protecting the resin layer so as to cover the flow path wall member, A recess serving as a liquid supply port on the second surface opposite to the first surface. A step of forming and exposing the resin layer, a step of providing a plating layer using the metal particles as a catalyst in a portion where the resin layer is exposed by an electroless plating method, and the protective material using a solvent. The removing step, the mold material is removed, the flow path is formed, and the flow path and the supply port are communicated with each other through the plurality of openings. .

  According to the present invention, by protecting the resin layer with the plating layer, it is possible to provide a highly reliable liquid discharge head capable of further suppressing foreign matter from the supply port from entering the flow path.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a liquid discharge head and a head unit according to the present invention. It is a typical sectional view showing an example of a manufacturing method of a liquid discharge head of the present invention. It is a typical sectional view showing an example of a manufacturing method of a liquid discharge head of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the conventional liquid discharge head.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, components having the same function may be given the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof may be omitted.

  The liquid discharge head can be mounted on an apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile having a communication system, a word processor having a printer unit, or an industrial recording apparatus combined with various processing apparatuses. By using this liquid discharge head, recording can be performed on various recording media such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, and ceramics.

  “Recording” used in this specification means not only giving an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to a recording medium but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern. I decided to.

  Further, “liquid” is to be interpreted widely, and is applied to a recording medium to be used for forming an image, pattern, pattern, etc., processing the recording medium, or processing an ink or a recording medium. Shall be said to be liquid. Here, as the treatment of the ink or the recording medium, for example, the fixing property is improved by coagulation or insolubilization of the coloring material in the ink applied to the recording medium, the recording quality or coloring property is improved, and the image durability is improved. Say that.

  First, a liquid discharge head (hereinafter also referred to as a head) to which the present invention can be applied will be described.

  FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the liquid discharge head of the present invention. FIG. 4E is a cross-sectional view of the liquid discharge head 100 of the present invention, and shows the A-A ′ cross section shown in FIG. The liquid discharge head 100 according to the present invention is provided on a liquid discharge head substrate 20 including an energy generating element 2 that generates energy for discharging liquid from the discharge port 5, and the liquid discharge head substrate 20. It is provided with the flow path wall member 4. The liquid discharge head substrate 20 is provided with two element rows in which a plurality of energy generating elements 2 are arranged at a predetermined pitch. In a region between the element rows, a supply port 3 is provided that passes through the second surface 12 and the first surface 11, which are opposite to the first surface 11 of the substrate 1, and supplies a liquid. ing. Here, a liquid discharge head provided with one supply port 3 will be described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to a liquid discharge head having a plurality of supply ports 3.

  The liquid discharge head substrate 20 is provided with a filter 29 including a resin member 7 having a plurality of openings 8 and a plating layer 9. On the resin member 7 of the liquid discharge head substrate 20, there is a wall 6 a of the flow path 6 communicating with the discharge port 5, and the flow path wall member 4 constituting the flow path 6 by contacting the liquid discharge head substrate. Is provided.

  Examples of the energy generating element 2 include an electrothermal conversion element (heater) or a piezoelectric element (piezo element). The energy generating element 2 is connected to an electrode layer (not shown) for driving them.

  The liquid discharge head 100 discharges the liquid filled in the flow path 6 through the supply port 3 from the discharge port 5 using the energy generated by the energy generating element 2, and attaches this to the recording medium. Recording can be performed.

Next, the filter 29 will be described.
The resin member 7 is mixed with metal particles serving as a catalyst when performing the electroless plating method. As a material of such metal particles, a metal mainly composed of palladium, nickel, platinum, gold, copper, or an alloy thereof can be used. The average particle size of the metal particles is preferably about 0.05 μm to 1 μm. This is because the smaller the particle size, the easier it is to disperse. As the resin, a thermoplastic resin can be used, and any of a polyetheramide resin, a polyimide resin, a polycarbonate resin, a polyester resin, and an epoxy resin can be used. By mixing the metal particles and the resin, a resin mixture that becomes the resin member 7 is provided. In the resin mixture, a solvent may be used in order to improve the dispersibility between the metal particles and the resin. Photosensitive materials can also be mixed to provide photosensitivity. The metal particles are preferably mixed so as to be 10 wt% or more and 70 wt% or less of the resin mixed layer 17. 10% by weight is preferable from the viewpoint of efficiently providing the plating layer 9, and 70% by weight or less is preferable from the viewpoint of forming the filter 29 with high shape accuracy.

  A plating layer 9 is provided on the surface of the resin member 7 on the supply port side so as to be in contact with the resin member 7. As the plating layer 9, a layer mainly composed of palladium, nickel, platinum, gold, and copper can be provided. Since the plating layer 9 can be provided by causing an electroless plating reaction using the metal particles contained in the resin member 7 as a catalyst and adsorbing the metal particles, the openings of the resin member 7 and the plating layer 9 coincide with each other. Is provided. Such a resin member 7 and the plating layer 9 are used as a filter 29 having a plurality of openings 8.

  In addition, the resin material used for the resin member 7 is selected not only by dispersing metal particles but also by ensuring a close contact with the flow path wall member 4, so that the flow path wall member 4 and the resin member 7 It is possible to improve the adhesion.

  The liquid discharge head 100 having such a filter 29 can hold foreign matter with the filter 29 even if foreign matter enters from the supply port 3, and suppresses clogging of the discharge port 5 and the flow path 6. Alternatively, it can be prevented. In relation to such a filter function, the diameter of the opening 8 is preferably equal to or shorter than the diameter of the discharge port 5.

  FIG. 1B is a schematic perspective view illustrating an example of a head unit including such a liquid discharge head 100. The liquid discharge head 100 is disposed in the head unit 300 so that the surface on which the discharge ports 5 are provided faces the recording surface of the recording medium. The head unit 300 includes a liquid discharge head 100 and a liquid storage unit 200 that stores a liquid to be supplied to the liquid discharge head 100, and these are integrally provided. In addition, these do not necessarily need to be integrated, but can also take the form which can remove the liquid accommodating part 200. FIG.

(Production method)
Next, a method for manufacturing the head of the present invention will be described below. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views showing the manufacturing method, showing the AA ′ cross section shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, a base body 1 having an energy generating element 2 for generating energy used for discharging a liquid on a first surface 11 is prepared.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, a resin mixture in which metal particles and a resin are mixed is applied on the first surface 11 of the substrate 1 having the energy generating element 2, and the resin mixed layer 17. Is provided.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2C, the positions corresponding to the plurality of openings 8 of the resin mixed layer 17 are removed to obtain the resin member 7 having the plurality of openings 8. If a photosensitive material is mixed in the resin mixture, the opening 8 can be provided by photolithography. When the resin mixture does not have photosensitivity, the opening 8 can be provided by using a method such as etching after providing a mask with a resist or the like.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (d), a resin in which a soluble resin is dissolved in a solvent is applied on the resin member 7 provided with the opening 8 and the base 1 to provide the resin layer 19. Examples of the soluble resin include polymethyl isopropenyl ketone, polyphenyl isopropenyl ketone, polymethyl vinyl ketone, polyphenyl vinyl ketone, and polymethyl methacrylate. As the solvent, water-insoluble cyclohexanone / methyl isobutyl ketone, water-soluble methyl lactate / ethyl lactate or the like can be used.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (e), the resin layer 19 is patterned to form a mold material 13 on a part of the resin member 7 so as to be a mold of the flow path 6.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2F, a coating layer 14 is provided on the base 1 on which the resin member 7 and the mold material 13 are formed. As the coating layer 14, a thermosetting resin such as an epoxy resin can be used.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2G, a water repellent layer 21 can be provided on the coating layer 14. By performing the water repellent treatment in this way, it is possible to prevent the liquid from adhering to the surface of the discharge port 5 and to improve the resistance to the liquid. As a material used for the water repellent treatment, a composition containing a condensate of a hydrolyzable silane compound having a fluorine-containing group can be used.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (h), the discharge port 5 is formed in the coating layer 14 to form the flow path wall member 4. The discharge port 5 can be provided using a photolithography method, a dry etching method, or the like.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3A, the dissolvable protective material 10 is dissolved in a solvent and applied onto the substrate 1 provided with the flow path wall member 4 by using a spin coat method or the like. By providing the protective material 10 in this way, the flow path wall member 4 can be protected when the supply port 3 is formed. As the dissolvable protective material 10, a material that has etching resistance and can be removed after the supply port 3 is provided can be used. Specifically, a reflux cyclized rubber such as cyclized isoprene is used. it can. As the solvent, an organic solvent such as xylene capable of dissolving the protective material 10 can be used.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, etching is performed from the second surface 12 side of the base body 1, penetrating through the first surface 11 and the second surface 12 of the base body 1, Forming a recess. In the case where the substrate 1 is silicon, a mask having etching resistance is provided on the second surface 12 and supplied by anisotropic etching using an aqueous solution such as TMAH (tetramethylmethylammonium hydride). A mouth 3 can be provided.

  Next, the plating solution is filled into the supply port 3 from the second surface side of the substrate 1, and the electroless plating method is used on the supply port 3 side of the resin member 7 having the plurality of openings 8, as shown in FIG. A plating layer 9 is formed as shown in c). At this time, since the plating layer 9 grows by causing electroless plating reaction using the metal particles contained in the resin member 7 as a catalyst, the plating metal can be deposited only in the region where the resin member 7 is provided.

  By using the electroless plating method in this manner, the resin member 7 can be easily placed at substantially the same position as the resin member 7 without providing a plating mask with a seed layer, a resist, or the like, which is necessary when performing the electroplating method. The plating layer 9 can be deposited so as to hold As the plating layer 9, a layer mainly composed of palladium, nickel, platinum, gold and copper can be provided, and a solution in which these are dissolved is used as the plating solution.

  Before the plating process is performed, the adhesion between the plating layer 9 and the resin member 7 can be ensured by etching and roughening the surface of the resin member 7 at the portion in contact with the plating solution. Moreover, the metal particle buried inside the resin member 7 can be exposed to the surface of the resin member 7 on the side where the plating layer 9 is provided by etching and roughening the surface. Thereby, a plating reaction can be performed using more metal particles as a catalyst, and the plating layer 9 can be provided more efficiently.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3D, the protective material 10 is dissolved and removed using an organic solvent. Next, as shown in FIG. 3E, the dissolvable mold material 13 is dissolved and removed using an organic solvent, and the flow path 6 is formed.

  As described above, when removing the protective material 10 and the mold material 13, the filter 29 comes into contact with the organic solvent, but holding the resin member 7 with the plating layer 9 can suppress deformation to the resin member 7. it can. As a result, a highly reliable liquid discharge head free from defects in the manufacturing process can be provided.

  Examples will be shown below and will be described in more detail.

Example 1
In this embodiment, metal particles mainly composed of palladium are used as the metal particles used as a catalyst when performing the electroless plating method. An electrothermal conversion element was used as the energy generating element 2. A substrate 1 having such an electrothermal conversion element 2 provided on the first surface 11 was prepared (FIG. 2A). Next, a resin mixture of palladium particles having an average particle diameter of about 0.1 μm and a polyether amide resin is applied on the first surface 11 of the substrate 1 by a spin coating method, 100 ° C./30 minutes, 250 C./60 minutes was baked (FIG. 2B). Thereby, a resin mixed layer 17 of about 2 μm was provided. The palladium particles are formulated so as to be 25% by weight of the resin mixture. As the polyetheramide resin, (HIMAL 1200 manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd. using N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and butyl cellosolve acetate as a solvent) was used.

  Next, a photosensitive positive resist is applied to the resin mixed layer 17 by a spin coating method, and patterning is performed to form a resist pattern in which only a portion that becomes the opening 8 is opened. Using this resist pattern as a mask, the portion to be the opening 8 of the resin mixed layer 17 was removed by dry etching, and the resist pattern was removed to provide the resin member 7 (c).

  Next, in this example, a polymethylisopropenyl ketone resin (ODUR-1010A manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd. using cyclohexanone as a solvent) was used as a soluble resin. This soluble resin was applied onto the substrate 1 and the resin member 7 by spin coating, and baked at 100 ° C. for 6 minutes to provide a resin layer 19 having a thickness of 16 μm (FIG. 2D).

Next, the resin layer 19 was exposed with an exposure amount of 13 J / cm ² using an exposure apparatus (UX-3000SC) manufactured by USHIO INC. The resin layer 19 was developed using methyl isobutyl ketone as a developer to form a mold 13 so as to be a mold of the flow path 6 (FIG. 2E).

Next, on the substrate 1 on which the resin member 7 and the mold material 13 are formed, a photosensitive solution having the following composition is applied by spin coating, baked at 60 ° C. for 9 minutes, and a coating having a thickness of 26 μm. Layer 14 was formed (FIG. 2 (f)).
・ Epoxy resin EHPE3150
・ Silane coupling agent A-187
Photoacid generator SP-172
-Coating solvent Xylene Next, the photosensitive silane material formed by the condensate of hydrolyzable silane was apply | coated on the coating layer 14, and the water-repellent layer 21 was formed (FIG.2 (g)).

Using the exposure apparatus (MPA-600SUPER) manufactured by Canon Inc. for the coating layer 14 and the water repellent layer thus provided, the coating layer 14 and the water repellent layer are formed at an exposure amount of 0.15 J / cm ² . After the exposure, baking was performed at 90 ° C. for 4 minutes. Further, development was performed using a mixed solvent of methyl isobutyl ketone and xylene as a developing solution, and baking was performed at 140 ° C./60 minutes to form a flow path wall member 4 having a discharge port 5 (FIG. 2 (h)). ).

  Next, cyclized isoprene was applied by spin coating on the substrate 1 on which the channel wall member 4 and the water repellent layer 21 were formed, and baked at 120 ° C. for 15 minutes to form the protective material 10 (FIG. 3 (a)). In this example, the reflux cyclized rubber was OBC manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd. using xylene and ethylbenzene as solvents.

  Next, a mask material (not shown) is provided on the second surface 12 side of the silicon substrate 1 using a photolithography method, and etching is performed using an aqueous solution of TMAH (tetramethylammonium hydride). 3 was formed (FIG. 3B).

Next, an electroless plating method was performed using a solution having the following composition, and a nickel plating layer 9 having a thickness of 1 μm was formed at a portion of the resin member 7 on the supply port 3 side. Thereby, a filter 29 having a plurality of openings 8 composed of the resin member 7 and the nickel plating layer 9 was provided (FIG. 3C).
・ Nickel sulfate 20g / l
・ Sodium hypophosphite 10g / l
・ Lactic acid 3g / l
・ Sodium citrate 5g / l
・ Sodium acetate 5g / l
Next, the protective material 10 was removed using xylene as a solvent (FIG. 3D).

  Next, the pattern of the mold 13 was removed using methyl lactate as a solvent, and baking was further performed at 200 ° C./60 minutes to cure the flow path wall member 4 made of an epoxy resin (cured product of epoxy resin). . (FIG. 3 (e)). In addition, by setting it as the resin member 7 which has a polyether amide resin as a main component, and the flow-path wall member 4 which consists of a hardened | cured material of an epoxy resin like a present Example, the resin member 7 and the flow-path wall member 4 are Adhesion was also ensured.

  When the head produced as described above was observed, the resin member 7 was not deformed. Thus, by suppressing the deformation to the resin member 7 in the manufacturing process, a highly reliable liquid discharge head could be provided.

(Example 2)
In this example, the plating layer 9 was provided using a solution having the following composition. Other than that, it provided similarly to Example 1. FIG.

In the electroless plating apparatus, a copper plating layer 9 having a thickness of 1 μm was formed on the supply port side of the resin member 7 using a plating solution having the following composition (FIG. 3C).
・ Copper sulfate 7g / l
・ Potassium sodium tartrate 20g / l
・ Sodium carbonate 2g / l
・ Sodium hydroxide 5g / l
・ Formalin 25ml / l
By providing the filter 29 with the resin member 7 and the copper plating layer 9, the deformation of the resin member 7 in the manufacturing process can be suppressed, and a highly reliable liquid discharge head can be provided.

(Example 3)
In this example, the plating layer 9 was provided using a solution having the following composition. Other than that, it provided similarly to Example 1. FIG.

In the electroless plating apparatus, a gold plating layer 9 having a thickness of 1 μm was formed on the supply port side of the resin member 7 using a plating solution having the following composition (FIG. 3C).
・ Sodium chloride (III) chloride 0.012 mol / l
・ Sodium thiosulfate 0.25 mol / l
・ Sodium sulfite 0.40 mol / l
・ Borax 0.10 mol / l
Hydroquinone 0.09 mol / l
By providing the filter 29 with the resin member 7 and the gold plating layer 9, the deformation of the resin member 7 in the manufacturing process can be suppressed, and a highly reliable liquid discharge head can be provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 2 Energy generating element 3 Supply port 4 Channel wall member 5 Discharge port 6 Channel 7 Resin member 8 Opening 9 Plating layer 29 Filter

Claims (9)

A substrate having a first surface including an energy generating element for generating energy for discharging liquid from the discharge port; and a wall of a flow channel communicating with the discharge port, the flow channel being in contact with the substrate And a liquid discharge head manufacturing method comprising:
Providing a resin layer containing metal particles and provided with a plurality of openings so as to cover the first surface;
Covering the plurality of openings and a part of the resin layer, and providing a mold for the flow path so as to enter the plurality of openings;
Providing the flow path wall member so as to cover the mold material and the resin layer not covered with the mold material;
Providing a protective material for protecting the resin layer so as to cover the flow path wall member;
Forming a recess serving as a liquid supply port on a second surface of the substrate opposite to the first surface to expose the resin layer;
A step of providing a plating layer using the metal particles as a catalyst in a portion where the resin layer is exposed by an electroless plating method;
Removing the protective material using a solvent;
Removing the mold material, forming the flow path, and communicating the flow path and the supply port through the plurality of openings;
A method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head, wherein the steps are performed in this order.   2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of etching the region of the resin layer to expose the metal particles after the step of providing the supply port and before the step of providing the plating layer. A manufacturing method of a liquid discharge head given in 2.   The step of providing the resin layer includes a step of providing a resin mixed layer in which the metal particles are mixed at 10% by weight or more and 70% by weight or less, and a step of providing the plurality of openings in the resin mixed layer. The method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the liquid discharge head is provided.   The method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the metal particles contain at least one of palladium, nickel, platinum, gold, and copper.   5. The method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the plating layer includes any one of palladium, nickel, platinum, gold, and copper.   The method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the resin layer is formed of a thermoplastic resin containing metal particles.   The liquid discharge according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the resin layer is made of a polyetheramide resin containing the metal particles, and the flow path wall member is made of a cured product of an epoxy resin. Manufacturing method of the head.   The method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the protective material is cyclized isoprene, and xylene is used as a solution for removing the protective material.   9. The method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein a diameter of the opening is equal to or less than a diameter of the discharge port.

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