JP2013151166A - Method for manufacturing fluid ejection head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fluid ejection head that can be easily reduced in size with high accuracy and can be manufactured inexpensively.SOLUTION: A fluid ejection head includes: a channel formation substrate 10 in which a pressure generation chamber 12 is formed in communication with a nozzle opening 15; a piezoelectric element (driving element) 130 provided via a diaphragm 400 on one surface of the channel formation substrate 10; and a driving IC 150 for supplying power to the piezoelectric element 130. The channel formation substrate 10 is formed of a semiconductor substrate as a base, and the driving IC 150 is formed on the semiconductor substrate.

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid ejecting head, a fluid ejecting head manufacturing method, and a fluid ejecting apparatus.

  There are roughly two types of configurations of the fluid ejecting head which is the heart part of the ink jet printer. One is a thermal jet method and the other is a piezo method. The piezo method has a mechanism for ejecting ink stored in a cavity using a piezoelectric element that is deformed by application of a voltage called a piezo element (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). Development is being carried out with the aim of achieving high definition, low cost, and small print quality.

JP 2003-205618 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-200574

  In a fluid ejecting head, a drive IC is usually mounted on the head, and ink is ejected by deforming the cavity by supplying electric power from the drive IC to the piezoelectric element. Since this driving IC has a relatively large area, a sealing substrate is disposed so as to cover the piezoelectric element, and the driving IC and the piezoelectric element are mounted on the sealing substrate after mounting the driving IC on the sealing substrate. They are connected by wire bonding. However, the structure employed in the fluid ejecting head described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 has the following problems.

  First, in the fluid ejecting head described in Patent Document 1, since the driving IC is mounted face-up on a relatively thick sealing substrate, the level difference between the sealing substrate and the driving IC is overcome. It is necessary to perform wire bonding, which is technically difficult and difficult to improve the manufacturing yield.

  Next, in the fluid ejecting head described in Patent Document 2, the driving IC is flip-chip mounted on the counter substrate on which the wiring is formed, and the wiring on the counter substrate and the piezoelectric element are wire-bonded. Although relatively easy, the cost of the counter substrate increases.

  Further, since the drive IC is mounted on the head, it is not easy to reduce the size of the head, and furthermore, it is difficult to achieve high definition because the mounting density of the piezoelectric element is limited to a range where wire bonding is possible. There is also.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a fluid ejecting head that can be easily reduced in size and increased in definition and can be manufactured at low cost, and a manufacturing method thereof. Yes.

The fluid ejection head of the present invention includes a pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle opening, a flow path forming substrate in which a partition wall serving as a wall of the pressure generating chamber is formed, and a diaphragm on one surface of the flow path forming substrate. A driving element that is disposed so as to overlap the pressure generating chamber, a driving circuit that supplies electric power to the driving element, and a side of the flow path forming substrate on which the driving element is formed. A fluid ejecting head comprising: a counter substrate having a semiconductor substrate as a base; and a wiring drawn from the driving element formed on the one surface, wherein the driving circuit is formed on the semiconductor substrate. The wiring is disposed so as to overlap with the partition wall, and the wiring and the driving circuit are connected to each other.
In the method of manufacturing a fluid ejecting head according to the present invention, a pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle opening, a flow path forming substrate on which a partition wall serving as a wall of the pressure generating chamber is formed, and the flow path forming substrate are disposed to face each other. A counter substrate, a driving element provided on one surface of the flow path forming substrate via a diaphragm, and disposed so as to overlap the pressure generating chamber; a driving circuit for supplying power to the driving element; And a wiring ejected from the driving element formed on one surface of the fluid ejecting head. The fluid ejecting head includes: a driving circuit formed on one surface of the semiconductor substrate; A step of forming the driving element on the one surface of the flow path forming substrate, a step of forming the wiring extending from the driving element to a position overlapping with the partition, and the driving circuit of the counter substrate Formed surface And a step of electrically connecting a terminal of the driving circuit and the wiring extending from the driving element by joining the surface on the driving element side of the flow path forming substrate. To do.
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a flow path forming substrate in which a pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle opening is formed, and a drive element provided on one surface of the flow path forming substrate via a vibration plate And a drive circuit for supplying electric power to the drive element, wherein the flow path forming substrate is based on a semiconductor substrate, and the drive circuit is formed on the semiconductor substrate. It is characterized by.
According to this configuration, since the drive circuit is formed directly on the semiconductor substrate that is the base of the flow path forming substrate that forms the main part of the fluid ejecting head, wire bonding is used as in the configuration using the conventional semiconductor chip. There is no need. Therefore, a space secured for wire bonding is not required, and the fluid ejecting head can be reduced in size. In addition, since there are no restrictions due to the processing accuracy of wire bonding, the drive elements and the nozzle openings can be formed with a narrow pitch to achieve high definition. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent an increase in cost due to the difficulty in processing wire bonding.

A pressure generating chamber group in which a plurality of the pressure generating chambers are arranged is formed on the flow path forming substrate, and the drive circuit extends to the side of the pressure generating chamber group. It is preferable to form along the present direction.
By adopting such a configuration, the length of the wiring routed to the drive circuit is uniform among the plurality of drive elements provided corresponding to the pressure generation chamber, thereby simplifying the control by the drive circuit. Accordingly, the drive circuit can be downsized and the fluid ejecting head can be downsized.

A plurality of pressure generating chamber groups in which a plurality of pressure generating chambers are arranged are formed on the flow path forming substrate, and the drive circuit is formed in a region between the plurality of pressure generating chamber groups. It is preferable.
According to this configuration, the drive control of the drive elements corresponding to the plurality of pressure generation chamber groups can be performed by one drive circuit, which is an advantageous configuration for downsizing the fluid ejecting head. Further, since the drive circuit can be arranged at an equal distance with respect to the plurality of pressure generating chamber groups, it is advantageous for simplification of control.

The flow path forming substrate is formed with a pressure generation chamber group in which a plurality of the pressure generation chambers are arranged, and a reservoir communicating with the pressure generation chambers of the pressure generation chamber group, and the drive circuit However, it is good also as a structure currently formed in the area | region between the said pressure generation chamber group and the said reservoir | reserver.
Normally, a supply path is formed between the pressure generation chamber and the reservoir, and the drive circuit may be formed at a position overlapping the area where the supply path is formed in this way. . As a result, the drive circuit can be formed by effectively using the region on the flow path forming substrate, which is advantageous for downsizing the fluid ejecting head.

The flow path forming substrate is formed with a pressure generation chamber group in which a plurality of the pressure generation chambers are arranged, and a reservoir communicating with the pressure generation chambers of the pressure generation chamber group, and the drive circuit However, it may be formed in a region overlapping with at least a part of the reservoir in a planar manner.
If a drive circuit is formed in a region overlapping with the reservoir in this way, a relatively large planar region can be secured, so even a relatively large drive circuit can be formed. It becomes easy.

The fluid ejection head according to the present invention includes a flow path forming substrate in which a pressure generation chamber communicating with a nozzle opening is formed, a driving element provided on one surface of the flow path forming substrate via a vibration plate, and the driving A fluid ejection head including a drive circuit for supplying power to an element, the fluid ejection head having a counter substrate having a semiconductor substrate as a base on the drive element side of the flow path forming substrate, A drive circuit is formed.
That is, in the present invention, the drive circuit may be formed on the counter substrate that forms the main part of the fluid ejecting head together with the flow path forming substrate. Even in the case of such a configuration, it is possible to obtain the same operation and effect as when the drive circuit is formed on the flow path forming substrate.
Further, in this configuration, since the counter substrate can be configured to seal the drive element together with the flow path forming substrate, the drive element is well protected and a fluid ejection head having excellent reliability can be obtained.

The drive circuit may be formed on a surface of the counter substrate on the drive element side.
With such a configuration, when the counter substrate is bonded to the flow path forming substrate, the drive circuit and the drive element can be electrically connected, thereby improving the ease of conductive connection and improving the manufacturability. An excellent fluid ejecting head can be obtained.

The drive circuit is formed on a surface of the counter substrate opposite to the drive element, a through electrode penetrating the counter substrate in a thickness direction is formed on the counter substrate, and the through electrode is interposed through the through electrode. The drive circuit and the drive element may be electrically connected.
When the drive circuit is formed on the surface opposite to the drive element, a through electrode that penetrates the counter substrate is provided in this way, and the drive circuit and the drive element are electrically connected via the through electrode. It is good also as a structure. According to this configuration, the ease of conductive connection between the drive circuit and the drive element is not impaired even when the surface on which the drive circuit is formed on the counter substrate is limited due to other components or manufacturing process. .

A concave portion for accommodating the driving element when the counter substrate is bonded to the flow path forming substrate is formed on the surface of the counter substrate on the driving element side, and the driving circuit is planar with the concave portion. It is good also as a structure currently formed in the area | region which overlaps.
In the case where a driver circuit is formed over the counter substrate, the driver circuit can be formed at a position overlapping with other components in plan view. Thereby, since the area | region for forming a drive circuit can be ensured efficiently, size reduction of a fluid ejecting head can be achieved. Alternatively, a relatively large area for forming the drive circuit can be secured, so that the drive circuit can be easily multi-functionalized.

The drive circuit is formed on a surface of the counter substrate opposite to the drive element, and an opening that reaches the drive element through the counter substrate in the thickness direction is formed. The drive element may be electrically connected via a connection wiring that passes through the opening.
Even in such a configuration, since the driving circuit is formed on the counter substrate, the process of mounting the IC chip is unnecessary, and the number of steps can be reduced. In addition, since a process (primer process or cleaning process) associated with bonding can be omitted, generation of defects due to the bonding process can be suppressed, and an improvement in yield can be expected.

The driving circuit and the driving element may be wire-bonded.
Conventionally, in a fluid ejecting head in which a drive circuit is mounted in the form of a semiconductor chip, the semiconductor chip is mounted on the main body (sealing substrate, counter substrate) of the fluid ejecting head in order to reduce the size of the entire head including the drive circuit. It was necessary to adhere. However, when such a semiconductor chip is bonded, a cleaning process is required to prevent the occurrence of defects due to the adhesive, and then wire bonding defects due to the cleaning process are likely to occur. There was a problem.
On the other hand, in the present invention, since the drive circuit is directly formed on the surface of the counter substrate opposite to the flow path forming substrate, both the semiconductor chip bonding step and the cleaning step associated therewith are unnecessary. Therefore, the terminal of the drive element is not contaminated by the adhesive or the cleaning agent, and connection failure in wire bonding can be reduced.
Therefore, according to the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to provide a fluid ejecting head that can connect the driving circuit and the driving element with a simpler process than the conventional one and can be manufactured with a high yield.

  The connection wiring may be formed on a flexible substrate, and the flexible substrate may be arranged along the step of the opening. Even in such a configuration, the drive circuit and the drive element can be easily connected by a simpler process than in the prior art.

The connection wiring may be formed on the surface of the counter substrate.
With such a configuration, wire bonding and a flexible substrate are not required, and the drive circuit and the drive element can be electrically connected very easily.

It is preferable that the inner wall surface of the opening is an inclined surface facing the drive element from the drive circuit.
With such a configuration, the opening becomes a wide opening toward the surface on which the drive circuit is formed. Therefore, even when the connection wiring is configured by any of wire bonding, flexible substrate, and film formation, the drive The connection wiring from the circuit to the driving element can be easily routed. In particular, when the connection wiring is directly formed on the surface of the counter substrate, the configuration is useful in terms of preventing disconnection of the connection wiring.

Next, a fluid ejection head manufacturing method according to the present invention includes a flow path forming substrate in which a pressure generation chamber communicating with a nozzle opening is formed, and a drive provided on one surface of the flow path forming substrate via a diaphragm. A method of manufacturing a fluid ejecting head including an element and a driving circuit that supplies electric power to the driving element, wherein the driving circuit is formed on one surface side of a semiconductor substrate serving as a base of the flow path forming substrate; Forming a drive element electrically connected to the drive circuit on the surface of the semiconductor substrate on the drive circuit side, forming a protective film covering the drive element and the drive circuit, and the protection And a step of partially removing the surface of the semiconductor substrate opposite to the film to form the pressure generating chamber.
According to this manufacturing method, the pressure generating chamber can be formed on the semiconductor substrate on which the drive circuit is formed without adversely affecting the drive circuit. Therefore, according to this manufacturing method, the fluid ejecting head of the present invention can be manufactured without reducing the manufacturing yield.

After forming the protective film, it may have a step of thinning the semiconductor substrate from the surface opposite to the protective film before forming the pressure generating chamber.
According to this manufacturing method, the flow path forming substrate can be manufactured by thinning the semiconductor substrate without adversely affecting the drive circuit. Therefore, a thin fluid ejecting head including a thin flow path forming substrate can be manufactured with high yield. Can do.

The method of manufacturing a fluid ejecting head according to the present invention includes a flow path forming substrate in which a pressure generation chamber communicating with a nozzle opening is formed, a counter substrate disposed to face the flow path forming substrate, and one of the flow path forming substrates. A fluid ejection head manufacturing method comprising: a drive element provided on a surface of the substrate via a diaphragm; and a drive circuit for supplying power to the drive element, wherein the drive circuit is formed on one surface side of a semiconductor substrate. Forming the counter substrate, forming the drive element on one surface of the flow path forming substrate, the surface of the counter substrate on which the drive circuit is formed, and the flow path forming substrate A step of electrically connecting a terminal of the drive circuit and the drive element by bonding the surface on the drive element side.
According to this manufacturing method, the pressure generating chamber can be formed on the semiconductor substrate on which the drive circuit is formed without adversely affecting the drive circuit. Therefore, according to this manufacturing method, the fluid ejecting head of the present invention can be manufactured without reducing the manufacturing yield even when the counter substrate is provided with a drive circuit.

The method of manufacturing a fluid ejecting head according to the present invention includes a flow path forming substrate in which a pressure generation chamber communicating with a nozzle opening is formed, a counter substrate disposed to face the flow path forming substrate, and one of the flow path forming substrates. A fluid ejection head manufacturing method comprising: a drive element provided on a surface of the substrate via a diaphragm; and a drive circuit for supplying power to the drive element, wherein the drive circuit is formed on one surface side of a semiconductor substrate. Forming a through electrode that is electrically connected to the driving circuit and penetrates the semiconductor substrate in a thickness direction, and manufacturing the counter substrate; and driving the driving substrate on one surface of the flow path forming substrate. The through electrode and the driving element are electrically connected by bonding an element forming step, a surface of the counter substrate opposite to the driving circuit, and a surface of the flow path forming substrate on the driving element side. A step of electrically connecting The features.
According to this manufacturing method, in the fluid ejecting head in which the drive circuit is formed on the surface of the counter substrate opposite to the drive element, the drive circuit and the drive element can be easily and reliably conductively connected. Therefore, the fluid ejecting head of the present invention can be manufactured with a high yield.

The fluid ejecting apparatus of the present invention includes the fluid ejecting head of the present invention described above.
According to this configuration, since the configuration is provided with a fluid ejecting head that is miniaturized or multi-functionalized, a compact or high-performance fluid ejecting apparatus can be realized.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the fluid ejecting head according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of the fluid ejecting head according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A ′ of FIG. 2. The top view which shows the modification of 1st Embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a manufacturing process of the fluid ejecting head according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a manufacturing process of the fluid ejecting head according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a partial plan view of a fluid ejecting head according to a second embodiment. B-B 'sectional drawing of FIG. The fragmentary sectional view which shows the modification of 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a fluid ejecting head according to a third embodiment. FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view and a partial plan view of a fluid ejecting head according to a third embodiment. FIG. 9 is a plan view of a fluid ejecting head according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a fluid ejection head having a conventional configuration. Sectional drawing corresponding to FIG.12 and FIG.13. The fragmentary sectional view which shows the 1st-3rd modification of 4th Embodiment. The perspective view which shows an example of a fluid injection apparatus. The block diagram which shows the control part of a fluid ejecting apparatus and a fluid ejecting head.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a fluid ejecting head and a fluid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.
In the following description, various structures are illustrated using drawings, but the structures shown in these drawings are different in size and scale from the actual structures in order to show the characteristic parts in an easy-to-understand manner. May show.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of the fluid ejecting head according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of an element substrate corresponding to FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the fluid ejecting head at a position along the line AA ′ in FIG. 2.
In the following description, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is set, and the positional relationship of each member will be described with reference to this XYZ orthogonal coordinate system. A predetermined direction in the horizontal plane is defined as the X-axis direction, a direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction in the horizontal plane is defined as the Y-axis direction, and a direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction (that is, the vertical direction) is defined as the Z-axis direction.

The fluid ejecting head 110 of the present embodiment ejects ink (fluid) in the form of droplets from a nozzle.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the fluid ejecting head 110 is connected to a nozzle substrate 16 having a nozzle opening 15 through which droplets are ejected, and an upper surface (+ Z side) of the nozzle substrate 16 so that an ink flow path is formed. The flow path forming substrate 10 to be formed, the vibration plate 400 connected to the upper surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 and displaced by driving the piezoelectric element (driving element) 130, and the reservoir 100 formed by being connected to the upper surface of the vibration plate 400. And a compliance substrate 30 bonded to the upper surface of the counter substrate 20 (on the side surface opposite to the flow path forming substrate 10).

  In the fluid ejecting head 110 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the driving IC 150 is formed on the surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 on the piezoelectric element 130 side using a semiconductor process. Further, an external connection terminal 120 that electrically connects an external circuit and the drive IC 150 is formed at a position along one edge on the flow path forming substrate 10. The operation of the fluid ejecting head 110 is controlled by a control device (not shown) connected to the drive IC 150 via the external connection terminal 120.

  A plurality of substantially comb-shaped opening regions in plan view are defined in the flow path forming substrate 10, and a portion formed by extending in the X-axis direction of these opening regions vibrates with the nozzle substrate 16. The pressure generation chamber 12 is formed by being surrounded by the plate 400. In addition, in the opening region having a substantially comb-like shape in plan view, a portion extending in the Y-axis direction in the figure is surrounded by the counter substrate 20 and the flow path forming substrate 10 to form the reservoir 100.

  The nozzle substrate 16 is bonded to the lower surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 via an adhesive or a heat welding film so as to cover the opening region on the lower surface side (−Z side) of the flow path forming substrate 10 in the figure. The nozzle substrate 16 is provided with a plurality of nozzle openings 15 for discharging droplets, and the plurality of nozzle openings 15 are arranged in the Y-axis direction in the drawing. In the case of the present embodiment, two sets of nozzle openings composed of a group of nozzle openings 15 arranged in the Y-axis direction are arranged to face each other in the X-axis direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of partition walls 11 extending from the center portion in the X direction are formed inside the flow path forming substrate 10. In the case of this embodiment, the flow path forming substrate 10 is formed of silicon, and the plurality of partition walls 11 are formed by processing a single crystal silicon substrate that is a base material of the flow path forming substrate 10 by anisotropic etching. It is a thing. A plurality of spaces defined by the flow path forming substrate 10 having the plurality of partition walls 11, the nozzle substrate 16, and the diaphragm 400 are pressure generation chambers 12.

  The pressure generating chamber 12 and the nozzle opening 15 are provided corresponding to each other. In other words, a plurality of pressure generation chambers 12 are provided side by side in the Y-axis direction so as to correspond to the plurality of nozzle openings 15, and two sets of pressure generation chambers 12 formed of a group of pressure generation chambers 12 arranged in the Y-axis direction shown in the figure. The generation chamber groups are arranged side by side in the X-axis direction.

  The ends of the plurality of pressure generating chambers 12 on the X axis direction substrate center side are closed by a partition wall 10K. On the other hand, the ends of the pressure generation chamber 12 on the outer edge side in the X-axis direction are assembled so as to be connected to each other and connected to the reservoir 100. The reservoir 100 temporarily holds ink between the ink inlet 25 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and the pressure generating chamber 12 communicating with the nozzle opening 15. The reservoir 100 includes a reservoir portion 21 formed in a rectangular shape in plan view extending in the Y-axis direction on the counter substrate 20, and a communication portion 13 formed in a rectangular shape in plan view extending in the Y-axis direction on the flow path forming substrate 10. It is configured.

  The communication portion 13 of the reservoir 100 is connected to each pressure generation chamber 12 via a supply path 14 to form an ink chamber common to the plurality of pressure generation chambers 12 constituting the group of pressure generation chambers 12. Yes. Looking at the ink path shown in FIG. 3, the ink introduced from the ink introduction port 25 opened on the upper surface of the head outer end flows into the reservoir 100 through the introduction path 26, and further passes through the supply path 14 to form a plurality of pressure generating chambers 12. To be supplied to each of them.

  A drive IC 150 is formed on the upper surface (+ Z side surface) of the partition wall 10K in the central portion of the flow path forming substrate 10. As described above, since the flow path forming substrate 10 is based on a single crystal silicon substrate which is a semiconductor substrate, diodes, transistors, inverters, capacitors, etc. can be formed using a normal semiconductor process. By configuring a shift register, a latch circuit, a switch circuit, a memory circuit, etc. with these semiconductor elements, a drive IC 150 for driving the piezoelectric element 130 can be configured.

  The diaphragm 400 disposed between the flow path forming substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 has a structure in which the elastic film 50 and the lower electrode film 60 are laminated in order from the flow path forming substrate 10 side. The elastic film 50 disposed on the flow path forming substrate 10 side is made of, for example, a silicon oxide film, and the lower electrode film 60 formed on the elastic film 50 is made of, for example, a metal film. In the present embodiment, the lower electrode film 60 functions as a common electrode for the plurality of piezoelectric elements 130 disposed between the flow path forming substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the piezoelectric element 130 that deforms the diaphragm 400 during the droplet discharge operation has a structure in which a piezoelectric film 70 and an upper electrode film 80 are laminated in order from the lower electrode film 60 side. ing. The thickness of the piezoelectric film 70 is, for example, about 1 μm, and the thickness of the upper electrode film 80 is, for example, about 0.1 μm.
The concept of the piezoelectric element 130 may include the lower electrode film 60 in addition to the piezoelectric film 70 and the upper electrode film 80. This is because the lower electrode film 60 functions as the piezoelectric element 130 and also functions as the diaphragm 400. In this embodiment, the elastic film 50 and the lower electrode film 60 function as the diaphragm 400. However, the elastic film 50 is omitted and the lower electrode film 60 also functions as an elastic film. You can also.

  A plurality of piezoelectric elements 130 (the piezoelectric film 70 and the upper electrode film 80) are provided so as to correspond to the plurality of nozzle openings 15 and the pressure generating chambers 12, respectively. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, a group of piezoelectric elements 130 are formed so as to correspond to the group of pressure generation chambers 12 provided in a plurality in the Y-axis direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the drive IC 150 of the flow path forming substrate 10 is located in a rectangular region extending in the Y-axis direction at the center of the substrate, and the piezoelectric element along the edge of the drive IC 150 in the Y-axis direction. 130 are arranged. The drive IC 150 and each piezoelectric element 130 are electrically connected by the lead electrode 90 formed so as to extend from the edge of the drive IC 150 onto the upper electrode film 80 of each piezoelectric element 130. . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, a pad (not shown) formed in the drive IC 150 and the lead electrode 90 are formed through a through hole 50 a opened in the elastic film 50 formed to cover the drive IC 150. The lead electrode 90 that is electrically connected and extends toward the piezoelectric element 130 is electrically connected to the piezoelectric element 130 on the upper surface of the upper electrode film 80 that rides through the side wall of the piezoelectric element 130.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the driving IC 150 is disposed so as to overlap the lower electrode film 60 in a planar manner at the end portion on the external connection terminal 120 side. A pad (not shown) formed in the drive IC 150 and the lower electrode film 60 are electrically connected through a through hole 50b opened in the elastic film 50 in a region where they overlap. Therefore, the drive IC 150 also controls the potential of the lower electrode film 60 that is a common electrode of the piezoelectric element 130.
The lower electrode film 60 may be electrically connected to the external connection terminal 120 instead of the driving IC 150. In this case, the potential of the lower electrode film 60 is controlled by a control device connected via the external connection terminal 120.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the counter substrate 20 is provided so as to cover a region on the vibration plate 400 including the piezoelectric element 130. On the counter substrate 20 on the piezoelectric element 130 side, a recess 24 for accommodating the piezoelectric element 130 when bonded to the flow path forming substrate 10 is formed. The recess 24 is formed so that a space that does not hinder the movement of the piezoelectric element 130 can be secured and the space can be sealed. A reservoir portion 21 extending along the Y-axis direction (arrangement direction of the piezoelectric elements 130) is formed outside the recess 24.

  Since the counter substrate 20 is a member that forms the base of the fluid ejection head 110 together with the flow path forming substrate 10, it is preferable that the counter substrate 20 be a rigid body. It is more preferable to use a material having In the present embodiment, since the flow path forming substrate 10 is made of a single crystal silicon substrate, a single crystal silicon substrate made of the same material as that is suitable. When a single crystal silicon substrate is used, high-precision processing can be easily performed by anisotropic etching, so that an advantage that the concave portion 24 and the reservoir portion 21 can be easily formed is obtained. In addition, the counter substrate 20 can be manufactured using glass, a ceramic material, or the like.

  A compliance substrate 30 having a structure in which a sealing film 31 and a fixing plate 32 are laminated is bonded to the upper surface of the counter substrate 20 (a side surface opposite to the flow path forming substrate 10). In the compliance substrate 30, the sealing film 31 disposed on the inner side (the counter substrate 20 side) is made of a material having low rigidity and flexibility (for example, a polyphenylene sulfide film having a thickness of about 6 μm). Thus, the upper portion of the reservoir portion 21 (reservoir 100) is sealed. On the other hand, the fixed plate 32 disposed on the outside is a plate-like member made of a hard material such as metal (for example, stainless steel having a thickness of about 30 μm).

  The fixing plate 32 is formed with an opening 33 formed by cutting out a planar region corresponding to the reservoir 100. With this configuration, the upper portion of the reservoir 100 is sealed only by the flexible sealing film 31. The flexible portion 22 is deformable by a change in internal pressure. The flexible portion 22 is provided to keep the inside of the reservoir 100 at a constant pressure. That is, the pressure change generated in the reservoir 100 due to the flow of ink or the surrounding heat when the piezoelectric element 130 is driven causes the flexible portion 22 sealed only by the flexible sealing film 31 to bend and deform. It is designed to absorb. Portions other than the flexible portion 22 are held with sufficient strength by the fixing plate 32.

  At the end on the + Y side of the counter substrate 20 and the fixed plate 32, a connection terminal portion 44 is formed which is a concave portion obtained by partially cutting the counter substrate 20 and the fixed plate 32 into a rectangular shape. The connection terminal portion 44 exposes the external connection terminal 120 on the flow path forming substrate 10 so that it can be connected to an external control device.

  An ink introduction port 25 for supplying a functional liquid to the reservoir 100 is formed on the compliance substrate 30 outside the reservoir 100. The counter substrate 20 includes an ink introduction port 25, a sidewall of the reservoir 100, and the like. An introduction path 26 that communicates with each other is provided.

In order to eject droplets of the functional liquid by the fluid ejecting head 110 having the above-described configuration, an ink supply device (not shown) connected to the ink introduction port 25 by an external controller (not shown) connected to the fluid ejecting head 110. To supply ink to the reservoir 100. The ink supplied to the reservoir 100 fills the internal flow path of the fluid ejecting head 110 up to the nozzle opening 15.
The external controller transmits drive power and a command signal to the drive IC 150 connected via the external connection terminal 120. The drive IC 150 that has received a command signal or the like transmits a drive signal based on a command from an external controller to each piezoelectric element 130 that is conductively connected via the lead electrode 90.
Then, as a result of applying a voltage between the lower electrode film 60 and the upper electrode film 80 corresponding to the pressure generating chamber 12, the elastic film 50, the lower electrode film 60, and the piezoelectric film 70 are displaced. Due to the displacement, the volume of the corresponding pressure generation chamber 12 changes, the internal pressure increases, and a droplet is ejected from the nozzle opening 15.

  The fluid ejecting head 110 according to the present embodiment having the above configuration includes a driving IC 150 formed by using a semiconductor process on the flow path forming substrate 10 used as a base material, and is provided in the driving IC. The terminal and the piezoelectric element 130 are connected via the lead electrode 90. Therefore, in this embodiment, wire bonding, which is essential in the configuration for mounting the conventional driving IC chip, is unnecessary, and even if the piezoelectric elements 130 are arranged with an integration degree exceeding the mountable range of wire bonding, photolithography is performed. Since the lead electrode 90 can be formed at an accurate position and with an accurate dimension by the process and the etching process, the wiring can be routed without any problem, and the resolution of the fluid ejecting head 110 can be increased. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the fluid ejecting head 110 capable of forming a high-definition image or a functional film pattern can be obtained.

  Also, narrow pitch wire bonding is difficult and expensive, but in the present invention, since the lead electrodes 90 can be formed at once using a film forming process or the like, it is manufactured even if the piezoelectric element 130 is highly integrated. Increase in cost can be suppressed.

  In this embodiment, the driving IC 150 and the piezoelectric element 130 are mounted on the flow path forming substrate 10 and the vibration plate 400, and the external connection terminal 120 that connects the driving IC 150 and the external controller is also connected to the flow path forming substrate 10. Therefore, mounting terminals and wiring are not necessary for the counter substrate 20. Therefore, the configuration of the counter substrate 20 can be simplified as compared with the prior art, which is advantageous in terms of manufacturability and manufacturing cost of the counter substrate 20.

  The counter substrate 20 functions as a sealing member for sealing the piezoelectric element 130 because the concave portion 24 blocks the piezoelectric element 130 from the external environment. By sealing the piezoelectric element 130 with the counter substrate 20, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the characteristics of the piezoelectric element 130 due to an external environment such as moisture. In the present embodiment, the inside of the recess 24 is merely sealed, but the interior of the recess 24 is kept at a low humidity by, for example, evacuating the space in the recess 24 or setting it to a nitrogen or argon atmosphere. Such a configuration can also be adopted, and the deterioration of the piezoelectric element 130 can be more effectively prevented by these configurations.

  In this embodiment, since the driving IC 150 is directly formed on the flow path forming substrate 10, a package such as a driving IC chip is not necessary. Can be easily formed, and can easily cope with the case where a large number of piezoelectric elements 130 are formed by increasing the degree of integration of the piezoelectric elements 130. Alternatively, the area secured for mounting the conventional driving IC chip is not necessary, and the fluid ejecting head can be downsized.

  In the present embodiment, the drive IC 150 is provided along the arrangement direction of the pressure generation chambers 12 arranged in one direction and constituting the pressure generation chamber group. With this configuration, the lead electrode 90 that connects the piezoelectric element 130 and the driving IC 150 provided corresponding to the pressure generation chamber 12 can be made to have wirings of substantially the same length. Thereby, the control for eliminating the error due to the signal transfer characteristic becomes unnecessary, and the control by the drive IC 150 can be simplified. Therefore, the drive IC 150 can be downsized, and the fluid ejecting head 110 can be downsized.

  In the present embodiment, the driving IC 150 is formed on the surface of the partition wall 10K on the diaphragm 400 side. However, as described above, the driving IC 150 is directly formed on the single crystal silicon substrate, so that no package is required. It is possible to form even a narrow region. Therefore, for example, a drive IC may be configured by forming a semiconductor element on the partition wall 11 that partitions the pressure generating chamber 12 shown in FIG. In addition, the driving IC 150 can be divided into a plurality of regions. For example, a switching element for driving the piezoelectric element 130 is formed on the partition wall 11 adjacent to the piezoelectric element 130, and other functional elements such as a latch circuit and a memory circuit are assembled in the vicinity of the external connection terminal 120. be able to.

As yet another form, an arrangement of drive ICs as shown in FIG. 4 can be employed. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the flow path forming substrates 10A and 10B provided in the fluid ejecting head as a modification of the present embodiment.
4A includes a plurality of pressure generating chambers 12 arranged in the longitudinal direction of the substrate, a communication portion 13 (reservoir) communicating with the pressure generating chamber 12, and a driving IC 150A. The drive IC 150 </ b> A extends on the substrate between the pressure generation chamber 12 and the communication portion 13 along the arrangement direction of the pressure generation chambers 12 (Y-axis direction).

  As shown in FIG. 2, a supply path 14 is formed between the pressure generating chamber 12 and the communication portion 13, but the supply path 14 is formed on a surface opposite to the illustrated substrate surface. The driving IC 150A is used only to a depth of about 1 μm from the surface. Therefore, the drive IC 150A can be formed in a region overlapping the supply path 14 in this way. With such a configuration, a relatively large area for forming the driving IC 150A can be secured, and thus it is easy to increase the size of the driving IC 150A. Therefore, according to this example, it becomes easy to make the fluid ejecting head multifunctional.

  Next, the basic structure of the flow path forming substrate 10B shown in FIG. 4B is the same as that of the flow path forming substrate 10A shown in FIG. 4A, but the drive IC 150B overlaps the communication portion 13 in a plan view. It is formed on the flow path forming substrate 10 in the region. In this case, the communication portion 13 does not penetrate the flow path forming substrate 10B in the region where the drive IC 150B is formed, and is composed of a recess formed on the substrate surface opposite to the figure, and the drive IC 150B is formed at the bottom of the recess. A portion including the wall portion is formed on the flow path forming substrate 10.

  In the previous embodiment, the reservoir 100 is configured by the communication portion 13 and the reservoir portion 21 to secure the reservoir portion capacity. However, if the reservoir capacity can be sufficiently ensured, the communication portion 13 may be used as the flow path forming substrate 10B. It does not have to penetrate. Therefore, in the present embodiment, only the communication hole 13a serving as a connection portion with the counter substrate 20 side is configured to penetrate the substrate, and the surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 on the counter substrate 20 side (+ Z side) is formed on the driving IC 150B. It is made available as an area. In addition, by forming the drive IC 150B in such a manner as to partially overlap the communication portion 13 in a planar manner, the fluid ejection head can be reduced in size. Further, since a large formation area of the drive IC 150B can be secured, the drive IC can be easily scaled up and the fluid ejecting head can be easily multi-functionalized.

[Manufacturing method of fluid ejecting head]
Next, a manufacturing method of the fluid ejecting head according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
5 and 6 are cross-sectional process diagrams illustrating a part of the manufacturing process of the fluid ejecting head according to the first embodiment.

  To manufacture the fluid ejecting head 110, first, as shown in FIG. 5A, a single crystal silicon substrate (silicon wafer) 10s is prepared, and a semiconductor process is performed on one surface side of the single crystal silicon substrate 10s. A driver IC 150 for driving the piezoelectric element 130 is formed by manufacturing a transistor, a diode, and a capacitor.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, an elastic film 50 made of silicon oxide is formed on the surface of the single crystal silicon substrate 10 s where the driving IC 150 is formed, and a metal material is formed on the elastic film 50. The lower electrode film 60 made of is patterned.

  Next, on the lower electrode film 60, a piezoelectric film 70 made of PZT (Pb (Zr, Ti) O3), etc., and an upper electrode film 80 made of a metal material such as Pt, Ir, Ru, Au, Ag, etc. As shown in FIG. 5C, a plurality of piezoelectric elements 130 are formed.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 5D, a through hole 50 a (and a through hole 50 b) communicating with a terminal (not shown) of the drive IC 150 is opened in the elastic film 50 on the drive IC 150. At this time, the elastic film 50 located in the opening of the lower electrode film 60 in the region where the reservoir 100 is formed is also removed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5E, a lead electrode 90 extending from the upper electrode film 80 of the piezoelectric element 130 to the through hole 50a on the driving IC 150 is formed using a metal material such as Al or Ag. Thereby, the terminal of the driving IC 150 and the lead electrode 90 are connected, and the driving IC 150 and the upper electrode film 80 of the piezoelectric element 130 are electrically connected.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6A, a protective film 131 is formed on the entire surface of the single crystal silicon substrate 10s on the piezoelectric element 130 side using a resin material such as a resist.
Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, an etching process is performed from the opposite surface of the single crystal silicon substrate 10s where the piezoelectric elements 130 are formed. As a result, the single crystal silicon substrate 10 s is thinned from an initial plate thickness of about 500 μm to about 100 to 200 μm.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6C, the single crystal silicon substrate 10 s is patterned into a predetermined shape by performing anisotropic etching using a KOH solution on the thin single crystal silicon substrate 10 s. As a result, the pressure generation chamber 12, the communication portion 13, and the supply path 14 connecting them are formed, and the flow path forming substrate 10 is obtained.
The anisotropic etching process is an etching performed by utilizing the fact that the etching rate varies depending on the etching direction. When single crystal silicon is etched, the etching rate of the Si (100) surface is Si (111) surface. This is an etching method utilizing the fact that it is about 40 times faster than the above. The depth of each groove can be easily adjusted by the etching time.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6D, after the protective film 131 is removed, the nozzle substrate 16 of the flow path forming substrate 10 is bonded, and the counter substrate 20 that is separately prepared is formed on the surface opposite to the nozzle substrate 16. Glue. Then, the fluid ejection head of this embodiment can be manufactured by bonding the compliance substrate 30 to the surface of the counter substrate 20 opposite to the flow path forming substrate 10.

  In the method of manufacturing the fluid ejecting head 110 described above, the driving IC 150 is initially formed by a semiconductor process using a single crystal silicon substrate 10s having a standard thickness, and after the piezoelectric element 130 and the like are formed, The single crystal silicon substrate 10s is thinned to obtain a thickness as the flow path forming substrate 10 constituting the head. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the process of forming the driving IC 150 by the semiconductor process and the process of forming the piezoelectric element 130 can be performed on the thick single crystal silicon substrate, so that the substrate can be easily handled. In addition, the production method can be expected to have a high production yield.

  5C to 5E, the conductive connection between the driving IC 150 and the piezoelectric element 130 is realized by the lead electrode 90 drawn from the piezoelectric element 130. Therefore, the wire bonding process Is not necessary, and even when the piezoelectric elements 130 are arranged at a high density, it can be accurately connected to the drive IC 150 by a simple process.

  Further, in FIG. 6D, the counter substrate 20 to be bonded to the flow path forming substrate 10 does not require wiring or electrodes, and therefore can be easily manufactured by etching a single crystal silicon substrate, and the cost is low. The counter substrate 20 can be manufactured.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the fluid ejecting head of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the first embodiment, the driving IC is formed on the flow path forming substrate 10, whereas in the fluid ejecting head 210 of this embodiment, the driving IC is formed on the counter substrate.

7 is a partial plan view of the counter substrate constituting the fluid ejecting head according to the second embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the flow path forming substrate side, and FIG. 8 is taken along the line BB ′ of FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the fluid ejecting head at a position along the line.
Note that, in the drawings referred to below, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in FIGS. 1 to 3, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the fluid ejecting head 210 according to the present embodiment is connected to the nozzle substrate 16 having the nozzle openings 15 from which droplets are ejected and the upper surface (+ Z side) of the nozzle substrate 16. A flow path forming substrate 201 that forms an ink flow path, a vibration plate 400 that is connected to the upper surface of the flow path forming substrate 201 and is displaced by driving of the piezoelectric element (driving element) 130, and is connected to the upper surface of the vibration plate 400. The counter substrate 202 forming the reservoir 100 and the compliance substrate 30 bonded to the upper surface of the counter substrate 202 (the side surface opposite to the flow path forming substrate 201) are provided.

The flow path forming substrate 201 is obtained by omitting the drive IC 150 from the flow path forming substrate 10 according to the first embodiment.
On the other hand, the counter substrate 202 has the same basic configuration as the counter substrate 20 according to the first embodiment, but is formed to extend in the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction) of the counter substrate 202 as shown in FIG. A driving IC (driving circuit) 150 </ b> C that drives the piezoelectric element 130 is formed between the two recesses 24. In other words, the driving IC 150C is formed on the surface of the counter substrate 202 having the single crystal silicon substrate (semiconductor substrate) as the base on the flow path forming substrate 201 side using a semiconductor process.

  Similarly to the drive IC 150 according to the first embodiment, the drive IC 150C includes a shift register, a latch circuit, a switch circuit, a memory circuit, and the like. A plurality of pads 150a that are electrically connected to the lead electrodes 90 extending from the piezoelectric element 130 are formed along the long side (side extending in the Y-axis direction) of the drive IC 150C at the peripheral portion of the drive IC 150C. A plurality of pads 150b that are electrically connected to the wirings leading to the lower electrode film 60 and the external connection terminals 120 are formed along the short side (side extending in the X-axis direction) of the drive IC 150C.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the pad 150 a of the driving IC 150 </ b> C of the counter substrate 202 and one end of the lead electrode 90 formed on the elastic film 50 are arranged so as to overlap in a plane. The pad 150a and the lead electrode 90 face each other in the substrate thickness direction (Z-axis direction) when the counter substrate 202 and the flow path forming substrate 201 provided with the piezoelectric element 130 are bonded together. They are connected directly or via a conductive material. Examples of the conductive material used for conductive connection between the pad 150a and the lead electrode 90 include an anisotropic conductive film (ACP) and an anisotropic conductive paste (ACP).

  The counter substrate 202 also functions as a sealing member for sealing the piezoelectric element 130 as in the first embodiment, thereby preventing deterioration of the characteristics of the piezoelectric element 130 due to external environment such as moisture. can do. Further, as in the first embodiment, the space in the recess 24 can be evacuated or can be in a nitrogen or argon atmosphere.

  Also in the fluid ejecting head 210 of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the driving IC 150C is directly formed on the counter substrate 202 that constitutes a main part of the fluid ejecting head 210, so that a conventional driving IC chip is mounted. Wire bonding, which is essential in the configuration, is unnecessary, and even if the piezoelectric element 130 is arranged with an integration degree exceeding the mountable range of wire bonding, the lead electrode 90 can be reliably connected, and a high-resolution fluid An ejection head can be realized. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the fluid ejecting head 210 capable of forming a high-definition image or a functional film pattern can be obtained. In addition, since wire bonding is not required, an increase in cost when the definition is increased can be suppressed.

  In the present embodiment, since the driving IC 150C is directly formed on the counter substrate 202, a package such as a driving IC chip is not required. Therefore, even in a very narrow region on the counter substrate 202, it is easily formed. Therefore, it is possible to easily cope with the case where a large number of piezoelectric elements 130 are formed by increasing the degree of integration of the piezoelectric elements 130. Alternatively, the area secured for mounting the conventional driving IC chip is no longer necessary, and the fluid ejecting head can be downsized.

  In this embodiment, the external connection terminal 120 is formed on the flow path forming substrate 201, and the driving IC 150C and the external connection terminal 120 are electrically connected via the pad 150b. The connection terminal 120 may be provided on the counter substrate 202. In this case, the external connection terminal can be formed at an arbitrary position as long as the connection of the external circuit to the external connection terminal is not hindered. It may be a side surface.

Further, the manufacturing method of the counter substrate 202 in the fluid ejecting head of the present embodiment is similar to the manufacturing process of the flow path forming substrate 10 in the first embodiment, and includes the step of forming the driving IC, the concave portion and the reservoir portion. It can be carried out by a process for forming the semiconductor substrate and a process for thinning the semiconductor substrate.
Specifically, after the driving IC 150C is formed on one surface side of the semiconductor substrate, the recess 24 and the reservoir portion 21 are formed on both sides of the driving IC by anisotropic etching, and then the semiconductor is formed from the surface opposite to the driving IC 150C. The counter substrate 202 can be manufactured by thinning the substrate.

In addition, various changes can be made to the configuration of the fluid ejecting head of the present embodiment.
FIGS. 9A and 9B are partial cross-sectional views illustrating first and second modifications of the fluid ejecting head according to the second embodiment, respectively. In each drawing shown in FIG. 9, the flow path forming substrate 201 and the nozzle substrate 16 bonded to the elastic film 50 are not shown.

  First, a fluid ejection head 210A according to a first modification shown in FIG. 9A has a counter substrate 202A in which a drive IC 150D is formed on a surface (upper surface in the drawing) opposite to the elastic film 50. I have. The specific configuration of the drive IC 150D is the same as that of the previous drive IC 150 (150A to C).

  In the counter substrate 202A according to the first modified example, the driving IC 150D is formed on the surface opposite to the piezoelectric element 130, and thus the through electrode 160 for forming a conductive connection structure between the driving IC 150D and the piezoelectric element 130. And electrode wiring 161 is formed. The through electrode 160 is a Cu electrode formed by, for example, a plating method, and can be formed using a known method of forming a through electrode on a silicon substrate. The electrode wiring 161 is made of Al, Ag, or the like, and electrically connects a terminal (not shown) of the driving IC 150 </ b> D and one end of the through electrode 160. The other end of the through electrode 160 that penetrates the counter substrate 202A and is exposed to the elastic film 50 side is provided at a position that overlaps the through electrode 160 when the counter substrate 202A is bonded to the flow path forming substrate 201. The lead electrode 90 is electrically connected directly or via another conductive material.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the counter substrate 202A provided with the driving IC 150D on the surface opposite to the piezoelectric element 130 can also be used, and the fluid ejecting head 210A including the counter substrate 202A also performs the previous implementation. The same effect as that of the fluid ejecting head 210 can be obtained.

  Further, in the fluid ejection head 210A of this example, the drive IC 150D is formed on the surface opposite to the recess 24, contrary to the fluid ejection head 210 according to the second embodiment. It is not necessary to process the surface on the drive IC 150D side in the forming process. Therefore, the etching solution or the like can be prevented from adversely affecting the driving IC 150D, and the configuration is advantageous in terms of manufacturability.

  Next, a fluid ejecting head 210B, which is a second modified example shown in FIG. 9B, has substantially the same configuration as the fluid ejecting head 210A, which is the first modified example, but two drive ICs 150E are provided. It is the structure provided. Each drive IC 150 </ b> E is electrically connected to the through electrode 160 via the electrode wiring 161, and the through electrode 160 is electrically connected to the lead electrode 90. With such a structure, the piezoelectric element 130 and the drive IC 150E are electrically connected.

  In the case of this example, the drive IC 150E is formed in a region that partially overlaps the recess 24 in a plane. Since the driving IC 150E formed by using a semiconductor process is used only to a depth of about 1 μm from the surface layer of the single crystal silicon substrate, it should be arranged without any problem even in the region where the recess 24 is formed in this way. Can do. Therefore, as apparent from comparison between FIGS. 9A and 9B, the counter substrate 202B can reduce the distance between the through electrodes 160 and 160 in the central portion of the substrate, and can reduce the size of the fluid ejecting head. It is like that.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the fluid ejecting head according to the present embodiment. FIG. 11A is a partial cross-sectional view of the fluid ejecting head according to the present embodiment. FIG. 11B is a partial plan view of the fluid ejecting head according to the present embodiment. 11A corresponds to the position along the line CC ′ in FIG. 11B, and FIG. 11B corresponds to the view along the line DD ′ in FIG. In FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in the previous embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The fluid ejecting head 310 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which a nozzle substrate 16 in which a plurality of nozzle openings 15 are arranged, a flow path forming substrate 301, and a counter substrate 302 are bonded to each other on their facing surfaces. In the nozzle substrate 16, the nozzle openings 15 are arranged in two rows. In this embodiment, the arrangement direction of the nozzle openings 15 in each row coincides with the X-axis direction, and the rows of nozzle openings 15 are arranged in the Y-axis direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction.

The flow path forming substrate 301 has a plurality of grooves formed on the surface on the nozzle substrate 16 side. Specifically, a plurality of pressure generating chambers 312 arranged in the X-axis direction corresponding to the nozzle openings 15, and extend outside the pressure generating chamber 312 along the arrangement direction (X-axis direction) of the pressure generating chambers 312. Two grooves formed by the existing reservoir 321 and the supply path 314 connecting the pressure generating chamber 312 and the reservoir 321 are formed symmetrically with respect to the X axis corresponding to each row of the nozzle openings 15.
The flow path forming substrate 301 has a single crystal silicon substrate provided with conductivity as a base, and the pressure generating chamber 12, the reservoir 321 and the supply path 314 are anisotropically etched with respect to the single crystal silicon substrate. It is formed by processing.

  The counter substrate 302 has a single crystal silicon substrate as a base, and a plurality of electrodes 336 provided respectively corresponding to the pressure generating chambers 312 of the flow path forming substrate 301 on the surface on the flow path forming substrate 301 side. , And a drive IC 150 </ b> F electrically connected through a plurality of electrodes 336 and wirings 334. Further, an external connection terminal 327 is provided at a side end of the counter substrate 302 on the near side (−X side) in the drawing, and the external connection terminal 327 and the drive IC 150F are electrically connected via a wiring 337. Yes. An electrode terminal 339 that is electrically connected to the flow path forming substrate 301 is formed at the end of the wiring 338 extending from the drive IC 150F.

  As shown in FIG. 11A, the driving IC 150F is formed on the surface layer portion of the counter substrate 302 on the flow path forming substrate 301 side, and is similar to the driving IC 150 (150A to F) of the previous embodiment. A switch circuit, a latch circuit, a memory circuit, and the like formed using a process are provided. The drive IC 150 </ b> F supplies an electrical signal to the electrode 336 via the wiring 334 and performs an operation of supplying an electrical signal for discharging a droplet from the nozzle opening 15 of the fluid ejecting head 310.

  The nozzle substrate 16 is bonded to the surface of the flow path forming substrate 301 on the pressure generating chamber 312 side. The pressure generating chamber 312, the reservoir 321, and the supply path 314 of the flow path forming substrate 301 are respectively connected to the nozzle substrate 16. A space is formed. The pressure generation chamber 312 is in communication with the nozzle opening 15 formed in the nozzle substrate 16. Further, a groove portion 326 is formed on the lower surface side of the flow path forming substrate 301 in the figure, and is formed between the groove portion 326 and the counter substrate 302 when the flow path forming substrate 301 and the counter substrate 302 are joined. An electrode 336 formed on the counter substrate 302 is accommodated in the space. The groove portion 326 is formed to a depth greater than the thickness of the electrode 336 accommodated therein, and the bottom wall portion of the groove portion 326 and the electrode 336 are separated from each other with a predetermined interval.

  Since the pressure generating chamber 312 and the groove portion 326 are formed on both surfaces of the flow path forming substrate 301, the bottom wall portion sandwiched between them is thinned, and this thinned portion is the fluid ejection. The diaphragm 335 is bent when the head 310 is operated. The vibration plate 335 and the electrode 336 are arranged with a predetermined distance therebetween, and the groove portion 326 becomes an operation space of the vibration plate 335 that is bent when the fluid ejecting head 310 is operated. Under such a configuration, the diaphragm 335 and the electrode 336 form a drive element 332 that causes a pressure change in the pressure generation chamber 312.

  Looking at the planar structure shown in FIG. 11B, the electrode 336 is a strip-like conductive film extending in the horizontal direction (Y-axis direction) in the figure, and includes a pressure generating chamber 312 formed on the flow path forming substrate 301. They are arranged in a plane. Further, the nozzle openings 15 of the nozzle substrate 16 are also arranged in the plane region of the pressure generating chamber 312.

  As described above, in the fluid ejection head 310 of this embodiment, one nozzle opening 15 and one drive element 332 (the vibration plate 335 and the electrode 336) are provided for one pressure generation chamber 312. These components constitute a fluid ejecting unit 331 that performs a fluid ejecting operation based on an electrical signal input from the drive IC 150F when the fluid ejecting head 310 operates.

  More specifically, based on command information input from an external circuit, a voltage (drive pulse) corresponding to the size of the droplet to be ejected is applied to the electrode 336 selected by the drive IC 150F. Then, since the flow path forming substrate 301 is electrically connected to the driving IC 150F and held at a constant voltage, a potential difference is generated between the electrode 336 and the diaphragm 335, and the potential difference is allowed by the electrostatic force resulting from this potential difference. A flexible diaphragm 335 is attracted to the electrode 336. As a result, the volume of the pressure generation chamber 312 is expanded, and ink flows from the reservoir 321 into the pressure generation chamber 312. Thereafter, when the voltage application from the driving IC 150F is stopped at a timing when the ink is sufficiently supplied, the diaphragm 335 is released from the electrostatic force and restored, and pressure is applied to the pressure generating chamber 312. A droplet is ejected from the nozzle opening 15 by this pressure. Thereafter, when the vibrations of the ink in the pressure generation chamber 312 and the supply path 314 converge, the fluid ejecting unit 331 returns to the state before the ejection operation, so that the next droplet can be ejected.

  In the fluid ejecting head 310 of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the driving IC 150F is directly formed on the counter substrate 302 having a single crystal silicon substrate as a base, as in the previous embodiment. Accordingly, since the conductive connection structure with the driving IC 150F can be easily formed by forming the wiring 334 and the like using a thin film process, the wiring connection can be easily performed even when the electrodes 336 are arranged at high density. Further, since the drive IC 150F does not require a package, the area occupied by the drive IC 150F can be reduced, and the fluid ejection head 310 can be downsized.

  Further, in the case of the present embodiment, since the drive IC 150F is built in, the wiring drawn out to the external connection terminal 327 is limited to the wiring for the control signal and the power supply, and the number of the external connection terminals 327 is reduced. Thus, there is an advantage that the connection structure between the fluid ejecting head 310 and the host device can be simplified.

  Also in this embodiment, the drive IC 150F is disposed along the extending direction (X-axis direction) of the pressure generation chamber group including the group of pressure generation chambers 312 arranged in the X-axis direction. With this configuration, the length of the wiring 334 connecting the driving IC 150F and the electrode 336 is substantially uniform. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform control for eliminating an error caused by the signal transfer characteristic of the wiring 334. Therefore, the circuit in the drive IC 150F can be simplified and the drive IC 150F can be downsized.

  Of course, also in this embodiment, the formation position of the drive IC 150F can be changed. For example, the drive IC 150F can be formed in a region overlapping the supply path 314 and the reservoir 321 in a plan view.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 12 is a plan view of the fluid ejecting head according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 13 is a plan view of the fluid ejecting head including the driving IC chip shown for comparison, as viewed from the counter substrate side. 14A is a cross-sectional view of the fluid ejecting head viewed from the counter substrate side at a position along the line EE ′ in FIG. 12, and FIG. 14B is a position along the line FF ′ in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the fluid ejecting head in.
12 to 14, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in the previous embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 14A, the fluid ejecting head 210 </ b> C of the present embodiment has a nozzle substrate 16 provided with nozzle openings 15 from which droplets are ejected, and an upper surface (+ Z side) of the nozzle substrate 16. A flow path forming substrate 201 that is connected to form an ink flow path, and a vibration plate 400 (elastic film 50 and lower electrode film) that is connected to the upper surface of the flow path forming substrate 201 and is displaced by driving of a piezoelectric element (driving element) 130. 60), a counter substrate 202C connected to the upper surface of the diaphragm 400 to form the reservoir 100, and a compliance substrate 30 bonded to the upper surface of the counter substrate 202C (the side opposite to the flow path forming substrate 201). Yes.

  The counter substrate 202C has a single crystal silicon substrate (semiconductor substrate) as a base, and a driving IC 150G is formed on the surface opposite to the flow path forming substrate 201 by using a semiconductor process. The drive IC 150G is formed in a rectangular region along the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction) of the counter substrate 202C. A plurality of openings 20a that penetrate the counter substrate 202 and reach the elastic film 50 (the diaphragm 400) are formed in a region sandwiched between the two drive ICs 150G. In the present embodiment, two openings 20a arranged along the longitudinal direction of the drive IC 150G are formed corresponding to each of the two drive ICs 150G. A plurality of lead electrodes 90 connected to the drive IC 150G are exposed at the bottoms of these four openings 20a. Then, the drive IC 150 on the counter substrate 202 and the lead electrode 90 are electrically connected by wire bonding through these openings 20a.

  As shown in FIG. 12, an external connection terminal 120 for connecting the drive IC 150G to an external device is formed on the surface of the counter substrate 202C on which the drive IC 150G is formed. The plurality of external connection terminals 120 are arranged at the end portion (short side end) in the longitudinal direction of the counter substrate 202C. Each external connection terminal 120 is electrically connected to a corresponding driving IC 150G via a wiring 120a.

  As described above, the fluid ejecting head 210C according to the present embodiment uses the bonding wire 251 instead of the through electrode 160 of the fluid ejecting head 210B according to the second modification example of the second embodiment, and the driving IC 150G and the piezoelectric element 130 (lead). The electrode 90) is electrically connected.

  On the other hand, a fluid ejecting head 510 shown in FIGS. 13 and 14B is a fluid ejecting head having a conventional configuration including a drive IC chip 550. The fluid ejecting head 510 includes a nozzle substrate 16 having a nozzle opening 15 from which droplets are discharged, a flow path forming substrate 10 connected to the upper surface (+ Z side) of the nozzle substrate 16 to form an ink flow path, A diaphragm 400 (elastic film 50 and lower electrode film 60) connected to the upper surface of the path forming substrate 10 and displaced by driving of the piezoelectric element (driving element) 130, and a reservoir 100 connected to the upper surface of the diaphragm 400 are formed. And the compliance substrate 30 bonded to the upper surface of the counter substrate 502 (the side surface opposite to the flow path forming substrate 10).

  No driving IC is formed on the counter substrate 502, and four driving IC chips 550 separately prepared as semiconductor chips are face-up on the upper surface of the counter substrate 502 (the side opposite to the flow path forming substrate 10). It is glued. The driving IC chip 550 and the lead electrode 90 in the opening 520a are electrically connected by the bonding wire 551 that is routed through the opening 520 that passes through the counter substrate 502 and reaches the elastic film 50. . Further, two drive IC chips 550 adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction of the counter substrate 502 are also electrically connected to each other through bonding wires 552. Further, the plurality of external connection terminals 120 formed on the short side edge of the counter substrate 502 and the driving IC chip 550 are electrically connected through bonding wires 553.

  The operation and effect of the fluid ejecting head 210C of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described below in comparison with the fluid ejecting head 510 having the conventional configuration shown in FIG.

In the case of the present embodiment, wire bonding similar to the conventional wire bonding is used to connect the drive IC 150G and the lead electrode 90. However, since the drive IC 150G is directly formed on the counter substrate 202C, an effect superior to that of the prior art is achieved. Can be obtained.
First, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to bond the driving IC chip 550 and the counter substrate 502 as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14B. Since the driving IC chip 550 is bonded after the opening 520a is formed in the counter substrate 502, the composition of the primer layer is formed on the lead electrode 90 exposed in the opening 520a and the external connection terminal 120 on the counter substrate 502. A thing and an adhesive agent adhere and the washing process for removing these is needed. However, when cleaning is performed, the lead electrode 90 and the external connection terminal 120 are exposed to the cleaning agent, and thus the cleaning agent may remain on the lead electrode 90 and the external connection terminal 120. Further, if there is a residue of these primer composition, adhesive, or cleaning agent, connection failure may occur during wire bonding and the yield may be reduced.

  On the other hand, if the drive IC chip 550 is flip-chip mounted instead of face-up mounted, wire bonding to the drive IC chip 550 is not necessary, but the number of flip chip mounting steps increases, which is disadvantageous in terms of manufacturing cost. In any of the mounting methods, a primer process and a cleaning process are required for mounting, and if there is a residue on a terminal to be wire bonded, the yield of the wire bonding process is reduced.

On the other hand, in the fluid ejecting head 210C of the present embodiment, since the above-described bonding process is unnecessary, the primer process and the cleaning process associated with the bonding process are also unnecessary, and wire bonding can be reliably performed without causing connection failure. And can be manufactured with high yield.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, since it is only necessary to perform wire bonding between the surface of the counter substrate 202C and the lead electrode 90, the height of drawing the bonding wire is lower than that of the fluid ejecting head 510, and wire bonding can be easily performed. It becomes like this.

  Further, as apparent from a comparison between FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, in the fluid ejecting head 210 </ b> C of the present embodiment, the drive IC 150 </ b> G is directly formed on the counter substrate 202, and thus is formed on the counter substrate 202. It is not necessary to use wire bonding to connect the wiring 120a and the driving IC 150G. Further, the bonding wire 552 for connecting the drive IC chips 550 is not necessary. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if wire bonding is used, the number of bonding wires can be reduced as compared with the conventional case, and a fluid ejecting head that can be manufactured at low cost can be realized.

  Further, in the fluid ejecting head 510 shown in FIG. 13, since the driving IC chip 550 is mounted on the counter substrate 502 constituting the head body, the entire fluid ejecting head is made smaller than when the driving IC chip is provided outside. There is an advantage that the number of wires for connecting to external devices can be reduced, and handling becomes easy. On the other hand, in this embodiment, in addition to the same advantages as the fluid ejecting head 510, the driving IC 150G can be made smaller and thinner than the driving IC chip 550. Further downsizing and thinning can be realized.

Next, a modification of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15A is a partial cross-sectional view of a fluid ejecting head 210D according to a first modification. FIG. 15B is a partial cross-sectional view of a fluid ejecting head 210E according to a second modification. FIG. 15C is a partial cross-sectional view of a fluid ejecting head 210F according to a third modification.
In FIG. 15, the flow path forming substrate 201 and the nozzle substrate 16 bonded to the elastic film 50 are not shown.

  First, the fluid ejecting head 210D according to the first modified example shown in FIG. 15A is a cross-section of the opening 20a formed in the counter substrate 202C in the fluid ejecting head 210C shown in FIGS. 12 and 14A. The shape has been changed. That is, in the fluid ejecting head 210 </ b> D, an opening 20 b having a wide opening shape on the opening end side is formed as a region where the bonding wire 251 is routed. By adopting a configuration including the opening 20b having such a shape, it is easy to access the capillary to the lead electrode 90, and interference between the bonding wire 251 and the opening end of the opening 20b is less likely to occur. The ease of bonding is improved, and the fluid jet head is excellent in manufacturability.

  Next, the fluid ejecting head 210E according to the second modified example shown in FIG. 15B is driven using a flexible circuit board 255 instead of the bonding wire 251 of the fluid ejecting head 210D shown in FIG. IC 150G and lead electrode 90 (piezoelectric element 130) are connected. The flexible circuit board 255 has a configuration including, for example, a flexible board 256 made of a resin material such as polyimide or polyethylene, and connection wirings 257 formed on one or both surfaces of the flexible board 256.

  When the flexible circuit board 255 is used as described above, the lead electrode 90 and the driving IC 150G can be connected by bonding using an adhesive such as pressure bonding or anisotropic conductive paste. Prior to this adhesion, a primer step may be performed. In the case of this example, since the flexible circuit board 255 is connected to the terminal of the driving IC 150G and the lead electrode 90 by bonding, there is no problem as in the case of chip mounting and wire bonding. Therefore, the fluid ejecting head 210E of this example can also be manufactured with high yield and low cost.

Also in this example, the counter substrate 202C has the wide opening 20b on the opening end side, and the bending angle of the flexible circuit board 255 is compared by providing the opening 20b having such a shape. The lead electrode 90 and the connection wiring 257 can be connected even if the size is reduced. Therefore, the flexible circuit board 255 can be easily mounted and the occurrence of connection failure can be effectively suppressed. However, of course, in the fluid ejecting head 210E of the present example, the opening 20a having a substantially rectangular cross section may be formed.
In this example, the case where the flexible circuit board 255 is arranged on both sides of the opening 20b has been described. However, even if the connection structure between the lead electrode 90 and the driving IC 150G is formed using one flexible circuit board. Of course it is good.

  Next, the fluid ejecting head 210F according to the third modified example illustrated in FIG. 15C is formed on the surface of the counter substrate 202C instead of the bonding wire 251 of the fluid ejecting head 210D illustrated in FIG. A connection wiring 259 having a wiring pattern is provided. The connection wiring 259 is, for example, a metal wiring pattern such as Cu, and can be formed by, for example, a film forming process using a sputtering method or a CVD method, and a patterning process using a photolithography method and an etching method. Further, the seed layer may be patterned by the above method, and a plating layer may be formed on the seed layer to form the connection wiring 259. By forming the connection wiring 259 by the plating method, the thickness of the connection wiring 259 can be increased to reduce the wiring resistance, and disconnection occurs at the boundary between the inner wall surface of the opening 20b and the lead electrode 90. Can be effectively prevented. In addition, a droplet discharge method (inkjet method) can be used for forming the connection wiring 259. If the droplet discharge method is used, a pattern of the connection wiring 259 can be directly drawn, and thus the manufacturing process can be simplified and the manufacturing can be performed. Cost can be reduced.

  In this example, the counter substrate 202C has a wide opening 20b on the opening end side, and the connection wiring 259 is formed on the inclined surface by including the opening 20b having such a shape. Therefore, disconnection of the connection wiring 259 due to a step can be prevented, and the lead electrode 90 and the connection wiring 257 can be reliably connected.

(Specific examples of fluid ejection device and drive IC 150)
Next, an ink jet printer which is an example of a fluid ejecting apparatus including the fluid ejecting head 110 according to the previous embodiment will be described. In addition, as a specific example of the drive IC 150 of the previous embodiment, an ink jet printer control device including a fluid ejection head drive IC will be described. Note that the specific configuration of the drive IC described in this embodiment can be applied to the drive ICs 150A to 150G of other embodiments.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an inkjet printer 600 that is an embodiment of a fluid ejecting apparatus including the fluid ejecting head 110, and FIG. 17 illustrates a configuration of the fluid ejecting head 110 and the control device 660 illustrated in FIG. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the inkjet printer 600 includes an apparatus main body 620, a tray 621 on which the recording paper P is placed, and a discharge port 622 for discharging the recording paper P. An operation panel is provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 620. 670. The operation panel 670 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, an LED lamp, and the like, and includes a display unit (not shown) for displaying an error message and the like, and an operation unit (not shown) including various switches. Z)). Inside the apparatus main body 620, there are mainly a printing apparatus 640 provided with a reciprocating head unit 630, a paper feeding apparatus 650 for feeding the recording paper P one by one to the printing apparatus 640, the printing apparatus 640 and the paper feeding apparatus. A control device 660 for controlling 650 is provided.

  Under the control of the control device 660, the paper feeding device 650 intermittently feeds the recording paper P one by one. The recording paper P that is intermittently fed passes near the lower portion of the head unit 630. At this time, the head unit 630 reciprocates in a direction substantially perpendicular to the feeding direction of the recording paper P, and printing on the recording paper P is performed. That is, the reciprocation of the head unit 630 and the intermittent feeding of the recording paper P are the main scanning and the sub-scanning in printing, and ink jet printing is performed.

  The printing apparatus 640 includes a head unit 630, a carriage motor 641 serving as a drive source for the head unit 630, and a reciprocating mechanism 642 that reciprocates the head unit 630 in response to the rotation of the carriage motor 641. . In the lower part of the head unit 630, the fluid ejecting head 110 having a number of nozzle openings 15, an ink cartridge 631 that supplies ink to the fluid ejecting head 110, and the fluid ejecting head 110 and the ink cartridge 631 are mounted. And a carriage 632. By using an ink cartridge 631 filled with ink of four colors of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black (black), full-color printing is possible. In this case, the head unit 630 is provided with the fluid ejecting heads 110 corresponding to the respective colors.

  The reciprocating mechanism 642 includes a carriage guide shaft 643 whose both ends are supported by a frame (not shown), and a timing belt 644 extending in parallel with the carriage guide shaft 643. The carriage 632 is supported by the carriage guide shaft 643 so as to be able to reciprocate and is fixed to a part of the timing belt 644. When the timing belt 644 travels forward and backward through a pulley by the operation of the carriage motor 641, the head unit 630 reciprocates while being guided by the carriage guide shaft 643. In this reciprocation, ink is appropriately discharged from the fluid ejecting head 110 and printing on the recording paper P is performed.

  The sheet feeding device 650 includes a sheet feeding motor 651 as a driving source and a sheet feeding roller 652 that rotates by the operation of the sheet feeding motor 651. The paper feed roller 652 is composed of a driven roller 652a and a drive roller 652b that are vertically opposed to each other with a feeding path (recording paper P) of the recording paper P interposed therebetween. The drive roller 652b is a paper feed motor 651. It is connected to. With such a configuration, the paper feed roller 652 can feed a large number of recording sheets P installed on the tray 621 one by one toward the printing apparatus 640. Instead of the tray 621, a configuration in which a paper feed cassette that stores the recording paper P can be detachably mounted may be employed.

The control device 660 performs printing by controlling the printing device 640, the paper feeding device 650, and the like based on print data input from a host computer such as a personal computer or a digital camera.
As shown in FIG. 17, the control device 660 includes an interface 661 that receives discharge conditions and the like from a host device such as a computer, a RAM 662 that records various data, and includes a DRAM (Dynamic RAM) and an SRAM (Static RAM). , A ROM 663 recording routines for performing various data processing, a control unit 664 including a CPU, an oscillation circuit 665, and a drive signal generation for generating a drive signal COM as a drive waveform supplied to the fluid ejecting head 110 A section 666 and an interface 667. The interface 667 transfers ejection data as recording data developed into dot pattern data to the fluid ejecting head 110, and sends drive signals for driving the carriage motor 641 and the paper feed motor 651 to the reciprocating mechanism 642 and Output to each of the paper feeding devices 650.

  In the control device 660 having the above configuration, the discharge conditions and the like sent from the host device such as a computer are held in a reception buffer provided as a part of the RAM 662 via the interface 661. The data held in the reception buffer is sent to an intermediate buffer provided as a part of the RAM 662 after command analysis. In the intermediate buffer, data in an intermediate format converted into an intermediate code by the control unit 664 is held, and processing for adding information such as a droplet discharge position is executed by the control unit 664. Next, the control unit 664 analyzes and decodes the data in the intermediate buffer, and then develops and records the dot pattern data in the output buffer.

  When dot pattern data corresponding to one scan of the fluid ejecting head 110 is obtained, the dot pattern data is serially transferred to the fluid ejecting head 110 via the interface 667. When dot pattern data corresponding to one scan is output from the output buffer, the contents of the intermediate buffer are erased and the next intermediate code conversion is performed.

  Further, a drive signal COM for driving the piezoelectric element 130 provided in the fluid ejecting head 110 is generated by the drive signal generating unit 666 and transferred to the fluid ejecting head 110 via the interface 667. Further, the ejection data SI developed into the dot pattern data is serially output to the drive IC 150 provided in the fluid ejecting head 110 via the interface 667 in synchronization with the clock signal CLK from the oscillation circuit 665. In addition to the ejection data SI, the drive signal COM, and the clock signal CLK described above, a latch signal LAT and a memory control signal CM described later are output from the interface 667 to the drive IC 150 provided in the fluid ejecting head 110.

  The drive IC 150 includes a shift register 156, a latch circuit 151, a level shifter 152, a switch circuit 153, a memory control circuit 154, and a memory 155. The shift register 156 performs serial / parallel conversion on the ejection data SI transferred from the control device 660. The latch circuit 151 latches the ejection data SI converted in parallel by the shift register 156 when the latch signal LAT is output from the control device 660. The level shifter 152 boosts the ejection data SI output from the latch circuit 151 to a voltage that can drive the switch circuit 153, for example, a predetermined voltage of about several tens of volts.

  The switch circuit 153 controls whether the drive signal COM is supplied to the piezoelectric element 130 according to the ejection data SI output from the level shifter 152. That is, during the period when the voltage level of the ejection data SI applied to each switch element provided in the switch circuit 153 is “1”, the drive signal COM is applied to the corresponding piezoelectric element 130, and the voltage level of the ejection data SI is During the period of “0”, the application of the drive signal COM to the corresponding piezoelectric element 130 is cut off.

The memory control circuit 154 stores the ejection data SI transferred from the control device 660 to the drive IC 150 and output from the shift register 156 in the memory 155 as a storage unit. Whether or not the ejection data SI is stored in the memory 155 is controlled by a memory control signal CM. When the ejection data SI is stored in the memory 155, the latch signal LAT is not output from the interface 667 to the latch circuit 151.
Further, the memory control circuit 154 reads out and outputs the ejection data SI stored in the memory 155 based on the memory control signal CM.

  Here, the reason why the memory 155 is provided in the drive IC 150 to store the ejection data SI is to reduce the data transfer amount from the control device 660 to the drive IC 150 at the time of droplet ejection and to reduce the data transfer speed. . That is, if the transfer time of the discharge data SI is longer than the time required for droplet discharge during droplet discharge, a time during which the fluid ejecting head is stopped without discharging the droplet from the nozzle opening 15 is generated, and the operation rate is lowered. To do. In order to prevent this, if the data transfer speed is increased, there is a problem that data is garbled due to noise or the like, or radiation noise is increased. In order to prevent these problems, in the present embodiment, the ejection data SI is transferred in advance to the drive IC 150 of the fluid ejecting head 110 and stored in the memory 155 before the droplet is ejected. Data SI is read to control the operation of the piezoelectric element 130.

Although the specific configuration of the drive IC 150 has been described above, the drive IC 150 built in the fluid ejecting head according to the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. For example, the drive IC 150 may be configured to have the function of the drive signal generation unit 666 included in the control device 660 that is a host device.
Instead of the driving IC 150, a driving circuit including only a part of the plurality of circuits illustrated in FIG. 17 may be provided. For example, it may be configured as a drive circuit including only a switch circuit that applies a voltage to the piezoelectric element 130, or may be configured as including a switch circuit and a level shifter. Alternatively, the memory 155 and the memory control circuit 154 may be omitted from the configuration illustrated in FIG.

  In FIGS. 16 and 17, an ink jet printer is shown as an example of the fluid ejecting apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to a printer unit realized by incorporating a fluid ejecting head. is there. Such a printer unit is attached to a display device such as a television or an input device such as a whiteboard, and is used to print an image displayed or input by the display device or the input device.

10, 10A, 10B, 201, 301 Flow path forming substrate, 10K, 11 Bulkhead, 10s
Silicon substrate, 12 pressure generation chamber, 15 nozzle opening, 16 nozzle substrate, 20a, 2
0b opening, 20, 202, 202A, 202B, 202C, 302 counter substrate, 24
Recess, 60 Lower electrode film, 70 Piezoelectric film, 80 Upper electrode film, 90 Lead electrode, 100
Reservoir, 110, 210, 210A, 210B, 210C, 210D, 210E, 2
10F, 310 Fluid ejection head, 120, 327 External connection terminal, 130 Piezoelectric element,
131 Protective film, 150, 150A, 150B, 150C, 150D, 150E, 150
F, 150G driving IC (driving circuit), 160 through electrode, 251 bonding wire (connection wiring), 255 flexible circuit board, 256 flexible board, 257, 259
Connection wiring, 312 pressure generation chamber, 321 reservoir, 335, 400 diaphragm, 600
Inkjet printer, 660 controller

Claims (1)

A pressure generating chamber communicating with the nozzle opening, a flow path forming substrate on which a partition wall serving as a wall of the pressure generating chamber is formed, a counter substrate disposed opposite to the flow path forming substrate, and one of the flow path forming substrates A driving element that is provided on the surface of the driving element and disposed so as to overlap the pressure generating chamber, a driving circuit that supplies power to the driving element, and the driving formed on the one surface A method of manufacturing a fluid ejecting head including wiring drawn from an element,
Forming the driving circuit on one surface side of a semiconductor substrate, forming a through electrode that is electrically connected to the driving circuit and penetrates the semiconductor substrate in a thickness direction, and manufacturing the counter substrate;
Forming the drive element on the one surface of the flow path forming substrate;
Forming the wiring extending from the driving element to a position overlapping the partition;
The through electrode exposed on the opposite surface by bonding the surface of the counter substrate opposite to the surface on which the drive circuit is formed and the surface on the drive element side of the flow path forming substrate. And a step of electrically connecting the wiring extending from the driving element. A method for manufacturing a fluid ejecting head, comprising:

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