JP2018103604A - Method of manufacturing thermal print head module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of manufacturing a thermal print head module.SOLUTION: A method of manufacturing a thermal print head module includes the steps of: longitudinally cutting two opposed sides of a silicon pillar so as to obtain a silicon substrate; forming a glazing layer, a heating resistor layer, an electrode pattern layer and an insulating protective layer in order on the silicon substrate; and electrically connecting a control circuit module to the electrode pattern layer.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermal printhead module and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly to a thermal printhead module of a printer and a manufacturing method thereof.

  Printers that employ the thermal energy transfer principle mainly heat the ribbon with a thermal print head (TPH) module, vaporize the dye on the ribbon, transfer it to a carrier (eg, paper or plastic), and heat A continuous gradation is formed by time or heating temperature. Generally, a thermal print head module is composed of a ceramic substrate, a printed circuit board, a seal rubber layer, an integrated circuit, a wire, and the like.

  Currently, however, commercially available thermal printhead modules are only 2-8 inches (50-200 mm) in size (later referred to as small dimensions) at most, and larger thermal dimensions. The printhead module cannot be provided continuously, or large-sized print products cannot be produced temporarily.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a thermal printhead module and a method for manufacturing the same in order to solve the above-mentioned difficulties, ie, a printer based on the thermal energy transfer principle cannot be enlarged. In order to solve the above-described drawbacks, it is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal printhead module having high and large dimensions and a highly planarized substrate.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for manufacturing such a thermal printhead module includes a step of longitudinally cutting two opposing sides of a silicon pillar so as to obtain a silicon substrate, a glazing layer, a heating resistor layer, A step of sequentially forming an electrode pattern layer and an insulating protective layer; and a step of electrically connecting the control circuit module to the electrode pattern layer.

  In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the silicon pillar is a single crystal silicon pillar or a polycrystalline silicon pillar.

  In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the length of the silicon substrate is 12 to 64 inches (300 to 1600 mm) or 64 inches (1600 mm) or more.

  In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the step of longitudinally cutting two opposite sides of the silicon pillar to obtain a silicon substrate obtains an intermediate layer plate between the two opposite sides of the silicon pillar. A detailed process of cutting two opposing sides of the silicon pillar straight from one end surface of the silicon pillar to another end surface along the axial direction of the silicon pillar, and a silicon substrate including two opposing flat surfaces A detailing step of polishing the interlayer plate to form.

  In one or a plurality of embodiments of the present invention, the step of sequentially forming the glazing layer, the heating resistor layer, the electrode pattern layer, and the insulating protective layer on the silicon substrate is performed so that the main layer is on one surface of the silicon substrate. And a detail process for forming a plurality of continuous glaze ribs arranged in parallel at intervals on one surface of the main substrate layer opposite to the silicon substrate.

  In one or a plurality of embodiments of the present invention, the step of sequentially forming the glazing layer, the heating resistor layer, the electrode pattern layer, and the insulating protective layer on the silicon substrate opposes the conductive metal layer to the glazing layer of the heating resistor layer. A detail process formed on one surface, and a detail process for etching local portions overlapping the glaze ribs of the conductive metal layer so as to expose the raised shape of the heating resistance layer covering the glaze ribs, respectively. In addition.

  In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the step of electrically connecting the control circuit module to the electrode pattern layer etches the insulating protective layer so as to form a notch that exposes a portion of the electrode pattern layer. And a detail process for electrically connecting the control circuit module to the electrode pattern layer through the notch.

  According to another embodiment of the present invention, such a thermal printhead module includes a silicon substrate having two opposing flat surfaces, a main substrate layer covered by one flat surface of the silicon substrate, and a main substrate silicon substrate. A glazing layer having a plurality of glaze ribs arranged in parallel on one side facing each other, a main glazing layer, a heating resistance layer covering these glaze ribs, and one of the heating resistance layers facing the glazing layer An electrode pattern layer on the surface, an insulating protective layer on the electrode pattern layer, and a control circuit module electrically connected to the electrode pattern layer are contained.

  In one or more embodiments of the invention, the silicon substrate is integrally molded and has a maximum length of 12 inches to 64 inches (300 mm to 1600 mm).

  In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the silicon substrate is made of silicon single crystal or silicon polycrystal.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a thermal print head module having high and large dimensions and a highly planarized substrate, and it is possible to increase the size of a printer based on the thermal energy transfer principle.

  What has been described above is for describing the problem to be solved by the present invention, technical means for solving the problem, and effects thereof. Specific details of the present invention are described in the following embodiments. And the associated drawings.

The following description of the drawings is intended to facilitate understanding of the above and other objects, features, advantages, and embodiments of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for manufacturing a thermal printhead module according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the process 101 of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation of FIG. 2A. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation of FIG. 2A. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation of FIG. It is a top view which shows the thermal print head based on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a mimetic diagram showing a thermal print head module based on one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG.

  Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments of the present invention will be disclosed in the drawings. For the sake of clarity, many practical details are described below. However, it should be understood that these actual details are not intended to limit the invention. That is, in some of the embodiments of the present invention, these actual details are not necessary. Also, to simplify the drawings, some conventional structures and elements are shown schematically and simply in the drawings.

  In the prior art, a ceramic substrate is often adopted as a substrate for a thermal print head. However, in the process of heating and manufacturing a large ceramic substrate, the inventor provides a flat surface for placing the heating point because the ceramic substrate always has a dimension that is too large and a defective appearance such as warping occurs. Further, it was revealed that the yield of the thermal printhead module could not be improved. In view of this, the present invention produces a thermal printhead module having high and large dimensions and a highly planarized substrate by replacing a conventional ceramic substrate with a highly planarized silicon plate made of pillars having straight characteristics. Thus, large-sized printed products can be produced primarily. It should be understood that the thermal printhead module of the present invention can be applied to similar fields such as printers according to any thermal energy transfer principle, such as thermal sublimation printers, thermal transfer printers, label printers or poster printers. .

  FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a method for manufacturing a thermal printhead module according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the thermal printhead module manufacturing method 10 includes the following steps 101 to 106. Step 101 provides a silicon substrate. In step 102, a glazed layer is formed on the silicon substrate. In step 103, a heating resistance layer is formed on the glazed layer. In step 104, an electrode pattern layer is formed on the heating resistor layer. In step 105, an insulating protective layer is formed on the electrode pattern layer. In step 106, the control circuit module is electrically connected to the electrode pattern layer.

  FIG. 2A is a flowchart showing details of step 101 of FIG. 2B to 2C are schematic diagrams illustrating the operation of FIG. 2A. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, the above-described step 101 includes the following detailed steps 1011 to 1013. In detail step 1011, a silicon pillar 200 is provided as shown in FIG. 2B. As an example, the silicon pillar 200 is formed by a crystal growth process. The silicon pillar 200 approximates a cylindrical body, and is located between a first end surface 201, a second end surface 202 facing the first end surface 201, and the first end surface 201 and the second end surface 202, And a circumferential surface 203 surrounding the first end surface 201 and the second end surface 202. The silicon pillar 200 has an axial direction 210, that is, extends along the axial direction 210.

  Next, in the detailed process 1012, as shown in FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C, two opposing sides of the silicon pillar 200 are vertically cut. As an example, the silicon pillar 200 is separated into pieces by the pillar cutting machine 250, specifically, the first pillar 201 from the first end surface 201 of the silicon pillar 200 along the axial direction 210 of the silicon pillar 200 by the pillar cutting machine 250. The silicon pillar 200 is cut twice straightly through the two end faces 202 to remove the small arcuate column 220 and the large arcuate column 230 from the silicon pillar 200, respectively, and to obtain the intermediate layer plate 240 between them. It should be defined that the two opposing end faces of the small arcuate column 220 are both small arcuate surfaces 221 including chords 222 and subarcs 223, and the two opposing end surfaces of the large arcuate column 230 are Each is a large arcuate surface 231 including a chord 232 and a dominant arc 233.

  Finally, in the detailed step 1013, after obtaining the intermediate layer plate 240, two opposing main surfaces 241 of the intermediate layer plate 240 are polished so as to form the silicon substrate. In this way, the formation of the ceramic substrate requires a heating process, whereas the acquisition of a silicon substrate does not require a heating process, so the process can be further simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  In order to improve production efficiency, in another embodiment of the above-described detail process 1012, the pillar cutting machine 250 extends from the first end surface 201 of the silicon pillar 200 along the axial direction 210 of the silicon pillar 200. The silicon pillar 200 may be cut straight multiple times through the second end face 202 (not shown), each having two small arcuate columns of the same dimensions from the silicon pillar 200 (see the small arcuate column 220 in FIG. 2C). And obtaining a plurality of plate layers (see intermediate layer plate 240 in FIG. 2C) arranged parallel to each other between them, and in this way, two opposing major surfaces of each plate layer Can be polished. Any plate layer after polishing has been completed can immediately become the silicon substrate.

  3A to 3I are schematic views showing the operation of FIG. FIG. 4 is a top view showing a thermal print head according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3A, in one embodiment, the silicon substrate 310 to be taken out has a rectangular shape and has two opposing flat surfaces 311 and 312, and each flat surface 311, The length of 312 is, for example, 36 inches (900 mm). Alternatively, in one embodiment, the length of each flat surface 311, 312 of the silicon substrate 310 is, for example, at least in the range of 12 inches to 64 inches (300 mm to 1600 mm).

  As shown in FIG. 3A, more specifically, the step 102 includes the following detailed steps. A main layer 321 is formed over the entire surface so as to be on one flat surface 311 of the silicon substrate 310. Specifically, the glaze slurry layer is uniformly applied to the flat surface 311 of the silicon substrate 310 using a screen printing process, and the glaze slurry is baked and cured at a high temperature (1000 to 1200 ° C.). This process is to prevent the main layer 321 from storing heat energy and easily flowing away. Next, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 3B, after forming the main glaze layer 321, the plurality of glaze ribs 322 are spaced apart from one surface of the main glaze layer 321 opposite to the silicon substrate 310. Form. Specifically, a plurality of glaze ribs 322 are uniformly applied to one surface of the main glaze layer 321 opposite to the silicon substrate 310 using a screen printing process. These glaze ribs 322 are juxtaposed with the main glaze layer 321 at intervals, and each of the glaze ribs 322 is straight, continuously formed on the main glaze layer 321, and approximately 10 inches, for example. Long up to ~ 64 inches (250-1600 mm).

  As shown in FIG. 3C, more specifically, in the step 103, the heat generating resistive layer 330 is formed on the main cover layer 321 and the glaze rib 322 over the entire surface, and the heat generating resistive layer 330 is formed on the main cover layer 321 and these. The step of covering the entire surface of the glaze ribs 322 and forming a raised shape 331 corresponding to the glaze ribs 322 correspondingly is included.

  As shown in FIG. 3D, the step 104 includes more detailed steps as follows. A conductive metal layer 341 (for example, aluminum, copper, silver, or gold) is formed on one surface of the heating resistor layer 330 that faces the glazed layer 320. Next, after forming the conductive metal layer 341, as shown in FIG. 3E, the conductive metal layer 341 is formed so as to form etching openings 342 at local locations corresponding to these glaze ribs 322 of the conductive metal layer 341. The local portions of the 341 that overlap with the glaze ribs 322 are etched to expose the raised shapes 331 of the heating resistor layer 330 from the etching openings 342 formed in the conductive metal layer 341. Specifically, a photoresist is applied to one surface of the heat generating resistor layer 330 facing the glazed layer 320, and the photoresist is patterned by PEP (photo engraving process).

  As shown in FIG. 3F, the step 105 specifically includes an insulating protective layer 350, a part of which covers the electrode pattern layer 340, and a part of which covers the raised shape 331 of the heating resistance layer 330. As shown in FIG. 3G, after the detailed process of covering the entire surface of the electrode pattern layer 340 so as to enter the etching opening 342 so as to closely contact the heating resistance layer 330, and then forming the insulating protective layer 350, A detailed process of locally etching the insulating protective layer 350 to form a notch 351 that exposes a portion of the electrode pattern layer 340, thus forming a thermal printhead structure 260.

  As shown in FIG. 3H, the step 106 specifically includes a detailed step of electrically connecting the control circuit module 360 to the electrode pattern layer 340 of the thermal printhead structure 260 through the notch 351. The control circuit module 360 is, for example, a combination of a chip-on-film mounting structure 361 (Chip on Film; COF), an operation chip 362 and a circuit board (printed circuit board or flexible circuit board).

  In the present embodiment, when the thermal print head module 300 is not used, in order to effectively dissipate heat energy, after the step of electrically connecting the control circuit module 360, as shown in FIG. 3I, The manufacturing method of the present embodiment further includes connecting the heat dissipation structure 370 to another flat surface 312 of the silicon substrate 310, that is, one surface of the silicon substrate 310 opposite to the glazed layer 320. It should be mentioned that for convenience of naming, the thermal printhead module 300 in which the control circuit module 360 and the heat dissipation structure 370 are not yet connected is temporarily referred to as a thermal printhead structure 260.

  As shown in FIG. 3I, the thermal printhead module 300 includes a silicon substrate 310 having two opposing flat surfaces 311 and 312, a main layer 321 covered with one flat surface 311 of the silicon substrate 310, and a main substrate. A glazing layer 320 having a plurality of glaze ribs 322 arranged in parallel at an interval on one surface of the layer 321 facing the silicon substrate 310, a main glaze layer 321 and a heating resistance layer 330 covering these glaze ribs 322, An electrode pattern layer 340 on one surface of the heat generation resistance layer 330 facing the glazed layer 320, an insulating protective layer 350 on the electrode pattern layer 340, and a control circuit module 360 electrically connected to the electrode pattern layer 340 , And a heat dissipation structure 370 on another flat surface 312 of the silicon substrate 310. In this embodiment, the silicon substrate 310 is integrally formed and has a maximum length of, for example, 12 inches to 64 inches (300 mm to 1600 mm). The silicon substrate 310 is made of silicon single crystal or silicon polycrystal. The pitch G (FIG. 4) between any two glaze ribs 322 is 0.5-2 centimeters. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a thermal printhead module 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the control circuit module 360 includes a chip-on-film mounting structure 361, a plurality of operation chips 362, and a connection unit 363. These operation chips 362 are on the chip-on-film mounting structure 361 and are electrically connected to the chip-on-film mounting structure 361, for example, electrically connected to the chip-on-film mounting structure 361 via solder 364. The The connection unit 363 is for connecting internal circuits of the printer. The chip-on-film mounting structure 361 electrically connects the thermal printhead module 300 and the connecting unit 363, and, for example, the electrodes of the thermal printhead module 300 via an anisotropic conductive rubber 365 (ACF). The pattern layer 340 and the connection unit 363 are electrically connected. In this way, the thermal printhead module 300 is connected to the internal circuit of the printer via the control circuit module 360.

  It should be understood that in the present embodiment, the silicon pillar 200 is a single crystal silicon pillar 200 as an example. The reason for selecting and using the single crystal silicon pillar 200 is that the single crystal silicon pillar 200 has a characteristic capable of extending the length to 90 centimeters or more and is co-fired with the glazing layer material at a high temperature without separation. It can be done. Further, compared to the ceramic substrate, both the warp and the surface flatness of the single crystal silicon substrate 310 are far superior to the ceramic substrate. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the silicon pillar 200 may be a polycrystalline silicon pillar.

  Finally, although the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed as described above, this is not intended to limit the present invention, and those skilled in the art will recognize various modifications and changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Modifications can be made, so the protection scope of the present invention is based on what is specified in the claims that follow.

6-6 Line segment 10 Manufacturing method 101-106 Process 1011-1013 Detailed process 200 Silicon pillar 201 First end face 202 Second end face 203 Circumferential surface 210 Axial direction 220 Small arcuate column 221 Small arcuate surface 222 String 223 Subarc 230 Large bow column 231 Large bow surface 232 String 233 Super arc 240 Middle layer plate 241 Two opposing main surfaces of the middle layer plate 250 Pillar cutting machine 260 Thermal print head structure 300 Thermal print head module 310 Silicon substrate 311 312 Flat surface 320 Glazing layer 321 Main glaze layer 322 Glaze rib 330 Heating resistance layer 331 Raised shape 340 Electrode pattern layer 341 Conductive metal layer 342 Etching opening 350 Insulating protective layer 351 Notch 360 Control circuit module 361 Chip-on-film mounting Concrete 362 operation chip 363 connection unit 364 solder 365 anisotropic conductive rubber 370 radiating structure G pitch.

Claims (10)

Longitudinally cutting the two opposite sides of the silicon pillar to obtain a silicon substrate;
Forming a glazing layer, a heating resistor layer, an electrode pattern layer, and an insulating protective layer in order on the silicon substrate;
Electrically connecting a control circuit module to the electrode pattern layer;
A method of manufacturing a thermal printhead module including:   2. The method of manufacturing a thermal print head module according to claim 1, wherein the silicon pillar is a single crystal silicon pillar or a polycrystalline silicon pillar.   The method for manufacturing a thermal printhead module according to claim 1, wherein the silicon substrate has a length of 12 to 64 inches (300 mm to 1600 mm). Crossing two opposing sides of the silicon pillar so as to obtain the silicon substrate,
From one end surface of the silicon pillar to another end surface along the axial direction of the silicon pillar so as to obtain an intermediate layer plate between the two opposite sides of the silicon pillar, the silicon pillar Cutting the two opposite sides straight,
Polishing the interlayer plate to form the silicon substrate including opposing flat surfaces;
The manufacturing method of the thermal print head module as described in any one of Claims 1-3 containing this. Forming the glazed layer, the heating resistor layer, the electrode pattern layer, and the insulating protective layer in order on the silicon substrate,
Forming a main layer entirely on one side of the silicon substrate;
Forming a plurality of continuous glaze ribs juxtaposed at intervals on one surface of the main glaze layer opposite to the silicon substrate;
The manufacturing method of the thermal print head module as described in any one of Claims 1-4 containing this. Forming the glazed layer, the heating resistor layer, the electrode pattern layer, and the insulating protective layer in order on the silicon substrate,
Forming a conductive metal layer on one side of the heating resistor layer facing the glazed layer;
Etching local portions of the conductive metal layer that overlap each of the glaze ribs so as to expose the raised shape of the heating resistance layer covering the glaze ribs, respectively,
The manufacturing method of the thermal print head module of Claim 5 containing this. Electrically connecting the control circuit module to the electrode pattern layer,
Etching the insulating protective layer to form a notch that exposes a portion of the electrode pattern layer; and
Electrically connecting the control circuit module to the electrode pattern layer through the notch,
The manufacturing method of the thermal print head module as described in any one of Claims 1-5 containing these. A silicon substrate having two opposing flat surfaces;
A glaze layer having a main glaze layer covered with one of these flat surfaces, and a plurality of glaze ribs juxtaposed at intervals on one surface of the main glaze layer facing the silicon substrate;
A heating resistance layer covering the glaze layer and these glaze ribs;
An electrode pattern layer on one surface of the heating resistor layer facing the main layer;
An insulating protective layer on the electrode pattern layer;
A control circuit module electrically connected to the electrode pattern layer;
A thermal printhead module containing   The thermal printhead module according to claim 8, wherein the silicon substrate is integrally formed and has a maximum length of 12 inches to 64 inches (300 mm to 1600 mm).   The thermal printhead module according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the silicon substrate is made of silicon single crystal or silicon polycrystal.

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