JP2024039944A - Liquid ejection device, liquid ejection device control method, substrate processing device, and article manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a technology that is advantageous in reducing the time and amount of liquid used required for recovery processing of a nozzle with a discharge defect. [Solution] A liquid discharge device includes discharge elements that discharge liquid, a driver that drives the discharge elements, and a control unit that controls the driver. The driver is configured to prepare multiple types of data sets having pulse patterns in which the frequency decreases stepwise for each time segment of a predetermined length. Here, the frequencies of the pulse patterns differ among the multiple types of data sets. The control unit controls the driver to supply each of the multiple types of data sets to the discharge elements in order of the highest pulse pattern frequency to perform preliminary discharge. [Selected Figure] Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid ejection device, a method of controlling a liquid ejection device, a substrate processing device, and an article manufacturing method.

BACKGROUND ART In recent years, when manufacturing various functional elements, attempts have been made to apply material for the functional element onto a substrate to form a pattern or film (patterning) using an inkjet apparatus. Patterning using an inkjet device has the following advantages: on-demand patterning allows for high material usage efficiency, it is a non-vacuum process and the manufacturing equipment is relatively compact, and large areas can be coated at high speed. have.

By the way, in the above-mentioned inkjet apparatus, during dot pattern formation or during standby, ejection failure or quality problems may occur due to foreign matter adhering to the flow path or near the nozzle opening, thickening of ink, sedimentation of ink components, electrophoresis, etc. Problems such as disturbances may occur.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique that starts with a small amount of preliminary ejection, and then performs a medium amount of preliminary ejection and a large amount of preliminary ejection until recovery is confirmed. Patent Document 2 discloses that, in order to remove air bubbles within the print head, ink is discharged while increasing or decreasing the drive frequency of the print head.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-201076 Patent No. 2659954

However, in the recovery method described in Patent Document 1, recovery is performed while changing the preliminary ejection amount, and some nozzles may not be recovered. In addition, in the configuration described in Patent Document 2, preliminary ejection is performed for all nozzles while continuously changing the drive frequency, so the recovery process takes a long time and the amount of ink (liquid) consumed is also reduced. There will be more.

The present invention provides a technique that is advantageous in reducing, for example, the time required for recovery processing of a defective ejection nozzle and the amount of liquid used.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the invention includes an ejection element that ejects a liquid, a driver that drives the ejection element, and a control unit that controls the driver, and the driver performs a step every time segment of a predetermined length. The controller is configured to prepare a plurality of types of data sets having pulse patterns whose frequencies are lower than each other, wherein the frequencies of the pulse patterns are different among the plurality of types of data sets, and the control unit is configured to There is provided a liquid ejecting apparatus characterized in that the driver is controlled to perform preliminary ejection by supplying each of the data sets of the pulse pattern to the ejecting element in order from the highest frequency to the highest frequency of the pulse pattern.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique that is advantageous in reducing, for example, the time required for recovery processing of a defective ejection nozzle and the amount of liquid used.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an inkjet device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a control configuration for one ejection head. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between a residual signal waveform and an ejection failure state. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method of determining whether a nozzle is in an ejection failure state using a residual signal waveform. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating recovery processing using preliminary ejection. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a pulse pattern supplied to a nozzle. A diagram showing an example of multiple types of data sets. 1 is a flowchart showing an operation sequence of an inkjet device. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of applying a material for a functional element.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the claimed invention. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiments, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Furthermore, in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar components are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

The configuration and operating principle of an inkjet apparatus 1 (substrate processing apparatus) will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The inkjet apparatus 1, which can function as a substrate processing apparatus for processing substrates such as display panels and semiconductors, applies material for functional elements onto a substrate to form a pattern or a film. In the specification and drawings, directions are shown in an XYZ coordinate system in which the XY plane is a plane parallel to the plane on which the substrate 2 is arranged, as shown in FIG. The inkjet apparatus 1 includes, for example, a substrate stage 3 that holds and moves a substrate 2 of a display panel. The substrate 2 may be appropriately selected from glass substrates, plastic substrates, etc., depending on the target product to be manufactured. Although the substrate 2 is typically a plate-like member, it is not limited to a specific shape as long as it can function as a substrate. For example, the substrate 2 may be a deformable film or a circular substrate. The substrate 2 on the substrate stage 3 has a pixel area 201 for forming a large number of display pixels by applying ink. An evaluation area 202 is arranged above the substrate stage 3 where ink is ejected on a trial basis to evaluate the state of the ink. Alternatively, the evaluation area 202 may be provided in a specific area of the substrate 2. Note that in this specification, "ink" refers to a liquid used to form a pattern or a film on the substrate 2. In this specification, there are no particular limitations on the components of the ink, but for example, a liquid containing a solute and a solvent for forming an organic film can be used.

The inkjet device 1 includes an ejection head 5 (liquid ejection device) capable of ejecting ink droplets 4 toward a predetermined position on a substrate 2, and an ink supply system that supplies ink to the ejection head 5 from an ink tank 7 that stores ink. 6. The ejection head 5 includes a plurality of nozzles 19 (ejection elements) for ejecting ink. The ink tank 7 may be placed inside the inkjet device 1 or outside the inkjet device 1. The inkjet apparatus 1 may also include a recovery unit 8 that performs a cleaning process or the like on the ejection nozzles of the ejection head 5 to restore ejection characteristics.

When the substrate 2 is mounted on the substrate stage 3, a placement error may occur. Further, as the substrate 2 undergoes various manufacturing processes, shape distortions may occur in the substrate 2 in the X and Y directions. Therefore, the inkjet apparatus 1 can include an alignment scope 9 that measures the position of the substrate 2 and the amount of distortion of the substrate 2. In order to perform alignment measurement on the entire surface of the substrate 2, the alignment scope 9 and the substrate stage 3 are relatively driven in the XY directions. That is, the alignment scope 9 and/or the substrate stage 3 are driven in the XY directions. Further, the substrates mounted on the substrate stage 3 have variations in thickness. Therefore, when the ejection head 5 ejects ink while scanning the substrate stage 3 in the Y direction, variations in the landing positions of ink droplets on the substrate 2 may occur due to variations in the thickness of the substrate 2. Therefore, the inkjet apparatus 1 may also include a height sensor 10 that measures the position (height) of the substrate 2 in the Z direction. In order to measure the height of the entire surface of the substrate 2, the height sensor 10 and the substrate stage 3 are relatively driven in the XY directions. That is, the height sensor 10 and/or the substrate stage 3 are driven in the XY directions.

The main control unit 11 controls each part of the inkjet apparatus 1 and oversees patterning on the substrate 2. The main control unit 11 is, for example, a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Cipher). (abbreviation for rcuit), or the program is installed It may be configured by a general-purpose computer or a combination of all or part of these.

In one example, a plurality of ejection heads 5 are arranged in the X direction and the Y direction, and by individually controlling the ejection of ink droplets in each ejection head, a desired distribution can be created in the pixel area 201 on the substrate 2. Ink can be applied. FIG. 2 shows an example of a control configuration for one ejection head 5. As shown in FIG. The ejection head 5 may include a plurality of nozzles 19. Each of the plurality of nozzles 19 constitutes an ejection element including a piezoelectric element (ejection energy generating element). Each of the plurality of nozzles 19 is connected via a flexible cable F to a driver D that drives a piezoelectric element. The driver D is connected to a discharge control section C (control section). The discharge control unit C sends to the driver D a command (recovery processing command) for restoring an abnormal nozzle among the plurality of nozzles 19. The driver D applies a drive signal to the piezoelectric element of the abnormal nozzle in accordance with the received command and executes the recovery process. Note that the function of the discharge control section C may be realized by the main control section 11.

During the formation of a dot pattern using multiple nozzles 19 or during standby, ejection failure or poor quality may occur due to foreign matter adhering to the flow path or near the nozzle opening, thickening of ink, sedimentation of ink components, electrophoresis, etc. Problems such as disturbance may occur. This trouble occurs due to the comprehensive effects of various factors such as ejection time, flow path shape, distance from the electrode, and waiting time during which ejection has not occurred. The degree of trouble may vary from nozzle to nozzle.

The recovery unit 8 is used to recover from bubble clogging or severe nozzle clogging that cannot be recovered by preliminary ejection. However, the recovery process using the recovery unit 8 requires a long time, and the amount of ink used in the recovery process is extremely large. Therefore, recovery processing using the recovery unit 8 is performed only at the timing set as regular maintenance. In normal operation, preliminary ejection from the plurality of nozzles 19 is appropriately performed in the preliminary ejection area 20 to restore the defective ejection nozzle to a normal state.

The discharge failure state of each nozzle can be confirmed using a related signal (residual signal waveform) measured after the generation of a specific pressure wave. Specifically, the discharge control section C applies a specific pulse signal to the piezoelectric element via the driver D to operate the piezoelectric element. As the piezoelectric element is actuated, specific pressure waves are generated in the piezoelectric element. If this piezoelectric element is normal, ink will drop from the nozzle due to this pressure wave. At this time, the pressure waves generated by the piezoelectric element cause distortion in the piezoelectric element, and an electrical signal corresponding to the distortion is generated. This electrical signal is called a "residual signal." The ejection control unit C detects this electrical signal and determines the ejection failure state of the piezoelectric element based on the detected electrical signal.

FIG. 3(a) shows an example of the residual signal waveform. The horizontal axis shows time and the vertical axis shows potential. The residual signal waveform shown in FIG. 3(a) is a reference signal waveform that indicates the state of a nozzle that can stably discharge, and if a signal waveform equivalent to this is obtained, the nozzle is determined to be in a normal state. . As the discharge failure state of the nozzle progresses, this waveform changes as shown below.

As the discharge failure state of the nozzle progresses, the residual signal waveform changes from the state shown by the solid line to the state shown by the broken line, as shown in FIG. 3(b). Specifically, the first peak position shifts from T ₀ to T ₁ and T ₂ , and the signal period also becomes longer. As the ejection failure state progresses, the residual signal waveform transitions from broken line 1 to broken line 2. When preliminary ejection is performed on the nozzle in the ejection failure state at an appropriate frequency and the nozzle returns to a normal state, the residual signal waveform returns to the original reference waveform (solid line waveform) in FIG. 3(a).

The recovery process using preliminary ejection will be described with reference to FIGS. 4(a) to 4(d). FIG. 4(a) shows residual signal waveforms indicating an ejection failure state for each of the five nozzles A to E. The ejection failure state differs from nozzle to nozzle, and the residual signal waveform also differs from one another, as shown in FIG. 4(a). The process for recovering from the ejection failure state, which differs for each nozzle as shown in Fig. 4(a), to the normal state (reference waveform) shown in Fig. 3(a) through preliminary ejection is performed according to the following steps. be done.
(1) Determine a preliminary ejection frequency suitable for the defective state of the nozzle, and apply a pulse signal of this frequency to the nozzle.
(2) Apply the preliminary ejection frequency in the order starting from the one that is suitable for the nozzle with the worst nozzle condition.

By performing the above two procedures, a nozzle with ejection failure can be recovered. In one example, when there are multiple nozzles in different ejection failure states as shown in FIG. 4(a), the ejection control unit C controls the ejection failure states as shown in FIGS. are classified into multiple (3) groups. Thereafter, the ejection control section C performs preliminary ejection via the driver D at a frequency suitable for the ejection failure state for each group. For example, if the first peak is within area I including _T2 as shown in FIG. 4(d), the ejection control unit C determines that the nozzle E is in a severe ejection failure state. The ejection control unit C determines that the nozzle D is in a moderate ejection failure state when the first peak is within the area II including _T1 as shown in FIG. 4(c). Further, the ejection control unit C determines that the nozzles A, B, and C are in a mild ejection failure state when the first peak is within the area III including _T0 as shown in FIG. 4(b). Note that since nozzle A is in a normal state, the waveform of nozzle A in FIG. 4(b) is the same as the reference waveform in FIG. 4(a).

In this way, the ejection control unit C determines the ejection failure state based on the position of the first peak in the residual signal waveform, and controls the driver to apply a pulse signal with a frequency suitable for the ejection failure state to the nozzle to perform preliminary ejection. Control D. High-frequency preliminary ejection is suitable for a nozzle with severe ejection failure where the first peak of the residual signal waveform is in area I. Medium-frequency preliminary ejection is suitable for a nozzle with moderate ejection failure where the first peak of the residual signal waveform is in area II. Low-frequency preliminary ejection is suitable for a nozzle with mild ejection failure where the first peak of the residual signal waveform is in area III. In one example, radio frequency is a frequency within the range of 10 kHz to 50 kHz. Medium frequencies are frequencies within the range of 1 kHz to 10 kHz. Low frequencies are frequencies within the range of 100Hz to 1kHz.

With reference to FIGS. 5(a) to 5(d), a procedure for recovering the nozzle E shown in FIG. 4(d) which is in a severe ejection failure state will be described. FIG. 5(a) shows the same signal waveform as FIG. 4(d). As shown in FIG. 5A, the first peak position of the signal waveform indicating a defective state of the nozzle E is in area I, so high-frequency preliminary ejection is performed first. By performing this high-frequency preliminary ejection, the residual signal waveform has a shortened signal period and an earlier initial peak position, as shown in FIG. 5(b), and transitions to area II. In response to the transition of the first peak position to area II, medium frequency preliminary ejection is performed. By performing this medium-frequency preliminary ejection, the residual signal waveform has a signal period further shortened and the first peak position further advances, as shown in FIG. 5(c), and transitions to area III. Low frequency preliminary ejection is performed in response to the transition of the first peak position to area III. By performing this low-frequency preliminary ejection, the residual signal waveform returns to the reference waveform as shown in FIG. 5(d), and the recovery process is completed.

According to the recovery processes shown in FIGS. 5(a) to 5(d) above, the degree of recovery due to each recovery process can be predicted without checking the residual signal waveform. For example, driver D uses a data set (a combination of high, medium, and low ejection frequencies) that has a pulse pattern in which the frequency decreases step by step for each time segment of a predetermined length, as shown in Figure 6. Preliminary ejection may also be performed. In the example of FIG. 6, the pulse pattern may include the following pulse train.
(1) a first pulse train of high frequency (e.g., 50 kHz) corresponding to severe nozzle discharge failure in the first time segment;
(2) a second pulse train of medium frequency (e.g., 5 kHz) corresponding to a moderate discharge failure of the nozzle in a second time segment following the first time segment;
(3) A third pulse train at a low frequency (eg, 500 Hz) in a third time segment following the second time segment, corresponding to a minor discharge failure of the nozzle.

However, when applying the same data set shown in FIG. 6 to multiple nozzles with different ejection failure states, especially for nozzles whose ejection failure states and preliminary ejection frequencies do not match, Recovery ability is low. As shown in FIG. 7, the driver D prepares in advance a plurality of types of data sets having different frequencies so that the same recovery effect can be obtained for a plurality of nozzles with different ejection failure states. That is, the frequencies of the pulse patterns are different between multiple types of data sets. Each data set may be stored in a memory inside or outside the driver D and read out for use, or each data set may be generated as needed. The ejection control unit C controls the driver D to perform preliminary ejection by supplying each of the plurality of types of data sets to the nozzle in order from the one with the highest pulse pattern frequency. In the example of FIG. 7, Set 1 includes a 50 kHz pulse train in a first time segment, a 5 kHz pulse train in a second time segment, and a 500 Hz pulse train in a third time segment. Set 2 includes a 30 kHz pulse train in a first time segment, a 3 kHz pulse train in a second time segment, and a 300 Hz pulse train in a third time segment. Set 3 includes a 10 kHz pulse train in a first time segment, a 1 kHz pulse train in a second time segment, and a 100 Hz pulse train in a third time segment. By supplying to the nozzle and performing preliminary ejection in the order of the pulse pattern with the highest frequency, that is, in the order of set 1, set 2, and set 3, the nozzle can be reliably recovered in a short time.

Note that in the examples of FIGS. 6 and 7, the frequencies of the signals forming each set are three types, but the frequency is not limited thereto. The frequency of the signals constituting each set may be two types, or may be four or more types. The recovery state of the nozzles may be checked, and if a plurality of unrecovered nozzles occur, the number of frequency types of signals forming each set may be increased.

Referring to FIG. 8, the operation sequence of the inkjet device 1 will be described. In S<b>801 , the main control unit 11 controls a substrate transport device (not shown) to transport the substrate 2 into the inkjet apparatus 1 . In S802, the ejection control unit C performs recovery determination of the plurality of nozzles 19 of the ejection head 5. Recovery determination is performed by determining whether the first peak position of the residual signal waveform is equal to that of the reference waveform. Specifically, the discharge control unit C applies a specific pulse signal to the nozzle via the driver D to operate the nozzle, and responds to the distortion of the nozzle caused by the pressure wave generated with the operation of the nozzle. The residual electrical signal is detected as a residual signal. Thereafter, the ejection control unit C determines the ejection failure state of the nozzle based on a comparison between the first peak position of the residual signal waveform and the peak position of the reference waveform. Note that the recovery determination for the plurality of nozzles 19 may be performed before ink is ejected. If there is a nozzle determined to be defective in ejection in this recovery determination, in S803, the ejection control unit C executes the above-described nozzle recovery process for the nozzle. That is, in the nozzle recovery process, the ejection control unit C acquires a plurality of types of data sets having pulse patterns whose frequency decreases stepwise for each time segment of a predetermined length. Here, the frequencies of the pulse patterns are different among the plurality of types of data sets. After that, the ejection control unit C supplies each of the plurality of types of data sets to the nozzle in order from the one with the highest pulse pattern frequency to perform preliminary ejection. Note that the above nozzle recovery determination and recovery processing may be performed by the main control unit 11.

In S804, the main control unit 11 controls the substrate stage 3 and the alignment scope 9 to measure the alignment of the substrate 2. In S805, the main control unit 11 controls the substrate stage 3 and the height sensor 10 to measure the height of the substrate 2. Note that the order of the alignment measurement in S804 and the height measurement in S805 may be reversed. Information regarding the position, amount of distortion, and height of the substrate 2 obtained by alignment measurement and height measurement is stored in a memory within the main control unit 11, for example. The main control unit 11 obtains ejection control information based on pixel data formed on the substrate 2 that includes information such as pixel arrangement and pixel size. The ejection control information includes information indicating the target application distribution of ink in the pixel area 201 and the evaluation area 202 on the substrate 2.

In S806, the ejection control unit C performs recovery determination of the plurality of nozzles 19 of the ejection head 5. The recovery determination is performed by determining whether the first peak position of the residual signal waveform is equal to that of the reference waveform as described above. If there is a nozzle determined to be defective in ejection in this recovery determination, in S807, the ejection control unit C executes the above-described nozzle recovery process for the nozzle.

In S808, the main control unit 11 controls the ejection of ink droplets by the ejection head 5 based on the target application distribution via the ejection control unit C while driving the ejection head 5 and the substrate stage 3 synchronously. In order to form a large number of functional elements on a substrate using the inkjet apparatus 1, the material for the functional elements is applied by relatively scanning the application area where ink is applied and the ejection head 5. FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the application of materials for such a functional element. In FIG. 9, a substrate surface 101 is the surface of the substrate 2 on which the functional element 102 is formed. Arrow lines 103, 104, 105, and 106 indicate the scanning direction. Since FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram, only 7×5 functional elements 102 are shown, but in reality, a very large number of functional elements can be formed.

In S809, the main control unit 11 determines whether or not ejection to the target coating distribution is complete based on the ejection control information. If ejection is not complete, the process returns to S806, and if ejection is complete, the process proceeds to S810. In S810, the main control unit 11 controls a substrate transport device (not shown) to transport the substrate 2 out of the inkjet device 1.

<Embodiment of article manufacturing method>
The article manufacturing method according to the embodiment of the present invention is suitable for manufacturing articles such as display panels such as organic EL, microdevices such as semiconductor devices, and elements having fine structures. The article manufacturing method of the present embodiment includes a step of discharging a liquid onto a substrate using the inkjet device described above to form a discharged liquid film, and drying the substrate on which the discharged liquid film is formed to form a dry film. and manufacturing an article from the substrate on which the dry film is formed. Additionally, such article manufacturing methods include other well-known steps such as baking, cooling, cleaning, oxidation, deposition, vapor deposition, doping, planarization, etching, resist stripping, dicing, bonding, packaging, etc. The article manufacturing method of this embodiment is advantageous in at least one of article performance, quality, productivity, and production cost compared to conventional methods.

The disclosure of this specification includes at least the following liquid ejection apparatus, liquid ejection apparatus control method, substrate processing apparatus, and article manufacturing method.
(Item 1)
a discharge element that discharges liquid;
a driver that drives the ejection element;
a control unit that controls the driver;
Equipped with
The driver is configured to prepare multiple types of data sets having pulse patterns whose frequency decreases stepwise for each time segment of a predetermined length, and here, the frequency of the pulse pattern is adjusted between the multiple types of data sets. are different from each other,
The control unit controls the driver to perform preliminary ejection by supplying each of the plurality of types of data sets to the ejection element in order from the one with the highest pulse pattern frequency.
A liquid ejection device characterized by:
(Item 2)
The plurality of types of data sets are
a first data set having a pulse pattern whose frequency decreases stepwise for each time segment of the predetermined length;
a second data set having a pulse pattern whose frequency is lowered stepwise in each time segment of the predetermined length, the second data set having a frequency lower than the frequency of the first data set in each time segment;
a third data set having a pulse pattern in which the frequency decreases stepwise in each time segment of the predetermined length, the third data set having a frequency lower than the frequency of the second data set in each time segment;
The liquid ejection device according to item 1, characterized in that the liquid ejection device includes:
(Item 3)
The pulse pattern is
a high-frequency first pulse train corresponding to severe ejection failure of the ejection element in a first time segment;
a second pulse train of a medium frequency corresponding to a moderate ejection failure of the ejection element in a second time segment following the first time segment;
a low-frequency third pulse train corresponding to a mild ejection failure of the ejection element in a third time segment following the second time segment;
3. The liquid ejection device according to item 1 or 2, comprising:
(Item 4)
The high frequency is a frequency within the range of 10kHz to 50kHz, the medium frequency is a frequency within the range of 1kHz to 10kHz, and the low frequency is a frequency within the range of 100Hz to 1kHz. The liquid ejection device according to item 3.
(Item 5)
The ejection element includes a piezoelectric element,
The control unit includes:
Applying a specific pulse signal to the piezoelectric element via the driver to actuate the piezoelectric element, and detecting an electric signal corresponding to distortion of the piezoelectric element caused by a pressure wave generated with the operation of the piezoelectric element. ,
controlling the driver to perform preliminary ejection using the plurality of types of data sets when it is determined that the ejection element is defective in ejection based on the detected electrical signal;
The liquid ejection device according to any one of items 1 to 4, characterized in that:
(Item 6)
A method for controlling a liquid ejection device including an ejection element that ejects a liquid, the method comprising:
obtaining a plurality of types of data sets having pulse patterns whose frequency decreases stepwise for each time segment of a predetermined length;
performing preliminary ejection by supplying each of the plurality of types of data sets to the ejection element in order from the one with the highest pulse pattern frequency;
A control method characterized by having the following.
(Item 7)
A substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate,
a stage that holds and moves the substrate;
The liquid ejection device according to any one of items 1 to 5, which ejects a liquid onto the substrate held by the stage;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
(Item 8)
a step of discharging a liquid onto the substrate using the substrate processing apparatus according to item 7;
processing the substrate onto which the liquid has been discharged;
A method for manufacturing an article, comprising: manufacturing an article from the processed substrate.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the following claims are hereby appended to disclose the scope of the invention.

1: Inkjet device (substrate processing device), 2: Substrate, 3: Substrate stage, 5: Ejection head (liquid ejection device), 9: Alignment scope, 10: Height sensor, 11: Main control unit, 19: Nozzle ( discharge element)

Claims (8)

a discharge element that discharges liquid;
a driver that drives the ejection element;
a control unit that controls the driver;
Equipped with
The driver is configured to prepare multiple types of data sets having pulse patterns whose frequency decreases stepwise for each time segment of a predetermined length, and here, the frequency of the pulse pattern is adjusted between the multiple types of data sets. are different from each other,
The control unit controls the driver to perform preliminary ejection by supplying each of the plurality of types of data sets to the ejection element in order from the one with the highest pulse pattern frequency.
A liquid ejection device characterized by: The plurality of types of data sets are
a first data set having a pulse pattern whose frequency decreases stepwise for each time segment of the predetermined length;
a second data set having a pulse pattern whose frequency is lowered stepwise in each time segment of the predetermined length, the second data set having a frequency lower than the frequency of the first data set in each time segment;
a third data set having a pulse pattern in which the frequency decreases stepwise in each time segment of the predetermined length, the third data set having a frequency lower than the frequency of the second data set in each time segment;
The liquid ejection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the liquid ejection device includes: The pulse pattern is
a high-frequency first pulse train corresponding to severe ejection failure of the ejection element in a first time segment;
a second pulse train of a medium frequency corresponding to a moderate ejection failure of the ejection element in a second time segment following the first time segment;
a low-frequency third pulse train corresponding to a mild ejection failure of the ejection element in a third time segment following the second time segment;
The liquid ejection device according to claim 1, further comprising: The high frequency is a frequency within the range of 10kHz to 50kHz, the medium frequency is a frequency within the range of 1kHz to 10kHz, and the low frequency is a frequency within the range of 100Hz to 1kHz. The liquid ejection device according to claim 3. The ejection element includes a piezoelectric element,
The control unit includes:
Applying a specific pulse signal to the piezoelectric element via the driver to actuate the piezoelectric element, and detecting an electric signal corresponding to distortion of the piezoelectric element caused by a pressure wave generated with the operation of the piezoelectric element. ,
controlling the driver to perform preliminary ejection using the plurality of types of data sets when it is determined that the ejection element is defective in ejection based on the detected electrical signal;
The liquid ejection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A method for controlling a liquid ejection device including an ejection element that ejects a liquid, the method comprising:
obtaining a plurality of types of data sets having pulse patterns whose frequency decreases stepwise for each time segment of a predetermined length;
performing preliminary ejection by supplying each of the plurality of types of data sets to the ejection element in order from the one with the highest pulse pattern frequency;
A control method characterized by having the following. A substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate,
a stage that holds and moves the substrate;
The liquid ejection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which ejects a liquid onto the substrate held by the stage;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: A step of discharging a liquid onto the substrate using the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7;
processing the substrate onto which the liquid has been discharged;
A method for manufacturing an article, comprising: manufacturing an article from the processed substrate.

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