JP2976086B2 - Manufacturing method of thermal print head - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a thermal print head, and more particularly to a method for manufacturing a thermal print head in which printing quality is improved by increasing the pressure concentration on recording paper. This type of thermal print head can be applied to any thin film type thermal print head incorporated in a printing unit such as a thermal printer, a thermal transfer printer, a label printer, a facsimile, a word processor, a typewriter, a card printer, an image printer, and a time clock. .

For example, as shown in FIG. 12, a cross section of a serial type thermal print head 3 in which a heater section 2 is formed near an end face of a head substrate 1 is as shown in FIG. That is, a partial glaze 4 having an arcuate cross section is formed near the end face of the substrate 1, and the resistor layer 5 is formed as a thin film on the substrate surface including the surface of the partial glaze 4. Further, a common electrode pattern 6 and an individual electrode pattern 7 are formed as a thin film of a conductive metal on the resistor layer 5 so as to leave a predetermined width region near the top of the partial glaze 4.
The common electrode pattern 6 and the individual electrode pattern 7
FIG. 14 shows a plan view, for example, and a rectangular resistor layer region 8 on the partial glaze 4 which faces between the individual electrode pattern 7 and the common electrode pattern 6 which are turned on.
Are individually driven to generate heat. That is, FIG. 13 and FIG.
In 4, the region indicated by reference numeral 8 functions as a heater.

As shown in FIG. 15, the thermal print head 3 as described above is manufactured in such a manner that a plurality of unit print heads 9 are formed at once from a material substrate 10 having a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. . That is, not only is the formation of the partial glaze 4 performed at a time by printing and baking, but also the formation of the thin film of the resistor layer 5 and the subsequent formation of the common electrode pattern 6 and the individual electrode pattern 7 by the so-called photolithography method are performed as described above. This is performed collectively for the material substrate 10.

On the other hand, in order to further increase the pressure concentration on the recording paper, and to achieve the optimum peeling behavior of the ink ribbon from the recording paper during printing, and to achieve high printing quality on rough paper having large surface irregularities. Recently, Figure 1
As shown in FIG. 1, a structure has been proposed in which a part of the partial glaze 4 is obliquely deleted, a convex glaze corner 11 having a large curvature is provided, and the heater section 8 is provided around the glaze corner 11. (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-24)
No. 4861).

In the glaze corner 11, as shown in FIG. 2, after a partial glaze 4 is collectively formed in each unit head region 9 of the material substrate 10, the glaze corner 11 is shown in FIGS. 3 (a), 3 (b) and 3 (c). The dicing blade 12 having the inclined peripheral surface 12a
To form a half cut in the longitudinal direction of the partial glaze 4.

[0006]

Ideally, the glaze corner 11 is slightly wider than the center or the center of the partial glaze 4 in the width direction as shown in FIG. It is preferable to set at a position deviated inside the substrate. However, if no care is taken, the planar displacement between the dicing blade 12 and the partial glaze 4 during half-cutting, the abrasion of the dicing blade 12, or the variation in the cutting depth of the dicing blade 12 may cause a problem. In the case where the glaze corner 11 is formed so as to be shifted to the outside of the substrate from the predetermined position as shown in FIG. 16 (a), or is formed to be shifted to the inside of the substrate from the predetermined position as shown in FIG. 16 (b) Occurs. Also, for the same reason, when divided into unit substrates, FIG.
Burrs 13 as shown in FIG. 6B may remain.

[0007] As shown in FIG.
If 1 is formed shifted to the outside of the substrate, the angle of this corner becomes insufficient, and even if a heater portion is formed in this portion, a predetermined printing pressure cannot be obtained or the glaze volume becomes larger than a predetermined value. Too much, causing variations in print quality. Further, if the glaze corner 11 is formed shifted to the inside of the substrate as shown in FIG. 16 (b), the glaze volume becomes too smaller than a predetermined value, which also causes a variation in print quality. When the burrs 13 as shown in FIG. 16B remain, the ink ribbon is caught on the burrs, causing the ribbon to break, causing a head running failure, or causing the recording paper to be damaged.

If the positions of the glaze corners are different as shown in FIGS. 16 (a) and 16 (b), when the heater 8 is formed on the glaze corner 11 by the photolithography method, It is difficult to form the heater portion 8 at an optimum position in the width direction.

The present invention has been conceived under the above circumstances. In a thermal print head in which a glaze corner is provided in a glaze and a heater portion is formed in the glaze corner, the position of the glaze corner is determined. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method capable of reducing the variation of the thermal printhead and stably mass-producing a thermal printhead having a constant performance.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the inventions of the present application employ the following technical means.

That is, according to the invention of claim 1, a glaze corner having a large curvature is provided in the glaze formed on the substrate,
A method of manufacturing a thermal print head in which a heater portion is formed in the glaze corner, wherein the glaze corner is formed by the following steps. (a) A plurality of rows in the vertical direction, using a material substrate having a plurality of rows of unit head areas in the horizontal direction, along the edges extending in the horizontal direction of each head area, the edges extending on the same line in the horizontal direction. A step of collectively forming glazes by printing and firing. (b) forming a half-cut position setting marker on the material substrate; (c) Using a dicing blade having an inclined peripheral surface, by performing a half cut on the material substrate by moving the dicing blade in the lateral direction of the material substrate in accordance with the mark for the half cut, to each glaze or material substrate Forming a slope to form the glaze corner.

In the step (b), a mark for confirming a half-cut width may be formed on the material substrate (claim 2), and a mark for confirming a position of a glaze corner may be formed on the glaze. It can also be formed (claim 3).

The marker for setting the half-cut position, the marker for confirming the half-cut width or the marker for confirming the glaze corner position in the step (b) can be formed by a photolithography method. This photolithography method comprises the steps of: forming a film for marking on the material substrate with an etchable material; forming a photoresist film on the film for marking; and exposing and developing using a photomask. Patterning the resist film, and removing the film for marking exposed without being covered with the photoresist film by etching. Preferably, the alignment of the photomask is performed at the position of the glaze. (Claim 5).

After forming a glaze corner having a large curvature in the glaze by each of the above-described methods, a heater portion is preferably formed in the glaze corner by the following method. That is, the heater section is formed by a photolithography method, and at this time, the mask alignment in the photolithography method is performed with reference to a reflected light line from the glaze corner or a light / dark boundary line of the reflected light. 6).

[0015]

The glaze formed on the substrate has an arcuate cross section if it is a partial glaze. The glaze corner is formed by moving a rotary dicing blade having an inclined peripheral surface along the edge of the glaze to make a half cut on the substrate and forming an inclined surface on the glaze or the substrate. In the present invention, since the half-cut position setting marker is formed on the glaze-formed substrate, for example, the above-described half-cut position setting marker is aligned with the axial end surface of the dicing blade. By performing cutting, it is easy to form a glaze corner at a constant position in the width direction of the glaze.

If a half-cut width confirming mark is formed together with the half-cut position setting sign (claim 2), it can be easily confirmed whether the half-cut width is as specified. . Since the dicing blade has an inclined peripheral surface, a difference in the cutting depth of the dicing blade causes a difference in half-cut width, which also affects the position of the glaze corner on the glaze. If the half-cut width is not as prescribed, immediately adjust the cutting depth of the dicing blade or replace the dicing blade with a new one so that the half-cut of the correct width is performed. I can deal with it.

Furthermore, if the glaze corner position confirmation mark is formed on the glaze together with the half-cut position adjustment mark, the glaze corner formed on the glaze as a result of the half-cut is adjusted to a predetermined width direction of the glaze. It is possible to directly check whether the position is properly formed. If the glaze corner is not formed at an appropriate position, it means that there is a problem with the position of the dicing blade or the cutting depth. It can be corrected appropriately.

The half-cut position setting marker, the half-cut width confirmation marker, and the glaze corner position confirmation marker are simultaneously and easily formed by a photolithography method commonly used in the field of electronic component manufacturing. (Claims 4 and 5). If the mask alignment for that purpose is performed, for example, with reference to the glaze position, in particular, the half-cut position setting marker is formed at a constant and accurate position with respect to the glaze corner, so that the above-described operation and effect are more appropriately exhibited. Will be able to do it.

From the above, according to the method of the present invention,
The glaze corner formed in the glaze can be formed at an accurate position without variation, and a thermal print head having a predetermined printing performance can be efficiently manufactured with high yield.

Incidentally, even if the position of the glaze corner formed on the glaze by the above-mentioned method is slightly deviated, the mask alignment for forming the heater portion in the glaze corner by the photolithography method must be performed. When the reflection is performed on the basis of the reflected light line from the glaze corner or the light / dark boundary line of the reflected light (claim 6), the positional deviation of the heater portion thus formed with respect to the glaze corner is almost eliminated, and the good printing performance is enhanced. Will be maintained.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to FIGS. In these drawings, the same or equivalent members or portions as those shown in the drawings after FIG. 12 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of rows (three rows in the illustrated example) and a plurality of unit head areas 9 in the horizontal direction (three rows in the illustrated example) are made of a predetermined insulating material such as alumina ceramic. Each unit head area 9 on the material substrate 10
The partial glaze 4 is formed along the edge 9a extending in the lateral direction. In this embodiment, at the same time as the formation of the partial glaze 4, two dummy glazes are formed in the horizontal margin of the material substrate 10 so as to be aligned with the respective partial glazes 4 formed in the center column in the vertical direction. 14 are formed.

The partial glaze 4 and the dummy glaze 14 are formed by batch printing and firing using the same printing screen (not shown) so as to have the same cross-sectional shape. Each of the glaze 4 and the dummy glaze 14 has an arcuate cross section as shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in detail in FIG. 4 (b), a marker 15 for setting a half-cut position, a marker 16 for confirming a half-cut width, and a glaze used for setting the position of the dicing blade 12 in a substrate half-cutting step described later. The corner position confirmation mark 17 is formed.

Each of the markers 15, 16, 17 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), assuming that the dicing blade 12 having the inclined peripheral surface 12 is moved in the longitudinal direction of the glaze at a predetermined cutting depth to perform half cutting,
It is formed in a predetermined planar positional relationship.

In the present embodiment, the half-cut position setting marker 15 is a half-cut line marker 15b for aligning the axial end surface 12b of the dicing blade 12, and the glaze width of a cut line formed by the end surface 12b of the dicing blade 12. And a half-cut displacement confirmation mark 15b that can easily confirm the degree of displacement in the direction. The half-cut line marker 15a is formed over the entire travel distance of the dicing blade 12,
Preferably, the half-cut shift confirmation mark 15b is
At both ends of the half-cut line marker 15a,
Two places are formed. This half cut gap confirmation sign 15
b is constituted by three triangular marks arranged in the glaze width direction, and by determining the length of one side of the triangle, the actual cut line is shifted from the normal position (the vertex position of the center triangle). The degree of deviation can be easily visually confirmed.

The half-cut width confirmation marker 16 is a marker for confirming whether or not the cut line position where the inclined peripheral surface 12a of the dicing blade 12 cuts the substrate is at a predetermined position. Even dicing blade 12
Of the half cut line marker 15
a dicing blade 12
If the cutting depth is not appropriate, the cut line position at which the inclined peripheral surface 12a cuts the substrate surface changes in the glaze width direction. In the embodiment, the half-cut width confirmation mark 16 is also formed by three triangular marks arranged in the glaze width direction, and the substrate surface cut line by the inclined peripheral surface 12a of the dicing blade 12 is positioned at a regular position (center position). The degree of deviation from the apex of the triangle) can be easily visually confirmed.

The glaze corner position confirming sign 17
In order to directly confirm whether or not the glaze corner 11 provided by forming an inclined portion on the glaze 4 or the substrate 10 by the above-described half cut is formed in an allowable range, the glaze 4 is formed on the glaze 4 surface. Is formed. In the embodiment, in this case as well, three triangular marks arranged in the glaze width direction are formed.
The extent to which the glaze corner 11 deviates from the normal position on the glaze 4 (the vertex position of the center triangle) can be visually confirmed easily.

Each of the markers 15, 16 and 17 is preferably formed by subjecting the material substrate 10 on which the partial glaze 4 and the dummy glaze 14 are formed to a photolithography method. That is, a film is formed on the entire surface of the material substrate 10 by sputtering, vapor deposition, printing, or the like using an etchable material such as aluminum, and then a photoresist film is formed. A patterning process is performed on the photoresist film by a development process, and then a film for marking that is exposed without being covered with the photoresist is removed by etching, and finally, the photoresist is completely removed. Can be. The pattern of the photomask corresponds to each of the markers 15, 16, and 17 shown in FIG. 4 (b).
From the above-described film formation for the sign, each sign 15, shown in FIG.
Portions other than the black portions 16 and 17 are removed by etching.

The markers 15, 16, and 17 may be formed for all three glazes in the vertical direction of the substrate. However, if the reference relative position of the dicing blade 12 in the vertical direction of the substrate is determined, it is based on this. If the dicing apparatus is configured so that dicing can be automatically performed for each row, it is sufficient to form only the dummy glazes 14 formed at both ends of the center row in the vertical direction of the substrate.

Here, in order to ensure the accuracy of the formation positions of the markers 15, 16 and 17, it is necessary to properly perform photomask alignment in the photolithography method. In this case, it is appropriate to perform the alignment based on the position of the glaze 4, and for example, an alignment key 18 as shown in FIG. 5 is formed on the photomask. As shown in FIG.
8 is composed of two comb-shaped marks each having five comb teeth, and as shown in FIG.
Mask alignment is performed such that the number of comb teeth in each of the upper marks is the same. In this way, the mask alignment can be performed with the center line of the glaze 4 as a reference. However, it is of course that the linear alignment key may be simply aligned with the edge of the glaze.

In the half-cutting step, as described above, the predetermined cutting depth is set so that the end face 12b of the dicing blade 12 is aligned with the half-cut line marker 15a of the half-cut position setting marker 15. , Half cut. If this half-cutting step is performed properly, the substrate surface configuration will be as shown in FIG. That is, the end surface 12b of the dicing blade 12
Is cut line mark 15
Half cut misalignment confirmation sign 1 that extends along a
5b, the cut line formed by the inclined peripheral surface 12a of the dicing blade 12 passes through the central triangle vertex of the half-cut width confirmation mark 16, and the glaze corner line on the glaze 4 is at the glaze corner position. It passes through the central apex of the triangle of the confirmation mark 17.

In particular, whether or not the half-cut width is within a predetermined range and whether or not the glaze corner 11 is within a predetermined allowable range can be easily confirmed by each of the above-mentioned marks. For example, the setting position of the dicing blade 12 in the glaze width direction or the cutting depth can be adjusted immediately to cope with the formation of an appropriate glaze corner.

After the formation of the glaze corner 11, the marks 15, 16, and 17 remaining on the substrate surface are removed by etching or the like, and then, as shown in FIG. The glaze surface is smoothed by removing burrs and return.

Since the formation of the glaze corner 11 by the half-cut is performed along the longitudinal direction of each of the glazes 4, the half-cut of the partial glazes 4 and the dummy glazes 14 arranged in the center row in the longitudinal direction of the material substrate is performed. The cross section after the process is the same.

Then, after forming a resistor layer 5 on the surface of the material substrate 10 including the glazes 4 and 14 by sputtering or the like, a predetermined width region of the resistor layer 5 sandwiching the glaze corner 11 is left. Thus, a common electrode pattern 6 and an individual electrode pattern 7 are formed (see FIG. 1).

Specifically, first, as shown in FIG. 7A, a conductor layer 19 is formed by sputtering or the like so as to overlap the resistor layer 5, and then the conductor layer 19 and the conductor layer 19 are formed by photolithography. Unnecessary portions of the resistor layer 5 are removed to form a common electrode pattern 6 and an individual electrode pattern 7 having a sectional shape as shown in FIG. 1 and a planar pattern as shown in FIG.

That is, a photoresist (not shown) applied on the conductor layer 19 formed on the resistor layer 5
The pattern is removed by a photolithography method using a photomask (not shown), and the exposed conductor layer 19 having a predetermined pattern is removed by etching.

In the portion where the conductor layer film is removed as described above, in other words, in the glaze cross section, the portion sandwiched between the common electrode pattern 6 and the individual electrode pattern 7
Although the resistor layer portion exposed at the glaze corner 11 functions as the heater section 8 (see FIG. 1), the positional accuracy of the heater section 8 depends on the precision of the mask alignment of the photomask. Become.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the above mask alignment is performed with reference to the reflected light line 21 from the glaze corner 11 of the light applied to the surface of the substrate 10 from the light source 20 disposed on the substrate. I have.

More specifically, for example, an alignment mark 22 as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B is formed on the photomask, and as shown in FIG. Are aligned with the alignment marks 22 to position the photomask. When the curvature of the glaze corner 11 is large, the reflected light line 21
The reflected light line 21 itself may coincide with the alignment mark 22. However, when the curvature of the glaze corner 11 is small, that is, when the round shape of the glaze corner is gentle, the reflection The light line 21 has a predetermined width. In this case, the alignment mark 22 may be aligned with the light / dark boundary line 21a of the reflected light line 21 having a width.

When the light source 20 is provided obliquely above the substrate as shown in FIG. 7, the reflected light line 21 appears slightly shifted from the top of the glaze corner 11 in the direction of the light source 20, but in this case, The correction may be performed in accordance with the shift amount, or the alignment mark 22 may be formed at a position corresponding to the shift amount. When the light source 20 is provided above the substrate as shown in FIG. 9, the reflected light line 21 slightly expands in the width direction. In this case, the mask alignment is performed with reference to the light / dark boundary line 21a of the reflected light value. Should be performed. In this case, in order to make the reflected light line 21 as narrow as possible, it is desirable to set the surface curvature radius of the partial glaze 4 to 2000 μm or less.

The mask alignment as described above may be performed with reference to the reflected light line 21 from the glaze corner 11 in the partial glaze 4 in any one of the head regions. However, as shown in FIG. If dummy glazes 14 and 14 are provided in the margins and the reflected light line from the glaze corner 11 of the dummy glaze is used as a reference, even if the size of each unit head area is different due to a difference in model, the dummy glaze 14 is provided. Can be formed at a substantially constant position, and the mask alignment apparatus can be standardized.

In the case where the dummy glaze 14 is provided, as shown in FIG. 2, two dummy glazes are provided, and the mask alignment is performed with reference to the reflected light lines 21 from the glaze corners 11 of the two dummy glazes 14, 14. Is performed, the position of the photomask in the θ direction can also be set accurately.

Further, in this embodiment, when the heater portion 2 is formed in the glaze corner 11 of each of the glazes 4 and 14 in the photolithography method, for example, as shown in FIG. The heater position deviation confirmation pattern 23 is formed. That is, specifically, a pattern as shown in FIG. 10 is formed on the dummy glaze 14 by etching the conductor layer 19. Since the heater position shift confirmation pattern 23 is formed on the photomask together with the pattern of the heater portion with respect to the formation of the heater portion, the planar position of the heater portion 8 formed on each of the glazes 4 and 14 is determined. And have a certain relationship.

The heater position shift confirmation pattern 23 shown in FIG.
Indicate the width direction range where the center in the width direction of the heater section 8 should be located. Therefore, when the heater section 8 is formed and the same light as when the heater section 8 is formed is applied. If the reflected light line 21 is located as shown in FIG. 10, the heater section 8 is formed within a predetermined range in the glaze width direction. By forming such a heater position deviation check pattern 23, it is possible to extremely easily check whether or not the heater position is properly formed within a predetermined accuracy.

On the material substrate 10 on which the heater section 8 has been formed as described above, when a drive IC is mounted, a region for the drive IC, and a protective glass coating, sputtering, or CVD except for the terminal portion except for the terminal portion A protective layer is formed 24, and the substrate is finally divided to obtain a thermal print head 3 as shown in FIG. The substrate division is performed by performing a full cut on the material substrate 10 using a full-cut dicing blade 25 as shown in FIG. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, the action of the full-cut dicing blade 25 so as to be applied to the inclined surface 26 formed on the substrate at the time of half-cut, as shown in FIG. It is desirable in order not to leave any flash 13.

FIG. 11 shows a thermal print head 3 having a so-called full-surface glaze 4 ', in which an inclined surface by half cutting is formed at the edge of the full-surface glaze 4' to form a glaze corner 11 '.
An example of a structure in which a heater section 8 'is formed in 1' is shown. Also in this structural example, the point that the dicing blade 12 is used to perform half-cutting and thereby form the glaze corner 11 'is the same as the case of the structure typically shown in FIG. In carrying out the steps, the method of the present invention can be similarly applied.

As can be understood from the above description, according to the method of manufacturing a thermal print head of the present invention, a thermal print head in which the glaze corner 11 is formed on the glaze 4 on the substrate and the heater section 8 is formed on the glaze corner. Printheads can now be manufactured with consistent quality and high yield.

Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Although the embodiment shown in the figure is an example in which the present invention is applied to the manufacture of a serial type thermal print head, the present invention can be similarly applied to the manufacture of a line type thermal print head. The method for forming the half-cut position setting marker, the half-cut width confirmation marker, and the glaze corner position confirmation marker to be formed on the material substrate in the half-cut is not limited to the photolithography method, and is also used for the half-cut position setting. Whether to form the half-cut width confirmation marker and the glaze corner position confirmation marker along with the formation of the marker is an optional matter. In addition, the specific shapes of the half-cut position setting marker, the half-cut width confirmation marker, and the glaze corner position confirmation marker are not limited to the illustrated examples.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of an example of a thermal print head manufactured by a method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a material substrate showing a state in which a partial glaze is formed in each head region and a dummy glaze is formed at the same time in an example of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a step of forming a glaze corner in the glaze and the dummy glaze, and is a diagram III in FIG. 2;
FIG. 3 is a diagram corresponding to a section taken along line III.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a half-cut position setting marker, a half-cut width confirmation marker and a glaze corner position confirmation marker formed on a glaze-formed substrate in the method of the present invention, and a positional relationship with a dicing blade. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a half-cut position setting marker, a half-cut width confirmation marker, and a glaze corner position confirmation marker formed by a photolithography method. It is an explanatory view of a key and an alignment state.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional shape of a substrate when half-cutting is properly performed, and a state of a substrate surface on which the above-described half-cut position setting marker, half-cut width confirmation marker, and glaze corner position confirmation marker are formed. FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which light applied to a substrate from an oblique direction forms a reflected light line in a glaze corner when a heater is formed in a partial glaze by a photolithography method.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are explanatory views of an example of an alignment mark formed on a photomask in order to perform photomask alignment in accordance with a reflected light line as shown in FIG. (c) is an explanatory diagram showing how the alignment mark of (a) is aligned with the reflected light line appearing at the glaze corner of the dummy glaze.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where light applied from above to a substrate forms a reflected light line in a glaze corner when a heater portion is formed on a partial glaze by a photolithography method.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a heater position confirmation pattern formed on a dummy glaze at the same time as a heater portion is formed by patterning in a glaze corner of each partial glaze by a photolithography method.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a main part of another example of a thermal print head manufactured by the method of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a thermal print head manufactured by the method of the present invention.

13 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional structure of the thermal print head of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of an example of a common electrode pattern and an individual electrode pattern to be formed by patterning on a substrate including a partial glaze.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a state in which a partial glaze is formed in each unit head region of a material substrate in a conventional manufacturing method.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a problem when a glaze corner is processed and formed in a partial glaze.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 head substrate 4 partial glaze 5 resistor layer 6 common electrode pattern 7 individual electrode pattern 8 heater section 9 unit head area 10 material substrate 11 glaze corner 12 (for half-cut) dicing blade 12a (dicing blade) inclined peripheral surface 12b ( Axial end surface of dicing blade 14 Dummy glaze 15 Half cut position setting sign 16 Half cut width confirmation sign 17 Glaze corner position confirmation sign 26 (for full cut) Dicing blade

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a thermal print head, comprising: forming a glaze corner having a large curvature on a glaze formed on a substrate; and forming a heater section on the glaze corner. The glaze corner includes the following steps: Characterized by being formed by. (a) Using a material substrate having a plurality of rows in the vertical direction and a plurality of rows of unit head areas in the horizontal direction, along the edges extending in the horizontal direction of each head area, and extending the edges extending on the same line in the horizontal direction. A step of collectively forming glazes by printing and firing. (b) forming a half-cut position setting marker on the material substrate; (c) Using a dicing blade having an inclined peripheral surface, by performing a half cut on the material substrate by moving the dicing blade in the lateral direction of the material substrate in accordance with the mark for the half cut, to each glaze or material substrate Forming a slope to form the glaze corner. 2. In the step (b), a mark for confirming a half-cut width is formed on the material substrate.
The method of claim 1. 3. In the step (b), a glaze corner position confirmation mark is formed on the glaze.
3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mark for setting a half-cut position, the mark for confirming a half-cut width or the mark for confirming a glaze corner position in the step (b) is formed by a photolithography method. 5. The photolithography method comprises the steps of: forming a film for a mark on the material substrate with an etchable material; forming a photoresist film on the film for the mark; Applying a pattern removal to the photoresist film by a development process;
Etching the mark film exposed without being covered with the photoresist film, and performing alignment of the photomask with reference to the glaze position. Method 4. 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein after forming a glaze corner having a large curvature on the glaze formed on the material substrate, a photolithography method is used to form a heater portion in the glaze corner. A method of manufacturing a thermal print head, wherein mask alignment in the method is performed with reference to a reflected light line from the glaze corner or a light / dark boundary line of the reflected light.