JP4475042B2 - Method for manufacturing liquid jet head - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid droplets, a method for manufacturing the same, and a liquid ejecting apparatus, and more particularly, by pressurizing ink supplied to a pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle opening for ejecting ink droplets by a piezoelectric element. The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head that discharges ink droplets from nozzle openings, a method for manufacturing the same, and an ink jet recording apparatus.

  A part of the pressure generation chamber communicating with the nozzle opening for discharging ink droplets is constituted by a vibration plate, and the vibration plate is deformed by a piezoelectric element to pressurize the ink in the pressure generation chamber to discharge ink droplets from the nozzle opening. Two types of ink jet recording heads have been put into practical use: those using a longitudinal vibration mode piezoelectric actuator that extends and contracts in the axial direction of the piezoelectric element, and those using a flexural vibration mode piezoelectric actuator. As an example of using an actuator in a flexural vibration mode, for example, a uniform piezoelectric material layer is formed over the entire surface of the diaphragm by a film forming technique, and this piezoelectric material layer is formed into a pressure generating chamber by a lithography method. A device in which a piezoelectric element is formed so as to be cut into a corresponding shape and independent for each pressure generating chamber is known.

  In such an ink jet recording head, generally, a nozzle plate having a plurality of nozzle openings for ejecting ink droplets is bonded to a flow path forming substrate in which a pressure generating chamber is formed by an adhesive. It has a structure. For this reason, if the pressure generating chambers (piezoelectric elements) are arranged at high density as described above, the bonding area between the nozzle plate and the flow path forming substrate is reduced, and useless adhesive may flow excessively into the pressure generating chamber. There is. Then, there is a problem that the nozzle opening is blocked by the adhesive flowing out into the pressure generating chamber, resulting in ejection failure.

  As a structure for preventing such an adhesive from flowing out into the pressure generating chamber, for example, there is a structure in which a flow path substrate is provided with an adhesive relief groove including a plurality of independent recesses (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, when such a plurality of adhesive escape grooves are provided, the volume of the adhesive escape grooves becomes relatively small, and the amount of adhesive flowing in is limited. Therefore, there is a problem that it is not possible to sufficiently prevent the useless adhesive from flowing into the pressure generating chamber or the like. In addition, for example, it is conceivable to form a bonding escape groove by penetrating through the flow path forming substrate, but it is not preferable because the rigidity of the flow path forming substrate is lowered. That is, when the rigidity of the flow path forming substrate is lowered, there is a problem that when the nozzle plate is heated after being joined, the flow path forming substrate is cracked due to thermal expansion. Such a problem exists not only in an ink jet recording head that ejects ink droplets but also in other liquid ejecting heads that eject droplets.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-157063 (FIG. 1)

  In view of such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid ejecting head, a manufacturing method thereof, and a liquid ejecting apparatus that can prevent ejection failure and prevent a flow path forming substrate from being destroyed.

The first aspect of the present invention for solving the above problems is that a nozzle plate having a nozzle opening and a plurality of pressure generating chambers made of a silicon single crystal substrate having a plane orientation (110) and communicating with the nozzle opening are different. A flow path forming substrate formed by isotropic etching and provided with a piezoelectric element including a lower electrode, a piezoelectric layer, and an upper electrode through a vibration plate on one surface side of the flow path forming substrate. The surface on the nozzle plate side has a groove portion which is provided between the plurality of pressure generating chambers and contains an adhesive for bonding the flow path forming substrate and the nozzle plate, and the groove portion is at least one of the grooves. The liquid ejecting head has a non-penetrating portion that does not penetrate the flow path forming substrate.
In the first aspect, when the flow path forming substrate and the nozzle plate are bonded, the wasteful adhesive flows into the groove portion, thereby preventing the wasteful adhesive from entering the pressure generating chamber. In addition, since the groove portion has the non-penetrating portion, the flow path forming substrate has a relatively high rigidity, so that it is possible to prevent the flow path forming substrate from cracking due to thermal expansion during heating. Further, by providing the groove portion between the rows of the pressure generating chambers, which is a region where wasteful adhesive easily flows out, it is possible to more reliably prevent the adhesive from flowing into the pressure generating chambers.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided the liquid jet head according to the first aspect, wherein the groove portion includes only the non-penetrating portion.
In the second aspect, since the rigidity of the flow path forming substrate is maintained at a higher level, it is possible to more reliably prevent the flow path forming substrate from being cracked.

According to a third aspect, in the liquid ejecting head according to the first or second aspect, the groove is formed continuously by connecting a plurality of concave portions.
In the third aspect, since the depth of the groove portion becomes shallow between the concave portions, the rigidity of the flow path forming substrate can be maintained relatively easily.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid jet head according to any one of the first to third aspects, the groove is continuously provided around the row of the pressure generating chambers so as to surround the three sides. In the liquid ejecting head,
In this 4th aspect, since the volume of a groove part becomes large, a useless adhesive agent can be reliably poured in into a groove part.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is a liquid ejecting apparatus including the liquid ejecting head according to any one of the first to fourth aspects.
In the fifth aspect, it is possible to realize a liquid ejecting apparatus that can improve the liquid ejection characteristics and improve the durability.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a step of forming a piezoelectric element on one side of a flow path forming substrate made of a silicon single crystal substrate having a plane orientation (110), and a mask film having a predetermined shape on the flow path forming substrate. A plurality of pressure generating chambers penetrating the flow path forming substrate in the thickness direction by the wet etching, and at the same time non-penetrating the flow path forming substrate on the other surface side of the flow path forming substrate. Forming a groove having a penetrating portion between rows of a plurality of pressure generating chambers, and adhering the nozzle plate in which a nozzle opening communicating with the pressure generating chamber is formed on the other surface side of the flow path forming substrate And the step of forming the groove portion includes wet etching the flow path forming substrate from the plurality of independent openings provided in the mask film to form a plurality of recesses. In the method of manufacturing a liquid jet head, characterized in that finally ligated to each recess and the groove portion adjacent to.
In the sixth aspect, when forming the pressure generating chamber, the groove can be formed at the same time. Therefore, the groove can be formed without complicating the manufacturing process.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the method of manufacturing a liquid jet head according to the sixth aspect, the plurality of openings are arranged so as to overlap with the openings adjacent in the length direction of the groove. In the method of manufacturing a liquid jet head, the recesses are connected in the vicinity of the end point of etching of the recesses to form the groove.
In the seventh aspect, since the amount of etching of the flow path forming substrate is suppressed, the groove portion having the non-penetrating portion can be formed relatively easily at the same time as the pressure generating chamber or the like.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments.
(Embodiment 1)
1 is an exploded perspective view showing an ink jet recording head according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view and a sectional view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of a flow path forming substrate. And FIG. As shown in the drawing, the flow path forming substrate 10 is composed of a silicon single crystal substrate having a plane orientation (110) in this embodiment, and has a thickness of 0.5 to 2 μm formed in advance on one surface thereof by thermal oxidation. An elastic film 50 made of silicon dioxide is provided. The flow path forming substrate 10 is provided with two rows 13 in which a plurality of pressure generating chambers 12 defined by the partition walls 11 are arranged in parallel. Further, a communication portion 14 is formed in an area outside each row 13 of the pressure generation chambers 12 of the flow path forming substrate 10, and the communication portion 14 and each pressure generation chamber 12 are communicated with each other via the ink supply path 15. ing. The communication unit 14 communicates with a reservoir unit 32 of the protective substrate 30 described later and constitutes a part of the reservoir 100 that serves as a common ink chamber for the pressure generation chambers 12. The ink supply path 15 is formed with a narrower width than the pressure generation chamber 12, and maintains a constant flow path resistance of ink flowing into the pressure generation chamber 12 from the communication portion 14. The pressure generating chamber 12, the communication portion 14, and the ink supply path 15 are formed by anisotropically etching the flow path forming substrate 10, which is a silicon single crystal substrate having a plane orientation (110).

  Further, at least around the row 13 of the pressure generating chambers 12 of the flow path forming substrate 10, as shown in FIG. 3A, groove portions 16 are arranged around the row 13 of the pressure generating chambers 12 in three directions. It is provided continuously so as to surround it. For example, in the present embodiment, the groove 16 is continuously provided from a region between the rows 13 of the pressure generation chambers 12 to a region on both outer sides in the parallel direction of the pressure generation chambers 12. In the region outside the direction, the region corresponding to the ink supply path 15 and the communication portion 14 is continuously formed. The groove 16 is in a state in which an adhesive 25 for bonding a nozzle plate 20 and a flow path forming substrate 10 described later flows into the groove 16.

  Moreover, this groove part 16 has a non-penetrating part which does not penetrate the flow path forming substrate 10 at least in part. For example, in this embodiment, the groove part 16 is configured only by the non-penetrating part. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3B, the groove 16 is continuously formed by connecting a plurality of recesses 17 and penetrates the flow path forming substrate 10 in the thickness direction in all regions. It is formed without. The groove portion 16 is formed simultaneously with the pressure generation chamber 12 and the like by anisotropically etching the flow path forming substrate 10, and the inner surface of the groove portion 16 is composed of the same crystal plane as the inner surface of the pressure generation chamber 12. ing.

  Here, the anisotropic etching is performed by utilizing the difference in etching rate of the silicon single crystal substrate. For example, in this embodiment, when the flow path forming substrate 10, which is a silicon single crystal substrate having a plane orientation (110), is immersed in an alkaline solution such as KOH, the flow path forming substrate 10 is gradually eroded and becomes (110) on the surface. A first (111) plane perpendicular to the plane, and a second (111) forming an angle of about 70 degrees with the first (111) plane and an angle of about 35 degrees with the (110) plane of the surface A surface appears. Since the etching rate of the (111) plane is about 1/180 compared to the etching rate of the (110) plane, the etching is substantially terminated when the (111) plane appears.

  In the present embodiment, the long side of each pressure generating chamber 12 is formed by the first (111) plane and the short side is formed by the second (111) plane. Further, the pressure generation chamber 12 is formed by etching until it substantially passes through the flow path forming substrate 10 and reaches the elastic film 50. In addition, since the elastic film 50 is also affected by an alkaline solution that etches the silicon single crystal substrate, the etching amount in the depth direction is substantially reduced by etching the flow path forming substrate 10 until the elastic film 50 is reached. To finish.

  Similarly to the pressure generation chamber, the groove 16 is also formed by anisotropically etching the flow path forming substrate 10, and the inner surface of the groove 16 is also the first (111) and second (111) surfaces. It is configured. However, as described above, the groove portion 16 is formed without penetrating the flow path forming substrate 10 in the thickness direction, unlike the pressure generation chamber 12 and the like. This point will be described later in detail.

  The thickness of the flow path forming substrate 10 may be selected in accordance with the arrangement density of the pressure generating chambers 12. For example, if the arrangement density is about 180 dpi, the thickness of the flow path forming substrate 10 is In this embodiment, since the pressure generating chambers 12 are arranged at a relatively high density of 200 dpi or more, the thickness of the flow path forming substrate 10 is 100 μm or less. It is preferable to make it relatively thin, about 70 μm. This is because the arrangement density can be increased while maintaining the rigidity of the partition wall 11 between the adjacent pressure generation chambers 12.

On the opening surface side of the flow path forming substrate 10, in the vicinity of the end of each pressure generating chamber 12 opposite to the ink supply path 15 through a mask film 52 used as a mask when forming the pressure generating chamber 12. A nozzle plate 20 having a nozzle opening 21 communicating therewith is fixed via an adhesive 25. The nozzle plate 20 has a thickness of, for example, 0.01 to 1 mm, a linear expansion coefficient of 300 ° C. or less, for example, 2.5 to 4.5 [× 10 ⁻⁶ / ° C.], glass ceramics, silicon It consists of a single crystal substrate or stainless steel.

  On the other hand, as described above, the elastic film 50 having a thickness of, for example, about 1.0 μm is formed on the side opposite to the opening surface of the flow path forming substrate 10. An insulator film 55 made of zirconium or the like and having a thickness of, for example, about 0.4 μm is formed. Further, the insulator film 55 is made of platinum, iridium or the like and has a thickness of, for example, a lower electrode film 60 of about 0.2 μm and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) or the like. A piezoelectric layer 300 is formed by laminating a piezoelectric layer 70 of 1.0 μm and an upper electrode film 80 made of iridium or the like, for example, having a thickness of about 0.05 μm by a process described later. Here, the piezoelectric element 300 refers to a portion including the lower electrode film 60, the piezoelectric layer 70, and the upper electrode film 80. In general, one electrode of the piezoelectric element 300 is used as a common electrode, and the other electrode and the piezoelectric layer 70 are patterned for each pressure generating chamber 12. In addition, here, a portion that is configured by any one of the patterned electrodes and the piezoelectric layer 70 and in which piezoelectric distortion is generated by applying a voltage to both electrodes is referred to as a piezoelectric active portion. In this embodiment, the lower electrode film 60 is a common electrode of the piezoelectric element 300, and the upper electrode film 80 is an individual electrode of the piezoelectric element 300. However, there is no problem even if this is reversed for the convenience of the drive circuit and wiring. In either case, a piezoelectric active part is formed for each pressure generating chamber. Further, here, the piezoelectric element 300 and the vibration plate that is displaced by driving the piezoelectric element 300 are collectively referred to as a piezoelectric actuator. In the example described above, the elastic film 50, the insulator film 55, and the lower electrode film 60 serve as a diaphragm.

  In addition, a lead electrode 90 made of, for example, gold (Au) or the like is connected to the upper electrode film 80 of each piezoelectric element 300, and a voltage is selectively applied to each piezoelectric element 300 via the lead electrode 90. Is applied.

  A protective substrate 30 having a piezoelectric element holding portion 31 is bonded to the surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 on the piezoelectric element 300 side in an area facing the piezoelectric element 300 with an adhesive 35. The piezoelectric element holding portion 31 is formed to have a size that integrally covers the plurality of piezoelectric elements 300, and each piezoelectric element 300 is arranged in the piezoelectric element holding portion 31. Thereby, each piezoelectric element 300 is protected in a state hardly affected by the external environment. Note that the piezoelectric element holding portion 31 is not necessarily sealed.

  In addition, the protective substrate 30 is provided with a reservoir portion 32 that constitutes at least a part of the reservoir 100. As described above, the reservoir portion 32 communicates with the communication portion 13 of the flow path forming substrate 10, and the reservoir 100 is formed by the reservoir portion 32 and the communication portion 14. In addition, examples of the material of the protective substrate 30 include glass, ceramic material, metal, resin, and the like, but it is more preferable that the material is substantially the same as the coefficient of thermal expansion of the flow path forming substrate 10. In this embodiment, the silicon single crystal substrate made of the same material as the flow path forming substrate 10 is used.

  Two drive ICs 200 for selectively driving two rows of piezoelectric elements 300 arranged side by side are mounted on each of the regions corresponding to each row of the pressure generating chambers 12 on the protective substrate 30. The drive IC 200 and the lead electrode 90 drawn out from each piezoelectric element 300 are electrically connected by a drive wiring 210 made of a bonding wire extending through a through hole 33 provided in the protective substrate 30. Yes.

  In addition, a compliance substrate 40 including a sealing film 41 and a fixing plate 42 is bonded to a region on the protective substrate 30 facing the reservoir portion 32. Here, the sealing film 41 is made of a material having low rigidity and flexibility (for example, a polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) film having a thickness of 6 μm). It has been stopped. The fixing plate 42 is made of a hard material such as metal (for example, stainless steel (SUS) having a thickness of 30 μm). Since the region of the fixing plate 42 facing the reservoir 100 is an opening 43 that is completely removed in the thickness direction, one surface of the reservoir 100 is sealed only with a flexible sealing film 41. Thus, it is a flexible part that can be deformed by a change in internal pressure.

  In such an ink jet recording head of this embodiment, after taking ink from an ink introduction port connected to an external ink supply means (not shown) and filling the interior from the reservoir 100 to the nozzle opening 21, an external (not shown) Are applied between the lower electrode film 60 and the upper electrode film 80 corresponding to the pressure generating chamber 12 in accordance with a recording signal from the driving circuit of the elastic film 50, the insulator film 55, the lower electrode film 60, and By bending and deforming the piezoelectric layer 70, the pressure in each pressure generation chamber 12 is increased and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle openings 21.

  Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing such an ink jet recording head will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 are sectional views of the pressure generating chamber 12 in the longitudinal direction. 7 and 8 are diagrams showing the pattern shape of the opening 53 of the mask film 52. FIG.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4A, a flow path forming substrate wafer 110 made of a silicon wafer and integrally formed with a plurality of flow path forming substrates 10 is thermally oxidized in a diffusion furnace at about 1100 ° C. A silicon dioxide film 51 constituting the elastic film 50 is formed. In this embodiment, a silicon wafer having a relatively thick film thickness of about 625 μm and a high rigidity is used as the flow path forming substrate wafer 110.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, an insulator film 55 made of zirconium oxide is formed on the elastic film 50 (silicon dioxide film 51). Specifically, after forming a zirconium (Zr) layer on the elastic film 50 (silicon dioxide film 51) by, for example, sputtering, the zirconium layer is thermally oxidized in a diffusion furnace at 500 to 1200 ° C., for example. Thus, the insulator film 55 made of zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ) is formed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, for example, after the lower electrode film 60 is formed by laminating platinum and iridium on the insulator film 55, the lower electrode film 60 is patterned into a predetermined shape. Next, as shown in FIG. 4 (d), a piezoelectric layer 70 made of, for example, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) or the like, and an upper electrode film 80 made of, for example, iridium, are connected to the wafer 110 for flow path forming substrate. The piezoelectric element 300 is formed by patterning the piezoelectric layer 70 and the upper electrode film 80 in regions facing the pressure generation chambers 12.

The material of the piezoelectric layer 70 constituting the piezoelectric element 300 includes, for example, a ferroelectric piezoelectric material such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT), niobium, nickel, magnesium, bismuth, ytterbium, or the like. A relaxor ferroelectric or the like to which a metal is added is used. The composition may be appropriately selected in consideration of the characteristics, application, etc. of the piezoelectric element 300. For example, PbTiO ₃ (PT), PbZrO ₃ (PZ), Pb (Zr _x Ti _1-x ) O ₃ (PZT) ), Pb (Mg _1/3 Nb _2/3 ) O ₃ -PbTiO ₃ (PMN-PT), Pb (Zn _1/3 Nb _2/3 ) O ₃ -PbTiO ₃ (PZN-PT), Pb (Ni ₁ ) _{/ 3 Nb 2/3) O 3 -PbTiO} 3 (PNN-PT), Pb (In 1/2 Nb 1/2) O 3 -PbTiO 3 (PIN-PT), Pb (Sc 1/3 Ta 1/2 _{) O 3 -PbTiO 3 (PST-} PT), Pb (Sc 1/3 Nb 1/2) O 3 -PbTiO 3 (PSN-PT), BiScO 3 -PbTiO 3 (BS-PT), BiYbO 3 -PbTiO 3 (BY PT), and the like.

  The method for forming the piezoelectric layer 70 is not particularly limited. For example, in this embodiment, a so-called sol in which a metal organic material is dissolved and dispersed in a catalyst is applied, dried, gelled, and further fired at a high temperature. The piezoelectric layer 70 was formed by using a so-called sol-gel method for obtaining a piezoelectric layer 70 made of an oxide.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5A, a lead electrode 90 is formed. Specifically, first, a metal layer made of, for example, gold (Au) or the like is formed over the entire surface of the flow path forming substrate wafer 110. Then, a mask pattern (not shown) made of, for example, a resist or the like is formed on the metal layer, and the lead electrode 90 is formed by patterning the metal layer for each piezoelectric element 300 through the mask pattern.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, a protective substrate wafer 130 in which a plurality of protective substrates 30 are integrally formed is bonded onto the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 with an adhesive 35. Here, a piezoelectric element holding portion 31, a reservoir portion 32, and the like are formed in advance on the protective substrate wafer 130. Further, the protective substrate wafer 130 is a silicon wafer having a thickness of about 400 μm, for example, and the rigidity of the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 is significantly improved by bonding the protective substrate wafer 130.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, after the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 is polished to a certain thickness, it is further wet-etched with fluorinated nitric acid. Make it thick. For example, in this embodiment, the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 is processed to have a thickness of about 70 μm by polishing and wet etching. Next, as shown in FIG. 6A, a mask film 52 made of, for example, silicon nitride (SiN) is newly formed on the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 and patterned into a predetermined shape. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 is anisotropically etched (wet etching) through the mask film 52, and the pressure generating chamber 12 is applied to the flow path forming substrate wafer 110. The communication part 13 and the ink supply path 14 are formed. Specifically, by etching the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 with an etchant such as an aqueous potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution until the elastic film 50 is exposed, the pressure generating chamber 12, the communication portion 13, and the ink The supply path 14 is formed at the same time.

  Further, in the present invention, when the pressure generating chamber 12 and the like are formed by anisotropically etching the flow path forming substrate wafer 110, the groove portion 16 is simultaneously formed. That is, by performing anisotropic etching of the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 through the plurality of openings formed in the mask film 52, the groove 16 continuous to the predetermined region as described above is formed in the flow path forming substrate. The wafer 110 is formed without penetrating in the thickness direction.

  Here, the shape of the opening of the mask film 52 formed to form the groove 16 may be determined as appropriate, but differs depending on the position of the groove 16. Specifically, each opening 53 for forming the groove 16 in the region between the rows 13 of the pressure generating chambers 12 is, for example, substantially L-shaped as shown in FIG. It formed so that it might become a shape. Each opening 53A is formed so as to slightly overlap the adjacent opening 53A in the length direction of the groove 16. On the other hand, the opening 53B for forming the groove 16 in the region outside the juxtaposed direction of the pressure generating chambers 12 is formed to have a substantially S shape as shown in FIG. 8A, for example. Each of the openings 53B is also formed so as to slightly overlap with the adjacent opening 53B in the length direction of the groove 16, similarly to the opening 53A. The length direction of the groove 16 referred to here is the direction in which the pressure generating chambers 12 are juxtaposed in the region between the rows 13 of the pressure generating chambers 12 and in the region outside the juxtaposed direction of the pressure generating chambers 12. The direction perpendicular to the direction in which the pressure generation chambers 12 are arranged.

  Then, when the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 is anisotropically etched from the plurality of openings 53A and 53B, the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 is gradually eroded as described above, and the surface (110) A first (111) plane perpendicular to the plane, and a second (111) forming an angle of about 70 degrees with the first (111) plane and an angle of about 35 degrees with the (110) plane of the surface A surface 17 appears and a recess 17 is formed. At the same time, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 8B, the mask film 52 is also etched, and the regions of the openings 53A and 53B gradually expand (FIGS. 7C and 8C). )). Then, as shown in FIGS. 7D and 8D, the openings 53A and 53B are finally connected to each other, and the connected portions of the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 are removed, and the recesses 17 are formed. Connected. Thereby, the groove part 16 is continuously formed in the predetermined region without penetrating the flow path forming substrate 10 (see FIG. 3). And the inner surface of the groove part 16 formed in this way is comprised by the same crystal plane as the pressure generation chamber 12.

  In addition, the depth of each groove part 16 (concave part 17) is decided by the width and length of the opening part 53, and it is necessary to determine suitably according to the depth of the groove part 16. FIG. However, if the openings 53 of the mask film 52 are overlapped in a very wide range, the openings 53 are connected at an early stage, and the amount of etching of the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 increases and the grooves 16 are formed. This is not preferable because the depth becomes too deep. In addition, if the size of each opening 53 is too small, the groove portion 16 becomes too deep for the same reason, which is not preferable.

  Thus, the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 is anisotropically etched through the plurality of openings 53 having a predetermined shape provided in the mask film 52 to form the groove portions 16, thereby forming the flow path forming substrate wafer 110. The groove 16 having a predetermined depth can be formed relatively easily without penetrating through. Further, since the groove 16 can be formed simultaneously with the formation of the pressure generating chamber 12 and the like penetrating the flow path forming substrate wafer 110, the manufacturing process is not complicated.

  After the pressure generating chamber 12, the groove 16 and the like are formed on the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 in this way, the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 and the nozzle plate 20 are bonded to the adhesive 25 as shown in FIG. Glue through. At this time, useless adhesive flows into the groove 16 and the adhesive 25 does not flow excessively into the pressure generating chamber 12 or the nozzle opening 21. In the present embodiment, since the groove portions 16 are continuously provided so as to surround the three sides around the row 13 of the pressure generating chambers 12, even when the amount of wasted adhesive is relatively large, the pressure generation is performed. It is possible to reliably prevent the adhesive from flowing into the chamber 12 or the like. Thereby, the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 (flow path forming substrate 10) and the nozzle plate 20 can be satisfactorily bonded, and characteristic deterioration due to adhesion can be prevented.

  Further, when the adhesive 25 flows into the pressure generating chamber 12, when the adhesive 25 reaches the diaphragm, there is a problem that the amount of displacement of the diaphragm due to the driving of the piezoelectric element 300 is reduced. Further, there is a problem that crosstalk occurs due to a difference in the amount of the adhesive 25 flowing into each pressure generating chamber 12. However, according to the configuration of the present invention, the occurrence of such a problem can be reliably prevented.

  Furthermore, since the groove 16 is formed without penetrating the flow path forming substrate wafer 110, the rigidity of the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 (flow path forming substrate 10) is maintained relatively high. For example, when the groove portion 16 is formed with a depth of about half the thickness of the flow path forming substrate 10, it is about 1.5 times as compared with the case where the groove portion penetrates the flow path forming substrate 10. To the extent, the rigidity of the flow path forming substrate 10 is improved. Therefore, even when the flow path forming substrate 10 (flow path forming substrate wafer 110) and the nozzle plate 20 are bonded and then heated, the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 (flow path forming substrate 10) is caused by thermal expansion. Generation of cracks can be prevented.

  After the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 and the nozzle plate 20 are bonded in this way, the compliance substrate 40 is bonded to the protective substrate wafer 130 so that the outer peripheral edge of the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 or the like is unnecessary. The portion is removed by cutting by, for example, dicing. Then, by dividing the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 and the like into one chip size as shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet recording head having the above-described structure is manufactured.

(Other embodiments)
While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the basic configuration of the ink jet recording head is not limited to that described above. Such an ink jet recording head constitutes a part of a recording head unit including an ink flow path communicating with an ink cartridge or the like, and is mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus. FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing an example of the ink jet recording apparatus. As shown in FIG. 9, in the recording head units 1A and 1B having the ink jet recording head, cartridges 2A and 2B constituting ink supply means are detachably provided, and a carriage 3 on which the recording head units 1A and 1B are mounted. Is provided on a carriage shaft 5 attached to the apparatus body 4 so as to be movable in the axial direction. The recording head units 1A and 1B, for example, are configured to eject a black ink composition and a color ink composition, respectively.

  The driving force of the driving motor 6 is transmitted to the carriage 3 via a plurality of gears and timing belt 7 (not shown), so that the carriage 3 on which the recording head units 1A and 1B are mounted is moved along the carriage shaft 5. The On the other hand, the apparatus body 4 is provided with a platen 8 along the carriage shaft 5, and a recording sheet S, which is a recording medium such as paper fed by a paper feed roller (not shown), is conveyed on the platen 8. It is like that.

  In the above-described embodiment, an ink jet recording head has been described as an example of a liquid ejecting head. However, the present invention is intended for a wide range of liquid ejecting heads, and is a liquid that ejects liquids other than ink. Of course, the present invention can also be applied to an ejection head. Other liquid ejecting heads include, for example, various recording heads used in image recording apparatuses such as printers, color material ejecting heads used in manufacturing color filters such as liquid crystal displays, organic EL displays, and FEDs (surface emitting displays). Examples thereof include an electrode material ejection head used for electrode formation, a bioorganic matter ejection head used for biochip production, and the like.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the recording head according to the first embodiment. 2A and 2B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view of the recording head according to the first embodiment. It is the top view of a flow-path formation board | substrate, and BB 'sectional drawing. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a manufacturing process of the recording head according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a manufacturing process of the recording head according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a manufacturing process of the recording head according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a shape of an opening of a mask film according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a shape of an opening of a mask film according to the first embodiment. 1 is a schematic diagram of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Flow path formation board | substrate, 12 Pressure generation chamber, 14 Communication part, 15 Ink supply path, 16 Groove part, 17 Recessed part, 20 Nozzle plate, 21 Nozzle opening, 30 Protection board, 31 Piezoelectric element holding part, 32 Reservoir part, 33 Through Hole, 40 compliance substrate, 50 elastic film, 52 mask film, 53 opening, 55 insulator film, 60 lower electrode film, 70 piezoelectric layer, 80 upper electrode film, 90 lead electrode, 100 reservoir, 300 piezoelectric element

Claims (1)

A step of forming a piezoelectric element on one side of a flow path forming substrate made of a silicon single crystal substrate having a plane orientation (110), and wet etching the flow path forming substrate through a mask film having a predetermined shape. A plurality of pressure generating chambers that penetrate the flow path forming substrate in the thickness direction are formed, and at the same time, a groove portion having a non-penetrating portion that does not penetrate the flow path forming substrate is formed on the other surface side of the flow path forming substrate. Forming between the rows of generating chambers, and bonding the nozzle plate having a nozzle opening communicating with the pressure generating chamber on the other surface side of the flow path forming substrate with an adhesive, In the step of forming the groove, the flow path forming substrate is wet-etched from a plurality of independent openings provided in the mask film to form a plurality of recesses, and the adjacent recesses are formed at the top. The Shun groove portions to be linked,
A plurality of the openings are arranged so as to overlap with the openings adjacent in the length direction of the groove, and the adjacent recesses are connected in the vicinity of the end point of etching of the recess to form the groove. A method for manufacturing a liquid jet head.

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