JP4498643B2 - Droplet discharge head, method for manufacturing the same, ink cartridge, and image recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

【００５９】
また、平行四辺形のパターンの高さＨは、次の（２）式で決まる。
【００６０】
【数２】

【００６１】
ブリッジの幅ｔは、必要な強度に応じて任意に決めることができる。ブリッジの幅ｔはエッチング後にウェハ搬送やハンドリングに絶えうる強度を持ち、かつチップ分離の時には容易に分離可能な寸法であること、かつ、ウェハ面積を有効に利用でき、一般的なチップ分離方法であるダイシングの分離幅よりも同等以下であることが好ましい。よって、ブリッジの幅ｔは１〜５０μｍ、ブリッジの長さΔは０．５〜１００μｍ、好ましくは、幅ｔは５〜３０μｍ、長さΔは２〜５０μｍである。ブリッジは幅ｔのほかに（１１１）テーパ面も含まれるが、テーパーの影響を考えて設計値を決定すればよい。
【００６２】
また、平行四辺形のパターンの高さＨは、（（√６）Ｔ−０．３５）μｍ〜（（√６）Ｔ−７０）μｍ、好ましく（（√６）Ｔ−１．４）μｍ〜（（√６）Ｔ−３５）μｍである。
【００６３】
次に、平行四辺形のパターンの溝を縦に並べて分離線を構成するときの２つの平行四辺形のパターン配置の関係の第２例について図１４を参照して説明する。この例は、平行四辺形のパターン３２ｂの高さＨを平行四辺形のパターンの配列のピッチＰよりも大きくした場合である。同図よりエッチング深さＴの時の最小の分離線幅Ｌは、次の（３）式で決まる。ウェハを貫通させるためにはエッチング深さＴをウェハ厚さよりも大きくすればよい。
【００６４】
【数３】

【００６５】
また、平行四辺形のパターン３２ｂの高さＨは、次の（４）式で決まる。
【００６６】
【数４】

【００６７】
前記同様、ブリッジの幅ｔはエッチング後にウェハ搬送やハンドリングに絶えうる強度を持ち、かつチップ分離の時には容易に分離可能な寸法であること、かつウェハ面積を有効に利用でき、一般的なチップ分離方法であるダイシングの分離幅よりも同等以下であることが好ましい。よって、ブリッジの幅ｔは１〜５０μｍ、ブリッジの長さεは０．５〜１００μｍ、好ましくは、幅ｔは５〜３０μｍ、長さεは２〜５０μｍである。
【００６８】
この配列方法では、前記第１例の配列方法よりも分離線幅ＬはΔだけ小さくすることができる。また、このΔは略幅ｔであるので、平行四辺形のパターンの高さＨは（（√６）Ｔ＋０．７）μｍ〜（（√６）Ｔ＋３５）μｍ、好ましくは（（√６）Ｔ＋７）μｍ〜（（√６）Ｔ＋２１）μｍである。
【００６９】
次に、本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドの製造方法の第３実施形態について図１５を参照して説明する。なお、同図はウエハ上におけるチップ配置を示す平面図である。
この実施形態は、チップ３１を千鳥状に配置することによって図６の例よりも１枚のウエハから取出すチップ取り数を多くしている。すなわち、上述したチップ分離線３４ａ、３４ｂを用いることでウエハ上でのチップ配列の自由度が向上し、一直線の分離線でしかチップを分離できないダイシングによる分離方法に比べて、同じ大きさのウェハから２チップ分多くとることができる。
【００７０】
また、この場合、縦方向は一直線なので、縦方向のみダイシングを用いて分離することもできる。後の工程で、チップのエッジを使って突き当てで位置決めするときなどはダイシングで分離したエッジの方が精度がよく、横方向の分離線はエッチングを使っているのでチップの取り数は多くできる。
【００７１】
次に、シリコンウエハの両面からエッチングを行う例について図１６及び図１７を参照して説明する。なお、各図はシリコンウェハのウェハ厚さ方向の断面説明図である。
【００７２】
図１６は前記に示したとおりの片面からのエッチングで溝を形成した場合を示したものである。このとき、テーパ−角θは（１００）面方位のシリコン基板を用いたときは５４．７°、（１１０）面方位のシリコン基板を用いたときは３５．３°となる。これに対して、図１７は両面にエッチングマスクパターン２８を形成して両面からエッチングを行ったものである。両面からエッチングを行うとウェハを貫通までの掘り込みの深さは、片面からのエッチングの半分でよい。そのため、溝幅Ｍ２も幅Ｍ１の半分となり、分離線幅を細くすることができる。
【００７３】
この場合、両面からのテーパがぶつかってから更にエッチングを行うと、テーパがエッチングされはじめ、開口部が大きくなってくる（図１７（ｂ））。最終的にはテーパは完全になくなる（図１７（ｃ））。テーパがなくなることで、チップ間をつなぐブリッジ３３ｂは細くなり、より分離しやすくなる。
【００７４】
また、図１８に示すように、ウエハの一方の面（上面）のエッチングマスクパターン２８ａは図１７と同じにし、他方の面（下面）のエッチングマスクパターン２８ｂはブリッジに対応するパターンを入れないで形成し、このマスクパターン２８ａ、２８ｂを用いてシリコンウエハをエッチングすると、最終的にブリッジ３３ｂは基板（ウエハ）３０の厚さよりも薄いものが得られ、チップを分離することがより容易になる。
【００７５】
次に、流路基板１と電極基板２などの別の基板と積層する場合について説明する。
第１の方法は、図１９に示すように、シリコンウエハ（基板）に異方性エッチングを施して、各チップの液室、共通液室とともにチップ分離線を形成し、その後、このチップ分離線に沿って各チップに分離し、それぞれ分離したチップを電極基板などにチップ単位で接合する。
【００７６】
このようにすれば、チップ分離線パターンを両面からエッチングする方法を使うことができ、分離線を細くすることができてウェハ面積を有効に使うことができる。
【００７７】
第２の方法は、図２０に示すように、シリコンウエハ（基板）に異方性エッチングを施して、各チップの液室、共通液室とともにチップ分離線を形成し、その後、各チップに分離せずに、電極基板やノズル板などの他の基板とウェハサイズのまま接合する。電極基板やノズル板がパイレックスなどのガラス、アルミナなどのセラミックス、ニッケル・ＳＵＳなどの金属の場合がある。
【００７８】
この場合、このように異種材料を積層したものを同時に切ることは困難であるが、シリコン基板はブリッジのみの分離線が入っているので、ほかの基板を切ることによってシリコン基板は容易に分離される。
【００７９】
次に、第３の方法として、図２１に示すように、ウェハサイズで他の基板、電極基板やノズル板などと接合し、その後、エッチングを施す。そして、シリコンウエハに形成したチップ分離線で前同様に分離する。
【００８０】
この方法によれば、上記第１、第２の方法ではエッチングにより強度が弱くなったものをハンドリングしなければならなかったのに対して、接合した後にエッチングを施すので、積層基板となっており、強度が強くハンドリングで破損することも少なくなる。
【００８１】
次に、本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドの第２実施形態に係るインクジェットヘッドについて図２２及び図２３を参照して説明する。なお、図２２は同ヘッドの分解斜視説明図、図２３は同ヘッドの液室長手方向に沿う断面説明図である。
【００８２】
このインクジェットヘッドは、単結晶シリコン基板で形成した流路形成基板（液室基板）４１と、この流路形成基板４１の下面に接合した振動板４２と、流路形成基板４１の上面に接合したノズル板４３とを有し、これらによってインク滴を吐出するノズル４５が連通する流路（インク液室）である加圧液室４６、加圧液室４６に流体抵抗部となるインク供給路４７を介してインクを供給する共通液室４８を形成している。
【００８３】
そして、振動板４２の面外側（液室４６と反対面側）に各加圧液室４６に対応して駆動手段としての積層型圧電素子５２を接合し、この積層型圧電素子５２はベース基板５３に接合して固定し、この圧電素子５２の列の周囲にはスペーサ部材５４をベース基板５３に接合している。
【００８４】
この圧電素子５２は、圧電材料層と内部電極とを交互に積層したものである。この場合、圧電素子５２の圧電方向としてｄ３３方向の変位を用いて加圧液室４６内インクを加圧する構成とすることも、圧電素子５２の圧電方向としてｄ３１方向の変位を用いて加圧液室４６内インクを加圧する構成とすることもできる。ベース基板５３及びスペーサ部材５４には共通液室４８に外部からインクを供給するためのインク供給口４９を形成する貫通穴を形成している。
【００８５】
また、流路形成基板４１の外周部及び振動板４２の下面側外縁部をエポキシ系樹脂或いはポリフェニレンサルファイトで射出成形により形成したヘッドフレーム５７に接着接合し、このヘッドフレーム５７とベース基板５３とは図示しない部分で接着剤などで相互に固定している。なお、ヘッドフレーム５７は２つの部品に分けているが１つの部品で構成することもできる。
【００８６】
さらに、圧電素子５２には駆動信号を与えるために半田接合又はＡＣＦ（異方導電性膜）接合若しくはワイヤボンディングでＦＰＣケーブル５８を接続し、このＦＰＣケーブル５８には各圧電素子５２に選択的に駆動波形を印加するための駆動回路（ドライバＩＣ）５９を実装している。
【００８７】
ここで、流路形成基板４１は、結晶面方位（１１０）の単結晶シリコン基板を水酸化カリウム水溶液（ＫＯＨ）などのアルカリ性エッチング液を用いて異方性エッチングすることで、各加圧液室４６となる貫通穴、インク供給路４７となる溝部、共通液室４８となる貫通穴をそれぞれ形成している。この場合、各加圧液室４６は隔壁によって区画される。
【００８８】
振動板４２はニッケルの金属プレートから形成したもので、エレクトロフォーミング法で製造している。また、ノズル板４３は各加圧液室４６に対応して直径１０〜３０μｍのノズル４５を形成し、流路形成基板４１に接着剤接合している。このノズル板４３としては、ステンレス、ニッケルなどの金属、金属とポリイミド樹脂フィルムなどの樹脂との組み合せ、、シリコン、及びそれらの組み合わせからなるものを用いることができる。また、ノズル面（吐出方向の表面：吐出面）には、インクとの撥水性を確保するため、メッキ被膜、あるいは撥水剤コーティングなどの周知の方法で撥水膜を形成している。
【００８９】
このように構成したインクジェットヘッドにおいては、圧電素子５２に対して選択的に２０〜５０Ｖの駆動パルス電圧を印加することによって、パルス電圧が印加された圧電素子５２が積層方向に変位して振動板４２をノズル４５方向に変形させ、加圧液室４６の容積／体積変化によって加圧液室４６内のインクが加圧され、ノズル４５からインク滴が吐出（噴射）される。
【００９０】
そして、インク滴の吐出に伴って加圧液室４６内の液圧力が低下し、このときのインク流れの慣性によって加圧液室４６内には若干の負圧が発生する。この状態の下において、圧電素子５２への電圧の印加をオフ状態にすることによって、振動板４２が元の位置に戻って加圧液室４６が元の形状になるため、さらに負圧が発生する。このとき、インク供給口４９から共通液室４８、流体抵抗部であるインク供給路４７を経て加圧液室４６内にインクが充填される。そこで、ノズル４５のインクメニスカス面の振動が減衰して安定した後、次のインク滴吐出のために圧電素子５２にパルス電圧を印加しインク滴を吐出させる。
【００９１】
この場合、流路形成基板４１は、前記第１実施形態と同様にシリコンウエハにチップ単位で液室４６、共通液室４８などを形成し、各チップ間に異方性エッチングで微小な多角形のパターン溝を入れ、これを並べることでチップ分離線を構成して、このチップ分離線で個々の流路形成基板に分離形成したものである。
【００９２】
次に、本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドの第３実施形態のインクジェットヘッドについて図２４及び図２５を参照して説明する。図２４は同ヘッドの分解斜視説明図、図２５は同ヘッドの流路形成基板の斜視説明図である。
【００９３】
このインクジェットヘッドは、流路形成部材である第１基板６１と、この第１基板６１の下側に設けた発熱体基板である第２基板６２とを備え、これらによりインク滴を吐出する複数のノズル６４、ノズル６４が連通する液流路である加圧液室流路６６、加圧液室流路６６にインクを供給する共通液室流路６８などを形成し、インクは第１基板６１に形成したインク供給口７０から供給されて、共通液室流路６８、加圧液室流路６６を経て、ノズル６４より液滴として噴射される。
【００９４】
流路形成部材である第１基板６１は、シリコンウエハにノズル６４、加圧液室流路６６、共通液室流路６８を各チップ単位で形成し、各チップ間に異方性エッチングで微小な多角形のパターンを入れ、これを並べることでチップ分離線として、このチップ分離線からチップに分離形成したものである。第２基板６２には発熱抵抗体（電気熱変換素子）７１と、この発熱抵抗体７１に電圧を印加するための共通電極７２及び個別電極７３が形成されている。
【００９５】
このように構成したインクジェットヘッドにおいては、個別電極７３に選択的に駆動電圧を印加することによって発熱抵抗体７１が発熱して加圧液室流路６６のインク中にバブルが発生して圧力変化が生起し、このインク中の圧力変化によってノズル６４からインク滴が吐出される。
【００９６】
次に、本発明に係るインクカートリッジについて図２６を参照して説明する。このインクカートリッジ８０は、ノズル８１等を有する上記実施形態のいずれかのインクジェットヘッド８２と、このインクジェットヘッド８２に対してインクを供給するインクタンク８３とを一体化したものである。
【００９７】
このようにインクタンク一体型のヘッドの場合、ヘッドの歩留まり不良は直ちにインクカートリッジ全体の不良につながるので、上述したように切子残などによるインク滴吐出不良が低減することで、インクカートリッジの歩留まりが向上し、ヘッド一体型インクカートリッジの低コスト化を図れる。
【００９８】
次に、本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドであるインクジェットヘッドを搭載したインクジェット記録装置の一例について図２７及び図２８を参照して説明する。なお、図２７は同記録装置の斜視説明図、図２８は同記録装置の機構部の側面説明図である。
【００９９】
このインクジェット記録装置は、記録装置本体１１１の内部に主走査方向に移動可能なキャリッジ、キャリッジに搭載した本発明に係るインクジェットヘッドからなる記録ヘッド、記録ヘッドへインクを供給するインクカートリッジ等で構成される印字機構部１１２等を収納し、装置本体１１１の下方部には前方側から多数枚の用紙１１３を積載可能な給紙カセット（或いは給紙トレイでもよい。）１１４を抜き差し自在に装着することができ、また、用紙１１３を手差しで給紙するための手差しトレイ１１５を開倒することができ、給紙カセット１１４或いは手差しトレイ１１５から給送される用紙１１３を取り込み、印字機構部１１２によって所要の画像を記録した後、後面側に装着された排紙トレイ１１６に排紙する。
【０１００】
印字機構部１１２は、図示しない左右の側板に横架したガイド部材である主ガイドロッド１２１と従ガイドロッド１２２とでキャリッジ１２３を主走査方向（図２８で紙面垂直方向）に摺動自在に保持し、このキャリッジ１２３にはイエロー（Ｙ）、シアン（Ｃ）、マゼンタ（Ｍ）、ブラック（Ｂｋ）の各色のインク滴を吐出する本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドであるインクジェットヘッドからなるヘッド１２４を複数のインク吐出口を主走査方向と交叉する方向に配列し、インク滴吐出方向を下方に向けて装着している。またキャリッジ１２３にはヘッド１２４に各色のインクを供給するための各インクカートリッジ１２５を交換可能に装着している。
【０１０１】
インクカートリッジ１２５は上方に大気と連通する大気口、下方にはインクジェットヘッドへインクを供給する供給口を、内部にはインクが充填された多孔質体を有しており、多孔質体の毛管力によりインクジェットヘッドへ供給されるインクをわずかな負圧に維持している。
【０１０２】
また、記録ヘッドとしてここでは各色のヘッド１２４を用いているが、各色のインク滴を吐出するノズルを有する１個のヘッドでもよい。
【０１０３】
ここで、キャリッジ１２３は後方側（用紙搬送方向下流側）を主ガイドロッド１２１に摺動自在に嵌装し、前方側（用紙搬送方向上流側）を従ガイドロッド１２２に摺動自在に載置している。そして、このキャリッジ１２３を主走査方向に移動走査するため、主走査モータ１２７で回転駆動される駆動プーリ１２８と従動プーリ１２９との間にタイミングベルト１３０を張装し、このタイミングベルト１３０をキャリッジ１２３に固定しており、主走査モーター１２７の正逆回転によりキャリッジ１２３が往復駆動される。
【０１０４】
一方、給紙カセット１１４にセットした用紙１１３をヘッド１２４の下方側に搬送するために、給紙カセット１１４から用紙１１３を分離給装する給紙ローラ１３１及びフリクションパッド１３２と、用紙１１３を案内するガイド部材１３３と、給紙された用紙１１３を反転させて搬送する搬送ローラ１３４と、この搬送ローラ１３４の周面に押し付けられる搬送コロ１３５及び搬送ローラ１３４からの用紙１１３の送り出し角度を規定する先端コロ１３６とを設けている。搬送ローラ１３４は副走査モータ１３７によってギヤ列を介して回転駆動される。
【０１０５】
そして、キャリッジ１２３の主走査方向の移動範囲に対応して搬送ローラ１３４から送り出された用紙１１３を記録ヘッド１２４の下方側で案内する用紙ガイド部材である印写受け部材１３９を設けている。この印写受け部材１３９の用紙搬送方向下流側には、用紙１１３を排紙方向へ送り出すために回転駆動される搬送コロ１４１、拍車１４２を設け、さらに用紙１１３を排紙トレイ１１６に送り出す排紙ローラ１４３及び拍車１４４と、排紙経路を形成するガイド部材１４５，１４６とを配設している。
【０１０６】
記録時には、キャリッジ１２３を移動させながら画像信号に応じて記録ヘッド１２４を駆動することにより、停止している用紙１１３にインクを吐出して１行分を記録し、用紙１１３を所定量搬送後次の行の記録を行う。記録終了信号または、用紙１１３の後端が記録領域に到達した信号を受けることにより、記録動作を終了させ用紙１１３を排紙する。この場合、ヘッド１２４を構成する本発明に係るインクジェットヘッドはインク滴噴射の制御性が向上し、特性変動が抑制されているので、安定して高い画像品質の画像を記録することができる。
【０１０７】
また、キャリッジ１２３の移動方向右端側の記録領域を外れた位置には、ヘッド１２４の吐出不良を回復するための回復装置１４７を配置している。回復装置１４７はキャップ手段と吸引手段とクリーニング手段を有している。キャリッジ１２３は印字待機中にはこの回復装置１４７側に移動されてキャッピング手段でヘッド１２４をキャッピングされ、吐出口部を湿潤状態に保つことによりインク乾燥による吐出不良を防止する。また、記録途中などに記録と関係しないインクを吐出することにより、全ての吐出口のインク粘度を一定にし、安定した吐出性能を維持する。
【０１０８】
吐出不良が発生した場合等には、キャッピング手段でヘッド１２４の吐出口（ノズル）を密封し、チューブを通して吸引手段で吐出口からインクとともに気泡等を吸い出し、吐出口面に付着したインクやゴミ等はクリーニング手段により除去され吐出不良が回復される。また、吸引されたインクは、本体下部に設置された廃インク溜（不図示）に排出され、廃インク溜内部のインク吸収体に吸収保持される。
【０１０９】
このように、このインクジェット記録装置においては本発明を実施した低コストのインクジェットヘッドを搭載しているので、低コスト化を図れる。
【０１１０】
なお、上記実施形態においては、液滴吐出ヘッドとしてインクジェットヘッドに適用した例で説明したが、インクジェットヘッド以外の液滴吐出ヘッドとして、例えば、液体レジストを液滴として吐出する液滴吐出ヘッド、ＤＮＡの試料を液滴として吐出する液滴吐出ヘッドなどの他の液滴吐出ヘッドにも適用できる。
【０１１１】
【発明の効果】
以上説明したように、本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドの製造方法によれば、（１１０）面方位のシリコンウェハに入れる個々の構造体に分離するための＜１１１＞方向のチップ分離線は７０．５°の角度を持つ平行四辺形のパターンをこの平行四辺形のパターンの高さより大きなピッチで並べた構成であるので、（１１０）面方位のウェハにおいても長方形のチップを切り出すことができ、また分離線の幅を小さくすることができて、歩留まりが向上し、低コスト化を図ることができる。
【０１１２】
ここで、（１１０）面方位のシリコンウェハの＜１１２＞方向のチップ分離線を＜１１２＞方向に長い多角形のパターンを並べて構成したので、細い溝でチップを分離できウェハ面積を有効に使うことができる。この場合、多角形の幅のパターンは１μｍ以上であるのでエッチング中に気泡の取り込みによるエッチレートの低下を防止できる。
【０１１４】
この場合、隣り合う平行四辺形のパターン間によって形成されるブリッジの長さを０．５〜１００μｍとすることでエッチング後のウェハの強度を十分に保つことができ、またチップ分離の際に容易に正確にチップに分離できる。また、隣り合う平行四辺形によって形成されるブリッジの幅を１〜５０μｍとしたのでエッチング後のウェハの強度を十分に保つことができ、またチップ分離の際に容易に正確にチップに分離できる。さらに、平行四辺形のパターンの高さを、異方性エッチングの深さをＴとしたとき（（√６）Ｔ−０．３５）μｍ〜（（√６）Ｔ−７０）μｍとすることで、エッチング後のウェハの強度を十分に保つことができ、またチップ分離の際に容易に正確にチップに分離できる。
【０１１５】
本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドの製造方法によれば、（１１０）面方位のシリコンウェハに入れる個々の構造体に分離するための＜１１１＞方向のチップ分離線は７０．５°の角度を持つ平行四辺形のパターンをこの平行四辺形のパターンの高さより小さなピッチで並べた構成であるので、（１１０）面方位のウェハにおいても長方形のチップを切り出すことができ、また分離線の幅を小さくすることができて、歩留まりが向上し、低コスト化を図ることができる。
【０１１６】
この場合、隣り合う平行四辺形のパターンによって形成されるブリッジの長さを０．５〜１００μｍとすることで、エッチング後のウェハの強度を十分に保つことができ、またチップ分離の際に容易に正確にチップに分離できる。また、隣り合う平行四辺形のパターンによって形成されるブリッジの幅を１〜５０μｍとすることで、エッチング後のウェハの強度を十分に保つことができ、またチップ分離の際に容易に正確にチップに分離できる。さらに、平行四辺形のパターンの高さを、異方性エッチングの深さをＴとしたとき、（（√６）Ｔ＋０．７）μｍ〜（（√６）Ｔ＋３５）μｍとすることで、エッチング後のウェハの強度を十分に保つことができ、またチップ分離の際に容易に正確にチップに分離できる。
【０１１７】
さらに、シリコンウェハ内のチップの配列を千鳥配列とすることで、シリコンウェハ内のチップの取り数を多くすることができ更に低コスト化を図れる。また、チップ分離線を表裏両面からエッチングして形成するので、片面からのエッチングで形成する場合に比べてチップ分離線の幅を小さくすることができる。
【０１１８】
また、異方性エッチングの後、チップに分離し、その後ほかの基板と接合することで、チップ分離線を両面からのエッチングで形成することができ、異方性エッチングの後、ほかの基板と接合し、その後チップに分離することで、チップ分離線を両面からエッチングで形成することができ、また、ウェハ単位でプロセスを流すことができ、さらに、ほかの基板と接合した後、異方性エッチングを施し、その後チップに分離することで、ウェハ単位でプロセスを流すことができ、基板の強度が大きく歩留まりを高くできる。
【０１１９】
本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドによれば、液室を形成する構造体は本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドの製造方法で製造されたものであるので、低コスト化を図れ、信頼性を向上することができる。
【０１２０】
本発明に係る画像記録装置によれば、本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドを搭載したので、低コスト化を図れ、安定して高画質記録を行なうことができる。
【０１２１】
本発明に係るインクジェット記録装置によれば、インク滴を吐出する本発明に係るインクジェットヘッドを搭載したので、低コスト化を図れ、安定して高画質記録を行うことができる。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドの第１実施形態のインクジェットヘッドの分解斜視説明図
【図２】同ヘッドの振動板長手方向に沿う断面説明図
【図３】同ヘッドの振動板短手方向に沿う断面説明図
【図４】本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドの製造方法の第１実施形態の説明に供するウエハ上でのチップ配置を示す平面説明図
【図５】図４の１チップサイズ分の拡大説明図
【図６】本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドの製造方法の第２実施形態の説明に供するウエハ上でのチップ配置を示す平面説明図
【図７】図６の１チップサイズ分の拡大説明図
【図８】同実施形態の他の例を説明する１チップサイズ分の拡大説明図
【図９】同実施形態の更に他の例を説明する１チップサイズ分の拡大説明図
【図１０】（１００）面方位のシリコンウェハを用いた場合の溝の断面説明図
【図１１】（１１０）面方位のシリコンウェハを用いた場合の図７の横方向の溝の断面説明図
【図１２】異方性エッチングによるパターンを説明する説明図
【図１３】２つの平行四辺形のパターンを並べるときの第１例を説明する説明図
【図１４】２つの平行四辺形のパターンを並べるときの第２例を説明する説明図
【図１５】本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドの製造方法の第３実施形態の説明に供するウエハ上でのチップ配置を示す平面説明図
【図１６】片面からの異方性エッチングで分離線を構成するパターンを形成する例の説明に供する断面説明図
【図１７】両面からの異方性エッチングで分離線を構成するパターンを形成する例の説明に供する断面説明図
【図１８】両面からの異方性エッチングで分離線を構成するパターンを形成する他の例の説明に供する断面説明図
【図１９】構造体を他の基板と接合する場合の製造方法の第１例の説明に供するフロー図
【図２０】構造体を他の基板と接合する場合の製造方法の第２例の説明に供するフロー図
【図２１】構造体を他の基板と接合する場合の製造方法の第３例の説明に供するフロー図
【図２２】本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドの第２実施形態のインクジェットヘッドの分解斜視説明図
【図２３】同ヘッドの振動板長手方向に沿う断面説明図
【図２４】本発明に係る液滴吐出ヘッドの第３実施形態のインクジェットヘッドの分解斜視説明図
【図２５】同ヘッドの流路形成基板の斜視説明図
【図２６】本発明に係るインクカートリッジの斜視説明図
【図２７】本発明に係るインクジェット記録装置の機構部を説明する斜視説明図
【図２８】同記録装置の側面説明図
【符号の説明】
１…流路基板、３…電極基板、４…ノズル板、５…ノズル、６…液室、８…共通液室、１５…電極、３０…ウエハ、３１…チップ、３２ａ、３２ｂ…パターン（溝）、３３ａ、３３ｂ…ブリッジ、３４ａ、３４ｂ…チップ分離線。[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge head, a manufacturing method thereof, an ink cartridge, andimageThe present invention relates to a recording apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An ink jet head, which is a liquid droplet ejection head used in an image recording apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying apparatus, or an image forming apparatus, includes a nozzle that ejects ink droplets and a liquid chamber in which the nozzle communicates ( A pressure liquid chamber, a pressure chamber, a discharge chamber, an ink flow path, etc.) and a pressure generating means for generating pressure to pressurize the ink in the liquid chamber. An ink droplet is ejected from the nozzle by pressurizing the ink in the liquid chamber. Examples of the droplet discharge head include a droplet discharge head that discharges a liquid resist as a droplet, and a droplet discharge head that discharges a DNA sample as a droplet. The following description will focus on an inkjet head. .
[0003]
As such an ink-jet head, a piezo-type head that discharges ink droplets by deforming and displacing a diaphragm forming a wall surface of a liquid chamber using an electromechanical conversion element such as a piezoelectric element as a pressure generating unit, Bubble type (thermal type) that generates bubbles by ink film boiling by using an electrothermal conversion element such as a heating resistor placed in the liquid chamber to eject ink droplets, vibration that forms the wall surface of the liquid chamber There is an electrostatic type that discharges ink droplets by deforming a diaphragm with an electrostatic force using a plate (or an electrode integrated with the plate) and an electrode facing the plate.
[0004]
By the way, in the conventional inkjet head, as a liquid chamber forming member or a flow path forming member as a structure forming a liquid chamber or a common liquid chamber communicating with each liquid chamber, photosensitive resin, resin mold, metal, glass Materials such as are used. However, since the liquid chamber of the resin has low rigidity, crosstalk is likely to occur between adjacent liquid chambers, resulting in a problem that good image quality cannot be obtained. In addition, metals and glass have high rigidity and small crosstalk problems, but on the other hand, they are difficult to process, and in recent years ink jet heads in particular have been increasingly demanded for higher density for higher image quality. It is becoming difficult to meet these demands.
[0005]
Therefore, as described in, for example, JP-A-7-132595 and JP-A-7-276626, the liquid chamber and the common liquid chamber can be formed by anisotropic etching of a silicon substrate (silicon wafer). Are known. Silicon has high rigidity and can be finely processed by using anisotropic etching. In particular, by using a silicon wafer having a (110) plane orientation, a vertical wall surface can be formed. Liquid chambers can be arranged at high density.
[0006]
When silicon is used for the liquid chamber forming member in this way, it is necessary to form liquid chambers or common liquid chambers corresponding to a plurality of head chips on a silicon substrate (silicon wafer) and to separate them for each chip. is there.
[0007]
Conventionally, dicing is a common method for separating a silicon substrate into chips. Further, in order to solve the problem of face sticking due to dicing, for example, as described in JP-A-10-157149, a predetermined separation pattern mask is formed on a silicon wafer and anisotropic etching is performed. A method of separating each chip with a V-shaped groove or first and second V-shaped grooves formed on a silicon wafer as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-36825. A method of concentrating stress in the V-shaped groove and cleaving the wafer to separate it into chips has been proposed.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
First, the method of separating by dicing has a problem that the face sticks to the chip when the blade is rotated at a high speed while being sprinkled with water. This facet can be completely removed by chemical cleaning such as acid cleaning such as sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid, alkali cleaning such as ammonia and water, organic cleaning such as acetone and alcohol, or physical cleaning such as ultrasonic and water pressure. It is difficult to remove. The most effective is cleaning with a brush or the like. However, in the case of a micro three-dimensional structure formed in the micromachine field, there is a problem that the facet that enters the gap cannot be removed or the structure is damaged. is there.
[0009]
Conventionally, a semiconductor element is generally used as a device formed of a silicon substrate. However, since such a semiconductor element has a planar structure, the facet does not enter a gap, and damage is caused even if a physical force such as a brush is applied. There was no particular problem. Further, since the semiconductor element is separated after the functional internal structure of the device and the process such as wiring are completed, there is no problem in the device function even if some chips remain on the chip. On the other hand, in the micromachine field, processes such as assembly and wiring are often performed after chip separation, and leaving a facet is a big problem.
[0010]
Alternatively, dicing has a problem that a fine structure is damaged by water pressure during cutting. Furthermore, a vacuum chuck is used to fix the wafer. However, when a wafer whose strength is weakened by forming a structure is removed from the vacuum chuck, it may be damaged, resulting in a decrease in yield. It was. In addition, a dicing tape is sometimes attached to the back surface so that the cut chips do not fall apart. However, when the dicing tape is applied or peeled off, it causes damage. In this case, if a dicing tape whose adhesive strength is reduced by UV light irradiation or heat treatment is used, the damage at the time of peeling is reduced. However, such a tape is expensive and increases the cost.
[0011]
In the micromachine field, a silicon substrate, a metal substrate such as nickel or SUS, a glass substrate such as Pyrex, or a ceramic substrate such as alumina may be laminated. From the viewpoint of the manufacturing method, it is more efficient to separate the chips after laminating at the wafer size.
[0012]
However, since the type of dicing blade is optimized depending on the material, if dicing a multi-layered substrate of different materials, cutting cannot be performed, the blade or sample may be damaged, the cutting line width may be increased, There is a problem that the lifespan is shortened. Further, since dicing can cut only in a straight line, there is a problem that the number of chips in a wafer is reduced and the cost is increased with a relatively large chip size in the micromachine field.
[0013]
Therefore, as described above, a method of separating by etching has been proposed in order to solve the problem of face sticking due to dicing. Among them, a separation line is formed by etching through a V-shaped groove and separated. In the method, since each chip is connected only by the mask SiN film, the strength of the wafer after etching is very weak, the handling property is deteriorated, and the chip is damaged before being separated into chips. As a result, the manufacturing yield is poor and the cost of the head is increased.
[0014]
Further, in the method of forming the first and second V-shaped grooves in the silicon wafer, since the V-shaped grooves are formed without penetrating the wafer, the strength of the wafer is maintained after the etching. The thickness of the remaining part of the V-shaped groove differs depending on the thickness variation of the V-groove, and the thin part of the wafer has a reduced strength and is damaged, or the thick part of the wafer is too thick to be separated. When separating, there is a problem that the production yield is poor and the cost of the head is increased, such as separation by a line shifted from the V-shaped groove.
[0015]
Furthermore, in common with each of these methods, when a wafer with a (100) plane orientation is used, the straight line of the V-shaped groove can be applied to chip separation that can be formed in directions orthogonal to each other within the wafer, but the (110) plane In the azimuth wafer, the perpendicular etching directions are at an angle of 70.5 ° within the wafer, so that rectangular chips cannot be cut out. In the micromachine field, a wafer having a crystal plane orientation (110) capable of perpendicularly anisotropic etching is often used, and in such a case, there is a problem that it cannot be separated by the above-described method.
[0016]
  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can improve yield and reduce costs.To doFor the purpose.
[0018]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  To solve the above problem,A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention includes:
  (110) A silicon wafer having a plane orientation is anisotropically etched to form a plurality of structures, and chip separation lines in which minute polygonal patterns are arranged by anisotropic etching between the plurality of structures. And separate into individual structures from this chip separation line
A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head,
  A chip separation line in the <111> direction for separating the individual structures to be put into the silicon wafer having the (110) plane orientation is a parallelogram pattern having an angle of 70.5 °. Arranged at a pitch larger than the height
The configuration.
[0019]
Here, it is preferable to arrange a long polygonal pattern in the <112> direction for the chip separation line in the <112> direction for separating the individual structures to be put in the (110) plane orientation silicon wafer. In this case, the width of the polygonal pattern is preferably 1 μm or more.
[0020]
  Also,The length of the bridge formed by adjacent parallelogram patterns is preferably 0.5 to 100 μm. Moreover, it is preferable that the width | variety of the bridge | bridging formed by the pattern of an adjacent parallelogram is 1-50 micrometers. Further, the height of the parallelogram pattern is within the range of ((√6) T−0.35) μm to ((√6) T−70) μm, where T is the depth of anisotropic etching. It is preferable that
[0021]
  A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention includes:
  (110) A silicon wafer having a plane orientation is anisotropically etched to form a plurality of structures, and chip separation lines in which minute polygonal patterns are arranged by anisotropic etching between the plurality of structures. And separate into individual structures from this chip separation line
A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head,
  SaidA chip separation line in the <111> direction for separating into individual structures to be put on a silicon wafer having a (110) plane orientation is a parallelogram pattern having an angle of 70.5 °, which is the height of the parallelogram pattern. Smaller pitchConfiguration
The configuration.
  here,The length of the bridge formed by adjacent parallelogram patterns is preferably 0.5 to 100 μm. Moreover, it is preferable that the width | variety of the bridge | bridging formed by the pattern of an adjacent parallelogram is 1-50 micrometers. Furthermore, the height of the parallelogram is preferably in the range of ((√6) T + 0.7) μm to ((√6) T + 35) μm, where T is the depth of anisotropic etching.
[0022]
Furthermore, in the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention, it is preferable that the arrangement of the structures in the silicon wafer is a staggered arrangement. Moreover, the pattern which comprises the chip | tip separation line of a silicon wafer can be formed by anisotropic etching from front and back both surfaces.
[0023]
Furthermore, the silicon wafer can be anisotropically etched and then separated into structures, and then the structures can be bonded to other substrates. Further, after anisotropic etching of the silicon wafer, it can be bonded to another substrate and then separated into each structure. Furthermore, after the silicon wafer is bonded to another substrate, the silicon wafer can be anisotropically etched and then separated into structures.
[0024]
  According to the present inventionDroplet dischargeHeadliquidThe structure forming the liquid chamber in which the nozzle for discharging the droplets communicates is manufactured by the method for manufacturing the droplet discharging head according to the present invention.
[0025]
The ink cartridge according to the present invention is obtained by integrating the ink jet head according to the present invention and an ink tank for supplying ink to the ink jet head.
[0026]
  According to the present inventionimageThe recording deviceliquidAccording to the present invention for ejecting dropsDroplet dischargeIt is equipped with a head.
[0027]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a first embodiment of an ink jet head as a droplet discharge head according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the head, and FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the head along the longitudinal direction of the diaphragm.
[0028]
The inkjet head includes a flow path substrate 1 that is a first substrate as a structure forming a liquid chamber, an electrode substrate 3 that is a second substrate provided below the flow path substrate 1, and a flow path substrate 1. Is a laminated structure in which a nozzle plate 4, which is a third substrate provided on the upper side, is overlapped and joined, and thereby, fluid resistance to the liquid chamber 6 and the liquid chamber 6 which are also ink flow paths through which the plurality of nozzles 5 communicate with each other. A common liquid chamber 8 and the like communicating with each other through the portion 7 are formed.
[0029]
The flow path substrate 1 includes a liquid chamber 6 and a diaphragm 10 that forms a wall surface that forms the bottom of the liquid chamber 6, a recess that forms a partition wall 11 that separates the liquid chambers 6, a recess that forms a common liquid chamber 8, and the like. Forming.
[0030]
This flow path substrate 1 diffuses boron, which is a high-concentration impurity, into a (100) plane single crystal silicon substrate (silicon wafer) in a thickness (depth) that serves as a diaphragm, and stops etching this high-concentration boron-doped layer. By performing anisotropic etching as a layer, a diaphragm 10 having a desired thickness is obtained when a recess or the like to be the liquid chamber 6 is formed. As the high concentration P-type impurity, gallium, aluminum, or the like can be used in addition to boron. Further, the high-concentration boron-doped layer contains atoms having a lattice constant larger than that of silicon, such as germanium (Ge), in addition to boron, thereby reducing tensile stress due to boron.
[0031]
As the flow path substrate 1, an SOI (Silicon On Insulator) substrate in which a base substrate and an active layer substrate are bonded via an oxide film can be used. In this case, the active layer substrate is used as the vibration plate 10, and the concave portion that becomes the liquid chamber 6 or the common liquid chamber 10 is engraved in the base substrate.
[0032]
A recess 14 is formed in the electrode substrate 3, and an electrode 15 is formed on the bottom surface of the recess 14 so as to face the diaphragm 10 with a predetermined air gap 16. The diaphragm 15 is formed by the electrode 15 and the diaphragm 10. An actuator unit is configured to change the internal volume of the liquid chamber 6 by deforming 10 with an electrostatic force. In order to prevent the electrode 15 from being damaged due to contact with the diaphragm 10 on the electrode 15 of the electrode substrate 3, for example, a 0.1 μm thick SiO 2₂An insulating layer 17 such as is formed. An electrode pad portion 15a for extending the electrode 15 to the vicinity of the end portion of the electrode substrate 3 and connecting to the external drive circuit via the connecting means is formed.
[0033]
The electrode substrate 3 is formed on a glass substrate or a single crystal silicon substrate having a thermal oxide film 3a formed on the surface thereof by etching with a HF aqueous solution or the like, and the recess 14 has high heat resistance such as titanium nitride. The electrode material is formed into a desired thickness by a film forming technique such as sputtering, CVD, or vapor deposition, and then a photoresist is formed and etched, whereby the electrode 15 is formed only in the recess 14. The electrode substrate 3 and the flow path substrate 1 are bonded by a process such as anodic bonding or direct bonding.
[0034]
Here, the electrode 15 is, for example, a two-layer structure of a tungsten side film and a polysilicon film, gold, a metal material such as Al, Cr, Ni or the like generally used in a process for forming a semiconductor element, Ti, TiN A refractory metal such as a polycrystalline silicon film doped with impurities can also be used.
[0035]
In this example, the electrode 15 is formed by sputtering titanium nitride to a thickness of 0.1 μm in a recess 14 having a depth of 0.4 μm formed by etching on a silicon substrate, and SiO 2 is formed thereon.₂A sputtered film is formed as an insulating layer 17 with a thickness of 0.1 μm. Therefore, in this head, the length of the air gap 16 (interval between the vibration plate 10 and the surface of the insulating layer 17) after joining the electrode substrate 3 and the flow path substrate 1 is 0.2 μm.
[0036]
Further, the nozzle plate 4 is formed with nozzles 5, grooves serving as liquid resistance portions 7, and ink supply ports 19 for supplying ink from the outside to the common liquid chamber 8, and the discharge surface is subjected to water repellent treatment. . As the nozzle plate 4, for example, a plated film manufactured by a Ni electroforming method, a silicon substrate, a metal such as SUS, or a multilayer structure of a metal layer such as a resin and zirconia can be used. The nozzle plate 4 is bonded to the flow path substrate 1 with an adhesive.
[0037]
In the ink jet head configured as described above, the vibration plate 10 is used as a common electrode, the electrode 15 is used as an individual electrode, and a drive voltage is selectively applied between the vibration plate 10 and the electrode 15 from a driver IC (drive circuit). As a result, the diaphragm 10 is deformed and displaced toward the electrode 15 by the electrostatic force generated between the diaphragm 10 and the electrode 15, and the electric charge between the diaphragm 10 and the electrode 15 is discharged from this state (the drive voltage is set to 0). ), The diaphragm 10 is restored and deformed, the internal volume (volume) / pressure of the liquid chamber 6 changes, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle 5.
[0038]
The flow path substrate 1 made of a silicon substrate constituting the liquid chamber 6 and the common liquid chamber 8 in the ink jet head is manufactured by applying the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head according to the present invention. Therefore, a first embodiment of a method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is a layout diagram of the flow path substrate 1 of the head on the silicon wafer 20, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged explanatory view of one chip in FIG.
[0039]
In this example, eight chips (structures) 21 of the flow path substrate 1 are arranged on the silicon wafer 20. A narrow groove 22 is formed between the chips 21. The narrow groove 22 is formed by digging by anisotropic etching, as in the case of forming the common liquid chamber 8 and the liquid chamber 6.
[0040]
In this case, since the high-concentration boron diffusion layer is formed in order to form the diaphragm 10 as described above, the thin groove 22 does not penetrate the silicon wafer 20 and remains in the thickness of the diaphragm 10 here. ing. Further, the narrow groove 22 is formed intermittently, and the chip 21 is held by the discontinuous portion (bridge) 23 without being separated. Note that the width of the discontinuous portion 23 is set so that the chips do not vary depending on the size of the chip, the size of the wafer, and the like. The chip separation lines 24 are formed by arranging the patterns of the thin grooves 22 and the discontinuous portions 23.
[0041]
Therefore, since the chips 21 are connected by the thin bridges 23, the chips 21 can be separated along the chip separation lines 24 by applying a slight force. The thin groove 22 does not penetrate through the same thickness as the diaphragm 10, but the remaining portion is very thin and can be easily separated.
[0042]
Further, when the groove width is further reduced, the groove 22 has a V-groove shape but does not penetrate. At this time, by making the remainder of the V-groove (= (thickness) − (V-groove depth)) small, it can be separated by a simple force. The remaining thickness of the V-groove can be adjusted by the groove width. Further, when the groove portion is stopped by the V-groove and does not penetrate, the groove 22 does not necessarily need to be intermittent.
[0043]
In this way, by forming a narrow groove between the chips on the silicon wafer and separating the chips by applying stress, the face does not adhere as in dicing. In this case, a slight bridging piece may be generated when the chip is separated, but it is relatively large unlike a fine facet generated at the time of dicing, and can be removed by light washing after the chip separation. In addition, since no force such as water pressure or vacuum chuck is applied and no dicing tape is required, the yield is improved.
[0044]
Next, a second embodiment of the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 is a chip arrangement diagram in the silicon wafer 30, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged explanatory view of one chip in FIG.
[0045]
Here, the flow path substrate 1 is formed using a silicon substrate (silicon wafer 30) having a (110) plane orientation. Since a substrate having a (110) plane orientation is used, the liquid chamber 6 is formed in a parallelogram shape in a planar shape, and the common liquid chamber 8 is formed in a saw shape since the vertical direction in the drawing does not follow the crystal plane. Further, in anisotropic etching of a substrate with a (110) plane orientation, patterning is performed so that a vertical (111) plane appears between the liquid chambers 6, so that the partition walls between the liquid chambers 6 become vertical and high density. The liquid chamber 6 can be arranged in
[0046]
Similar to the above-described embodiment, grooves (patterns) 32 a and 32 b having a parallelogram shape in plan view are formed between the chips 31. In the figure, the lateral direction (<112> direction) groove 32 a is the same direction as the liquid chamber 6, so that it becomes an elongated groove on the vertical (111) plane. A chip separating line 34a is constituted by the discontinuous portion (bridge) 33a between the groove 32a and each groove 32a.
[0047]
On the other hand, since the vertical direction (<111> direction) does not coincide with the crystal direction in the figure, a vertical groove cannot be formed. Therefore, small parallelogram-shaped grooves (patterns) 32b are formed side by side, and the chip separation line 34b is configured by the discontinuous portions 33b between the grooves 32b and the grooves 32b. In this case, if the parallelogram pattern is too small, the taper of the (111) plane enters and the etching stops at the V-groove, so the size of the parallelogram-shaped groove 32b in consideration of the thickness of the silicon wafer. It is necessary to decide.
[0048]
Note that the shapes of the grooves 32a and 32b constituting the chip separation lines 34a and 34b are not limited to the example of FIG. 7, and for example, as shown in FIG. The direction of the opposite side, that is, a parallelogram pattern opposite to the parallelogram pattern of the liquid chamber 6 may be used. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, a hexagonal groove (pattern) having a planar shape can be used instead of the parallelogram pattern.
[0049]
Here, since the chip separation lines 34a and 34b are as thin as possible, the number of chips in the wafer is increased, the width of the separation lines 34a and 34b is preferably as thin as possible.
[0050]
At this time, when a silicon wafer having a (100) plane orientation is used, the cross section in the wafer thickness direction of the groove constituting the separation line is as shown in FIG. An etching mask layer 25 made of a silicon oxide film or a silicon nitride film is formed on both surfaces of the wafer.
[0051]
In this silicon wafer, the taper of the (111) plane of θ = 54.7 ° enters by anisotropic etching, and the etching stops when the taper hits. The relationship between the digging depth T and the groove width L when the taper collides is expressed by L = √2T, and in order to penetrate a wafer having a thickness A, the groove width L is Lmin = √2A or more. If it is. Further, when it is desired to leave a small amount b without penetrating, the groove width L may be L = √2 (A−b).
[0052]
Further, when a silicon wafer having a (110) plane orientation is used, a cross section in the wafer thickness direction of the lateral groove 32a in FIG. 7 is as shown in FIG. In the (110) plane orientation, (111) plane vertical walls are formed, and in principle the groove width can be made as thin as possible. However, when bubbles are generated during anisotropic etching and the bubbles are confined in the narrow groove, the etching solution is not supplied into the groove and the etching does not proceed. In order to prevent the bubbles from being trapped in the groove, the groove width L needs to be 3 μm or more. In addition, when a means for forcibly discharging bubbles in the groove by applying an ultrasonic wave or the like is used, etching is possible if the groove width L is 1 μm or more.
[0053]
On the other hand, the grooves 32b constituting the vertical direction (<111> direction) separation line 34b in FIG. 7 when a silicon wafer having a (110) plane orientation is used cannot be a thin groove 32a as in the horizontal direction. . Therefore, the configuration for narrowing the width of the vertical separation line 34b will be described in detail.
[0054]
First, an oblique taper is formed even in a (110) plane silicon wafer. In anisotropic etching of a silicon wafer with a (110) plane orientation, two types of parallelogram patterns as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12C and a hexagonal pattern as shown in FIG. Is obtained. In addition, a combination of quadrilaterals, trapezoids, and pentagons having different left and right shapes in the figure can be formed.
[0055]
FIG. 12 shows three shapes at the same depth when the V-groove is formed. Among these, the width W is the smallest in the parallelogram pattern having an angle of 70.5 ° shown in FIG. Therefore, by arranging the parallelogram-shaped grooves (patterns) 32b having an angle of 70.5 ° to form the separation line 34b, the width L of the separation line 34b can be reduced.
[0056]
Therefore, a first example of the relationship between the arrangement of two parallelograms when the separation lines are formed by vertically arranging the grooves of the parallelogram pattern will be described with reference to FIG.
In this example, the height H of the parallelogram pattern 32b is made smaller than the pitch P of the array of parallelogram patterns 32b. In order to obtain a shape in which two parallelogram patterns 32b are partially connected by a bridge 33b, there must be a region Δ where the parallelogram patterns 32b overlap.
[0057]
From the figure, the minimum separation line width L at the etching depth T is determined by the following equation (1). In order to penetrate the wafer, the etching depth T may be made larger than the wafer thickness.
[0058]
[Expression 1]

[0059]
The height H of the parallelogram pattern is determined by the following equation (2).
[0060]
[Expression 2]

[0061]
The width t of the bridge can be arbitrarily determined according to the required strength. The width t of the bridge has a strength that can be used for wafer transfer and handling after etching, and can be easily separated during chip separation, and the wafer area can be used effectively. It is preferable that it is equal to or smaller than the separation width of a certain dicing. Therefore, the width t of the bridge is 1 to 50 μm, the length Δ of the bridge is 0.5 to 100 μm, and preferably the width t is 5 to 30 μm and the length Δ is 2 to 50 μm. The bridge includes a (111) tapered surface in addition to the width t, but the design value may be determined in consideration of the influence of the taper.
[0062]
The height H of the parallelogram pattern is ((√6) T−0.35) μm to ((√6) T−70) μm, preferably ((√6) T−1.4) μm. ~ ((√6) T-35) μm.
[0063]
Next, a second example of the relationship between the two parallelogram pattern arrangements when the parallelogram pattern grooves are arranged vertically to form a separation line will be described with reference to FIG. In this example, the height H of the parallelogram pattern 32b is set larger than the pitch P of the parallelogram pattern arrangement. From the figure, the minimum separation line width L at the etching depth T is determined by the following equation (3). In order to penetrate the wafer, the etching depth T may be made larger than the wafer thickness.
[0064]
[Equation 3]

[0065]
The height H of the parallelogram pattern 32b is determined by the following equation (4).
[0066]
[Expression 4]

[0067]
As described above, the width t of the bridge has a strength that can be used for wafer conveyance and handling after etching, and is a dimension that can be easily separated at the time of chip separation. It is preferable that the width is equal to or less than the separation width of the dicing method. Therefore, the bridge width t is 1 to 50 μm, the bridge length ε is 0.5 to 100 μm, and preferably the width t is 5 to 30 μm and the length ε is 2 to 50 μm.
[0068]
In this arrangement method, the separation line width L can be made smaller by Δ than in the arrangement method of the first example. Since Δ is substantially the width t, the height H of the parallelogram pattern is ((√6) T + 0.7) μm to ((√6) T + 35) μm, preferably ((√6) T + 7 ) Μm to ((√6) T + 21) μm.
[0069]
Next, a third embodiment of the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The figure is a plan view showing the chip arrangement on the wafer.
In this embodiment, by arranging the chips 31 in a staggered manner, the number of chips taken out from one wafer is increased as compared with the example of FIG. That is, the degree of freedom of chip arrangement on the wafer is improved by using the above-described chip separation lines 34a and 34b, and a wafer having the same size as compared with the dicing separation method in which chips can be separated only by a straight separation line. Can take more than 2 chips.
[0070]
In this case, since the vertical direction is a straight line, only the vertical direction can be separated using dicing. In the later process, when positioning by abutting using the edge of the chip, the edge separated by dicing is more accurate, and the horizontal separation line uses etching, so the number of chips can be increased .
[0071]
Next, an example of etching from both sides of a silicon wafer will be described with reference to FIGS. Each figure is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the silicon wafer in the wafer thickness direction.
[0072]
FIG. 16 shows a case where grooves are formed by etching from one side as described above. At this time, the taper angle θ is 54.7 ° when a silicon substrate having a (100) plane orientation is used, and 35.3 ° when a silicon substrate having a (110) plane orientation is used. On the other hand, FIG. 17 shows the case where etching mask pattern 28 is formed on both surfaces and etching is performed from both surfaces. When etching is performed from both sides, the depth of digging through the wafer may be half that of etching from one side. Therefore, the groove width M2 is also half of the width M1, and the separation line width can be reduced.
[0073]
In this case, if further etching is performed after the tapers from both sides collide, the taper begins to be etched and the opening becomes larger (FIG. 17B). Eventually, the taper disappears completely (FIG. 17C). By eliminating the taper, the bridge 33b that connects the chips becomes thinner and more easily separated.
[0074]
Further, as shown in FIG. 18, the etching mask pattern 28a on one surface (upper surface) of the wafer is the same as that in FIG. 17, and the etching mask pattern 28b on the other surface (lower surface) does not include a pattern corresponding to the bridge. When the silicon wafer is etched using the mask patterns 28a and 28b, the bridge 33b is finally thinner than the thickness of the substrate (wafer) 30, and it becomes easier to separate the chips.
[0075]
Next, a case where the flow path substrate 1 and another substrate such as the electrode substrate 2 are stacked will be described.
In the first method, as shown in FIG. 19, anisotropic etching is performed on a silicon wafer (substrate) to form a chip separation line together with a liquid chamber and a common liquid chamber of each chip. Are separated into individual chips, and the separated chips are bonded to the electrode substrate or the like in chip units.
[0076]
In this way, a method of etching the chip separation line pattern from both sides can be used, the separation line can be made thin, and the wafer area can be used effectively.
[0077]
In the second method, as shown in FIG. 20, anisotropic etching is performed on a silicon wafer (substrate) to form chip separation lines together with the liquid chamber and common liquid chamber of each chip. Without separation, it is bonded to another substrate such as an electrode substrate or a nozzle plate in the wafer size. The electrode substrate and the nozzle plate may be made of glass such as Pyrex, ceramics such as alumina, or metal such as nickel / SUS.
[0078]
In this case, it is difficult to simultaneously cut a stack of different materials in this way, but since the silicon substrate has a separation line only for the bridge, the silicon substrate can be easily separated by cutting other substrates. The
[0079]
Next, as a third method, as shown in FIG. 21, the wafer is bonded to another substrate, an electrode substrate, a nozzle plate, etc., and then etched. And it isolate | separates like before with the chip | tip separation line formed in the silicon wafer.
[0080]
According to this method, the first and second methods had to handle those whose strengths were weakened by etching, whereas the etching was performed after bonding, so that a laminated substrate was obtained. , It is strong and less likely to be damaged by handling.
[0081]
Next, an ink jet head according to a second embodiment of the droplet discharge head according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 22 is an exploded perspective view of the head, and FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of the head along the longitudinal direction of the liquid chamber.
[0082]
This inkjet head is bonded to the flow path forming substrate (liquid chamber substrate) 41 formed of a single crystal silicon substrate, the vibration plate 42 bonded to the lower surface of the flow path forming substrate 41, and the upper surface of the flow path forming substrate 41. A pressurizing liquid chamber 46 that is a flow path (ink liquid chamber) through which a nozzle 45 that discharges ink droplets communicates, and an ink supply path 47 that serves as a fluid resistance portion in the pressurizing liquid chamber 46. A common liquid chamber 48 for supplying ink through the nozzle is formed.
[0083]
A laminated piezoelectric element 52 as a driving unit is bonded to the outer side of the diaphragm 42 (on the opposite side to the liquid chamber 46) corresponding to each pressurized liquid chamber 46, and the laminated piezoelectric element 52 is a base substrate. The spacer member 54 is bonded to the base substrate 53 around the row of the piezoelectric elements 52.
[0084]
The piezoelectric element 52 is formed by alternately stacking piezoelectric material layers and internal electrodes. In this case, the ink in the pressurized liquid chamber 46 may be pressurized using the displacement in the d33 direction as the piezoelectric direction of the piezoelectric element 52, or the pressurized liquid using the displacement in the d31 direction as the piezoelectric direction of the piezoelectric element 52. A configuration may be adopted in which the ink in the chamber 46 is pressurized. The base substrate 53 and the spacer member 54 are formed with through holes for forming ink supply ports 49 for supplying ink to the common liquid chamber 48 from the outside.
[0085]
Also, the outer peripheral portion of the flow path forming substrate 41 and the lower outer edge portion of the vibration plate 42 are adhesively bonded to a head frame 57 formed by injection molding with epoxy resin or polyphenylene sulfite, and the head frame 57 and the base substrate 53 Are fixed to each other with an adhesive or the like at a portion not shown. Although the head frame 57 is divided into two parts, it can be constituted by one part.
[0086]
Further, an FPC cable 58 is connected to the piezoelectric element 52 by solder bonding, ACF (anisotropic conductive film) bonding or wire bonding in order to give a drive signal, and the FPC cable 58 is selectively connected to each piezoelectric element 52. A drive circuit (driver IC) 59 for applying a drive waveform is mounted.
[0087]
Here, the flow path forming substrate 41 is obtained by anisotropically etching a single crystal silicon substrate having a crystal plane orientation (110) using an alkaline etching solution such as an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution (KOH), thereby providing each pressurized liquid chamber. A through hole serving as 46, a groove serving as an ink supply path 47, and a through hole serving as a common liquid chamber 48 are formed. In this case, each pressurized liquid chamber 46 is partitioned by a partition wall.
[0088]
The diaphragm 42 is formed of a nickel metal plate and is manufactured by an electroforming method. Further, the nozzle plate 43 forms a nozzle 45 having a diameter of 10 to 30 μm corresponding to each pressurized liquid chamber 46 and is bonded to the flow path forming substrate 41 with an adhesive. The nozzle plate 43 may be made of a metal such as stainless steel or nickel, a combination of a metal and a resin such as a polyimide resin film, silicon, or a combination thereof. Further, a water repellent film is formed on the nozzle surface (surface in the ejection direction: ejection surface) by a known method such as a plating film or a water repellent coating in order to ensure water repellency with ink.
[0089]
In the ink jet head configured as described above, by selectively applying a drive pulse voltage of 20 to 50 V to the piezoelectric element 52, the piezoelectric element 52 to which the pulse voltage is applied is displaced in the stacking direction, and the diaphragm 42 is deformed in the direction of the nozzle 45, the ink in the pressurized liquid chamber 46 is pressurized by the volume / volume change of the pressurized liquid chamber 46, and ink droplets are ejected (jetted) from the nozzle 45.
[0090]
As the ink droplets are ejected, the liquid pressure in the pressurized liquid chamber 46 decreases, and a slight negative pressure is generated in the pressurized liquid chamber 46 due to the inertia of the ink flow at this time. Under this state, when the voltage application to the piezoelectric element 52 is turned off, the vibration plate 42 returns to the original position and the pressurized liquid chamber 46 becomes the original shape, so that further negative pressure is generated. To do. At this time, the ink is filled into the pressurized liquid chamber 46 from the ink supply port 49 through the common liquid chamber 48 and the ink supply path 47 which is a fluid resistance portion. Therefore, after the vibration of the ink meniscus surface of the nozzle 45 is attenuated and stabilized, a pulse voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 52 for discharging the next ink droplet to discharge the ink droplet.
[0091]
In this case, the flow path forming substrate 41 forms a liquid chamber 46, a common liquid chamber 48 and the like on a silicon wafer in units of chips as in the first embodiment, and is formed into a small polygon by anisotropic etching between the chips. A chip separation line is formed by placing the pattern grooves and arranging them, and the chip separation lines are used to separate and form the individual flow path forming substrates.
[0092]
Next, an ink jet head according to a third embodiment of the droplet discharge head according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 24 is an exploded perspective view of the head, and FIG. 25 is a perspective view of the flow path forming substrate of the head.
[0093]
The inkjet head includes a first substrate 61 that is a flow path forming member and a second substrate 62 that is a heating element substrate provided below the first substrate 61, and thereby a plurality of ink droplets are ejected therefrom. A nozzle 64, a pressurized liquid chamber flow path 66 that is a liquid flow path communicating with the nozzle 64, a common liquid chamber flow path 68 that supplies ink to the pressurized liquid chamber flow path 66, and the like are formed. Are supplied from the ink supply port 70, and are ejected as droplets from the nozzle 64 through the common liquid chamber flow path 68 and the pressurized liquid chamber flow path 66.
[0094]
The first substrate 61, which is a flow path forming member, forms a nozzle 64, a pressurized liquid chamber flow path 66, and a common liquid chamber flow path 68 on a silicon wafer in units of chips, and is minutely formed by anisotropic etching between the chips. A polygonal pattern is inserted and arranged to form a chip separation line, which is separated from the chip separation line into a chip. A heating resistor (electrothermal conversion element) 71 and a common electrode 72 and individual electrodes 73 for applying a voltage to the heating resistor 71 are formed on the second substrate 62.
[0095]
In the ink jet head configured as described above, when the driving voltage is selectively applied to the individual electrode 73, the heating resistor 71 generates heat and bubbles are generated in the ink in the pressurized liquid chamber channel 66, thereby changing the pressure. The ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle 64 due to the pressure change in the ink.
[0096]
Next, an ink cartridge according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The ink cartridge 80 is obtained by integrating the ink jet head 82 according to any of the above embodiments having the nozzles 81 and the like, and the ink tank 83 for supplying ink to the ink jet head 82.
[0097]
In this way, in the case of an ink tank integrated head, a defective yield of the head immediately leads to a defect of the entire ink cartridge. Therefore, as described above, a defective ink droplet discharge due to a remaining facet or the like is reduced, thereby reducing the yield of the ink cartridge. This can improve the cost of the head-integrated ink cartridge.
[0098]
Next, an example of an ink jet recording apparatus equipped with an ink jet head which is a liquid droplet ejection head according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 27 is an explanatory perspective view of the recording apparatus, and FIG. 28 is an explanatory side view of a mechanism portion of the recording apparatus.
[0099]
This ink jet recording apparatus includes a carriage movable in the main scanning direction inside the recording apparatus main body 111, a recording head comprising the ink jet head according to the present invention mounted on the carriage, an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the recording head, and the like. A paper feed cassette (or a paper feed tray) 114 on which a large number of sheets 113 can be stacked from the front side is detachably attached to the lower part of the apparatus main body 111. In addition, the manual feed tray 115 for manually feeding the paper 113 can be opened, the paper 113 fed from the paper feed cassette 114 or the manual feed tray 115 is taken in, and the printing mechanism unit 112 takes the required After the image is recorded, it is discharged to a discharge tray 116 mounted on the rear side.
[0100]
The printing mechanism 112 holds the carriage 123 slidably in the main scanning direction (in the direction perpendicular to the paper in FIG. 28) with a main guide rod 121 and a sub guide rod 122 which are guide members horizontally mounted on left and right side plates (not shown). The carriage 123 has a head 124 formed of an inkjet head, which is a droplet discharge head according to the present invention, which discharges ink droplets of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (Bk). Are arranged in a direction crossing the main scanning direction and the ink droplet discharge direction is directed downward. Also, each ink cartridge 125 for supplying each color ink to the head 124 is replaceably mounted on the carriage 123.
[0101]
The ink cartridge 125 has an air port that communicates with the atmosphere upward, a supply port that supplies ink to the inkjet head below, and a porous body filled with ink inside, and the capillary force of the porous body Thus, the ink supplied to the inkjet head is maintained at a slight negative pressure.
[0102]
Further, although the heads 124 of the respective colors are used here as the recording heads, a single head having nozzles for ejecting ink droplets of the respective colors may be used.
[0103]
Here, the carriage 123 is slidably fitted to the main guide rod 121 on the rear side (downstream side in the paper conveyance direction), and is slidably mounted on the sub guide rod 122 on the front side (upstream side in the paper conveyance direction). is doing. In order to move and scan the carriage 123 in the main scanning direction, a timing belt 130 is stretched between a driving pulley 128 and a driven pulley 129 that are rotationally driven by a main scanning motor 127. The carriage 123 is reciprocally driven by forward and reverse rotation of the main scanning motor 127.
[0104]
On the other hand, in order to convey the sheet 113 set in the sheet cassette 114 to the lower side of the head 124, the sheet 113 is guided from the sheet feeding cassette 114 to the sheet feeding roller 131 and the friction pad 132. A guide member 133, a transport roller 134 that reverses and transports the fed paper 113, a transport roller 135 that is pressed against the peripheral surface of the transport roller 134, and a tip that defines the feed angle of the paper 113 from the transport roller 134 A roller 136 is provided. The transport roller 134 is rotationally driven by a sub-scanning motor 137 through a gear train.
[0105]
A printing receiving member 139 is provided as a paper guide member that guides the paper 113 fed from the transport roller 134 on the lower side of the recording head 124 corresponding to the movement range of the carriage 123 in the main scanning direction. On the downstream side of the printing receiving member 139 in the paper conveyance direction, a conveyance roller 141 and a spur 142 that are rotationally driven to send the paper 113 in the paper discharge direction are provided, and paper discharge that further feeds the paper 113 to the paper discharge tray 116. A roller 143 and a spur 144, and guide members 145 and 146 forming a paper discharge path are disposed.
[0106]
At the time of recording, the recording head 124 is driven according to the image signal while moving the carriage 123, thereby ejecting ink onto the stopped sheet 113 to record one line. Record the line. Upon receiving a recording end signal or a signal that the trailing edge of the sheet 113 reaches the recording area, the recording operation is terminated and the sheet 113 is discharged. In this case, the inkjet head according to the present invention constituting the head 124 has improved controllability of ink droplet ejection and suppressed characteristic fluctuations, so that an image with high image quality can be recorded stably.
[0107]
A recovery device 147 for recovering defective ejection of the head 124 is disposed at a position outside the recording area on the right end side in the movement direction of the carriage 123. The recovery device 147 includes a cap unit, a suction unit, and a cleaning unit. The carriage 123 is moved to the recovery device 147 side during printing standby, and the head 124 is capped by the capping unit, and the ejection port portion is kept in a wet state to prevent ejection failure due to ink drying. Further, by ejecting ink that is not related to recording during recording or the like, the ink viscosity of all the ejection ports is made constant and stable ejection performance is maintained.
[0108]
When a discharge failure occurs, the discharge port (nozzle) of the head 124 is sealed by the capping unit, and bubbles and the like are sucked out from the discharge port by the suction unit through the tube. Is removed by the cleaning means to recover the ejection failure. Further, the sucked ink is discharged to a waste ink reservoir (not shown) installed at the lower part of the main body and absorbed and held by an ink absorber inside the waste ink reservoir.
[0109]
As described above, since the low-cost ink jet head embodying the present invention is mounted in the ink jet recording apparatus, the cost can be reduced.
[0110]
In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the ink jet head is applied as a liquid droplet ejection head has been described. However, as a liquid droplet ejection head other than the ink jet head, for example, a liquid droplet ejection head that ejects liquid resist as liquid droplets, DNA The present invention can also be applied to other droplet discharge heads such as a droplet discharge head that discharges the sample as droplets.
[0111]
【The invention's effect】
  As described above, the droplet discharge head according to the present inventionManufacturing methodAccording toA chip separation line in the <111> direction for separating into individual structures to be put on a silicon wafer having a (110) plane orientation is a parallelogram pattern having an angle of 70.5 °, which is the height of the parallelogram pattern. It is a configuration with a larger pitch.SoA rectangular chip can be cut even in a (110) plane wafer, and the width of the separation line can be reduced.The yield can be improved and the cost can be reduced.
[0112]
Here, since the chip separation lines in the <112> direction of the (110) plane silicon wafer are arranged by arranging long polygonal patterns in the <112> direction, the chips can be separated by thin grooves and the wafer area can be used effectively. be able to. In this case, since the polygonal width pattern is 1 μm or more, it is possible to prevent the etching rate from being lowered due to the introduction of bubbles during etching.
[0114]
In this case, by setting the length of the bridge formed between adjacent parallelogram patterns to 0.5 to 100 μm, the strength of the wafer after etching can be sufficiently maintained, and it is easy at the time of chip separation. Can be accurately separated into chips. Further, since the width of the bridge formed by the adjacent parallelograms is set to 1 to 50 μm, the strength of the wafer after etching can be kept sufficiently, and the chips can be easily and accurately separated at the time of chip separation. Furthermore, the height of the parallelogram pattern is set to ((√6) T−0.35) μm to ((√6) T−70) μm, where T is the depth of anisotropic etching. Thus, the strength of the wafer after etching can be sufficiently maintained, and the chip can be easily and accurately separated into chips.
[0115]
  According to the method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention,Silicon wafer with (110) plane orientationTo separate the individual structures into<111> direction chip separation lineIsA parallelogram pattern with an angle of 70.5 °thisArrange at a pitch smaller than the height of the parallelogram patternConfigurationTherefore, a rectangular chip can be cut out even in a (110) plane wafer, and the width of the separation line can be reduced.Thus, the yield can be improved and the cost can be reduced.
[0116]
In this case, by setting the length of the bridge formed by the adjacent parallelogram pattern to 0.5 to 100 μm, the strength of the wafer after etching can be sufficiently maintained, and it is easy at the time of chip separation. Can be accurately separated into chips. Further, by setting the width of the bridge formed by adjacent parallelogram patterns to 1 to 50 μm, the strength of the wafer after etching can be sufficiently maintained, and the chip can be easily and accurately separated during chip separation. Can be separated. Further, the height of the parallelogram pattern is set to ((√6) T + 0.7) μm to ((√6) T + 35) μm, where T is the depth of anisotropic etching. The strength of the subsequent wafer can be maintained sufficiently, and can be easily and accurately separated into chips during chip separation.
[0117]
Furthermore, by arranging the arrangement of chips in the silicon wafer in a staggered arrangement, the number of chips in the silicon wafer can be increased, and the cost can be further reduced. Further, since the chip separation line is formed by etching from both the front and back surfaces, the width of the chip separation line can be reduced as compared with the case where the chip separation line is formed by etching from one surface.
[0118]
Also, after anisotropic etching, it is separated into chips, and then bonded to other substrates, so that chip separation lines can be formed by etching from both sides. By bonding and then separating into chips, chip separation lines can be formed by etching from both sides, the process can be flowed in wafer units, and after bonding to other substrates, anisotropic By performing etching and then separating into chips, the process can be performed in units of wafers, the strength of the substrate can be increased, and the yield can be increased.
[0119]
  According to the present inventionDroplet dischargeAccording to the headLiquid chamberSince the structure for forming is manufactured by the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention, the cost can be reduced and the reliability can be improved.
[0120]
  According to the present inventionimageAccording to the recording device,According to the present inventionDroplet dischargeSince the head is mounted, the cost can be reduced and high-quality recording can be performed stably.
[0121]
According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, since the ink jet head according to the present invention for ejecting ink droplets is mounted, the cost can be reduced and stable high image quality recording can be performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head according to a first embodiment of a droplet discharge head according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the head along the longitudinal direction of the diaphragm.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the head along the transversal direction of the diaphragm.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory plan view showing a chip arrangement on a wafer for explaining the first embodiment of the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head according to the present invention;
5 is an enlarged explanatory view of one chip size in FIG.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory plan view showing a chip arrangement on a wafer for explaining a second embodiment of the method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention.
7 is an enlarged explanatory diagram for one chip size in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged explanatory diagram for one chip size for explaining another example of the embodiment;
FIG. 9 is an enlarged explanatory diagram for one chip size for explaining still another example of the embodiment;
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a groove when a silicon wafer having a (100) plane orientation is used.
11 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the lateral groove of FIG. 7 when a silicon wafer having a (110) plane orientation is used.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a pattern by anisotropic etching
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a first example when arranging two parallelogram patterns.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a second example when arranging two parallelogram patterns.
FIG. 15 is an explanatory plan view showing a chip arrangement on a wafer for explaining a third embodiment of the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head according to the present invention;
FIG. 16 is an explanatory cross-sectional view for explaining an example of forming a pattern constituting a separation line by anisotropic etching from one side.
FIG. 17 is an explanatory cross-sectional view for explaining an example of forming a pattern constituting a separation line by anisotropic etching from both sides.
FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional explanatory view for explaining another example of forming a pattern constituting a separation line by anisotropic etching from both sides.
FIG. 19 is a flowchart for explaining a first example of a manufacturing method when a structure is bonded to another substrate.
FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining a second example of the manufacturing method when the structure is bonded to another substrate.
FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining a third example of the manufacturing method in the case where the structure is bonded to another substrate.
FIG. 22 is an exploded perspective view of the inkjet head of the second embodiment of the droplet discharge head according to the present invention.
FIG. 23 is a cross sectional explanatory view of the head along the longitudinal direction of the diaphragm.
FIG. 24 is an exploded perspective view of the ink jet head of the third embodiment of the droplet discharge head according to the present invention.
FIG. 25 is a perspective explanatory view of a flow path forming substrate of the head.
FIG. 26 is a perspective explanatory view of an ink cartridge according to the present invention.
FIG. 27 is a perspective explanatory view for explaining a mechanism part of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the invention.
FIG. 28 is an explanatory side view of the recording apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Channel substrate, 3 ... Electrode substrate, 4 ... Nozzle plate, 5 ... Nozzle, 6 ... Liquid chamber, 8 ... Common liquid chamber, 15 ... Electrode, 30 ... Wafer, 31 ... Chip, 32a, 32b ... Pattern (groove) ), 33a, 33b... Bridge, 34a, 34b.

Claims (18)

(110) A silicon wafer having a plane orientation is anisotropically etched to form a plurality of structures, and a chip separation line in which minute polygonal patterns are arranged between the plurality of structures by anisotropic etching. And a method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head for separating the chip separation line into individual structures,
The (110) plane for separating the individual structures to put the silicon wafer of orientation <111> direction of chip separation lines of the parallelogram pattern parallelogram pattern having an angle of 70.5 ° A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head, wherein the droplet discharge heads are arranged at a pitch larger than the height. 2. The method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 1 , wherein a <112> -direction chip separation line for separating the individual structures to be put into the (110) plane oriented silicon wafer is long in the <112> direction. A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head, characterized by having a configuration in which polygonal patterns are arranged. 3. The method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 2 , wherein a width of the polygonal pattern is 1 [mu] m or more. 4. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 1 , wherein a length of a bridge formed by the adjacent parallelogram pattern is 0.5 to 100 [mu] m. A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head. 5. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 1 , wherein a width of a bridge formed by the adjacent parallelogram pattern is 1 to 50 [mu] m. Manufacturing method. 6. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 1 , wherein the height of the parallelogram pattern is ((√6) T− when the anisotropic etching depth is T). 0.35) μm to ((√6) T-70) μm. (110) A silicon wafer having a plane orientation is anisotropically etched to form a plurality of structures, and a chip separation line in which minute polygonal patterns are arranged between the plurality of structures by anisotropic etching. And a method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head for separating the chip separation line into individual structures ,
The (110) plane for separating the individual structures to put the silicon wafer of orientation <111> direction of chip separation lines of the parallelogram pattern parallelogram pattern having an angle of 70.5 ° A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head, wherein the droplet discharge heads are arranged at a pitch smaller than the height. 8. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 7 , wherein a length of a bridge formed by the adjacent parallelogram pattern is 0.5 to 100 [mu] m. Method. 9. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 7 , wherein a bridge formed by the adjacent parallelogram pattern has a width of 1 to 50 [mu] m. . 10. The method of manufacturing a liquid droplet ejection head according to claim 7 , wherein the height of the parallelogram pattern is ((√6) T + 0. 7) A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head, which is within a range of μm to ((√6) T + 35) μm. 11. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 1 , wherein the arrangement of the structures in the silicon wafer is a staggered arrangement. 12. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 1 , wherein the pattern constituting the chip separation line of the silicon wafer is formed by anisotropic etching from both front and back surfaces. Manufacturing method of the discharge head. 13. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 1 , wherein the silicon wafer is anisotropically etched and then separated into structures, and the structure is then bonded to another substrate. A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head. 13. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 1 , wherein the silicon wafer is anisotropically etched, bonded to another substrate, and then separated into each structure. A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head. 13. The method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 1 , wherein after the silicon wafer is bonded to another substrate, the silicon wafer is anisotropically etched and then separated into each structure. A manufacturing method of a droplet discharge head characterized by the above. In the droplet discharge head having a structure in which nozzles for ejecting droplets forming a liquid chamber communicating, manufactured by the method for manufacturing the droplet-discharging head according the structure in any one of the claims 1 to 15 A liquid droplet ejection head characterized by the above. 17. An ink cartridge comprising an ink jet head for ejecting ink droplets and an ink tank for supplying ink to the ink jet head, wherein the ink jet head is the liquid droplet ejecting head according to claim 16 . In an image recording apparatus equipped with a droplet discharging head for discharging liquid droplets, an image recording apparatus wherein the liquid droplet ejection head is a droplet discharge head according to claim 16.

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