JP4687183B2 - Method for manufacturing droplet discharge head - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head .

In a droplet discharge head (inkjet head), a metal wiring is provided on the surface of a sealing substrate by sputtering or the like in order to connect to a drive circuit that drives an actuator substrate. As a wiring formation method on the sealing substrate, first, Ni—Cr alloy is sputtered on the entire surface of the substrate, and then Au is sputtered on the Ni—Cr film. Thereafter, resist patterning is performed, and Au and Ni—Cr are etched using the remaining resist as a mask. Finally, the resist is peeled off by a method such as O ₂ plasma ashing to form a wiring pattern (film pattern) on the substrate.

In the above sputtered wiring, diffusion of the base film (Ni-Cr) in the laminated sputtered film (Au / Ni-Cr) occurs due to heating during sputtering, and the substrate (Au) increases in resistance of the wiring (Au) and generates stress. There arises a problem that the wafer is warped.
In view of this, a process-resistant sputtered base film (Ni—Cr) is used for wiring, and the Au wiring is thickened by plating, which is a low-temperature film forming process, to reduce resistance and reduce stress.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for forming a brazing filler metal layer on a metal layer formed on a pad by displacement plating.
Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for applying a catalyst after removing an oxide film with an etching solution as a pretreatment for plating.
JP 2003-142513 A

However, the following problems exist in the conventional technology as described above.
Since the sputter ground wiring having process resistance has a property of easily forming a strong oxide film, it is difficult to form a metal film by plating because it is hindered by the oxide film. In particular, there is a high possibility that a stronger oxide film is formed on the sputter ground wiring by performing a resist stripping process by O ₂ plasma ashing.
As described above, when an oxide film is present on the underlying wiring, a sufficient catalyst cannot be applied, so that there is a problem that lamination by plating is difficult.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and even when a wiring is formed using a material that is easy to form an oxide film, a film pattern forming method and a device manufacturing capable of sufficiently laminating a metal film by plating It is an object to provide a method and a manufacturing method of a droplet discharge head.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following configuration.
A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention includes a nozzle substrate having a nozzle opening from which droplets are discharged, a channel formation substrate connected to one surface of the nozzle substrate to form a liquid channel, and a channel formation A vibration plate connected to one surface of the substrate and displaced by driving the piezoelectric element, and a reservoir forming substrate connected to one surface of the vibration plate to form a reservoir, wherein the piezoelectric elements are sequentially stacked on the vibration plate. A piezoelectric film and an electrode film, and the reservoir forming substrate includes a driving circuit unit disposed with a step with the piezoelectric element and driving the piezoelectric element, and a wiring pattern disposed with the step with the driving circuit unit. A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head, wherein the drive circuit unit and the wiring pattern are connected by a first wire, and the drive circuit unit and the electrode film are connected by a second wire, Serial wiring pattern, the piezoelectric film and the electrode film was formed Ni, Cr, Cr-containing alloy, a first conductive film formed by any one of Ni-containing alloy, by plating on the first conductive film A film pattern having a second conductive film is formed on a substrate, and the film pattern forming method corresponds to the film pattern on the substrate on which the first conductive film is formed. Patterning a mask layer having an opening , applying a plating catalyst to the first conductive film before plating the second conductive film, and passing through the opening. A step of plating the second conductive film on the first conductive film, and a step of peeling the mask layer from the substrate on which the second conductive film is formed by O ₂ plasma treatment. It is what.

Therefore, in the film pattern forming method of the present invention, before the step of peeling the mask layer in which the oxide film is formed on the first conductive film, for example, the step including the O ₂ plasma treatment, the first through the opening of the mask layer. Since the second conductive film is formed by plating on one conductive film, the plating process can be performed with or without an oxide film. Therefore, even when the catalyst is applied before the plating treatment, it can be sufficiently applied, and the second conductive film can be laminated to a desired thickness.

Preferably, the method further includes a step of plating a third conductive film on the second conductive film after removing the mask layer.
Therefore, in the present invention, the third conductive film can be formed also in the region where the mask layer has been formed, and a thick and low resistance film pattern can be obtained.
Moreover, in this invention, when patterning a 1st electrically conductive film, the process of removing using the said 3rd electrically conductive film as a mask can be employ | adopted suitably.
This eliminates the need for providing a separate mask when patterning the first conductive film, which can contribute to an improvement in productivity.

In the film pattern forming method of the present invention, preferably, a procedure including a step of etching the first conductive film and providing a catalyst for the plating process before the second conductive film is formed by plating. it can.
Therefore, in the film pattern forming method of the present invention, the oxide film formed on the first conductive film can be removed by etching, so that a catalyst for plating can be efficiently applied. Therefore, in the present invention, the second conductive film can be laminated to a desired thickness.

In the case of this procedure, it is preferable that the catalyst is mixed in an etchant for the first conductive film.
Therefore, in the present invention, a catalyst can be applied to the first conductive film without forming an oxide film on the first conductive film in the step after the etching process.
Moreover, when using the etching liquid with which the catalyst was mixed, it is preferable to use what melt | dissolved the same liquid agent as the said etching liquid as a solution.
Accordingly, in the present invention, even when a concentrated solution is used for etching, the catalyst can be stabilized without being decomposed.

In the present invention, electroless plating is preferable as the plating from the viewpoint of preventing a temperature rise caused by electrolytic plating.
In this case, the second conductive film is preferably formed of at least one of Ni, Cu, and Au. The first conductive film is preferably formed of any one of Ni, Cr, a Cr-containing alloy, and a Ni-containing alloy.

In the film pattern forming method of the present invention, the film pattern is preferably formed in a linear shape.
As a result, in the present invention, it is possible to form a wiring pattern laminated to a desired thickness.

On the other hand, the device manufacturing method of the present invention is a method for manufacturing a device having a substrate on which a film pattern is formed, wherein the film pattern is formed by the film pattern forming method described above. .
Therefore, in the device manufacturing method of the present invention, a substrate having a sufficiently thick film pattern can be obtained even when a material that is easy to form an oxide film is used.

The method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head having a substrate on which a film pattern is formed and discharging droplets by a signal supplied through the film pattern. The film pattern is formed by the film pattern forming method described above.
Therefore, in the method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention, even when a material that easily forms an oxide film is used, a film pattern having a sufficient thickness can be formed, and a signal supplied through the film pattern can be obtained. Accordingly, it is possible to ensure a stable droplet discharge operation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a film pattern forming method, a device manufacturing method, and a droplet discharge head manufacturing method of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
(First embodiment)
First, a first embodiment of a film pattern forming method according to the present invention will be described.
FIGS. 1A to 1F are diagrams showing steps of a film pattern forming method.
As shown in FIG. 1 (a), a Ni—Cr alloy (Cr 20%) is first sputtered (or vacuum deposited or the like) on the surface of a thermally oxidized silicon substrate (substrate) 1 to form a NiCr film (first conductive film). 2 is formed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1B, a plating resist is applied, and the plating resist is patterned by photolithography or the like, so that the plating resist as a mask layer having an opening 3a corresponding to the film pattern to be formed is formed. Pattern 3 is formed. In this case, it is possible to form, for example, a film pattern as a pad by forming the dotted opening 3a, and a film pattern as a wiring is formed by forming the linear opening 3a. It becomes possible.

Thereafter, the plating process is performed in a state where the resist pattern 3 is formed, but before that, a pretreatment for laminating the plating is performed.
Specifically, Ni—Cr alloy is left alone, and a strong oxide film is formed. Therefore, hydrochloric acid as an etching solution having a large etching effect of Ni—Cr alloy and Pd catalyst for plating treatment are dissolved. It was immersed in the solution which mixed with the prepared solution for 1-5 minutes at normal temperature. The concentration of the mixed solution is 15 to 30% hydrochloric acid and 10 to 100 ppm of Pd salt.

By using a Pd catalyst that is dissolved in a hydrochloric acid-based solution, the Pd catalyst can be stabilized without being decomposed even when mixed with an etching solution made of concentrated hydrochloric acid.
By performing this pretreatment, it is possible to apply the Pd catalyst to the NiCr film 2 while removing the oxide film formed on the surface of the NiCr film 2 exposed from the opening 3a.

  Next, the silicon substrate 1 is immersed in an electroless Ni plating bath heated to 80 to 90 ° C., and as shown in FIG. 1C, the NiCr exposed from the opening 3a using the resist pattern 3 as a mask. A nickel film (second conductive film) 4 was formed on the Pd nucleus applied to the film 2 by about 0.5 to 1 μm. In addition, since the hypophosphorous acid bath was used as Ni plating, phosphorus (P) precipitates in Ni.

Further, the silicon substrate 1 is immersed for 10 to 30 minutes in a replacement Au plating bath heated to 60 to 80 ° C., and as shown in FIG. 05 to 0.2 μm were laminated. Further, it was immersed in an electroless Au plating bath heated to 45 to 60 ° C. for 1 to 2 hours, and a 0.7 to 1 μm Au film 6 was laminated.
A sulfurous acid bath was used for the replacement Au plating and electroless Au plating. Further, between the chemical treatment and the chemical treatment, washing with pure water was performed for 3 to 5 minutes.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1E, the plating resist pattern 3 on the silicon substrate 1 is removed by plasma treatment such as O ₂ plasma ashing. As a result, the film pattern in which the nickel film 4 and the Au films 5 and 6 are laminated on the silicon substrate 1 (NiCr film 2) by plating is exposed.

Then, using the film pattern in which the nickel film 4 and the Au films 5 and 6 are laminated as a mask, the NiCr film 2a is left in the film pattern portion by, for example, wet etching using nitric acid, and the NiCr film 2 in other regions is removed. To do.
As a result, a wiring pattern (film pattern) 7 composed of the NiCr film 2a, the nickel film 4, and the Au films 5 and 6 is formed on the silicon substrate 1.
The electrical characteristics of the wiring pattern 7 are smaller than that of the wiring formed by sputtering, so that the resistance value is small. In addition, the silicon substrate (wafer) 1 on which the wiring pattern 7 is formed has a low temperature film formation process. Therefore, the warpage after pattern formation was halved.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the nickel film 4 and the Au films 5 and 6 are formed by plating before the O ₂ plasma ashing for removing the plating resist pattern 3, the process resistance is strong but strong. Even in the case of using a NiCr film that is easy to form an oxide film, a plating process can be performed before the oxide film is formed, so that a wiring pattern 7 having a sufficient thickness can be laminated. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a low resistance wiring pattern 7 can be obtained, and since the warp of the silicon substrate 1 after the wiring is formed is small, it is stable even when a semiconductor element or the like is connected to the wiring pattern 7. Connection becomes possible, which contributes to the improvement of quality.

  In this embodiment, since the NiCr film 2 is etched before the plating process by the etching solution mixed with the catalyst, the oxide film is surely formed even when the NiCr film 2 has already been formed. The catalyst can be applied before a new oxide film is formed, and the film can be stably formed by plating. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the Pd catalyst is dissolved in the same solution of hydrochloric acid as the etching solution, even when concentrated hydrochloric acid is used, the catalyst can be stabilized without being decomposed. A film can be more reliably formed by plating.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the film pattern forming method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this figure, the same reference numerals are given to the same elements as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the description thereof is simplified.

As shown in FIG. 2A, after the NiCr film 2 is first formed on the surface of the silicon substrate 1 by sputtering, as shown in FIG. 2B, the opening 3a corresponding to the film pattern to be formed is formed. A plating resist pattern 3 is formed.
Next, the silicon substrate 1 is immersed in an etching solution mixed with a Pd catalyst to remove the oxide film formed on the surface of the NiCr film 2, and after performing a pretreatment for applying a Pd catalyst, an electroless Ni The silicon substrate 1 is immersed in the plating bath, and a nickel film 4 is formed on the NiCr film 2 exposed from the opening 3a as shown in FIG.
Further, the silicon substrate 1 was immersed in a substitution Au plating bath, and an Au film 5 was laminated on the nickel film 4.
The process up to this step is the same as that in the first embodiment.

Next, the plating resist pattern 3 on the silicon substrate 1 is peeled off by plasma treatment such as O ₂ plasma ashing as shown in FIG. As a result, a film pattern in which the nickel film 4 and the Au film 5 are laminated on the silicon substrate 1 (NiCr film 2) by plating is exposed.

Thereafter, the silicon substrate 1 is immersed for 1 to 2 hours in an electroless Au plating bath heated to 45 to 60 ° C., and as shown in FIG. 3 conductive film) 6 was formed.
Here, since the resist pattern 3 has been removed in advance and the plating is grown isotropically, the Au film 6 is formed so as to cover the side surfaces of the nickel film 4 and the Au film 5. In this case, the nickel film 4 and the Au film 5 correspond to the second conductive film.

Then, with the film pattern formed by covering the nickel film 4 and the Au film 5 with the Au film 6 as a mask, the NiCr film 2a is left in the film pattern portion by wet etching using nitric acid, for example, and the NiCr film in other regions 2 is removed.
As a result, a wiring pattern (film pattern) 7 composed of the NiCr film 2a, the nickel film 4, and the Au films 5 and 6 is formed on the silicon substrate 1.

  In the film pattern forming method of the present embodiment, in addition to obtaining the same effects as those of the first embodiment, the nickel film 4 eroded by the etchant for the NiCr film 2 can be covered with the Au film 6, so-called It is possible to prevent side etching.

(Droplet ejection head)
Next, a liquid droplet ejection head having a substrate on which a wiring pattern is formed by the above film pattern forming method will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of the droplet discharge head H.

  The droplet discharge head H of the present embodiment discharges ink (functional liquid) in the form of droplets from a nozzle. As shown in FIG. 3, the droplet discharge head 1 is connected to a nozzle substrate 16 having a nozzle opening 15 from which droplets are discharged and an upper surface (+ Z side) of the nozzle substrate 16 to form an ink flow path. The flow path forming substrate 10, the vibration plate 400 connected to the upper surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 and displaced by driving the piezoelectric element (driving element) 300, and the reservoir connected to the upper surface of the vibration plate 400 to form the reservoir 100. A formation substrate (protection substrate) 20, drive circuit units (driver ICs) 200 </ b> A to 200 </ b> B for driving the piezoelectric element 300 provided on the reservoir formation substrate 20, and a plurality connected to the drive circuit units 200 </ b> A to 200 </ b> B. Wiring pattern (film pattern) 34.

  The operation of the droplet discharge head 1 is controlled by an external controller (not shown) connected to each of the drive circuit units 200A to 200B. The flow path forming substrate 10 is partitioned and formed with a plurality of substantially comb-shaped opening regions in plan view, and these opening regions are surrounded by the nozzle substrate 16 and the diaphragm 400 to form the pressure generating chamber 12. To do. Further, a portion surrounded by the reservoir forming substrate 20 and the flow path forming substrate 10 in the substantially comb-shaped opening region in the plan view forms the reservoir 100.

  The lower surface side (−Z side) of the flow path forming substrate 10 is opened, and the nozzle substrate 16 is connected to the lower surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 so as to cover the opening. The lower surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 and the nozzle substrate 16 are fixed via, for example, an adhesive or a heat welding film. The nozzle substrate 16 is provided with a plurality of nozzle openings 15 for discharging droplets. Specifically, a plurality of (for example, about 720) nozzle openings 15 provided in the nozzle substrate 16 are arranged in the Y-axis direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface).

  The pressure generating chamber 12 and the nozzle opening 15 are provided corresponding to each other. That is, a plurality of pressure generation chambers 12 are provided side by side in the Y-axis direction so as to correspond to the plurality of nozzle openings 15. The pressure generating chambers 12 are arranged so as to face each other in the X-axis direction, and a partition wall 10K is formed between them.

  The ends of the plurality of pressure generating chambers 12 on the substrate center side are closed by the partition wall 10K described above, but the ends on the substrate outer edge side are assembled so as to be connected to each other and connected to the reservoir 100. The reservoir 100 temporarily holds the functional liquid between the functional liquid inlet 25 and the pressure generation chamber 12, and is a reservoir formed in a rectangular shape in plan view extending in the Y-axis direction on the reservoir forming substrate 20. It is comprised from the part 21 and the communication part 13 formed in the flow-path formation board | substrate 10. FIG. The communication section 13 is connected to each pressure generation chamber 12 to form a common functional liquid holding chamber (ink chamber) for the plurality of pressure generation chambers 12. Looking at the path of the functional liquid shown in FIG. 3, the functional liquid introduced from the functional liquid introduction port 25 opened on the upper surface of the outer end of the head flows into the reservoir 100 through the introduction path 26, and passes through the supply path 14 to form a plurality of It is supplied to each of the pressure generation chambers 12.

  The vibration plate 400 disposed between the flow path forming substrate 10 and the reservoir forming substrate 20 has a structure in which the elastic film 50 and the lower electrode film 60 are laminated in order from the flow path forming substrate 10 side. The elastic film 50 disposed on the flow path forming substrate 10 side is made of, for example, a silicon oxide film having a thickness of about 1 to 2 μm. The lower electrode film 60 formed on the elastic film 50 is, for example, 0. It consists of a metal film having a thickness of about 2 μm. In the present embodiment, the lower electrode film 60 also functions as a common electrode for a plurality of piezoelectric elements 300 disposed between the flow path forming substrate 10 and the reservoir forming substrate 20.

A piezoelectric element 300 for deforming the diaphragm 400 has a structure in which a piezoelectric film 70 and an upper electrode film 80 are laminated in order from the lower electrode film 60 side. The thickness of the piezoelectric film 70 is, for example, about 1 μm, and the thickness of the upper electrode film 80 is, for example, about 0.1 μm.
The concept of the piezoelectric element 300 may include the lower electrode film 60 in addition to the piezoelectric film 70 and the upper electrode film 80. This is because the lower electrode film 60 functions as the piezoelectric element 300 and also functions as the diaphragm 400. In the present embodiment, a configuration in which the elastic film 50 and the lower electrode film 60 function as the diaphragm 400 is employed, but the elastic film 50 is omitted and the lower electrode film 60 also serves as the elastic film (50). You can also.

A plurality of piezoelectric elements 300 (the piezoelectric film 70 and the upper electrode film 80) are provided so as to correspond to the plurality of nozzle openings 15 and the pressure generating chambers 12, respectively.
A reservoir forming substrate 20 is provided so as to cover a region on the vibration plate 400 including the piezoelectric element 300, and the sealing film 31 is fixed to the upper surface of the reservoir forming substrate 20 (the side opposite to the flow path forming substrate 10). A compliance substrate 30 having a structure in which a plate 32 is laminated is bonded. In the compliance substrate 30, the sealing film 31 disposed on the inner side is made of a material having low rigidity and flexibility (for example, a polyphenylene sulfide film having a thickness of about 6 μm). The upper part of is sealed. On the other hand, the fixed plate 32 disposed on the outside is a plate-like member made of a hard material such as metal (for example, stainless steel having a thickness of about 30 μm).
The fixing plate 32 has an opening 33 formed by cutting out a planar region corresponding to the reservoir 100. With this configuration, the upper portion of the reservoir 100 is sealed only by the flexible sealing film 31. The flexible portion 22 can be deformed by a change in internal pressure.

  Normally, when the functional liquid is supplied to the reservoir 100 from the functional liquid inlet 25, a pressure change occurs in the reservoir 100 due to, for example, the flow of the functional liquid when the piezoelectric element 300 is driven or the ambient heat. However, as described above, since the upper portion of the reservoir 100 has the flexible portion 22 sealed only by the sealing film 31, the flexible portion 22 bends and deforms to absorb the pressure change. Therefore, the inside of the reservoir 100 is always maintained at a constant pressure. The other parts are held at a sufficient strength by the fixing plate 32. A functional liquid introduction port 25 for supplying a functional liquid to the reservoir 100 is formed on the compliance substrate 30 outside the reservoir 100, and the functional liquid introduction port 25 and the reservoir 100 are formed on the reservoir forming substrate 20. There is provided an introduction path 26 that communicates with the side wall.

  Since the reservoir forming substrate 20 is a member that forms the base of the droplet discharge head 1 together with the flow path forming substrate 10, it is preferable that the reservoir forming substrate 20 be a rigid body, and the material forming the reservoir forming substrate 20 is substantially the same as the flow path forming substrate 10. It is more preferable to use a material having a thermal expansion coefficient. In the present embodiment, since the flow path forming substrate 10 is made of silicon, a silicon single crystal substrate made of the same material as that is suitable. When a silicon single crystal substrate is used, high-precision processing can be easily performed by anisotropic etching, so that an advantage that the piezoelectric element holding portion 24 and the groove portion 700 can be easily formed is obtained. In addition, similarly to the flow path forming substrate 10, the reservoir forming substrate 20 can be manufactured using glass, a ceramic material, or the like.

  On the reservoir forming substrate 20, two drive circuit portions 200A to 200B are disposed. The drive circuit units 200A to 200B are configured to include, for example, a circuit board or a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) including a drive circuit. Each of the drive circuit units 200A to 200B includes a plurality of connection terminals (not shown), and some of the connection terminals are connected to the wiring pattern 34 formed on the reservoir forming substrate 20 by wires W1. Yes. Another part of the connection terminals of the drive circuit units 200A to 200B is connected to the upper electrode film 80 disposed in the groove 700 of the reservoir forming substrate 20 by the wire W2.

A groove 700 extending in the Y-axis direction is formed in the central portion of the reservoir forming substrate 20 in the X-axis direction.
Of the reservoir forming substrate 20 partitioned in the X-axis direction by the groove 700, a portion sealing the plurality of piezoelectric elements 300 connected to the circuit driving unit 200A is defined as a first sealing unit 20A, and the driving circuit unit 200B. A portion sealing the plurality of piezoelectric elements 300 connected to the second sealing portion 20B is a second sealing portion 20B. Each of the first sealing portion 20A and the second sealing portion 20B secures a space that does not hinder the movement of the piezoelectric element 300 in a region facing the piezoelectric element 300, and also seals the space. An element holding unit 24 is provided. Of the piezoelectric element 300, at least the piezoelectric film 70 is sealed in the piezoelectric element holding portion 24.

  Of the piezoelectric element 300 sealed by the piezoelectric element holding part 24 of the first sealing part 20A, the end part on the −X side of the upper electrode film 80 extends to the outside of the first sealing part 20A, and is a groove part. The bottom surface of 700 is exposed. In the case where a part of the lower electrode film 60 is disposed on the flow path forming substrate 10 in the groove portion 700, the insulating film 600 for preventing a short circuit between the upper electrode film 80 and the lower electrode film 60 is the upper electrode. It is interposed between the film 80 and the lower electrode film 60. Similarly, in the piezoelectric element 300 sealed by the piezoelectric element holding part 24 of the second sealing part 20B, the + X side end of the upper electrode film 80 extends to the outside of the second sealing part 20B. The insulating film 600 is interposed between the upper electrode film 80 and the lower electrode film 60 at the exposed end portion.

  In the present embodiment, the reservoir forming substrate 20 provided with the wiring pattern 34, the drive circuit units 200A and 200B, and the flow path forming substrate 10 provided with the piezoelectric element 300 each constitute a part of the device according to the present invention. The droplet discharge head H is manufactured by assembling and fixing these devices.

  In order to eject droplets of the functional liquid by the droplet discharge head 1 having the above-described configuration, an external controller (not shown) connected to the droplet discharge head 1 is connected to the functional liquid inlet 25 (not shown). The external functional liquid supply device is driven. The functional liquid delivered from the external functional liquid supply device fills the internal flow path of the droplet discharge head 1 from the functional liquid introduction port 25 to the reservoir 100 to the nozzle opening 15.

Further, the external controller transmits drive power and a command signal to the drive circuit units 200A and 200B mounted on the reservoir forming substrate 20 via the wiring pattern 34, for example. The drive circuit units 200 </ b> A and 200 </ b> B that receive the command signal and the like transmit a drive signal based on the command from the external controller to each piezoelectric element 300.
Then, as a result of applying a voltage between the lower electrode film 60 and the upper electrode film 80 corresponding to the pressure generating chamber 12, the elastic film 50, the lower electrode film 60, and the piezoelectric film 70 are displaced. Due to the displacement, the volume of each pressure generating chamber 12 changes to increase the internal pressure, and a droplet is ejected from the nozzle opening 15.

In the present embodiment, the wiring pattern 34 formed on the reservoir forming substrate 20, the piezoelectric film 70 and the upper electrode film 80 formed on the flow path forming substrate 10 are formed by the film pattern forming method described above. .
For this reason, the droplet discharge head H according to the present embodiment has a sufficient thickness and a signal is reliably transmitted through the low-resistance wiring, and there is a bonding failure of the drive circuit units 200A and 200B due to warpage or the like. It does not occur, and a stable droplet discharge operation can be ensured.

(Droplet discharge device)
Next, an example of a droplet discharge device including the above-described droplet discharge head H will be described with reference to FIG. In this example, an ink jet recording apparatus including the above-described droplet discharge head will be described as an example.

  The droplet discharge head constitutes a part of a recording head unit having an ink flow path communicating with an ink cartridge or the like, and is mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus. As shown in FIG. 4, the recording head units 61A and 61B having the droplet discharge heads are detachably provided with cartridges 62A and 62B constituting the ink supply means, and the recording head units 61A and 61B are mounted. The carriage 63 is attached to a carriage shaft 65 attached to the apparatus main body 64 so as to be movable in the axial direction.

  The recording head units 61A and 61B, for example, are configured to eject a black ink composition and a color ink composition, respectively. Then, the driving force of the driving motor 66 is transmitted to the carriage 63 via a plurality of gears and a timing belt 67 (not shown), so that the carriage 63 on which the recording head units 61A and 61B are mounted moves along the carriage shaft 65. It is like that. On the other hand, the apparatus main body 64 is provided with a platen 68 along the carriage shaft 65, and a recording sheet S which is a recording medium such as paper fed by a paper feed roller (not shown) is conveyed onto the platen 68. It is like that. Since the ink jet recording apparatus having the above configuration includes the above-described droplet discharge head H, the ink jet recording apparatus is small, highly reliable, and low in cost.

  In FIG. 4, an ink jet recording apparatus as a single printer is shown as an example of the liquid droplet ejection apparatus of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a printer realized by incorporating such a liquid droplet ejection head. It can also be applied to units. Such a printer unit is attached to a display device such as a television or an input device such as a whiteboard, and is used to print an image displayed or input by the display device or the input device.

  The droplet discharge head can also be applied to a droplet discharge apparatus for forming various devices by a liquid phase method. In this embodiment, as the functional liquid discharged from the droplet discharge head, a liquid crystal display device forming material for forming a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL forming material for forming an organic EL display device, an electronic circuit A material including a wiring pattern forming material for forming a wiring pattern is used. According to the manufacturing process in which these functional liquids are selectively arranged on a substrate by a droplet discharge device, the pattern arrangement of the functional material is possible without going through a photolithography process, so a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL device, a circuit board Etc. can be manufactured at low cost.

  In the above embodiment, the film pattern forming method according to the present invention is applied to the substrate used for the droplet discharge head H. However, in addition to this, semiconductor wiring formation and an antenna in a non-contact card medium are used. The present invention can also be applied to the formation of a thin film of a surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizing a phenomenon in which electrons are emitted by flowing a current through a small-area thin film formed on a circuit or a substrate in parallel with the film surface.

  As described above, the preferred embodiments according to the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the examples. Various shapes, combinations, and the like of the constituent members shown in the above-described examples are examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the Ni—Cr alloy is shown as an example of the first conductive film of the base metal, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to Ni, Cr, Cr-containing alloys, and Ni-containing alloys. It is.
Moreover, although the example which forms a nickel film as a 2nd electrically conductive film formed by plating was shown, it is not limited to this, Cu, Au, Furthermore, it is also possible to combine these 2 or more types.

It is a figure which shows embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the process of the film | membrane pattern formation method. It is a figure which shows the process of 2nd Embodiment of the film | membrane pattern formation method. It is a cross-sectional block diagram of the droplet discharge head which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective block diagram which shows an example of a droplet discharge device.

Explanation of symbols

H: Droplet discharge head, 1 ... Silicon substrate (substrate), 2 ... NiCr film (first conductive film), 3 ... Plating resist pattern (mask layer), 4 ... Nickel film (second conductive film), 5 ... Au Film (second conductive film), 6 ... Au film (third conductive film), 7, 34 ... wiring pattern (film pattern), 20 ... reservoir forming substrate (substrate)

Claims (8)

A nozzle substrate having a nozzle opening through which droplets are discharged, a flow path forming substrate connected to one surface of the nozzle substrate to form a liquid flow path, and a piezoelectric element connected to one surface of the flow path forming substrate and driven by a piezoelectric element A diaphragm that is displaced, and a reservoir forming substrate that is connected to one surface of the diaphragm to form a reservoir, and the piezoelectric element includes a piezoelectric film and an electrode film that are sequentially stacked on the diaphragm, and the reservoir The formation substrate is provided with a drive circuit unit that is arranged with a step from the piezoelectric element and drives the piezoelectric element, and a wiring pattern that is arranged with the drive circuit unit and a step, and the drive circuit unit and the wiring pattern Is connected by a first wire, and the driving circuit unit and the electrode film are manufacturing methods of a droplet discharge head connected by a second wire,
The wiring pattern, the piezoelectric film, and the electrode film are formed on the first conductive film by plating and a first conductive film formed of any one of Ni, Cr, Cr-containing alloy, and Ni-containing alloy. Formed by a film pattern forming method of forming a film pattern having a second conductive film on a substrate ,
The film pattern forming method includes a step of patterning a mask layer having an opening corresponding to the film pattern on the substrate on which the first conductive film is formed;
Applying a plating catalyst to the first conductive film before plating the second conductive film;
Plating the second conductive film on the first conductive film through the opening;
Wherein the second substrate a conductive film is formed, the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head is characterized in that a step of removing the mask layer by O ₂ plasma treatment. In the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head according to claim 1,
A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head , comprising: a step of plating a third conductive film on the second conductive film after peeling the mask layer. In the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head according to claim 2,
A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head, comprising the step of removing the first conductive film using the third conductive film as a mask. In the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head , wherein the catalyst is mixed with an etchant for the first conductive film. In the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head according to claim 4 ,
The method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head, wherein the catalyst is a solution in which the same liquid agent as the etching solution is dissolved. In the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head , wherein the plating is electroless plating. In the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head according to claim 6 ,
The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head, wherein the second conductive film is formed of at least one of Ni, Cu, and Au. In the manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head according to any one of claims 1 to 7 ,
A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head, wherein the film pattern is formed in a linear shape.

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