JP4735281B2 - Droplet discharge head, droplet discharge device, method for manufacturing droplet discharge head, and method for manufacturing droplet discharge device - Google Patents

Description

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

  As a droplet discharge head for discharging droplets, for example, an inkjet head mounted on an inkjet recording apparatus is known. In general, an inkjet head includes a nozzle substrate having a plurality of nozzle holes for discharging ink droplets, and a discharge chamber, a reservoir, and the like that are joined to the nozzle substrate and communicated with the nozzle holes. And a cavity substrate on which an ink flow path is formed, and is configured to eject ink droplets from selected nozzle holes by applying pressure to the ejection chamber by the drive unit. As the driving means, there are a method using an electrostatic force, a piezoelectric method using a piezoelectric element, a method using a heating element, and the like.

In such an ink jet head, an ink jet head having a structure having a plurality of nozzle rows is required for the purpose of increasing the printing speed and colorization. Further, in recent years, the nozzle density has been increased and the length has been increased (increase in the number of nozzles per row), and the number of actuators in the inkjet head has been increasing.
In an inkjet head, a reservoir that communicates in common with each nozzle hole is provided, so as the nozzle density increases, the pressure in the discharge chamber is also transmitted to the reservoir, and the effect of that pressure is transmitted to the other nozzle holes. It will also reach. For example, when positive pressure is applied to the reservoir by driving the actuator, ink droplets leak from non-driving nozzles other than the nozzle holes (driving nozzles) that should eject ink droplets, or negative pressure to the reservoir. If this occurs, the amount of ink droplets to be ejected from the drive nozzle will decrease, and the print quality will deteriorate.

  In order to prevent such pressure interference between nozzles, there has been a technique of assembling a unit called an ink distribution plate having a diaphragm portion to a member on which nozzles are formed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  However, with the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to reduce the size and thickness of the inkjet head because the ink distribution plate is separately assembled to the member on which the nozzles are formed.

  For this reason, there has been an ink jet head in which a diaphragm portion for buffering pressure fluctuations in a reservoir is provided on a nozzle substrate (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 2-59769 (first page, FIGS. 1 to 2) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-115179 (second page, FIGS. 1-2)

  In the inkjet head described in Patent Document 2, since the reservoir is formed on the same substrate (cavity substrate) as the discharge chamber, it is difficult to provide the diaphragm portion on the same substrate as the reservoir from the viewpoint of securing the volume of the reservoir. It is. For this reason, the diaphragm part is formed on the nozzle substrate, but this structure exposes the low-strength part to the outside, so there is a limit to making the diaphragm part thinner, and a separate protective cover is required. Become.

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge head, a droplet discharge device, a method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head, and a method for manufacturing a droplet discharge device capable of increasing the density of nozzles and preventing pressure interference between nozzles. It aims to provide a method.

A droplet discharge head according to the present invention has a nozzle substrate having a plurality of nozzle holes, and a plurality of independent discharge chambers communicating with the nozzle holes and generating pressure in the chambers to discharge droplets from the nozzle holes. and the cavity substrate, have a reservoir communicating in common to the discharge chamber, comprising at least a reservoir substrate is provided between the nozzle substrate and the cavity substrate, some or all the pressure of the bottom surface of the recess constituting the reservoir It consists of a resin thin film that cushions fluctuations to form a diaphragm part, and a space part formed by digging from the surface of the reservoir substrate to the diaphragm part is provided on the opposite side of the diaphragm part from the reservoir. It is.
Since the diaphragm portion and the discharge chamber are provided on separate substrates (reservoir substrate and cavity substrate), the volume of the reservoir can be secured and the diaphragm portion can be provided inside the reservoir. For this reason, it is possible to increase the density of the nozzles, reduce the compliance of the reservoir to suppress pressure fluctuations in the reservoir, and prevent pressure interference between the nozzles that occurs during ink ejection, thereby achieving good ejection Characteristics can be obtained.
Moreover, since both surfaces of the diaphragm part become a space part, the vibration displacement of the diaphragm part becomes possible in this space part.
In addition, since it is not necessary to process the space for deforming the diaphragm into a cavity substrate or a nozzle substrate, the influence on the design and processing of the cavity substrate or the nozzle substrate can be eliminated.

In the liquid droplet ejection head according to the present invention, the diaphragm portion of the reservoir substrate is located on the bottom surface of the concave portion constituting the reservoir.
By making the entire bottom surface of the reservoir a diaphragm, the area of the diaphragm can be increased, and the pressure buffering effect of the diaphragm can be increased.

The droplet discharge head according to the present invention has a space portion in the diaphragm portion of the reservoir substrate, and the space portion is formed by digging a surface opposite to the side where the reservoir is provided to the diaphragm portion. .
Since both surfaces of the diaphragm portion become space portions, vibration displacement of the diaphragm portion can be performed in this space portion.
In addition, since it is not necessary to process the space for deforming the diaphragm into a cavity substrate or a nozzle substrate, the influence on the design and processing of the cavity substrate or the nozzle substrate can be eliminated.

In the liquid droplet ejection head according to the present invention, the space portion of the diaphragm portion is provided on the bonding surface side with the cavity substrate.
Since the space for deforming the diaphragm portion is provided on the joint surface side with the cavity substrate, the reservoir of the reservoir substrate is positioned on the nozzle substrate side, and the reservoir is three-dimensionally overlapped with the cavity of the cavity substrate. The area can be reduced.

In the liquid droplet ejection head according to the present invention, the space portion of the diaphragm portion is configured such that the nozzle substrate side is formed of a resin thin film and the cavity substrate side is formed of a cavity substrate.
Due to the structure in which the diaphragm part is embedded in the head chip, no external force is directly applied, the diaphragm part can be made thin, and no special protective member such as a protective cover is required. The strength against external force can be improved.

In the droplet discharge head according to the present invention, the space portion of the diaphragm portion is provided on the bonding surface side with the nozzle substrate.
Since the space for deforming the diaphragm is provided on the joint surface side with the nozzle substrate, the reservoir of the reservoir substrate is located on the cavity substrate side, and all processing of the reservoir substrate is completed by one-side processing from the cavity substrate side. Can be made.

In the liquid droplet ejection head according to the present invention, the space portion of the diaphragm portion is configured such that the cavity substrate side is formed of a resin thin film, and the nozzle substrate side is formed of the nozzle substrate.
Due to the structure in which the diaphragm part is embedded in the head chip, no external force is directly applied, the diaphragm part can be made thin, and no special protective member such as a protective cover is required. The strength against external force can be improved.

A droplet discharge apparatus according to the present invention includes the droplet discharge head described above.
It is possible to prevent a pressure interference between nozzles that occurs during droplet discharge, and to obtain a droplet discharge device including a droplet discharge head with good discharge characteristics.

A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention includes a nozzle substrate having a plurality of nozzle holes, and a plurality of independent discharges that communicate with each nozzle hole and generate a pressure in the chamber to discharge droplets from the nozzle holes. a cavity substrate having a chamber, have a reservoir communicating in common to the discharge chamber, comprising at least a reservoir substrate is provided between the nozzle substrate and the cavity substrate, some or all of the bottom surface of the recess as a reservoir Is a method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head, which is composed of a resin thin film that buffers pressure fluctuations and constitutes a diaphragm portion,
The part that becomes the diaphragm part from one surface of the silicon base material that becomes the reservoir substrate is etched to a required depth, and then the part that becomes the reservoir from the opposite surface of the silicon base material is processed by wet etching, and the diaphragm part Is formed.
A plurality of reservoirs having a diaphragm portion and a large area and depth can be etched at the same time and processed efficiently.

In the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention, a resin thin film is formed in a recess formed by etching a portion to be a diaphragm portion to a required depth.
The diaphragm portion can be formed on the wafer at a time, and the alignment accuracy and shape accuracy are improved because of the semiconductor process.

The manufacturing method of the droplet discharge head according to the present invention uses parylene for the resin thin film.
It is possible to form a resin thin film having good covering properties independent of the shape, and having high heat resistance, chemical resistance and moisture permeability resistance.

In the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention, after a portion to be a diaphragm portion is etched to a required depth, a penetration portion is formed by wet etching from the opposite surface of the silicon substrate, and the penetration portion A diaphragm is formed by attaching a resin thin film to the reservoir from the side of the reservoir.
Since the diaphragm part forming process is the final stage, it is not necessary to consider the heat resistance and chemical resistance required in the process of forming the reservoir substrate, and the degree of freedom in selecting the resin material is improved.

The method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to the present invention uses polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) for the resin thin film.
A resin thin film having excellent chemical resistance and moisture permeability resistance can be formed.

A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge device according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing a droplet discharge device by applying the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head described above.
A droplet discharge device including a droplet discharge head with good discharge characteristics can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a droplet discharge head to which the present invention is applied will be described. Here, as an example of a droplet discharge head, a face discharge type inkjet head that discharges ink droplets from nozzle holes provided on the surface of a nozzle substrate will be described. Note that the present invention is not limited to the structure and shape shown in the following drawings, and is similarly applied to an edge discharge type droplet discharge head that discharges ink droplets from nozzle holes provided at the end of the substrate. Can be applied. Moreover, although the actuator is shown by the electrostatic drive system, other drive systems may be used.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet head according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an assembled state of the ink jet head shown in FIG. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper and lower sides are shown upside down from the state of normal use.

  1 and 2, an ink jet head (an example of a droplet discharge head) 10 is formed by attaching three substrates, a nozzle substrate, a cavity substrate, and an electrode substrate, like a conventional general electrostatic drive type ink jet head. Instead of the combined three-layer structure, a four-layer structure in which the nozzle substrate 1, the reservoir substrate 2, the cavity substrate 3, and the electrode substrate 4 are bonded together in this order is configured. That is, the discharge chamber and the reservoir are provided on separate substrates. Hereinafter, the configuration of each substrate will be described in detail.

The nozzle substrate 1 is made of, for example, a silicon material having a thickness of about 50 μm. A number of nozzle holes 11 are provided in the nozzle substrate 1 at a predetermined pitch. However, FIG. 1 shows five nozzle holes 11 in one row for simplicity. The nozzle row may be a plurality of rows.
Each nozzle hole 11 includes an injection port portion 11a having a small hole perpendicular to and coaxially with the substrate surface, and an introduction port portion 11b having a diameter larger than that of the injection port portion 11a.

  The reservoir substrate 2 is made of, for example, a silicon material having a thickness of about 180 μm and a plane orientation of (100). The reservoir substrate 2 passes through the reservoir substrate 2 vertically and communicates with each nozzle hole 11 independently. The nozzle communication hole 21 has a slightly larger diameter (a diameter equal to or larger than the diameter of the inlet portion 11b). Is provided. In addition, a reservoir recess 23 a is formed as a common reservoir (common ink chamber) 23 communicating with each nozzle communication hole 21 and each nozzle hole 11 via each supply port 22.

  The reservoir recess 23a has a substantially inverted trapezoidal cross section that is opened by expanding its diameter to the side of the joint surface (hereinafter also referred to as the N surface) with the nozzle substrate 1. Then, the bottom wall 23b of the reservoir recess 23a, that is, the bottom wall 23b of the reservoir recess 23a located on the side of the bonding surface (hereinafter also referred to as C surface) with the cavity substrate 3 reaches the C surface from the surface of the bottom wall 23b. A space 110 is formed in which the C surface is covered with the cavity substrate 3. And the diaphragm part 100 which is a pressure fluctuation buffer part is comprised by forming the resin thin film 111 in the N surface side of this space part 110. As shown in FIG.

In this case, the side surface 111a of the resin thin film 111 is in contact with the inner wall of the space portion 110, the upper portion of the side surface 111a protrudes toward the reservoir 23 from the space portion 110, and is substantially parallel to the bottom wall 23b on the reservoir 23 side of the side surface 111a. Thus, the flexible surface 111b is provided, and the side surface 111a and the flexible surface 111b form a resin thin film 111 having a U-shaped cross section. Thus, a space 110 is formed by the resin thin film 111 and the cavity substrate 3, and the deflection of the resin thin film 111 is allowed by the space.
The resin thin film 111 is formed by film formation in the manufacturing process of the reservoir substrate 2, and is formed by using, for example, parylene.

The supply wall 22 and an ink supply hole 27 for supplying ink from the outside to the reservoir 23 are penetrated through the bottom wall 23b of the reservoir recess 23a at a position avoiding the diaphragm 100.
Further, on the C surface of the reservoir substrate 2, a narrow groove-like second recess 28 constituting a part of the discharge chamber 31 is formed. The second recess 28 is provided in order to prevent an increase in flow path resistance in the discharge chamber 31 due to the thickness of the cavity substrate 3 being thin, but the second recess 28 can be omitted.
Although not shown, an ink protective film made of, for example, a thermal oxide film (SiO ₂ film) is formed on the entire surface of the reservoir substrate 2 in order to prevent corrosion of silicon by ink.

  Since the nozzle communication hole 21 penetrating the reservoir substrate 2 is provided coaxially with the nozzle hole 11 of the nozzle substrate 1, it is possible to obtain straightness of ink droplet ejection, and thus the ejection characteristics are remarkably improved. Become. In particular, since minute ink droplets can be landed as intended, it is possible to faithfully reproduce subtle gradation changes without causing color misregistration, etc., and to realize clearer and higher quality image quality. it can.

  The cavity substrate 3 is made of, for example, a silicon material having a thickness of about 30 μm. The cavity substrate 3 is provided with a first recess 33 serving as a discharge chamber 31 that communicates independently with each of the nozzle communication holes 21. Each discharge chamber 31 is partitioned by the first recess 33 and the second recess 28. In addition, the bottom wall of the discharge chamber 31 (first recess 33) constitutes the diaphragm 32. The diaphragm 32 can be constituted by a boron diffusion layer formed by diffusing high-concentration boron into silicon. Since the diaphragm 32 is made of a boron diffusion layer, the etching stop in the wet etching can be sufficiently performed, so that the thickness and surface roughness of the diaphragm 32 can be accurately adjusted.

On at least the lower surface of the cavity substrate 3, for example, an insulating film made of a SiO ₂ film by plasma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) using TEOS (Tetraethylorthosilicate Tetraethoxysilane) as a raw material, for example, It is formed with a thickness of 0.1 μm (not shown). This insulating film is provided in order to prevent dielectric breakdown or short circuit when the inkjet head 10 is driven. An ink protective film (not shown) similar to that of the reservoir substrate 2 is formed on the upper surface of the cavity substrate 3. In addition, the cavity substrate 3 is provided with an ink supply hole 35 communicating with the ink supply hole 27 of the reservoir substrate 2.

  The electrode substrate 4 is made of, for example, a glass material having a thickness of about 1 mm. Among them, it is suitable to use a borosilicate heat-resistant hard glass having a thermal expansion coefficient close to that of the silicon material of the cavity substrate 3. By using borosilicate heat-resistant hard glass, the stress generated between the electrode substrate 4 and the cavity substrate 3 is reduced when the electrode substrate 4 and the cavity substrate 3 are anodically bonded because the thermal expansion coefficients of both the substrates are close. As a result, the electrode substrate 4 and the cavity substrate 3 can be firmly bonded without causing problems such as peeling.

The electrode substrate 4 is provided with a recess 42 at a position on the surface of the cavity substrate 3 facing each diaphragm 32. Each recess 42 is formed to a depth of about 0.3 μm by etching. In general, individual electrodes 41 made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) are formed on the bottom surface of each recess 42 by sputtering, for example, with a thickness of 0.1 μm. Therefore, the air gap G (gap) formed between the diaphragm 32 and the individual electrode 41 is determined by the depth of the recess 42 and the thickness of the insulating film covering the individual electrode 41 and the diaphragm 32. . The air gap G greatly affects the ejection characteristics of the inkjet head 10. In the case of the first embodiment, the air gap G is 0.2 μm. The open end of the air gap G is hermetically sealed with a sealing material 43 made of an epoxy adhesive or the like. Thereby, it is possible to prevent foreign matters, moisture, and the like from entering the air gap G, and the reliability of the inkjet head 10 can be maintained high.
The material of the individual electrode 41 is not limited to ITO, and metal such as IZO (Indium Zinc Oxide) or gold or copper may be used. However, since ITO is transparent, ITO is generally used because it is easy to check the contact state of the diaphragm.

  Further, the terminal portion 41a of the individual electrode 41 is exposed to the electrode extraction portion 44 in which the end portions of the reservoir substrate 2 and the cavity substrate 3 are opened. In the electrode extraction portion 44, for example, a drive control circuit 5 such as a driver IC or the like. Is connected to the terminal portions 41a of the individual electrodes 41 and the common electrode 36 provided at the end of the cavity substrate 3.

  The electrode substrate 4 is provided with an ink supply hole 45 connected to an ink cartridge (not shown). The ink supply hole 45 communicates with the reservoir 23 through the ink supply hole 35 provided in the cavity substrate 3 and the ink supply hole 27 provided in the reservoir substrate 2.

Here, the operation of the inkjet head 10 configured as described above will be described.
Ink jet head 10 is supplied with ink in an external ink cartridge (not shown) into reservoir 23 through ink supply holes 45, 35, 27, and ink is further supplied from each supply port 22 to each discharge chamber 31, The nozzle hole 11 is filled up to the tip of the nozzle hole 11 through the nozzle communication hole 21. A drive control circuit 5 such as a driver IC for controlling the operation of the inkjet head 10 is connected between each individual electrode 41 and the common electrode 36 provided on the cavity substrate 3.

  Therefore, when a drive signal (pulse voltage) is supplied to the individual electrode 41 by the drive control circuit 5, a pulse voltage is applied to the individual electrode 41 from the drive control circuit 5 to charge the individual electrode 41 positively, The diaphragm 32 corresponding to is charged negatively. At this time, since an electrostatic force (Coulomb force) is generated between the individual electrode 41 and the diaphragm 32, the diaphragm 32 is drawn toward the individual electrode 41 by the electrostatic force and bends. As a result, the volume of the discharge chamber 31 increases. Next, when the pulse voltage is turned off, the electrostatic force disappears, and the diaphragm 32 returns to its original state due to its elastic force. At this time, the volume of the discharge chamber 31 decreases rapidly. Part of the ink in the chamber 31 passes through the nozzle communication hole 21 and is ejected from the nozzle hole 11 as ink droplets. Then, the pulse voltage is applied again, and the vibration plate 32 bends toward the individual electrode 41, whereby ink is supplied from the reservoir 23 through the supply port 22 into the discharge chamber 31.

  According to the inkjet head 10 according to the first embodiment, the pressure in the discharge chamber 31 is also transmitted to the reservoir 23 during driving. At this time, since the diaphragm portion 100 including the resin thin film 111 is provided on the bottom wall 23b of the reservoir 23, the resin thin film 111 bends below the space portion 110 when the reservoir 23 becomes positive pressure. When 23 becomes negative pressure, the resin thin film 111 bends above the space 110, so that the pressure fluctuation in the reservoir 23 can be buffered, and pressure interference between the nozzles 11 can be prevented. For this reason, it is possible to eliminate problems such as ink leaking from non-driving nozzles other than the driving nozzles or a reduction in the ejection amount necessary for ejection from the driving nozzles.

Further, since the resin thin film 111 is provided on the bottom wall 23b of the reservoir 23, the area of the diaphragm portion 100 can be increased and the pressure buffering effect can be increased.
Further, since the C surface side of the diaphragm portion 100 is covered with the cavity substrate 3 and is not exposed to the outside, the diaphragm portion 100 including the resin thin film 111 can be reliably protected from external force, and a protective cover or the like No special protection member is required. As a result, the inkjet head 10 can be reduced in size and cost.

  In addition, since the diaphragm part 100 has a wide area as described above, it can be reliably displaced (vibrated) even in the space part 110. Moreover, you may provide the small ventilation hole (not shown) in the cavity board | substrate 3 and the electrode substrate 4 which communicates with the space part 110 from the outside as needed.

Next, a method for manufacturing the inkjet head 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that the values of the substrate thickness, etching depth, temperature, pressure and the like shown below are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these values.
First, a method for manufacturing the reservoir substrate 2 will be described.

(A) As shown in FIG. 3A, a reservoir base material 200 made of a silicon material having a plane orientation (100) and a thickness of 180 μm is prepared, and a thermal oxide film 201 is formed on the outer surface of the reservoir base material 200. .
(B) Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, a nozzle communication hole 21, a second recess 28, and a supply are respectively formed on the surface (C surface) to be joined to the cavity substrate 3 by photolithography. Portions 21, diaphragm portion 100, and portions 21a, 28a, 22a, 100a, and 27a that become ink supply holes 27 are patterned. At this time, the etching is performed so that the remaining film thickness of the thermal oxide film 201 in each of the portions 21a, 28a, 100a, and 27a on the C plane has the following relationship.
Nozzle communication hole portion 21a = 0 <supply port 22 portion 22a = ink supply hole 27 portion 27a = diaphragm portion 100a <second recess 28 portion 28a

(C) Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the portion 21a that becomes the nozzle communication hole 21 on the C surface is dry-etched by ICP by about 150 μm.
(D) Next, as shown in FIG. 3D, the thermal oxide film 201 is etched by an appropriate amount so that a portion 22a that becomes the supply port 22, a portion 27a that becomes the ink supply hole 27, and a portion 100a that becomes the diaphragm 100 are obtained. After opening, dry etching is performed by ICP to about 15 μm.

(E) Next, as shown in FIG. 4E, the thermal oxide film 201 is etched by an appropriate amount to open the portion 28a to be the second recess 28, and then dry etched by ICP to about 25 μm. At this time, the portion 21a that becomes the nozzle communication hole 21 is also dry-etched and penetrates to the N plane.
(F) After removing the thermal oxide film 201, as shown in FIG. 4F, the thermal oxide film 201 is formed again, and the portion 100a that becomes the diaphragm portion 100 is joined to the nozzle substrate 1 on the C surface. A portion 230 that becomes the reservoir recess 23a is opened on the side surface (N surface) by photolithography.

(G) Next, as shown in FIG. 4G, parylene is vapor-deposited on the portion of the portion 100a that becomes the diaphragm portion 100 where the resin thin film 111 is to be formed. In this case, only the portion where the resin thin film 111 is to be formed is covered with an open mask, and other portions are not deposited.
Thus, the resin thin film 111 is formed by film formation during the manufacturing process of the reservoir substrate 2.
(H) Next, as shown in FIG. 4H, the portion 230 that becomes the reservoir recess 23a is wet-etched by about 150 μm with KOH. As a result, the resin thin film 111 is exposed.
(I) The thermal oxide film 201 is peeled off, and then, as shown in FIG. 5 (i), an oxide film 201 serving as an ink protective film is formed by immersion in high-concentration ozone water.
As described above, each part of the reservoir substrate 2 is formed as shown in FIG.

Next, a method for manufacturing the inkjet head 10 will be described.
First, a method for manufacturing the cavity substrate 3 from the cavity substrate 300 after bonding the cavity substrate 300 made of a silicon material to the electrode substrate 4 will be described.

(A) The electrode substrate 4 is manufactured as follows.
As shown in FIG. 6A, a concave portion 42 is formed by etching a glass substrate 400 made of borosilicate glass or the like with a thickness of about 1 mm with hydrofluoric acid using a gold / chromium etching mask. . The recess 42 has a groove shape slightly larger than the shape of the individual electrode 41, and a plurality of the recesses 42 are formed for each individual electrode 41.
Then, individual electrodes 41 made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) are formed inside the recess 42 by sputtering.
Thereafter, the electrode substrate 4 is manufactured by forming a portion 45a that becomes the ink supply hole 45 by blasting or the like.

(B) Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, a cavity base material 300 made of a silicon material having a thickness of about 220 μm and subjected to surface processing and removal processing (pretreatment) of the surface-affected layer is prepared. An insulating film 34 made of an oxide film having a thickness of 0.1 μm is formed on one surface of the cavity base material 300 by, for example, plasma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) using TEOS as a raw material. The insulating film 34 is formed, for example, at a temperature of 360 ° C., a high frequency output of 250 W, a pressure of 66.7 Pa (0.5 Torr), a gas flow rate of TEOS flow rate of 100 cm ³ / min (100 sccm), and an oxygen flow rate of 1000 cm ³ / min (1000 sccm). Perform under the conditions of Moreover, it is desirable to use a cavity substrate 300 having a boron-doped layer (not shown) having a required thickness.

(C) Next, the cavity substrate 300 (FIG. 6B) and the electrode substrate 4 (FIG. 6A) on which the individual electrode 41 is manufactured are insulated as shown in FIG. 6C. Anodic bonding is performed through the film 34. In the anodic bonding, after the cavity base material 300 and the electrode substrate 4 are heated to 360 ° C., a negative electrode is connected to the electrode substrate 4 and a positive electrode is connected to the cavity base material 300, and an anodic bonding is performed by applying a voltage of 800V.

(D) Next, as shown in FIG. 6 (d), the surface of the cavity base 300 that has been anodically bonded is ground by a back grinder or a polisher, and further the surface is 10 to 20 μm with an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution. Etching is performed to remove the work-affected layer, and the thickness is reduced to 30 μm.

(E) Next, as shown in FIG. 7E, a TEOS oxide film 301 serving as an etching mask is formed on the surface of the thinned cavity base material 300 to a thickness of about 1.0 μm by plasma CVD. To do.

(F) Then, a resist (not shown) is coated on the surface of the TEOS oxide film 301, the resist is patterned by photolithography, and the TEOS oxide film 301 is etched, as shown in FIG. In addition, portions 33 a, 35 a, 44 a that become the first concave portion 33, the ink supply hole 35, and the electrode extraction portion 44 of the discharge chamber 31 are opened. Then, the resist is peeled off after the opening.

(G) Next, as shown in FIG. 7G, the first substrate of the discharge chamber 31 is formed in the thinned cavity substrate 300 by etching the anodic bonded substrate with an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution. A portion 33 a that becomes the concave portion 33 and a through hole 35 a that becomes the ink supply hole 35 are formed. At this time, the portion 44a which becomes the electrode lead-out portion 44 is not penetrated yet, but is kept to the extent that the substrate thickness is reduced. Further, the thickness of the TEOS etching mask 301 is also reduced.

In this etching step, first, etching is performed using a 35 wt% potassium hydroxide aqueous solution until the remaining thickness of the cavity substrate 300 becomes, for example, 5 μm, and then 3 wt% potassium hydroxide. Etching is performed by switching to an aqueous solution. As a result, the etching stop sufficiently works, so that the surface 32a of the portion 32a that becomes the vibration plate 32 can be prevented from being rough and the thickness thereof can be formed to a high precision thickness of 0.80 ± 0.05 μm. Etching stop is defined as a state in which bubbles generated from the etching surface are stopped, and in actual wet etching, it is determined that the etching is stopped when the generation of bubbles is stopped.
Then, after etching, the resist is peeled off.

(H) After the etching of the cavity base material 300 is finished, as shown in FIG. 7 (h), the TEOS oxide film 301 formed on the upper surface of the cavity base material 300 is removed by etching with a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution. To do.

(I) Next, as shown in FIG. 8 (i), an ink protective film 37 made of a TEOS film is formed on the surface of the portion 33a to be the first concave portion 33 of the cavity base 300 by a thickness of 0 by plasma CVD. Formed at 1 μm.

(J) Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8 (j), a portion 44a that becomes the electrode extraction portion 44 is opened by RIE (Reactive Ion Etching) or the like. The open end of the air gap G between the diaphragm 32 and the individual electrode 41 is hermetically sealed with a sealing material 43 such as an epoxy resin. Further, a common electrode 36 made of a metal electrode such as Pt (platinum) is formed at the end of the surface of the cavity base material 300 by sputtering.
As described above, the cavity substrate 3 is manufactured from the cavity base material 300 bonded to the electrode substrate 4.

(K) Then, as shown in FIG. 9 (k), the reservoir substrate 2 on which the nozzle communication hole 21, the supply port 22, the reservoir recess 23a, the diaphragm portion 100 and the like are formed on the cavity substrate 3 as described above. Adhere with an adhesive.

(L) Finally, as shown in FIG. 9 (l), the nozzle substrate 1 in which the nozzle holes 11 are formed in advance is bonded onto the reservoir substrate 2 with an adhesive.
(M) Then, as shown in FIG. 9 (m), if the individual heads are separated by dicing, the main body of the inkjet head 10 shown in FIG. 2 is produced.

  As described above, according to the method of manufacturing the inkjet head according to the first embodiment, the resin thin film 111 of the diaphragm unit 100 is formed by film formation, and parylene is used for the resin thin film 111. Can be formed in a batch on a wafer, and because of the semiconductor process, the alignment accuracy and shape accuracy are improved, and the resin thin film has good heat resistance, chemical resistance, and moisture permeability resistance with good coverage independent of the shape Can be configured.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
10 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the ink jet head according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an assembled state of the ink jet head shown in FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as Embodiment 1, and description is abbreviate | omitted.
In the inkjet head 10 according to the first embodiment, the diaphragm portion 100 is configured by the resin thin film 111 having a substantially U-shaped cross section. However, in the second embodiment, the resin thin film 111 attached in a planar shape is used. The diaphragm unit 100 is configured.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the reservoir recess 23 a (reservoir 23) of the reservoir substrate 2 has a substantially inverted trapezoidal cross section opened by expanding the diameter toward the bonding surface (N surface) side with the nozzle substrate 1. ing. The bottom surface 23b of the reservoir recess 23a located on the joint surface (C surface) side with the cavity substrate 3 penetrates from the surface of the bottom wall 23b to the C surface, and the C surface side is covered by the cavity substrate 3 A space portion 110 is formed. And the diaphragm part 100 which is a pressure fluctuation buffer part is formed by attaching the resin thin film 111 to the N surface side of this space part 110.

In this case, the diaphragm portion 100 is configured such that the bottom wall 23b of the reservoir 23 is covered with a planar resin thin film 111 from the N surface side and the N surface side of the space portion 110 is closed. Thus, the space 110 is formed by the resin thin film 111 and the cavity substrate 3, and the deflection of the resin thin film 111 is allowed by the space 110.
The resin thin film 111 is formed by attaching a planar resin thin film 111 at the end of the manufacturing process of the reservoir substrate 2, and is formed using, for example, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS).

  In the second embodiment, since the nozzle substrate 1, the cavity substrate 3, and the electrode substrate 4 other than the reservoir substrate 2 have the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  The ink jet head 10 configured as described above has the same effect as that of the first embodiment because the resin thin film 111 of the diaphragm unit 100 has a large area and vibrates in the vertical direction during driving. By the diaphragm part 100 provided with, the pressure interference between the nozzles 11 can be prevented. Further, since the C surface side of the diaphragm portion 100 is covered with the cavity substrate 3 and is not exposed to the outside, the diaphragm portion 100 including the thin film portion 111 can be reliably protected from external force, and a protective cover, etc. No special protection member is required. As a result, the inkjet head 10 can be reduced in size and cost.

Next, a method for manufacturing the reservoir substrate 2 used for manufacturing the inkjet head 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 12, 13, and 14.
(A) First, as shown in FIG. 12A, a cavity base material 200 made of a silicon material having a plane orientation (100) and a thickness of 180 μm is prepared, and a thermal oxide film 201 is formed on the outer surface of the cavity base material 200. Form.
(B) Next, as shown in FIG. 12B, the nozzle communication hole 21, the second recess 28, and the supply port are respectively formed on the surface (C surface) on the side to be joined to the cavity substrate 3 by photolithography. 22, the diaphragm portion 100 and the portions 21a, 28a, 22a, 100a, 27a to be the ink supply holes 27 are patterned. At this time, the etching is performed so that the remaining film thickness of the thermal oxide film 201 in each of the portions 21a, 28a, 100a, and 27a on the C plane has the following relationship.
Nozzle communication hole portion 21a = 0 <supply port 22 portion 22a = ink supply hole 27 portion 27a = diaphragm portion 100a <second recess 28 portion 28a

(C) Next, as shown in FIG. 12C, the portion 21a which becomes the nozzle communication hole 21 on the C surface is dry-etched by ICP by about 150 μm.
(D) Next, as shown in FIG. 12D, the thermal oxide film 201 is etched by an appropriate amount so that a portion 22a that becomes the supply port 22, a portion 27a that becomes the ink supply hole 27, and a portion 100a that becomes the diaphragm 100 are obtained. After opening, dry etching is performed by ICP to about 15 μm.

(E) Next, as shown in FIG. 13E, the thermal oxide film 201 is etched by an appropriate amount to open the portion 28a to be the second recess 28, and then dry etched by ICP to about 25 μm. At this time, the portion 21a that becomes the nozzle communication hole 21 is also dry-etched and penetrates to the N plane.
(F) After removing the thermal oxide film 201, as shown in FIG. 13F, the thermal oxide film 201 is formed again, and the reservoir recess 23a is formed on the surface (N surface) on the side to be bonded to the nozzle substrate 1. A portion 230 to be formed is opened by a photolithography method.
(G) Next, as shown in FIG. 13G, the portion 230 that becomes the reservoir recess 23a is wet-etched with KOH by about 150 μm.
(H) Next, the thermal oxide film 201 is peeled off, and then the ink protective film 201 is formed again by dry oxidation as shown in FIG. At this time, the silicon lump of the portion 27a that becomes the ink supply hole 27 falls off.

(I) Next, a polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) film is aligned with the reservoir substrate 2 shown in FIG. 14 (i), and the resin thin film 111 is applied to the bottom wall 23b of the portion 230 that becomes the reservoir recess 23a from the N surface side. wear. Thus, the resin thin film 111 is formed at the final stage of the assembly process of the reservoir substrate 200.
In this way, each part of the reservoir substrate 2 is formed as shown in FIG.
If the reservoir substrate 2 manufactured as described above is used as described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9 of the first embodiment, the inkjet head 10 can be manufactured.

  As described above, according to the method of manufacturing the ink jet head according to the second embodiment, the resin thin film 111 of the diaphragm portion 100 is pasted in the final process of forming the reservoir substrate 2, and polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is applied to the resin thin film 111. Since it is used, there is no need to consider the heat resistance and chemical resistance required in the process of forming the reservoir substrate 2, and the degree of freedom in selecting the resin material is improved, and the chemical resistance and moisture permeability are improved. An excellent resin thin film can be formed.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the ink jet head according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, and FIG. 16 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an assembled state of the ink jet head shown in FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as Embodiment 1, and description is abbreviate | omitted.
In the inkjet head 10 according to the third embodiment, the diaphragm portion 100 provided on the reservoir substrate 2 is provided on the bonding surface side (N surface side) with the nozzle substrate 1, contrary to the first and second embodiments. It is.

  In the third embodiment, the nozzle substrate 1, the cavity substrate 3 and the electrode substrate 4 other than the reservoir substrate 2 have the same configuration as in the first embodiment. A cylindrical nozzle communication hole 21 communicating with the nozzle hole 11 of the nozzle substrate 1 is similarly formed in the reservoir substrate 2. Further, the second recess 28 constituting a part of each discharge chamber 31 and the reservoir recess 23 a serving as the reservoir 23 are communicated with each other through a narrow groove-like supply port 220. Further, the ink supply hole 35 provided in the cavity substrate 3 opens in the opening surface of the reservoir recess 23a.

  The reservoir recess 23a of the reservoir substrate 2 has a substantially trapezoidal cross section that is opened by expanding the diameter toward the joint surface (C surface) side with the cavity substrate 3. A space portion 110 having an inverted trapezoidal cross section is formed in the upper portion (N surface side) of the reservoir recess 23a. And the resin thin film 111 is formed in this space part 110, and the diaphragm part 100 which is a pressure fluctuation buffer part is comprised.

In this case, the side surface 111a of the resin thin film 111 is in contact with the space 110, and a flexible surface 111c is provided on the reservoir 23 side to form an integrated resin thin film 111 by the side surface 111a and the flexible surface 111c. . Thus, the resin thin film 111 and the nozzle substrate 1 form a space 110, and the resin 110 is allowed to bend by the space 110.
The resin thin film 111 is formed by film formation in the manufacturing process of the reservoir substrate 2, and is formed by using, for example, parylene.

When the inkjet head 10 according to the third embodiment is driven, the resin thin film 111 of the diaphragm portion 100 provided on the N surface side of the reservoir 23 has a large area and vibrates in the vertical direction. There is an effect similar to that of Embodiment 1, and pressure interference between the nozzles 11 can be prevented.
Moreover, since the N surface side of the diaphragm part 100 is covered with the nozzle substrate 1 and is not exposed to the outside, the diaphragm part 100 including the thin film part 111 can be reliably protected from external force, and a protective cover, etc. No special protection member is required. As a result, the inkjet head 10 can be reduced in size and cost.

Next, a method for manufacturing a reservoir substrate used for manufacturing the ink jet head according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
(A) First, as shown in FIG. 17A, a cavity base 200 made of a silicon material having a plane orientation (100) and a thickness of 180 μm is prepared, and a thermal oxide film 201 is formed on the outer surface of the cavity base 200. Form.
(B) Next, as shown in FIG. 17B, a portion 21a that becomes the nozzle communication hole 21 is opened on the C surface by photolithography.
(C) Next, as shown in FIG. 17C, dry etching is performed until the portion 21a that becomes the nozzle communication hole 21 on the C surface is penetrated by ICP.

(D) Next, the thermal oxide film 201 is peeled off, and then the thermal oxide film 201 is formed again as shown in FIG. Then, the portions 230, 22a, and 28a that become the reservoir recess 23a, the supply port 22, and the second recess 28 are patterned on the C surface, and the portion 100a that becomes the diaphragm portion 100 is patterned on the N surface. However, the pattern width is set to have the following relationship according to the etching depth.
The portion 230 that becomes the reservoir recess 23a> the portion 28a that becomes the second recess> the portion 22a that becomes the supply port

(E) Next, as shown in FIG. 18E, the C plane and the N plane are etched by 20 μm by wet etching with KOH.
(F) Next, as shown in FIG. 18 (f), parylene is vapor-deposited on the portion to become the resin thin film 111. In this case, a mask having an opening only on the portion that becomes the resin thin film 111 is covered, and the other portions are not deposited.
Thus, the resin thin film 111 is formed by film formation in the manufacturing process of the reservoir substrate 2.

(G) Next, as shown in FIG. 18 (g), the reservoir recess 23a, the supply port 22, and the portions 230, 22a, and 28a to be the second recess 28 are formed by wet etching with KOH. At that time, the portion 230 that becomes the reservoir recess 23a is subjected to etching stop by the portion 111c that becomes the flexible surface of the resin thin film 111, that is, by the vapor deposition layer of parylene. On the other hand, the etching of the portion 28a that becomes the second recess 28 and the portion 22a that becomes the supply port stops at a depth corresponding to the opening width. In this case, the depth of each part is set as follows.
The portion 230 that becomes the reservoir recess 23a> the portion 28a that becomes the second recess> the portion 22a that becomes the supply port
(H) Next, the thermal oxide film 201 is peeled off, and then an oxide film that becomes an ink protective film is formed by immersion in high-concentration ozone water.
Thus, the reservoir substrate 2 is manufactured as shown in FIG.

  If the reservoir substrate 2 manufactured as described above is manufactured as described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9 of the first embodiment, the inkjet head 10 according to the third embodiment can be manufactured. .

  According to the method for manufacturing the inkjet head 10 according to the third embodiment, the resin thin film 111 of the diaphragm portion 100 is formed by film formation, and parylene is used for the resin thin film 111. Therefore, the diaphragm portion 100 is collectively applied to the wafer. It is possible to form a resin thin film with high accuracy of heat resistance, chemical resistance, and moisture permeability. be able to.

Embodiment 4
19 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the inkjet head according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention, and FIG. 20 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an assembled state of the inkjet head shown in FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as Embodiment 1, and description is abbreviate | omitted.
In the inkjet head 10 according to the third embodiment, the diaphragm portion 100 is configured by the formed resin thin film 111. However, in the fourth embodiment, the diaphragm portion 100 is configured by the resin thin film 111 attached in a planar shape. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the reservoir recess 23 a of the reservoir substrate 2 has a substantially inverted trapezoidal cross section opened by expanding the diameter toward the bonding surface (C surface) side with the cavity substrate 3. In the upper part (N surface side) of the reservoir recess 23a, there is formed a trapezoidal space portion 110 whose diameter is increased and opened to the N surface side. And the resin thin film 111 is attached to the reservoir 23 side of this space part 110, and the diaphragm part 100 which is a pressure fluctuation buffer part is formed.

In this case, the diaphragm portion 100 is configured such that the C surface side of the space portion 110 on the upper wall of the reservoir 23 is covered with a planar resin thin film 111 and the N surface side of the space portion 110 is closed. And the edge part of the resin thin film 111 is supported and affixed on the bottom wall 120 of the periphery of the space part 110, and the diaphragm part 100 which is a pressure fluctuation buffer part is formed. Thus, the space 110 is formed by the resin thin film 111 and the nozzle substrate 1, and the deflection of the resin thin film 111 is allowed by the space 110.
The resin thin film 111 is formed by attaching a planar resin thin film 111 at the end of the manufacturing process of the reservoir substrate 2, and is formed using, for example, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS).

  In the fourth embodiment, since the nozzle substrate 1, the cavity substrate 3, and the electrode substrate 4 other than the reservoir substrate 2 have the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  The inkjet head 10 configured as described above has the same effect as that of the first embodiment because the resin thin film 111 of the diaphragm unit 100 has a large area and vibrates in the vertical direction when driven. The diaphragm part 100 provided with 111 can prevent pressure interference between the nozzles 11. Since the N surface side of the diaphragm portion 100 is covered with the nozzle substrate 1 and is not exposed to the outside, the diaphragm portion 100 including the resin thin film 111 can be reliably protected from external force, and a special cover such as a protective cover can be used. No protective member is required. As a result, the inkjet head 10 can be reduced in size and cost.

Next, a method for manufacturing the reservoir substrate 2 used for manufacturing the inkjet head 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 21, 22, and 23.
(A) First, as shown in FIG. 21A, a cavity base 200 made of a silicon material having a plane orientation (100) and a thickness of 180 μm is prepared, and a thermal oxide film 201 is formed on the outer surface of the cavity base 200. Form.
(B) Next, as shown in FIG. 21 (b), a portion 21a that becomes the nozzle communication hole 21 is opened on the C surface by photolithography.
(C) Next, as shown in FIG. 21 (c), dry etching is performed until the portion 21a that becomes the nozzle communication hole 21 on the C surface is penetrated by ICP.

(D) After the thermal oxide film 201 is peeled off, the thermal oxide film 201 is formed again, and as shown in FIG. 21 (d), a portion that becomes the reservoir recess 23a, the supply port 22, and the second recess 28 on the C surface. 230, 22a, and 28a are patterned on the N surface of the portion 100a that becomes the diaphragm 100. In this case, the remaining thickness of the oxide film 201 is set to 0 μm at the portions 230, 22a, and 28a that become the reservoir recess 23a, the supply port 22, and the second recess 28, respectively, and an appropriate amount is left at the portion 100a that becomes the diaphragm portion 100. However, the pattern width is set to have the following relationship according to the etching depth.
The portion 230 that becomes the reservoir recess 23a> the portion 28a that becomes the second recess 28> the portion 22a that becomes the supply port 22

(E) Next, as shown in FIG. 22 (e), the surface C is wet-etched with KOH by 140 μm to form the reservoir recess 23a, the supply port 22, and the portions 230, 22a, and 28b that become the second recess 28, respectively. To do. At this time, the etching of the portions 28a and 22a that become the second recess 28 and the supply port 22 is stopped at a depth corresponding to the opening width. The depth of each part has the following relationship.
The portion 230 that becomes the reservoir recess 23a> the portion 28a that becomes the second recess 28> the portion 22a that becomes the supply port 22

(F) Next, as shown in FIG. 22F, an appropriate amount of the oxide film 201 is removed, and a portion 100a that becomes the diaphragm portion 100 of the N plane is opened.
(G) Next, as shown in FIG. 22G, the portion 230 that becomes the reservoir recess 23a and the portion 100a that becomes the diaphragm portion 100 are penetrated from the C-plane and N-plane by wet etching with KOH. At this time, the etching does not proceed in the portions 28a and 22a that become the second recess 28 and the supply port 22, respectively. The depth of each part has the following relationship.
Portion 23a that becomes reservoir recess 23a> portion 28a that becomes second recess 28> portion 22a that becomes supply port 22

(H) The thermal oxide film 201 is peeled off, and then, as shown in FIG. 22 (h), an oxide film 201 serving as an ink protective film is formed by dry oxidation.
(I) Next, as shown in FIG. 23 (i), a polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) film is aligned and affixed to the bottom wall 120 of the portion 100 a to be the diaphragm portion 100 from the N surface side. Thus, the resin thin film 111 is formed at the final stage of the assembly process of the reservoir substrate 200.
Thus, each part of the reservoir substrate 2 is formed.

  If the reservoir substrate 2 manufactured as described above is manufactured as described in FIGS. 6 to 9 of the first embodiment, the inkjet head 10 according to the fourth embodiment can be manufactured. .

  As described above, according to the method of manufacturing the ink jet head according to the fourth embodiment, the resin thin film 111 of the diaphragm portion 100 is attached in the final process of forming the reservoir substrate 2, and polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is applied to the resin thin film 111. Since it is used, it is not necessary to consider the heat resistance and chemical resistance required in the formation process of the reservoir substrate 2, and the degree of freedom in selecting a resin material is improved, and the chemical resistance and moisture permeability are improved. An excellent resin thin film 111 can be formed.

  Note that the displaceable space 110 of the resin thin film 111 may be formed between the joint surfaces of the reservoir substrate 2 and the cavity substrate 3 or the nozzle substrate 1, and the diaphragm portion 100 is formed on one or both of the substrates. Should just be formed.

  In the first to fourth embodiments described above, the electrostatic drive type inkjet head and the manufacturing method thereof have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Can be changed. For example, the present invention can be applied to an ink jet head using a driving method other than the electrostatic driving method. In the case of the piezoelectric method, a piezoelectric element may be bonded to the bottom of each discharge chamber instead of the electrode substrate, and in the case of the bubble method, a heating element may be provided inside each discharge chamber. Moreover, by changing the liquid material discharged from the nozzle holes, it can be used for manufacturing color filters for liquid crystal displays, forming light emitting portions of organic EL display devices, genetic testing, etc. in addition to the ink jet printer shown in FIG. It can be used as a droplet discharge device for various uses such as the production of a biomolecule solution microarray.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an inkjet head according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Sectional drawing which shows the assembly state of the inkjet head of FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process of the reservoir | reserver board | substrate used for manufacture of the inkjet head which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process of the reservoir | reserver board | substrate following FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process of the reservoir substrate following FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the manufacturing process showing the method for manufacturing the ink jet head according to Embodiment 1. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process following FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process following FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process following FIG. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an inkjet head according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Sectional drawing which shows the assembly state of the inkjet head of FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process of the reservoir | reserver board | substrate used for manufacture of the inkjet head which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process of the reservoir | reserver board | substrate following FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process of the reservoir | reserver board | substrate following FIG. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an inkjet head according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing an assembled state of the inkjet head of FIG. 15. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process of the reservoir | reserver board | substrate used for manufacture of the inkjet head which concerns on Embodiment 3. FIG. FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the manufacturing process of the reservoir substrate following FIG. 17. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an inkjet head according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. Sectional drawing which shows the assembly state of the inkjet head of FIG. Sectional drawing of the manufacturing process of the reservoir | reserver board | substrate used for manufacture of the inkjet head which concerns on Embodiment 4. FIG. FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the manufacturing process of the reservoir substrate following FIG. 21. FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of the manufacturing process of the reservoir substrate following FIG. 22. 1 is a perspective view showing an ink jet printer according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Nozzle substrate, 2 Reservoir substrate, 3 Cavity substrate, 4 Electrode substrate, 10 Inkjet head, 11 Nozzle hole, 21 Nozzle communication hole, 22 Supply port, 23 Reservoir, 23a Reservoir recessed part, 23b Bottom wall of reservoir, 27, 35, 45 Ink supply hole, 28 Second recess, 31 Discharge chamber, 32 Diaphragm, 33 First recess, 41 Individual electrode, 42 Recess, 100 Diaphragm part, 100a Diaphragm part, 110 Diaphragm part space part, 111 Resin thin film, 120 Diaphragm bottom wall, 200 Reservoir base, 230 Reservoir recessed portion, C cavity substrate bonding surface (C surface), N Nozzle substrate bonding surface (N surface).

Claims (13)

A nozzle substrate having a plurality of nozzle holes, a cavity substrate communicating with each nozzle hole, generating a pressure in the chamber and discharging a plurality of independent discharge chambers from the nozzle holes; and the discharge chamber and at least includes a droplet discharge head and a reservoir substrate provided between the have a reservoir that communicates, between the nozzle substrate and the cavity substrate in common for,
A part or the whole of the bottom surface of the concave portion constituting the reservoir is composed of a resin thin film that buffers pressure fluctuations, thereby constituting a diaphragm portion,
A liquid droplet ejection head , wherein a space portion formed by digging from the surface of the reservoir substrate to the diaphragm portion is provided on the opposite side of the diaphragm portion from the reservoir . 2. The liquid droplet ejection head according to claim 1, wherein the diaphragm portion is located on a bottom surface of a concave portion constituting the reservoir in the reservoir substrate. 3. The liquid droplet ejection head according to claim 1 , wherein a space portion of the diaphragm portion is provided on a bonding surface side with the cavity substrate. 4. The droplet according to claim 1 , wherein the space portion of the diaphragm portion includes the resin substrate on the nozzle substrate side and the cavity substrate side on the cavity substrate side. 5. Discharge head. 3. The droplet discharge head according to claim 1 , wherein a space portion of the diaphragm portion is provided on a side of a joint surface with the nozzle substrate. 6. The droplet discharge head according to claim 5 , wherein the space portion of the diaphragm portion is formed of a resin thin film on the cavity substrate side, and the nozzle substrate side is formed of the nozzle substrate. Droplet discharge apparatus comprising the droplet discharging head according to claim 1. A nozzle substrate having a plurality of nozzle holes, a cavity substrate communicating with each nozzle hole, generating a pressure in the chamber and discharging a plurality of independent discharge chambers from the nozzle holes; and the discharge chamber resins have a reservoir, comprising at least a reservoir substrate provided between the cavity substrate and the nozzle substrate, some or all of the bottom surface of the concave portion serving as the reservoir to buffer the pressure fluctuation in communication with the common for A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head that is configured by a thin film and forms a diaphragm portion,
Etching the portion that becomes the diaphragm portion from one surface of the silicon base material that becomes the reservoir substrate to a required depth, and then processing the portion that becomes the reservoir from the opposite surface of the silicon base material by wet etching, A method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head, wherein the diaphragm portion is formed. 9. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 8 , wherein a resin thin film is formed in a recess formed by etching a portion to be the diaphragm portion to a required depth. The method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 9, wherein parylene is used for the resin thin film. After the portion to be the diaphragm portion is etched to a required depth, a through portion is formed by wet etching from the opposite surface of the silicon substrate, and the through portion from the side of the portion to be the reservoir is formed. 9. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 8 , wherein the diaphragm portion is formed by attaching a resin thin film. 12. The method of manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to claim 11, wherein polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is used for the resin thin film. A method for manufacturing a droplet discharge device, wherein the droplet discharge device is manufactured by applying the method for manufacturing a droplet discharge head according to any one of claims 8 to 12 .

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