JP5858331B2 - Thin film manufacturing apparatus, electromechanical conversion film element, droplet discharge head, and droplet discharge apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a thin film manufacturing apparatus, an electromechanical conversion film element including an electromechanical conversion film manufactured using the thin film manufacturing apparatus, a liquid droplet discharge head, and a liquid droplet discharge apparatus.

  Conventionally, an electromechanical conversion element configured such that an electromechanical conversion film is sandwiched between electrodes includes, for example, a liquid discharge head that discharges ink droplets, and forms an image by adhering ink droplets to a sheet while conveying a medium. It is used in an ink jet recording apparatus that is a droplet discharge apparatus that performs the above. The medium here is also referred to as “paper”, but the material is not limited, and a recording medium, a recording medium, a transfer material, a recording paper, and the like are also used synonymously. The image forming apparatus means an apparatus for forming an image by discharging a liquid onto a medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics. The image formation is not only giving an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to the medium but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern to the medium (simply ejecting a droplet). Also means. The ink is not limited to so-called ink, and is not particularly limited as long as it becomes liquid when ejected. For example, the ink is a generic term for liquids including DNA samples, resists, pattern materials, and the like. Use.

  The ink jet recording apparatus mainly discharges ink in a liquid chamber, a nozzle that discharges ink droplets, a discharge chamber that communicates with the nozzle, a liquid chamber called a pressurized liquid chamber, a pressure chamber, and an ink flow path chamber. And pressure generating means. As this pressure generating means, there is known a piezo-type pressure generating means for discharging ink droplets by deforming and displacing a vibration plate forming the wall surface of the discharge chamber using an electromechanical conversion element such as a piezoelectric element. . The electromechanical conversion element used for this piezoelectric type pressure generating means is formed by laminating a lower electrode, an electromechanical conversion layer, and an upper electrode. Individual electromechanical conversion elements are arranged to generate ink discharge pressure in each pressure chamber. The electromechanical conversion layer is formed by performing the process of forming the electromechanical conversion film a plurality of times.

  As a method for producing this electromechanical conversion film, there are a sputtering method, a sol-gel method, a CVD method, a laser ablation method, and the like. Of these, the sol-gel method for forming a film by the steps of sol coating, drying, degreasing, and baking is the method. Excellent controllability of crystal state. As a method for producing an electromechanical conversion film using this sol-gel method, those described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are known. In the methods described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, an electrode that is an object to be coated by a droplet discharge method in which droplets of a coating liquid containing a raw material for forming an electromechanical conversion film are discharged from a nozzle. The desired coating pattern is formed by landing on the predetermined portion and coating. And the film | membrane of the coating liquid apply | coated on the electrode is dried, and the film | membrane of the dried coating liquid is thermally decomposed and crystallized, and the electromechanical conversion film | membrane is formed.

  However, since the coating liquid containing the raw material for forming the electromechanical conversion film has a lower viscosity than the ink liquid used in a normal inkjet recording apparatus, when the main liquid droplets of the coating liquid are ejected from the nozzle, Small accompanying droplets smaller in size than the main droplets are likely to be generated. There is a problem that the accompanying droplets, for example, form a mist and fly toward the electrode while receiving the resistance of air, and adhere to other than a predetermined portion on the electrode as unnecessary droplets.

  In order to solve this problem, a method described in Patent Document 3 is known as a method for collecting accompanying droplets. In the recovery method described in Patent Document 3, a potential difference is generated between the nozzle surface of the nozzle plate and the counter electrode facing the nozzle surface. When an electric field is generated between the nozzle surface and the counter electrode, and the coating liquid is discharged from the nozzle hole toward the counter electrode in the space where the electric field is generated, unidirectional polarization occurs in the coating droplet, and columnar coating is performed. Ion molecules having a polarity opposite to the polarity of the counter electrode gather at the front end in the droplet ejection direction, and ion molecules having a polarity opposite to the polarity of the nozzle plate gather at the rear end in the ejection direction. Further, the coating liquid droplets ejected from the nozzle holes are divided into the liquid droplets on the front end side and the liquid droplets on the rear end side while flying toward the counter electrode side. The tip side of the divided coating droplet is the main droplet, which moves to the counter electrode side as it is. On the other hand, the rear end side of the divided application droplet is the accompanying droplet. Then, the associated liquid collecting electrode, which is a nozzle plate electrode provided with a voltage opposite to the polarity of the associated droplet by the voltage applying means by the voltage applying means, is applied to the associated liquid by electrostatic force. Drops are collected by collecting.

  However, since the accompanying droplet collecting electrode is provided in the vicinity of the nozzle hole, the accompanying droplet electrostatically attracted to the accompanying droplet collecting electrode may adhere to the edge of the nozzle hole. In this way, when the accompanying droplets adhere to the edge of the nozzle hole and accumulate over time, the coating liquid discharged from the nozzle hole comes into contact with the accompanying droplet accumulated at the edge of the nozzle hole and the normal flight path Therefore, there arises a problem that the coating liquid cannot be applied to the target position on the electrode that is the application target.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is that the coating liquid cannot be applied to the target position on the coating object due to the accompanying droplets adhering to the edge of the nozzle hole. It is to provide a thin film manufacturing apparatus capable of suppressing the above, an electromechanical conversion film element including an electromechanical conversion film manufactured using the thin film manufacturing apparatus, a droplet discharge head, and a droplet discharge device.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 includes a droplet discharge head having a nozzle plate in which nozzle holes are formed and a nozzle plate electrode provided in the vicinity of the nozzle holes of the nozzle plate; A coating object facing the droplet discharge head with a predetermined interval, a counter electrode facing the droplet discharge head via the coating object, and a counter electrode voltage applying means for applying a voltage to the counter electrode And a nozzle plate electrode voltage applying means for applying a voltage to the nozzle plate electrode, and a main droplet of the coating liquid discharged from the nozzle hole is landed on the coating object to generate a thin film, In a thin film manufacturing apparatus that draws and collects minute accompanying droplets accompanying droplets by electrostatic force from the nozzle plate electrodes, the application target of the nozzle plate based on the nozzle holes Table of things and faces The first said nozzle plate electrode in a predetermined direction are arranged side by side two or more, the distance between at least one pair of electrodes of between the nozzle plate electrode adjacent electrodes, counting from the nozzle hole side along the Is shorter than the minimum distance between the nozzle plate electrode and the nozzle hole, and the accompanying droplets are moved in the predetermined direction by electrostatic force from each nozzle plate electrode, and counted from the nozzle hole side. A voltage is applied to each nozzle plate electrode by the nozzle plate electrode voltage application means so that the accompanying droplets are attracted and collected by electrostatic force to the second and subsequent predetermined nozzle plate electrodes. It is what.

  In the present invention, the accompanying droplets are moved in the predetermined direction by electrostatic force from each nozzle plate electrode to move the associated droplets away from the nozzle holes, and the second and subsequent predetermined nozzles counted from the nozzle hole side. The accompanying droplets can be attracted to the electrode and collected by electrostatic force. As a result, the accompanying liquid droplets are collected at a position farther from the nozzle hole than when the accompanying liquid is attracted to the first nozzle electrode counted from the nozzle side by electrostatic force and collected. It is possible to suppress attachment of accompanying droplets. Therefore, the coating liquid discharged from the nozzle hole comes into contact with the accompanying droplets accumulated over time at the edge of the nozzle hole and bends from the normal flight path, and cannot be applied to the target position on the coating target. Can be suppressed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there is an excellent effect that it is possible to prevent the application liquid from being applied to the target position on the application target due to the accompanying droplets adhering to the edge of the nozzle hole.

Explanatory drawing of the state which moves a mist to a predetermined | prescribed collection | recovery place, controlling the position of a mist after mist generate | occur | produces. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a droplet discharge coating apparatus equipped with an inkjet head according to an embodiment. Sectional drawing of the inkjet head which apply | coats ink, and the board | substrate with which ink is applied. (A) The figure of the state when the ink is discharging, (b) Explanatory drawing when charging a mist. FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing a case where ink is continuously ejected. (A) The figure of the state when the ink is discharging, (b) Explanatory drawing when charging a mist. The figure which showed the example, such as a shape and arrangement position of the electrode for mist collection | recovery. Sectional drawing of the inkjet head which apply | coats an ink drop, and the board | substrate where an ink drop is apply | coated. Explanatory drawing of the state until mist approaches the mist collection | recovery electrode, controlling the position of mist after generation | occurrence | production of mist. Sectional drawing of an inkjet head and a board | substrate. (A) Explanatory drawing of the state when discharging ink droplets, (b) Explanatory drawing of the state when charging the mist. (A) The figure which shows the state which the polarization in an ink drop has generate | occur | produced strongly with the electric field between a nozzle plate and the electrode for mist collection, (b) The figure which shows the state which the charge amount of mist increased. Process sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the electromechanical conversion element film | membrane by a sol gel method using the inkjet coating device which concerns on embodiment. The characteristic view which shows an example of the PE hysteresis curve of the PZT film | membrane produced in the Example. Explanatory drawing in the case of forming the upper electrode which consists of platinum using an inkjet coating device. (A) Explanatory drawing which shows the mode of the contact angle of the pure water in the electrode exposure surface which removed the SAM film, (b) Explanatory drawing which shows the mode of the contact angle of the pure water in the surface with the SAM film disposed. The schematic block diagram which shows one structural example of the inkjet head comprised using the electromechanical conversion element manufactured with the manufacturing method of this embodiment. The schematic block diagram which shows the structural example which arranged the inkjet head of FIG. 17 in multiple numbers. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a configuration example of a droplet discharge device. The schematic block diagram which shows one structural example of the droplet discharge apparatus which can use the electromechanical conversion element manufactured with the manufacturing method of this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, an electromechanical conversion element having a transverse vibration (bend mode) type electromechanical conversion film using deformation of the piezoelectric constant d31 will be described as an example. However, the present invention is an electromechanical conversion of this type. It is applicable without being limited to a film.

  When the electromechanical conversion film is a PZT film, a PZT precursor solution synthesized using lead acetate trihydrate, isopropoxide titanium, and normal butoxide zirconium as starting materials can be used. The crystal water of lead acetate is dissolved in methoxyethanol and then dehydrated. The lead amount is 10 [mol%] excess with respect to the stoichiometric composition. This is to prevent crystallinity deterioration due to so-called lead loss during heat treatment. It is possible to synthesize PZT precursor solution by dissolving isopropoxide titanium and normal butoxide zirconium in methoxyethanol, proceeding with alcohol exchange reaction and esterification reaction, and uniformly mixing with methoxyethanol solution in which lead acetate is dissolved. it can. The PZT concentration of this PZT precursor solution is, for example, 0.1 [mol / l]. In each Example described later, a PZT precursor solution synthesized by the above method (referred to as “PZT precursor solution A” in the Examples) was used.

  The PZT precursor solution in the case where the electromechanical conversion film is a PZT film is prepared by dissolving lead acetate, zirconium alkoxide, and titanium alkoxide compounds described in Non-Patent Document 1 as starting materials and dissolving them in methoxyethanol as a common solvent. Alternatively, a uniform solution may be obtained. The PZT precursor solution is also called “sol-gel solution”.

PZT is a solid solution of lead zirconate (PbZrO ₃ ) and lead titanate (PbTiO ₃ ), and the characteristics differ depending on the ratio. In general, the composition exhibiting excellent piezoelectric characteristics has a ratio of PbZrO ₃ and PbTiO ₃ of 53:47. When expressed by a chemical formula, Pb (Zr0.53, Ti0.47) O ₃ , generally PZT (53/47) It is indicated. The starting materials for lead acetate, zirconium alkoxide and titanium alkoxide compounds are weighed according to this chemical formula. Since the metal alkoxide compound is easily hydrolyzed by moisture in the atmosphere, an appropriate amount of a stabilizer such as acetylacetone, acetic acid or diethanolamine may be added to the precursor solution as a stabilizer.

  Examples of composite oxides other than PZT include barium titanate. In this case, it is also possible to prepare a barium titanate precursor solution by dissolving barium alkoxide and a titanium alkoxide compound in a common solvent. is there.

  In addition, when obtaining a patterned PZT film as an electromechanical conversion film on the surface of the electrode on the base substrate, a coating film is formed by applying the above solution as a coating liquid by a droplet discharge method, and solvent drying A patterned PZT film is obtained by performing thermal decomposition, crystallization, and heat treatment. Since transformation from the coating film to the crystallized film involves volume shrinkage, it is preferable to obtain a film thickness of 100 [nm] or less in one step in order to obtain a crack-free film. And it is preferable to adjust so that a precursor density | concentration may be optimized from the relationship between the film-forming area of an electromechanical conversion film, and the application quantity of a PZT precursor solution. Further, when used as an electromechanical conversion element of a droplet discharge device, the thickness of the PZT film is required to be 1 [μm] to 2 [μm]. In order to obtain this film thickness, the process is repeated ten times or more.

  Further, in the case of forming a patterned electro-mechanical conversion layer by the sol-gel method, the PZT precursor solution in which the wettability of the base substrate is controlled is separately applied. This utilizes the phenomenon of alkanethiol self-arranged on a specific metal shown in Non-Patent Document 2. First, a SAM (Self Assembled Monolayer) film of thiol on the surface of a platinum group metal of a substrate. Form. Since the alkyl group is arranged on the SAM film, it becomes hydrophobic. This SAM film can be patterned using a photoresist by, for example, well-known photolithography etching. Since the patterned SAM film remains even after the resist is peeled off, this portion is hydrophobic. On the other hand, the portion from which the SAM film has been removed is hydrophilic because the platinum surface is exposed. Using this surface energy contrast, the PZT precursor solution can be applied separately. In the present embodiment, after the SAM film is selectively formed in a region where the PZT precursor solution is not applied, as shown below, the droplet discharge method can reduce the consumption of the PZT precursor solution. The PZT precursor solution is selectively applied by coating (inkjet coating).

  In this embodiment, since the PZT precursor is applied only to a necessary region by the ink jet method, a small amount of material can be used as compared with application by a conventional spin coater. In addition, as will be described later, by recovering the mist generated at the time of coating, pattern defects due to the mist adhering to the substrate do not occur, so that the coating process can be greatly simplified. In particular, as compared with the conventional mist collecting method, the mist is collected at a location away from the nozzle, so that the ejection failure due to the mist adhering to the nozzle portion is reduced, thereby improving the ejection reliability. Further, since the yield is improved by improving the quality of the pattern, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[Example 1]
A thin film manufacturing apparatus having a mist collecting electrode and a mist collecting method according to the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ink jet coating apparatus according to the present embodiment. In this ink jet coating apparatus, a Y-axis driving unit 201 is installed on a gantry 200, and a stage 203 on which a substrate 202 is mounted is installed on the platform 200 so as to be driven in the Y-axis direction. The stage 203 is accompanied by a suction means (not shown) such as vacuum or static electricity, and the substrate 202 is fixed to the stage 203 by the suction means. Further, the X-axis support member 204 is attached with an X-axis drive means 205, and a head base 206 mounted on the Z-axis drive means 211 is attached, so that it can move in the X-axis direction. Yes. On the head base 206, an ink jet head 208 for discharging ink is mounted. Ink is supplied to the inkjet head 208 from each ink tank (not shown) through the colored resin ink supply pipe 210.

  In the inkjet head 208, nozzle holes 11 having a diameter of several tens [μm] are formed at intervals of several hundred [dpi]. The diameter of the main main droplet 303 discharged from the nozzle hole 11 of the inkjet head 208 is about several tens [μm], and the diameter of the mist 304 is about several [μm]. Further, the droplet velocity of the main droplet 303 is about 5 [m / s] to 10 [m / s], and the droplet velocity of the mist 304 is half or less than that of the main droplet 303. If the mist 304 lands on a region other than the region where ink should be originally applied, it causes a pattern defect. Therefore, in order to reduce pattern defects due to mist, the mist is moved to a predetermined location and collected using the apparatus shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the inkjet head 208 that applies the ink 301 and the substrate 202 to which the ink 301 is applied.

  The inkjet head 208 is provided with the electromechanical conversion element 40 that pushes out the ink 301, the ink flow path through which the ink 301 flows, and the nozzle plate 10 in which the nozzle holes 11 through which the ink 301 protrudes are opened. Here, the ink is a liquid that is ejected into droplets by the inkjet head 208 and used to create a pattern shape. In the following description, an example using a sol-gel liquid is shown. The sol-gel liquid is particularly effective in collecting mist because the solid content in the ink is gelled and mist is easily generated during ejection.

  Further, five mist collecting electrodes 343, 344, 345, 346, 347 across the insulating film 311 are arranged on the nozzle plate surface from the nozzle hole 11 on the nozzle surface side where the nozzle hole 11 of the inkjet head 208 is located. Are arranged side by side in the first direction 401. The mist collecting electrodes 343, 344, 345, 346, 347 and the nozzle plate 10 are insulated from each other by an insulating film 311.

  Although the thickness of the insulating film 311 depends on the magnitude of the voltage applied to the mist collecting electrodes 343, 344, 345, 346 and 347 and the insulating material used for the insulating film 311, the thickness is preferably 50 μm or more. In FIG. 3, only five mist collection electrodes are shown, but one or more mist collection electrodes may be arranged side by side in the first direction 401 further than the mist collection electrode 347. Good. The height of the mist collecting electrodes 343, 344, 345, 346, and 347 from the nozzle surface is such that the interval between the nozzle surface and the printed circuit board during printing by a normal ink jet method is 0.5 [mm] to 3 [mm]. Therefore, 0.2 [mm] or less is desirable.

  A substrate 202 to which the ink 301 is applied is disposed at a position facing the nozzle surface of the inkjet head 208 at a predetermined interval, and the back surface of the substrate 202 is the surface opposite to the surface facing the nozzle surface. A substrate back electrode 331 is attached.

  4 and 1 are diagrams illustrating a method for collecting the mist 304. FIG. 4A is a diagram of a state when the ink 302 is being ejected, and FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram when the mist 304 is charged.

  In FIG. 4, since a voltage is applied to the substrate back electrode 331, an electric field is formed between the substrate 202 and the nozzle plate 10. In FIG. 4A, a positive voltage is applied to the substrate back electrode 331, and the electric field formed between the substrate back electrode 331 and the nozzle plate 10 causes the substrate 202 side of the ink droplet 302 to be on the substrate back surface. The nozzle plate 10 side of the ink droplet 302 is charged to the same polarity as the substrate back electrode 331.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the ink droplet 302 is split back and forth with respect to the ejection direction, the main droplet 303 on the substrate 202 side is charged with a polarity opposite to that of the substrate back electrode 331, and the nozzle plate 10 side The mist 304 is charged with the same polarity as the substrate back electrode 331. Although a positive voltage is applied to the substrate back electrode 331 here, a negative voltage may of course be applied.

  By applying a voltage of an appropriate magnitude to the substrate back electrode 331, the main droplet 303 advances straight. On the other hand, the mist 304 having a smaller volume and less kinetic energy than the main droplet 303 can be moved under the influence of the electric field generated using the mist collecting electrode provided on the nozzle plate 10. At this time, the voltage applied to the substrate back electrode 331 is preferably 70 [V] to 400 [V]. In the present embodiment, by applying a voltage of 70 [V] or more to the substrate back electrode 331, an electric field that can be recovered by moving the mist 304 to the mist recovery electrode can be generated. However, when a voltage of 400 [V] or higher is applied to the mist collecting electrode, the electric field generated using the mist collecting electrode causes the trajectory of not only the mist 304 but also the main droplet 303 to be bent by 5 [μm] or more. Therefore, the pattern formation is affected.

  In FIG. 4, as described above, the mist 304 is positively charged, and in the following description, the mist 304 is assumed to be positively charged. Of course, the mist 304 may be negatively charged. In that case, the sign in the following description may be reversed.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the mist 304 is moved to a predetermined collection place while controlling the position of the mist 304 after the mist 304 is generated.

<Procedure 1>
First, immediately after the mist 304 is generated, the potentials of the mist collecting electrode 343, the mist collecting electrode 344, and the substrate back electrode 331 are (mist collecting electrode 344) <(mist collecting electrode 343) <(substrate). A voltage is applied to each electrode so as to satisfy the relationship of the back electrode 331).

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 1A, an electric field is generated from the position of the mist 304 toward the mist collecting electrode 344, so that the mist 304 crosses the equipotential surface 361 in the vertical direction by this electric field. It approaches the electrode 344.

<Procedure 2>
As shown in FIG. 1B, the mist 304 is a mist collection electrode n (n is an integer of 3 or more) (a mist collection electrode 351 in FIG. 1B) and a mist collection electrode n + 1 (FIG. 1B ) Of the substrate back electrode 331, the mist collection electrode n, the mist collection electrode n + 1, and the mist collection electrode n + 2 (FIG. 1B). The voltage to each electrode is such that the potential of the mist collecting electrode 353) satisfies the relationship of (mist collecting electrode n + 2) <(mist collecting electrode n + 1, substrate back electrode 331) <(mist collecting electrode n). Apply.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 1B, the mist collecting electrode n + 2 (between the mist collecting electrode 351 and the mist collecting electrode 352) is formed between the mist collecting electrode n and the mist collecting electrode n + 1 (between the mist collecting electrode 351 and the mist collecting electrode 352). An electric field is generated toward the mist collection electrode 353) toward the mist 304. As a result, the mist 304 moves between the mist collection electrode n + 1 and the mist collection electrode n + 2 (between the mist collection electrode 352 and the mist collection electrode 353).

  Further, the potential change described in the procedure 2 is repeated at an appropriate timing to move the mist 304 away from the nozzle hole 11.

<Procedure 3>
Finally, a mist collection electrode p-2 (p is an integer of 5 or more) (mist collection electrode 356 in FIG. 1 (c)) and a mist collection electrode p-1 (mist collection electrode in FIG. 1 (c)) 357) to the appropriate position between the substrate back electrode 331, the mist collecting electrode p-2, the mist collecting electrode p-1, and the mist collecting electrode p (FIG. 1C). ) So that the potential of the mist collecting electrode 358) satisfies the relationship of (mist collecting electrode p) <(mist collecting electrode p-1, substrate back electrode 331) <(mist collecting electrode p-2). A voltage is applied to each electrode.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 1C, the mist is recovered from between the mist recovery electrode n-2 and the mist recovery electrode n-1 (between the mist recovery electrode 356 and the mist recovery electrode 357). An electric field is generated in which the mist 304 is directed to the electrode p (mist recovery electrode 358). Thereafter, a voltage satisfying the potential relationship of the procedure 3 is continuously applied to the mist collection electrode p (mist collection electrode 358). As a result, the mist 304 moves to the mist collection electrode p, and the mist 304 is adsorbed to the mist collection electrode p (mist collection electrode 358) by electrostatic force.

  In FIG. 1C, although not shown around the mist collection electrode p (mist collection electrode 358), the mist 304 adsorbed on the mist collection electrode p (mist collection electrode 358) is the substrate. In order to prevent dripping on 202, an accommodation mechanism capable of storing a certain amount of mist 304 is provided. Examples of the storage mechanism include a sponge-like ink absorber and a storage container. The mist 304 stored in the storage mechanism is recovered from the storage mechanism by suction or the like during cleaning.

  In the present embodiment, since the mist 304 is moved to a location far from the nozzle hole 11 and collected, the mist 304 does not adhere to the vicinity of the nozzle hole and the occurrence of bending in the discharge liquid can be suppressed. . Thereby, ink can be applied to the substrate 202 with a targeted pattern, and the reliability of the pattern can be improved. Further, since the mist 304 is moved while controlling the position of the mist 304, the mist 304 does not adhere to the substrate 202 when the mist 304 is moved, and the reliability of the pattern can be improved. it can.

  Further, as described with reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, since the control of the mist 304 differs depending on the position of the mist 304, the voltage applied to each mist collecting electrode The application time is preferably set for each mist collecting electrode according to the moving time of the mist 304 between the mist collecting electrodes. For example, in FIG. 1A, the mist 304 is initially directed toward the substrate 202 due to the inertial force at the time of discharge, and therefore the mist 304 moves to an appropriate position between the mist collection electrode 343 and the mist collection electrode 344. This requires more time than the movement of the mist 304 between the other mist collection electrodes, and therefore the voltage application time should be longer.

Next, a case where ink is continuously ejected will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, when the mist 305 moves between the mist collection electrode 345 and the mist collection electrode 346, the mist collection electrode 344 is not used for controlling the position of the mist 305. Therefore, the mist collection electrode 344 can be used to control the position of the mist 306 generated by the ejection of the next droplet.

  The ejection cycle of the normal inkjet head 208 is several tens [μs] to several hundreds [μs] (the ejection frequency is several [kHz] to several tens [kHz]). Therefore, the time required for the mist 305 to move between the mist collecting electrode 345 and the mist collecting electrode 346 after the mist 305 is generated is several tens [μs] to several hundred [μs] or less. Preferably there is. For this reason, it is preferable that the time required for movement between the mist collecting electrodes, that is, the time for applying the voltage applied to each mist collecting electrode is set to 1/3 or less of the above time.

  Also, in order to increase the efficiency of ink application by ink jet, it is better that the discharge cycle is short, so the time taken for the mists 305 and 306 to move between the mist collection electrode 345 and the mist collection electrode 346 is short. Is preferred. Therefore, the distance in the first direction 401 from the generation position of the mist 305, 306 to the position between the mist collection electrode 345 and the mist collection electrode 346 should be short, and the moving speed of the mist 305, 306 is fast. Better. Furthermore, the moving speed of the mists 305 and 306 increases as the charge amount of the mists 305 and 306 increases and as the electric field becomes stronger. Therefore, the higher the charge amount of the mist 305 and the stronger the electric field, the better.

  Further, in order to increase the amount of charge of the mist 304 in the state shown in FIG. 4, when charging the mist 304 as shown in FIG. 6, a voltage is applied to the mist collecting electrode 343 near the nozzle hole 11 to An electric field may be generated between the collection electrode 343 and the substrate back electrode 331.

  Accordingly, in FIG. 6, the electric field between the mist collection electrode 343 and the substrate back electrode 331 can be made stronger than in the case of FIG. 4, so that the polarization in the ink droplet is changed as shown in FIG. It occurs strongly. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the ink droplet 302 splits back and forth with respect to the ejection direction, the charge amount of the mist 304 can be increased. Therefore, since the moving speed of the mist 304 is increased by the amount of increase in the charge amount of the mist 304 as compared with the case of FIG. 4, the discharge cycle can be shortened.

  In order to strengthen the electric field at each stage shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, and FIG. 1C, the fluctuation range of the voltage applied to each mist recovery electrode is the strength of the electric field between the electrodes. Is preferably set in the range of several tens [V] to 400 [V] for each electrode. Thereby, the time concerning movement of mist can be shortened. For example, in FIG. 1A, the electric field between the mist collection electrode 344 and the substrate back electrode 331 increases so that the mist 304 moves to the nozzle surface side, and in FIG. The electric field between the desired mist collection electrodes is increased so that the moving speed in the first direction 401 is increased.

  Further, in the voltage control, as described with reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, every time the mist 304 moves between the mist collecting electrodes, the unit between the mist collecting electrodes. Although the control method is easy to design a control circuit, the voltage of each mist collecting electrode may be controlled continuously according to the position of the mist 304. Thereby, the movement of the mist 304 in the 1st direction 401 becomes smooth, and it can further shorten the time concerning the movement between the electrodes for mist collection | recovery.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the shape and arrangement position of the mist collecting electrode. The mist collecting electrode 336 is desirably shaped to be easily cleaned because charged dust or the like adheres and becomes dirty. For example, when cleaning the mist collecting electrode 336 using a blade, if there is a gap between the mist collecting electrode 336 and the insulating film 311 when the blade is pressed against the mist collecting electrode 336, dust and dirt Leftover occurs. Therefore, the shape of the mist collecting electrode 336 is curved, for example, as shown in FIG. 7 (a) or the width of the mist collecting electrode 336 on the nozzle plate side as shown in FIG. 7 (b). It is preferable to taper the side surface so that the width on the substrate side becomes shorter. Further, as shown in FIG. 7C, the electrode surface of the mist collecting electrode 336 (the surface facing the substrate 202) and the surface facing the substrate 202 of the insulating film 311 are on the same plane. Also good. In addition, it is better if the nozzle hole 11 is also easy to clean. For example, as shown in FIG. 7D, the electrode surface of the mist collecting electrode 336, the surface of the insulating film 311 facing the substrate 202, and the nozzle plate surface are preferably on the same plane. By adopting such a shape and the like, when the nozzle surface is cleaned with a blade, the mist collecting electrode 336 and the insulating film 311 can be in contact with the blade without any gap, so that the cleaning effect can be enhanced.

<Example 2>
In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1A and the like, the position of the mist 304 after the mist generation is determined by using a plurality of mist collection electrodes arranged only in the first direction 401 with the nozzle hole 11 as a base point. Moved while controlling. On the other hand, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of mist collection electrodes are arranged in the first direction 401 with the nozzle hole 11 as a base point, and the first direction 401 with the nozzle hole 11 as a base point. A plurality of mist collecting electrodes are also arranged in the second direction 402, which is the opposite direction, and the position of the mist after the mist is generated is also used using the mist collecting electrodes arranged in the second direction 402. Control and move.

  FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the inkjet head 208 that applies the ink droplets 302 and the substrate 202 to which the ink droplets 302 are applied.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the mist collecting electrode has a plurality of mist collecting electrodes 343, 344, 345, 346, 347 arranged in the first direction 401 with the nozzle hole 11 as a base point, and the nozzle hole 11 as a base point. A plurality of mist collection electrodes 341 and 342 are arranged along the second direction 402. In FIG. 8, only seven mist collecting electrodes are shown, but the mist collecting electrodes may be further provided following the first direction 401 and the second direction 402.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a state after the mist 304 is generated until the mist 304 is brought close to the mist collecting electrode 344 while controlling the position of the mist 304.

  Immediately after the mist 304 is generated, the mist collecting electrode 343 and the mist collecting electrode 344 arranged in the first direction 401 with the nozzle hole 11 as the base point, and the mist arranged in the second direction 402 with the nozzle hole 11 as the base point The potentials of the recovery electrode 342 and the substrate back electrode 331 satisfy the relationship of (mist recovery electrode 344) <(mist recovery electrode 343, substrate back electrode 331) <(mist recovery electrode 342). A voltage is applied to each electrode.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, since an electric field is generated from the position of the mist 304 toward the mist collection electrode 344, the mist 304 crosses the equipotential surface in the vertical direction by this electric field and approaches the mist collection electrode 344. Go.

  In FIG. 9, the electric field strength at which the mist 304 approaches the mist collection electrode 344 is increased compared to FIG. 1A, and the time required for the mist 304 to move to an appropriate position between the mist collection electrodes 343 and 344 is shown. Since it can be shortened, the pattern manufacturing efficiency can be increased. Furthermore, by arranging the mist collection electrode 342 and the like in the second direction 402 with the nozzle hole 11 as a base point, the mist 304 can be collected in two directions opposite to the nozzle hole 11. Therefore, the pattern manufacturing efficiency is further improved by moving and collecting the mist 304 in a direction in which the waiting time required for the ejection of the next droplet is short in accordance with the transport direction of the inkjet head 208 or the transport direction of the substrate 202. be able to.

<Example 3>
In Example 1, as described with reference to FIG. 6, the charge amount of the mist 304 is increased by applying a voltage to the mist collecting electrode 343, but the voltage is applied to the nozzle plate 10 instead of the mist collecting electrode 343. The amount of charge of the mist 304 may be increased by applying an electric field between the nozzle surface and the substrate 202. Also by this, the strength of the electric field around the ink droplet 302 can be made stronger than that in FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the inkjet head 208 and the substrate 202. In this figure, the nozzle plate 10 in contact with the ink 301 is conductive and grounded. Other configurations are the same as those in FIG.

  FIG. 11A is an explanatory diagram of a state when the ink droplet 302 is ejected, and FIG. 11B is an explanatory diagram of a state when the mist 304 is charged. At this time, since a voltage is applied to the substrate back electrode 331 and the conductive nozzle plate 10 is grounded, an electric field is formed between the nozzle surface and the substrate 202.

  In FIG. 11A, the potential between the substrate back electrode 331 and the nozzle plate 10 is set so as to satisfy the relationship of (nozzle plate 10) <(substrate back electrode 331).

  Due to the electric field formed between the nozzle surface and the substrate 202, the substrate 202 side of the ejected ink droplet 302 is charged with a polarity opposite to that of the substrate back electrode 331 as shown in FIG. The nozzle surface side is charged with the same polarity as the substrate back electrode 331. After that, as shown in FIG. 11B, when the ink droplet 302 is split back and forth with respect to the ejection direction, the main droplet 303 on the substrate 202 side is charged with a polarity opposite to that of the substrate back electrode 331, and on the nozzle surface side. A certain mist 304 is charged with the same polarity as the substrate back electrode 331.

  As shown in FIG. 10, when a voltage is applied to the nozzle hole, the distance between the mist collecting electrode 343 and the substrate 202 is the first distance from the nozzle hole 11 to the mist collecting electrode 343 closest to the nozzle hole 11. The distance in the direction 401 is preferably 0.5 times or more. This is because when a voltage is applied to the mist collecting electrode 343 and the like, the distance between the mist collecting electrode 343 closest to the nozzle hole 11 and the nozzle plate 10 near the nozzle hole 11 and the mist collecting electrode 343 and the like If the distance from the substrate 202 is too close, dielectric breakdown occurs between them. In order to avoid this, it is better to increase the distance between the mist collecting electrode 343 and the substrate 202 and the distance in the first direction 401 from the nozzle hole 11 to the mist collecting electrode 343 closest to the nozzle hole 11. . Thereby, a pattern can be manufactured safely.

  When the voltage applied to the substrate back electrode 331 and each mist collection electrode is set so that the moving speed of the mist 304 is optimal, the distance between the mist collection electrode 343 and the substrate 202 and the substrate 202 is determined from the nozzle hole 11 to the nozzle. By setting the distance in the first direction 401 to the mist collecting electrode 343 closest to the hole 11 to be 0.5 times or more, the mist collecting electrode 343 closest to the nozzle hole 11 and the nozzle plate 10 in the vicinity of the nozzle hole 11 are used. If dielectric breakdown did not occur between the mist collecting electrode 343 and the substrate 202, no dielectric breakdown occurred.

  When the mist 304 is generated between the nozzle plate 10 and the mist collecting electrode 343, in order to shorten the discharge cycle by increasing the charge amount of the mist 304, as shown in FIG. A voltage may be applied to the mist collecting electrode 342 and the mist collecting electrode 343. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12A, the electric field between the nozzle plate and the mist collecting electrode causes a strong polarization in the ink droplet 302. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12B, the mist 304 is charged. The amount increases. At this time, it is preferable that the strength of the electric field formed between the nozzle plate and the mist collecting electrode is stronger than the strength of the electric field formed between the nozzle plate and the substrate back electrode.

  In order to avoid dielectric breakdown and shorten the discharge cycle, the distance between the mist collection electrodes other than between the mist collection electrodes sandwiching the nozzle hole 11 is set between the nozzle hole 11 and the mist collection electrode 343. It is preferable that the distance is shorter than the distance. Specifically, about several tens [μm] is preferable. This is because the mist collecting electrode 343 is more likely to cause a dielectric breakdown between the nozzle plates 10 without interposing an insulator than the other mist collecting electrodes, and therefore the distance is set longer than between the other mist collecting electrodes. This is necessary.

<Example 4>
FIG. 13 is a process cross-sectional view illustrating a manufacturing process of an electromechanical conversion element film by a sol-gel method using the inkjet coating apparatus according to the embodiment.

On the surface (upper surface) of the substrate 1 shown in FIG. 13A, a platinum electrode made of a platinum group metal (not shown) as an electrode excellent in reactivity with thiol is formed by, for example, sputtering. A SAM film 2 is formed on the surface of the platinum electrode of the substrate 1 as shown in FIG. The SAM film 2 can be obtained by dipping the substrate 1 in an alkanethiol solution to cause self-alignment. In this example, alkanethiol obtained by dissolving an alkanethiol molecule of CH ₃ (CH ₂ ) —SH in a general organic solvent (alcohol, acetone, toluene, etc.) at a predetermined concentration (for example, several [mol / l]). The liquid was used. After immersing the substrate 1 in this alkanethiol solution and taking it out after a predetermined time, the SAM film 2 can be formed on the surface of the platinum electrode by replacing and washing the excess molecules with a solvent and drying.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 13C, a photoresist 3 is patterned by photolithography, and as shown in FIG. 13D, SAM is performed by dry etching (for example, irradiation with enzyme plasma or irradiation with UV light). The film is removed, the photoresist 3 used for processing is removed, and the patterning of the SAM film 2 is completed. The SAM film 2 thus formed has a contact angle with respect to pure water of, for example, 92 [°] and exhibits hydrophobicity. On the other hand, the surface of the platinum electrode of the substrate 1 exposed by removing the SAM film 2 has a contact angle with pure water of, for example, 54 [°] and is hydrophilic.

  Here, the solution used was lead acetate trihydrate, isopropoxide titanium, and normal butoxide zirconium as starting materials. Crystal water of lead acetate was dissolved in methoxyethanol and then dehydrated. The amount of lead is excessive by 10 [mol%] with respect to the stoichiometric composition. This is to prevent crystallinity deterioration due to so-called lead loss during heat treatment. PZT precursor solution was synthesized by dissolving isopropoxide titanium and normal butoxide zirconium in methoxyethanol, proceeding with alcohol exchange reaction and esterification reaction, and mixing with methoxyethanol solution in which lead acetate was dissolved. The PZT concentration was 0.1 [mol / l].

  Next, a more specific example of a method for manufacturing a PZT film including a step of applying a PZT precursor solution by an inkjet coating apparatus equipped with the inkjet head 208 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  In this embodiment, the PZT precursor solution A is selectively applied using a surface modification step (FIGS. 13A to 13D) for partially forming the SAM film 2 and an inkjet coating apparatus. A coating process, a process of drying the coated PZT precursor solution A at a predetermined temperature (temperature 120 [° C.]), and thermal decomposition in which the dried PZT precursor solution A is pyrolyzed at a predetermined temperature (temperature 500 [° C.]). By performing the process once, a 100 nm film having a predetermined pattern is obtained on the platinum electrode of the substrate 202. The surface modification step, coating step, drying step and thermal decomposition step are repeated six times to obtain a 600 [nm] film, and then the film is thermally decomposed and crystallized (temperature 700 [° C.]). ] Was performed by RTA (rapid heat treatment) to form a patterned PZT film as an electromechanical conversion film on the platinum electrode of the substrate 202. As a result, no defects such as cracks occurred in the PZT film. In addition, due to the recovery of the mist 304 in the inkjet head 208, there was no occurrence of a pattern defect in which the PZT precursor solution was applied in addition to the necessary pattern forming portion.

  Thereafter, the surface modification step, the coating step, the drying step (temperature 120 [° C.]) and the thermal decomposition step (temperature 500 [° C.]) were repeated six times, and then a crystallization heat treatment was performed. As a result, the PZT film did not have defects such as cracks, and the thickness of the PZT film reached 1000 [nm]. An electromechanical conversion element was formed by sputtering an upper electrode (second electrode) made of platinum on the patterned PZT film, and the electrical characteristics and electromechanical conversion ability (piezoelectric constant) were evaluated.

As a result, a hysteresis curve of P (polarization) -E (electric field intensity) as shown in FIG. 14 is obtained. The relative permittivity of the PZT film is 1220, the dielectric loss is 0.02, and the residual polarization is 19.3 [μC. / Cm ² ] and the coercive electric field was 36.5 [kV / cm], and it was found that the coercive electric field had characteristics equivalent to those of an ordinary ceramic sintered body.

  In addition, the electromechanical conversion ability was calculated by measuring the amount of deformation by applying an electric field with a laser Doppler vibrometer and fitting it by simulation. The piezoelectric constant d31 was 120 [pm / V], which was also the same value as the ceramic sintered body. This value is a characteristic value that can be sufficiently designed as a piezoelectric element used in an inkjet head.

  On the other hand, an attempt was made to further increase the thickness of the PZT film without disposing the upper electrode (second electrode) made of platinum. That is, the surface modification step, the coating step, the drying step (temperature 120 [° C.]) and the thermal decomposition step (temperature 500 [° C.]) were repeated 6 times, and the subsequent crystallization treatment was repeated 10 times. As a result, a patterned PZT film having a total film thickness of 5 [μm] could be obtained without defects such as cracks.

<Example 5>
In this example, the upper electrode (second electrode) made of platinum is formed by using the ink jet coating apparatus shown in FIG. 15, applying a liquid containing a platinum material only to a necessary part on the PZT film, and then drying. I let you. The others were performed in the same manner as in Example 4.

When the liquid containing the platinum material was applied, the application area was defined using the contrast of the contact angle in the same manner as when the PZT precursor was applied. Since it is necessary to apply the upper electrode to a region smaller than the PZT film pattern in order to prevent a short circuit, it is necessary to provide a water repellent part (hydrophobic surface) also on the PZT film. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, a resist is patterned and applied to a portion where the upper electrode made of platinum is not formed, and after the platinum is dried at 120 [° C.], the resist is peeled off and finally applied. Thus, sintering was performed at 250 [° C.]. The film thickness after firing was 0.5 [μm], and the specific resistance (volume resistivity) was 5 × 10 ⁻⁶ [Ω · cm].

  Also in this example, similarly to Example 1, it was possible to form a PZT film as a patterned electromechanical conversion film having a desired film thickness without cracks. Further, due to the collection of the mist droplets in the inkjet head 208, there was no occurrence of a pattern defect in which the PZT precursor solution was applied in addition to the necessary pattern forming portion.

<Example 6>
In this example, ruthenium, iridium, and rhodium were sputter-deposited on a silicon wafer with a thermal oxide film on which a titanium adhesion layer was disposed as an electrode film of another platinum group element constituting the lower electrode. Other steps such as formation of the SAM film were performed in the same manner as in Example 1. Further, platinum-rhodium (rhodium concentration: 15 [wt%]) was also formed by sputtering as an electrode film of another platinum group alloy constituting the lower electrode. Furthermore, it performed also about the sample which has arrange | positioned the iridium metal or the platinum film | membrane on the iridium oxide film. When the lower electrode was formed with these materials, the contact angle of pure water on the electrode exposed surface from which the SAM film was removed was 5 ° or less (complete wetting) in all samples (see FIG. 16A). ). On the other hand, the contact angle of pure water on the surface where the SAM film was placed was about 90 [°] in all samples (see FIG. 16B).

<Example 7>
FIG. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration example of the inkjet head 208 configured using the electromechanical transducer (PZT element) manufactured by the manufacturing method described above. In the example shown in the figure, the diaphragm 30, the adhesion layer 41, and the lower electrode 42 are laminated on the silicon substrate 20 serving as the liquid chamber substrate, and the bulk of the predetermined portion on the lower electrode 42 is obtained by the above-described simple manufacturing method. The electromechanical conversion element (PZT element) 43 and the upper electrode 44 having the same performance as ceramics can be formed by patterning. Thereafter, the liquid chamber 21 is formed from the back surface (the lower surface in the drawing) of the silicon substrate 20 by an etching removal process, and the nozzle plate 10 having the nozzle holes 11 is joined, whereby the ink jet head 208 can be manufactured. In the figure, descriptions of the liquid supply means, the flow path, and the resistance are omitted. FIG. 18 shows a plurality of the inkjet heads 208 shown in FIG. 17 arranged side by side.

<Example 8>
FIG. 19 is a schematic cross-sectional configuration diagram showing a configuration example of an inkjet recording apparatus provided with an inkjet head 208 using the electromechanical transducer manufactured by the above-described manufacturing method. FIG. 20 is a schematic perspective view of the mechanism of the inkjet recording apparatus.

  This ink jet recording apparatus includes a carriage 93 movable in the main scanning direction inside the recording apparatus main body 81, a recording head 94 including an ink jet head 208 mounted on the carriage 93, an ink cartridge 95 for supplying ink to the recording head 94, and the like. The printing mechanism unit 82 and the like configured are accommodated. In addition, a sheet feeding cassette 84 on which a large number of sheets 83 can be stacked can be removably mounted from the front side of the lower portion of the recording apparatus main body 81, and a manual feed tray for manually feeding the sheets 83. 85 can be defeated. Then, after the paper 83 fed from the paper feed cassette 84 or the manual feed tray 85 is taken in and a required image is recorded on the paper 83 by the printing mechanism 82, the paper 83 is put on the paper discharge tray 86 mounted on the rear side. Eject paper.

  The printing mechanism 82 holds a carriage 93 slidably in the main scanning direction by a main guide rod 91 and a sub guide rod 92 which are guide members horizontally mounted on left and right side plates (not shown). The carriage 93 includes a recording head 94 that discharges yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (Bk) ink droplets with a plurality of ink discharge ports (nozzles) in the main scanning direction. They are arranged in the intersecting direction and mounted with the ink droplet ejection direction facing downward. A plurality of ink cartridges 95 corresponding to each color for supplying ink of each color to the recording head 94 are replaceably mounted on the carriage 93.

  The ink cartridge 95 has an air port communicating with the air at the upper side, a supply port for supplying ink to the recording head 94 at the lower side, and a porous body filled with ink inside. The ink supplied to the recording head 94 is maintained at a slight negative pressure by the capillary force.

  Further, although the heads of the respective colors are used here as the recording head 94, a single head having nozzles for ejecting ink droplets of the respective colors may be used. Here, the carriage 93 is slidably fitted to the main guide rod 91 on the rear side (downstream side in the paper conveyance direction), and is slid on the secondary guide rod 92 on the front side (upstream side in the paper conveyance direction). It is placed freely. In order to move and scan the carriage 93 in the main scanning direction, a timing belt 100 is stretched between a drive pulley 98 and a driven pulley 99 that are rotationally driven by a main scanning motor 97, and the timing belt 100 is moved to the carriage 93. The carriage 93 is reciprocally driven by forward and reverse rotations of the main scanning motor 97.

  On the other hand, in order to convey the paper 83 set in the paper feed cassette 84 to the lower side of the recording head 94, the paper feed roller 101 and the friction pad 102 for separating and feeding the paper 83 from the paper feed cassette 84 and the paper 83 are guided. The guide member 103 to be transported, the transport roller 104 that reverses and transports the fed paper 83, the transport roller 105 that is pressed against the peripheral surface of the transport roller 104, and the feed angle of the paper 83 from the transport roller 104 are defined. A tip roller 106 is provided. The transport roller 104 is rotationally driven by a sub-scanning motor 107 via a gear train. A printing receiving member 109 is provided as a paper guide member that guides the paper 83 sent from the transport roller 104 below the recording head 94 in accordance with the movement range of the carriage 93 in the main scanning direction. A conveyance roller 111 and a spur 112 that are rotationally driven to send the paper 83 in the paper discharge direction are provided on the downstream side of the printing receiving member 109 in the paper conveyance direction, and the paper 83 is further delivered to the paper discharge tray 86. A roller 113 and a spur 114, and a guide member 115 and a guide member 116 that form a paper discharge path are disposed.

  At the time of recording, the recording head 94 is driven according to the image signal while moving the carriage 93, thereby ejecting ink onto the stopped sheet 83 to record one line, and after conveying the sheet 83 by a predetermined amount, Record the next line. Upon receiving a signal that the rear end of the sheet 83 has reached the recording area or a recording end signal, the recording operation is terminated and the sheet 83 is discharged.

  Further, a recovery device 117 for recovering the ejection failure of the recording head 94 is disposed at a position outside the recording area on the right end side in the movement direction of the carriage 93. The recovery device 117 includes a cap unit, a suction unit, and a cleaning unit. The carriage 93 is moved to the recovery device 117 side during printing standby and the recording head 94 is capped by the capping means, and the ejection port portion is kept in a wet state to prevent ejection failure due to ink drying. Further, by ejecting ink that is not related to recording during recording or the like, the ink viscosity of all the ejection ports is made constant and stable ejection performance is maintained.

  When ejection failure occurs, the ejection port (nozzle) of the recording head 94 is sealed by the capping unit, and bubbles and the like are sucked out from the ejection port by the suction unit through the tube. Etc. are removed by a cleaning means to recover the ejection failure. Further, the sucked ink is discharged to a waste ink reservoir (not shown) installed at the lower part of the main body and absorbed and held by an ink absorber inside the waste ink reservoir.

  As described above, since the above-described inkjet head according to the present embodiment is mounted in this inkjet recording apparatus, there is no ink droplet ejection failure due to vibration plate drive failure, and stable ink droplet ejection characteristics are obtained. , Improve the image quality.

What has been described above is merely an example, and the present invention has a specific effect for each of the following modes.
(Aspect A)
A liquid such as an inkjet head 208 having a nozzle plate such as the nozzle plate 10 in which the nozzle holes such as the nozzle holes 11 are formed and a nozzle plate electrode such as a mist collecting electrode 343 provided in the vicinity of the nozzle holes of the nozzle plate. A droplet discharge head, a coating object such as a substrate 202 facing the droplet discharge head with a predetermined interval, a counter electrode such as a substrate back electrode 331 facing the droplet discharge head via the coating target, A counter electrode voltage applying means for applying a voltage to the electrode and a nozzle plate electrode voltage applying means for applying a voltage to the nozzle plate electrode are provided, and the main liquid droplet of the coating liquid discharged from the nozzle hole is landed on the coating object. In a thin film manufacturing apparatus that generates a thin film and draws and collects minute accompanying droplets accompanying the main droplets by electrostatic force from the nozzle plate electrodes to the nozzle plate electrodes. Point are arranged side by side nozzle plate electrodes are two or more in a predetermined direction, such as a first direction 401 along the object to be coated and the opposing surface of the nozzle plate, out between the adjacent nozzles plate electrode electrode The distance between at least one pair of electrodes is shorter than the minimum distance between the first nozzle plate electrode and the nozzle hole counted from the nozzle hole side, and the associated liquid is caused by electrostatic force from each nozzle plate electrode. Nozzle plate electrode voltage applying means for moving the droplets in the predetermined direction so that the accompanying droplets are attracted and collected by electrostatic force to the second and subsequent predetermined nozzle plate electrodes counted from the nozzle hole side. To apply a voltage to each nozzle plate electrode. According to this, as described in the above embodiment, it is possible to prevent the main droplets from being applied to a predetermined portion of the application target due to the accompanying droplets adhering to the vicinity of the nozzle holes.
(Aspect B)
In (Aspect A), one or more nozzle plate electrodes are provided on the nozzle plate in the direction opposite to the predetermined direction with the nozzle hole as a base point. According to this, as described in the above embodiment, the pattern manufacturing efficiency can be improved.
(Aspect C)
In (Aspect A) or (Aspect B), a charging means for charging the coating liquid discharged from the nozzle hole is provided. According to this, as described in the above embodiment, the pattern manufacturing efficiency can be improved.
(Aspect D)
In (Aspect C), the strength of the electric field formed between the nozzle plate and the nozzle plate electrode is stronger than the strength of the electric field formed between the nozzle plate and the object to be coated. According to this, as described in the above embodiment, the pattern manufacturing efficiency can be improved.
(Aspect E)
In (Aspect C) or (Aspect D), the distance between the nozzle plate electrode and the coating object is 0.5 times or more the minimum distance between the nozzle hole and the nozzle plate electrode. According to this, as described in the above embodiment, the pattern can be manufactured safely .
( Aspect F )
(Embodiment A), (Aspect B), (aspect C), (embodiment D) or others (aspect E), or a nozzle plate electrode has a shape having a curved portion or a tapered portion, on the surface of the nozzle plate or Each nozzle plate electrode is provided on the nozzle plate through an insulator such as an insulating film 311 provided in the plane, and at least one of the nozzle plate electrodes is located in the insulator plane. It is. According to this, as described in the above embodiment, the cleaning efficiency of the nozzle plate electrode and the like can be improved.
(Aspect G )
In electromechanical transducer, (embodiment A), (aspect B), (aspect C), (embodiment D), (embodiment E) or other electro-mechanical transducer film produced using the thin film production apparatus (embodiment F) Was sandwiched between electrodes. According to this, as described in the above embodiment, a highly reliable electromechanical transducer can be obtained.
(Aspect H )
In the liquid discharge head, the electromechanical conversion element of (Aspect G ) is used. According to this, as described in the above embodiment, a highly reliable droplet discharge head can be provided.
(Aspect I )
The droplet discharge device includes the droplet discharge head of (Aspect H 1 ). According to this, as described in the above embodiment, a highly reliable droplet discharge device can be provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 2 SAM film 3 Photoresist 10 Nozzle plate 11 Nozzle hole 20 Silicon substrate 21 Liquid chamber 30 Diaphragm 40 Electromechanical conversion element 41 Adhesion layer 42 Lower electrode 44 Upper electrode 81 Recording device main body 82 Printing mechanism part 83 Paper 84 Paper feed Cassette 85 Manual feed tray 86 Paper discharge tray 91 Main guide rod 92 Sub guide rod 93 Carriage 94 Recording head 95 Ink cartridge 97 Main scan motor 98 Drive pulley 99 Drive pulley 100 Timing belt 101 Paper feed roller 102 Friction pad 103 Guide member 104 Transport roller 105 Conveying roller 106 Leading end roller 107 Sub-scanning motor 109 Printing receiving member 111 Conveying roller 112 Spur 113 Paper discharge roller 114 Spur 115 Guide member 116 Guide member 117 times Device 200 Base 201 Axis driving means 202 Substrate 203 Stage 204 Axis support member 205 Axis driving means 206 Head base 208 Inkjet head 210 Colored resin ink supply pipe 211 Axis driving means 301 Ink 302 Ink droplet 303 Main droplet 304 Mist 305 Mist 305 Mist 306 Mist 311 Insulating film 331 Substrate back electrode 336 Mist collection electrode 341 Mist collection electrode 342 Mist collection electrode 343 Mist collection electrode 344 Mist collection electrode 345 Mist collection electrode 346 Mist collection electrode 347 Mist collection electrode 351 Mist collection electrode 352 Mist collection electrode 353 Mist collection electrode 356 Mist collection electrode 357 Mist collection electrode 358 Mist collection electrode 361 Equipotential surface 401 First direction 402 second direction

JP 2003-297825 A JP 2006-176385 A Japanese Patent No. 4622571

K. D. Budd, S.M. K. Day and D.D. A. Payne, Proc. Brit. Ceram. Soc. 36, 107 (1985) A. Kumar and G.K. M.M. Whitesides, Appl. Phys. Lett. 63, 2002 (1993)

Claims (9)

A droplet discharge head having a nozzle plate in which nozzle holes are formed, and a nozzle plate electrode provided in the vicinity of the nozzle holes of the nozzle plate;
A coating object facing the droplet discharge head at a predetermined interval;
A counter electrode facing the droplet discharge head via the application object;
A counter electrode voltage applying means for applying a voltage to the counter electrode;
Nozzle plate electrode voltage application means for applying a voltage to the nozzle plate electrode,
A main droplet of the coating liquid discharged from the nozzle hole is landed on the object to be coated to generate a thin film, and a minute accompanying droplet accompanying the main droplet is electrostatically discharged from the nozzle plate electrode. In a thin film manufacturing apparatus that draws and collects the nozzle plate electrode by force,
Two or more nozzle plate electrodes are arranged side by side in a predetermined direction along the surface of the nozzle plate facing the application object of the nozzle plate with the nozzle hole as a base point,
The distance between at least one set of electrodes between the electrodes of the adjacent nozzle plate electrodes is shorter than the minimum distance between the first nozzle plate electrode and the nozzle holes, counting from the nozzle hole side,
The accompanying droplet is moved in the predetermined direction by electrostatic force from each nozzle plate electrode, and the accompanying droplet is electrostatically applied to the second and subsequent predetermined nozzle plate electrodes counted from the nozzle hole side. A thin film manufacturing apparatus, wherein a voltage is applied to each nozzle plate electrode by the nozzle plate electrode voltage applying means so that the nozzle plate electrode is attracted and recovered by the nozzle plate electrode. The thin film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1,
A thin film manufacturing apparatus, wherein one or more nozzle plate electrodes are provided on the nozzle plate in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction with the nozzle hole as a base point. In the thin film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
An apparatus for producing a thin film, comprising: charging means for charging the coating liquid discharged from the nozzle hole. In the thin film manufacturing apparatus of Claim 3,
An apparatus for producing a thin film, wherein the strength of an electric field formed between the nozzle plate and the nozzle plate electrode is stronger than the strength of an electric field formed between the nozzle plate and the coating object. The thin film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,
A thin film manufacturing apparatus, wherein a distance between the nozzle plate electrode and the coating object is 0.5 times or more a minimum distance between the nozzle hole and the nozzle plate electrode. According to claim 1, 2, 3, a thin film production apparatus 5 was 4 or,
The nozzle plate electrode has a shape having a curved portion or a tapered portion, or each nozzle plate electrode is provided on the nozzle plate via an insulator provided on or in the surface of the nozzle plate. A thin film manufacturing apparatus, wherein at least one or more of the nozzle plate electrodes are positioned within the insulator surface. Claim 1, 2, 3, 4, electromechanical conversion element characterized by being configured to sandwich the electro-mechanical transducer film prepared in the electrodes with 5 or the thin film manufacturing apparatus 6. A liquid discharge head comprising the electromechanical transducer according to claim 7 . A liquid droplet ejection apparatus comprising the liquid ejection head according to claim 8 .