JPH02125741A - Recording head and base member employed therefor and recording apparatus mounted with same recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the area occupied by a matrix wiring and easily design resistances in a liquid passage or the like, by arranging said matrix wiring in a three-dimensional manner and forming a wiring of a lower layer in said matrix wiring within a heat accumulating layer. CONSTITUTION:A matrix wiring section 630 is provided with N wirings 602-3 for selecting a common signalformed on a heat accumulating layer 603-1, a heat accumulating layer 603-2 formed as an insulating layer on the N selecting wirings 602-3, NXM wirings 602-1 for individual signals and NXM wirings 602-2 for selecting an individual signal. The wirings 602-1 and 602-2 are formed on the heat accumulating layer 603-2. Therefore, the matrix wiring section 630 is in a multi-layered structure of wirings. The wirings intersecting each other are provided in a three-dimensional manner, and therefore the matrix wiring section occupies less area. Moreover, the step difference is hard to appear at the side of the heat generating surface, namely, where an ink passage is formed, whereby resistances in the passage and the like can be easily designed.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to copying machines, facsimile machines, word processors,
The present invention relates to a recording head used in a computer output printer, a base member used therein, and a recording device equipped with the recording head, in particular a recording head that performs recording using thermal energy, a base member used therein, and the recording head. The present invention relates to a recording device equipped with a head.

[Prior Art] As a conventional recording head, for example, USP 4,723
．． 129 Endo etal, an inkjet suitable for performing a recording method of forming an image using a recording liquid, which uses thermal energy to form at least one droplet of a recording liquid (ink). There is a recording head. An inkjet recording apparatus equipped with such a recording head is a printer 10 as shown in FIG. 8(a).
It is used as 0. In addition, FIG. 8(b) shows the eighth
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the main components of the printer shown in FIG. 3A, such as a recording head. Here, the inkjet recording head 40
1 receives an electric signal from the drive circuit 4018 and moves along the guide rail 402 while moving the platen 403.
Droplets are deposited on a recording paper 404 as a recording medium that is conveyed by a dot and held at a predetermined recording position to record characters, graphics, etc. in a dot pattern. Also,
Reference numeral 406 denotes an ink tank containing ink used for recording, which is removably mounted on the inkjet recording apparatus and supplies ink to the recording head 401 via the supply tube 402. 405 is an ejection recovery device, which is provided to make the ink ejection state of the print head 401 into a good state before printing (LISP4, 6Q
O, '131 Terasawa).

Next, the structure of the conventional inkjet recording head will be explained in the ninth section.
This will be explained using FIG. 9(a) and FIG. 9(b).

FIG. 9(a) is a diagram showing a heater 501 and a pair of electrodes 502 forming an electrothermal conversion element as an energy generating means for generating energy used for ejecting ink. Note that the electrode 502 is electrically connected to a drive circuit (not shown) by wire bonding or the like in order to receive the supply (transmission) of a signal from the outside.

Further, FIG. 9(b) shows a cross-sectional view of the inkjet recording head taken along the X-Y line in FIG. 9(a). The heater 501 and the electric conductor 8i 502 described above include a heating resistance layer 501-1 formed on a support base 505 with an insulating layer 503 interposed therebetween, and a conductive layer formed on the heating resistance layer 501-1 by patterning. This is the basic configuration.

The insulating layer 503 is, for example, 5i02. It is formed of an insulating material such as SiN. In addition to the purpose of electrical insulation when the supporting base 505 is made of a material such as metal or semiconductor, the insulating layer 503 also efficiently stores the thermal energy generated by the heater 501 and is filled with ink. This is provided for the purpose of efficiently transmitting heat into the liquid path (nozzle) 506. However, for example, if the insulating layer 503 is too thick and accumulates too much heat, the temperature of the entire ink will rise, the physical properties of the ink will change, and stable droplet formation for obtaining a good image will not be possible. . Therefore, the appropriate thickness of the heat storage layer is, for example, 2 to 5 μm in the case of the above-mentioned materials.

Furthermore, on top of the heater 501 and electrode 502, a protective layer (
In the figure, 504 and 507) are formed. As for the material constituting this protective layer, the first protective layer 504 is made of, for example, Sin.

Inorganic materials such as SiN are used. Furthermore, as the second protective layer 507, an inorganic material such as 5tO2 or SiN is used.

In order to prevent damage to the area near the heat generating part due to cavitation when the generated air bubbles contract and disappear, a cavitation-resistant structure is installed near the heat generating part that causes the ink to change its state due to heat and generates bubbles. A layer 508 is formed. As the material constituting this anti-cabination layer, for example, inorganic materials such as Ta, Ti, and Cr are used.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] Conventionally, for example, 1IsP4,559,543 Toga
In the head with the structure described in noh etal,
Since the drive signal supply means is separate from the support base on which the electrothermal transducer is formed, the head and the supply means are electrically connected by wire bonding or the like.

For this reason, - When a large number of nozzles are arranged at high density within a support base, the area occupied by the signal connection part becomes larger than the area occupied by the nozzle part, which not only increases the size of the head and impedes operability. This also led to an increase in costs such as material costs.

In particular, in a recording head in which an ink tank for accommodating ink to be supplied to the head is configured integrally with the head and is removably mounted on the carriage of an inkjet recording apparatus (see IIsP4.635,080 Watanabe), Since manufacturing a recording head at low cost and providing it at a low price is one of the major factors for commercial success, the inventors conducted numerous experiments to develop a recording head with a new configuration. We conducted this repeatedly and examined these matters.

USP 4,559,543 Toganoh mentioned above
Examples of recording heads with a configuration different from that shown in etal etc. include ll5P4, 429, 321.
There is a recording head of the type described in Matsumoto.

This recording head was created based on the discovery that semiconductor-related technology could be applied to a head that performs recording using thermal energy as described above, and includes transistors as driving elements built into a single-crystal silicon support base, and The electrothermal transducer is formed using thin film technology.

However, in recent years, in high-density, high-resolution recording heads in which tens to hundreds of ejection ports and electrothermal transducer elements are arranged, the number of individual electrodes for each electrothermal transducer element also increases. This poses a problem in that it is difficult to reduce the size and cost of the head.

Therefore, a plurality of electrothermal transducers are divided into, for example, M groups of N elements, and N×M matrix wiring is performed to selectively connect the electrothermal transducers to each other, for example, by time-division driving. A configuration for direct weight is required.

Such a configuration will be specifically explained using FIG. 1O.

In FIG. 10, R1°1~R. 9 is an electrothermal conversion element, C-1 to C-M are common wiring for each group, and S-1 to C-M are common wiring for each group.
SN is a common signal selection wiring, and by selectively connecting the group wiring and the common signal selection wiring to each other, a desired electrothermal conversion element can be driven.

At this time, in order to interrupt circuits passing through other electrothermal conversion elements, it is necessary to connect a backflow prevention diode to a part of the drive circuit in each group wiring.

For this reason, the inventors of the present invention have conducted studies and found that a recording head having the following configuration is suitable.

That is, the configuration is such that Si is used as the support base material, a diode array is built into the support base in which the electrothermal transducer elements are formed, and the diode array is driven in a time-division manner. By building a diode into the support base, for example, if the device has 6,000 electrothermal transducers, the conventional common electrode 1
The book and 64 individual side electrodes, that is, at least 65 total connections, and the area required for this, were replaced with 18
Since the number and area of the wood to be connected can be reduced, the number of man-hours and area required for connection can be reduced, and the recording head can be made smaller.

Furthermore, with the miniaturization of recording heads, the number of inkjet recording heads that can be manufactured from one Si wafer has increased, resulting in a significant cost reduction.

In addition, by incorporating a diode array into the recording head, the overall head size can be reduced, making it possible to significantly reduce not only the material cost of the recording head but also the cost of peripheral circuitry.

However, even in the above-mentioned matrix-driven recording head, the wiring of the matrix circuit for driving the electrothermal transducer elements is complicated, and further improvements are needed to make the head smaller and cheaper. There is room to do so.

In addition, in the recording head applied to the above-mentioned inkjet recording apparatus, the influence of heat on the ink,
It is difficult to obtain a good image unless sufficient consideration is given to the propagation of the ink drive accompanying ejection, flow path resistance, and the like.

The present invention has been made to solve the technical problems as explained above.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a high-density, compact recording head and recording device at low cost.

A second object of the present invention is to manufacture at low cost a high-performance recording head and recording apparatus that can form high-resolution images.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a print head and a printing apparatus that have good ejection characteristics and can perform stable ink ejection.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a print head and a printing apparatus in which a matrix circuit for driving the print head can be easily manufactured.

(The following is a blank space) [Means for Solving the Problems] A first recording head of the present invention includes: a liquid path defining member for defining a liquid path communicating with an ejection port for ejecting ink; a base member having a plurality of electrothermal conversion elements for generating heat transferred to the ink filling the liquid path and a matrix wiring section electrically connected to each of the electrothermal conversion elements; The matrix wiring section has a multi-layer structure including a first wiring and a second wiring provided on the first wiring via an insulating layer, and a plurality of the electrothermal conversion elements are connected to the insulating layer. It is characterized by being placed on top.

Further, the second recording head of the present invention includes a liquid path defining member for defining a liquid path that communicates directly with an ejection port for ejecting ink, and a liquid path defining member for defining a liquid path that communicates directly with an ejection port for ejecting ink, and a liquid path defining member that transmits heat to the ink filling the liquid path. A recording head comprising: a support base on which a plurality of electrothermal conversion elements for generating electricity are disposed via a heat storage layer; the matrix wiring section has a multilayer wiring structure consisting of at least two conductive layers, and at least one of the conductive layers is provided within the heat storage layer. Features.

The base member of the present invention includes: a support base, a heat storage layer provided on the support base, a plurality of electrothermal conversion elements provided on the heat storage layer, and electrically connected to the electrothermal conversion elements. a base member comprising: a matrix wiring section; the matrix wiring section has a multilayer structure having at least two conductive layers disposed through an insulating layer; and the heat storage layer and the insulating layer. and are formed by layers formed in the same manufacturing process.

Furthermore, the third recording head of the present invention includes a liquid path defining member for defining a liquid path communicating with an ejection port for ejecting ink, and a liquid path defining member for defining a liquid path communicating with an ejection port for ejecting ink; a base member having a plurality of electrothermal transducer elements for generating electric current, and a functional element for controlling current flowing through the electrothermal transducer elements, the recording head comprising: A matrix wiring section having a multilayer wiring structure and electrically connected to each other is provided between the plurality of electrothermal conversion elements and the functional element.

A first recording device of the present invention includes a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting ink, and N×M electrothermal conversions for generating thermal energy used to eject ink from the ejection ports. an element, M common wirings commonly electrically connected to each of the N electrothermal conversion elements, and N common wirings commonly electrically connected to each of the M electrothermal conversion elements. a recording head having a multi-layered matrix wiring section having an insulating layer and an insulating layer, and the N×M electrothermal conversion elements are provided on the insulating layer; and the N common wirings. , a driving means for selectively supplying an electric signal through the M common wirings, and recording is performed by ejecting ink from the ejection ports.

Furthermore, the second recording device of the present invention includes a plurality of ejection ports for ejecting ink, and N×M electrical outlets for generating thermal energy used to eject ink from the ejection ports. a thermal conversion element, a functional element section for controlling the current flowing through the electrothermal conversion element, and the N
×M common wirings disposed between the M electrothermal conversion elements and the functional element section and commonly electrically connected to every N of the electrothermal conversion elements, and M of the electrothermal conversion elements. a multilayered matrix wiring section having N common wirings that are commonly electrically connected to each other; A drive means for supplying an electric signal to the ink, and recording is performed by ejecting ink from the ejection opening.

(Function) In the present invention, since the matrix wiring is arranged three-dimensionally, the area occupied by the matrix wiring can be reduced.

Further, in the present invention, since the lower layer wiring of the matrix wiring part is formed in the heat storage layer, unevenness due to a step is less likely to appear on the heat generating surface side, that is, on the ink liquid path side.
It is possible to easily design liquid path resistance, etc.

Furthermore, in the present invention, since the matrix wiring is provided between a part of the heater and the functional element part, it is possible to maintain a sufficient distance between the heater and the functional element part. It is possible to prevent the temperature of the element portion from rising.

Since the base member used in the recording head of the present invention uses the heat storage layer as an interlayer insulating layer of the matrix wiring section, the heat storage layer and the interlayer insulating layer can be formed in the same process. Therefore, the overall layer structure does not become complicated.

Furthermore, according to the base member of the present invention, the space on the expensive single crystal silicon support base can be used effectively.
It is possible to further promote miniaturization, simplification, and cost reduction of the recording head.

[Examples of Embodiments] The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and any configuration that achieves the object of the present invention may be used. It may be configured like this.

FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram of a recording head according to the present invention.

The configuration of the time-division drive of the recording head according to the present invention will be described below.
An inkjet recording head having 64 nozzles will be explained using FIG. 1 as an example. In this example embodiment,
The 64 ejection ports and the electrothermal conversion elements corresponding thereto were divided into eight groups and connected to group selection electrodes 01 to C8, and common signal selection electrodes 51 to S8 were further provided. For example, when trying to eject ink from the 11th ejection port, by turning on C2 and 53, the electrothermal transducer r
Current flows through -11 and generates heat.

FIG. 2 shows a heater board as a base member of the recording head on which the circuit pattern described above is formed.
A liquid path forming member for forming an ink liquid path is laminated thereon to constitute an inkjet recording head. Second
In the figure, 1624 is a diode array having a plurality of diodes having rectifying properties as functional elements, 1630 is a matrix wiring section, and 1601 is a heat generating section having a plurality of heaters.

FIG. 3(a) is a diagram showing a type of recording head that ejects ink substantially parallel to a heat generating surface. Further, FIG. 3(b) is a diagram showing a type of recording head that discharges ink in a direction crossing the heat generating surface. As shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), these recording heads 1401 are integrally equipped with an ink tank 1406, and the present invention is particularly suitably applied to both.

Next, taking the recording head shown in FIG. 3(a) as an example,
The most characteristic configuration of the present invention will be explained.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA' of the recording head 1401 shown in FIG. 3(a).

In FIG. 4, 620 is a support base for forming a heater part 601 as an electrothermal transducer, a matrix wiring part 630, and a diode part 624 as a functional element, and here, an N-type silicon substrate is used. ing. The support base 620 may be a P-type silicon substrate, a P-type or N-type layer epitaxially grown on an N-type silicon substrate, or a P-type or N-type layer epitaxially grown on a P-type silicon substrate. It may also be a formed one. In this case, of the supporting base 620,
The region where the heater part 6011, the matrix wiring part 630, and the diode part 624 are formed is the driver 5 of the heater 601.
Considering the breakdown voltage due to JJ voltage, it is desirable to increase the resistance. For example, if the region is an epitaxially grown layer region, the resistance value (specific resistance) can be increased by controlling the amount of impurities introduced. It can be changed.

As impurities, atoms belonging to Group 1II of the periodic table such as B and Ga are used for P-type, and atoms belonging to Group V of the periodic table such as P and As are used for N-type. is used. And the impurity concentration is I x 10''~l
x 10"cm-', preferably 1 x 10"cm-'
It is more preferable to set it to 12 to 1×101s.

Heat storage layer 603-1.6 formed under the heater 601
02-2 is appropriately selected from materials having good heat storage and insulation properties, such as silicon, titanium, vanadium, niobium, molybdenum, tantalum, tungsten, chromium, zirconium, hafnium, lanthanum, Inorganic materials such as oxides such as yttrium, manganese, aluminum, calcium, strontium, barium, etc. or high-resistance nitrides such as silicon, aluminum, boron, tantalum, etc., or epoxy resins, silicone resins,
A single layer or multiple layers made of organic materials such as fluororesin, boilimide, polyethylene terephthalate, and photosensitive resin can be used. Among them, silicon oxide (e.g., Sin) and silicon nitride (e.g., Si, N4)
) is preferably used.

The heater 601 has a laminated structure of a patterned heating resistance layer and a pair of electrodes, and is formed on the heating layer. The number is provided corresponding to the recording pixel, for example, N×M (same number as the ejection ports) is provided (N,
M is a natural number of 2 or more).

Materials suitably used for the heating resistance layer include tantalum, nichrome, hafnium, lanthanum, zirconium, titanium, tungsten, aluminum, molybdenum,
Examples include metals such as niobium, chromium, and vanadium, alloys thereof, and borides thereof.

The matrix wiring section 630 serves as N common signal selection wirings 602-3 formed on the heat storage layer 603-1 and an interlayer insulating layer formed on the N common signal selection wirings 602-3. The heat storage layer 603-2 and the heat storage layer 6
N×M individual signal wirings 602 formed on 03-2
-1 and N×M individual signal selection wirings 602-2, forming a multilayer wiring structure.

Here, the individual signal selection wiring 602-2 is one electrode of one electrothermal conversion element, and one common signal selection wiring 6
Connected to 02-3. In addition, individual No. 18 wiring 60
2-1 is the other electrode of the one electrothermal converter, and is also connected to the anode electrode of the diode portion through a contact hole provided in the heat storage layer 603-2.

In this way, by three-dimensionally arranging the wirings that intersect with each other, the occupied area can be reduced.

Here, the material used for the wiring is A11. Cr
, Ag, Au, Pt, Cu, etc. Diode section 62
4 is the same number of heaters 601 (N×
M pieces) are provided.

In this specification, even if it is built into the support base as in this embodiment, for convenience, it is expressed as "provided on the support base".) .

In this way, when a certain group among the M groups is selected, a heater current that should not be driven flows in that group, thereby preventing the recording head from malfunctioning.

The diode portion of this embodiment includes a P-type high resistance region (P region) 621 with a low impurity concentration, and a high impurity concentration region provided in the P region 621 to make ohmic contact with the anode electrode 602-C. High P-type low resistance region (
A unit cell is constituted by an anode region (P" region) 622 and an N-type low resistance region (N" region) 623 with a high impurity concentration as a cathode region provided in the P region 621.

Of course, the polarity of the diode is appropriately selected depending on the polarity of the signal applied to the heater 601, and any diode that exhibits rectification may be used.

Furthermore, functional elements are not limited to diodes,
It may also be a transistor or the like that functions as a rectifying element or a switching element.

As described above, the structure in which a part of the heater, a matrix wiring part, and a functional element part are sequentially provided in the lateral direction of the support base has excellent effects as described later.

In other words, the functional element part must not change its rectifying characteristics or malfunction due to heat from the heater, and conversely, the heat from the functional element part must not have an adverse effect on the ink. In this embodiment, the matrix wiring section 630 is connected to the heater section 60.
By providing the heater diode between the heater diode 1 and the diode section 624 as a functional element section, the distance between the heater diode and the heater diode can be maintained appropriately and the above-mentioned risk can be avoided.

Also, in the thickness direction of the supporting base, the heat storage layer is used as an interlayer insulating layer in the matrix wiring section, so the heat storage layer and the interlayer insulating layer can be formed in the same process, making the overall layer structure complicated. Not only does this eliminate the risk of heat transfer, but the metal wiring with a conductive layer between the layers from the heat generating area of the heat generating resistor layer to the diode disperses heat appropriately and evenly, resulting in a structure with excellent heat transfer characteristics. There is.

Furthermore, since the lower wiring of the matrix wiring part is formed in the heat storage layer, unevenness due to a step is less likely to appear on the heat generating surface side, that is, on the ink liquid path side, and the liquid path resistance etc. can be easily designed.

Of course, by effectively utilizing the space on the expensive single crystal silicon substrate, it is possible to further promote miniaturization, simplification, and cost reduction of the recording head.

A protective layer 604 having excellent electrical insulation and thermal conductivity is provided on the surface of the support base on which the heater portion, matrix wiring portion, and diode portion are provided as described above.

An anti-cavitation layer 60 is provided on the protective layer 604 and on the heater, that is, near the heat generating part.
8 is provided.

Similarly, an upper layer 607 is provided above the matrix wiring section and the diode section.

The protective layer 604 and the upper layer 607 are the heat storage layer 603 described above.
-2 can be used, and the protective layer 604
Functional separation can also be achieved by making the upper layer 607 and the upper layer 607 different materials.

The anti-cabination layer 608 is made of Ti.

Zr, Hf, Ta, V, Nb, Cr, Mo, W.

Metals or alloys such as Fe, Co, and Ni, or carbides, borides, silicides, and nitrides of the above metals are used.

Further, on top of this, an ejection port for ejecting ink and a liquid path forming member 650 for defining a liquid path communicating with the ejection port and supplying ink to the heat generating portion are bonded or pressed. An inkjet recording head is constructed.

Therefore, when the upper layer 607 constitutes a part of the liquid path, a material with surface properties that allows the flow path resistance etc. to be appropriately selected and designed is selected, but the protective layer 607 with the above surface properties It may be only.

In FIG. 4 and the like, each layer is schematically drawn to make it easier to see for explanation, but its thickness, length, etc. are designed in consideration of the above-mentioned characteristics.

[Example] A recording head according to an example of the present invention will be described below according to the manufacturing process.

First, a method for manufacturing a diode section as a functional element section will be briefly explained with reference to FIG. Note that in this example, an N-type single crystal silicon substrate 720 was used as the supporting base.

As shown in FIG. 5(a), a silicon oxide film as a thermal oxidation layer 703-1, which corresponds to the insulating layer of the support base forming the head, was formed by a thermal oxidation method. In this example,
In order to make the thickness of the heat storage layer 2.5 μm, the thermal oxidation layer 70
3-1 was formed to have a thickness of 1.5 μm.

As shown in FIG. 5(b), the oxide layer 703-1 was etched to form a portion for forming a diode.

A P region 721 was formed by diffusing boron, and a thin oxide film 713 was formed thereon. (FIG. 5(C)) Next, boron is further diffused into the P region 721 to form 29 regions 722 with a high impurity concentration of 1 x 10" to 1 x 10" am-3, and Diffuse phosphorus to form impurity lXl0111~1×10”cm
An N'''' region f 23 with a high impurity concentration of -' was formed (FIG. 5(d)).

Then, after removing a portion of the oxide 11i713 and forming a film of A1 by vapor deposition, patterning was performed using a photography technique to form an electrode 702-C.

Through the above steps, a diode portion having a rectifying function as a functional element was formed (FIG. 5(e)).

FIG. 6(a) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the entire heater board of the recording head at this time. in this way,
Simultaneously with the formation of the Al1 electrode described in FIG. .

In this embodiment, 64 electrothermal transducers are arranged to configure a recording head having 64 ejection ports, so the number of common signal selection wirings is eight (S-1 to S-5- a
).

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6(b), a SiO2 layer 703-2, which serves as an interlayer insulating film, was formed by the CVD method, and the SiO□ layer at a predetermined position was etched to form a contact hole. .

This contact hole electrically connects an electrothermal transducer and a common signal selection wiring, which will be described later.

In this way, a 5iC)2 layer 703-2 with a layer thickness of 1 μm was formed, and through the above, a heat storage layer with a layer thickness of 2.5 μm was formed.

Of the pair of electrodes in each electrothermal conversion element formed on the 5in2 film 703-2, the individual signal wiring 702-1 connected to the group selection electrode side has a diode as shown in FIG. 6(C). It is connected to a connection pad section 702-a for connection to an external drive circuit through the connection pad section 702-a. On the other hand, the other signal selection wiring 702-2 of the pair of electrodes is
It is connected through a contact hole to the common signal selection wiring 703-2 in the heat storage layer formed at the same time as the anode and cathode electrodes of the diodes forming the signal selection wiring.

The wiring patterns of these electrodes were formed simultaneously through the series of film formation and photolithography steps described above.

FIG. 7 is a schematic top view of one unit of the heater board of the recording head shown in FIG. 6(e), and is
The cross section taken along the line '-Y' is shown in FIG. 6(c).

Next, the protective layer will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 6(c), on the top of the electrothermal conversion element,
Forms a protective layer to shield ink and prevent oxidation, and a layer to prevent cavitation damage that occurs during defoaming.
A heater board was formed as a base member of an inkjet recording head.

At this time, in order to obtain a more preferable heat storage function, electrical insulation, and flatness for forming a part of the ink flow path, the thickness of the 5i02 film 703-2 formed by the CVD method is as follows.
Since it is necessary to sufficiently cover the step difference caused by the Ai electrode, the thickness is determined by the thickness of the A1 layer.For example, when the thickness of the Al2 film is 5000, the
The thickness of 03-2 is required to be approximately 8,000 people or more.

Further, for example, when the Aρ layer is 1 μm, S i O
, since the layer 703-2 is required to be about 1.5 μm, the 5in2 film 703-1 by thermal oxidation is kept to 1.0 μm to make the entire thickness of the heat storage layer 2.5 μm, and the heat flow flows above and below the heating element. Care must be taken not to upset the balance of heat.

Thereafter, a high-resistance heating resistance layer 701-1 made of a Ta-AJZ alloy was deposited, and a low-resistance conductive layer made of A1 was deposited thereon.

Furthermore, the heating resistor layer and the A1 layer were patterned using photolithography technology to form 64 electrothermal conversion elements.

The protective layer 704 made of Sin was formed by a CVD method. In addition, a gear-bite-resistant third layer 708 made of Ta
was formed by vapor deposition.

Furthermore, in this example, an ink-resistant layer 707 made of a material different from that of the protective layer F04, that is, a photosensitive resin, is applied as an upper layer to a portion other than the vicinity of the heat generating part, and is cured by irradiating it with light. .

By providing a liquid path forming member as shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) on the heater board formed as described above, ink discharge ports and liquid paths are defined. The recording head was completed.

The completed printhead was mounted on an inkjet printing device with the configuration shown in Figure 8(b), and as a result of time-division driving using an 8x8 matrix, stable ejection was possible for a long period of time. .

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, one wiring of the multilayer wiring for split drive is formed in the heat storage layer, so the manufacturing process after forming the heat storage layer is different from the conventional split drive. This is exactly the same as an inkjet recording head that does not have a diode installed.

This makes it possible to use a common manufacturing line, requiring only new capital investment in the diode manufacturing process, making it possible to keep not only material costs but also manufacturing costs low.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a matrix wiring circuit using a diode array according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a chess-style perspective view showing a heater board of a recording head according to the present invention, and FIG. 3(a)
3(b) is a schematic perspective view of a recording head according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA' in FIG. 3(a), and FIGS. 5(a) to ( e) is a schematic diagram showing the manufacturing process of the functional element portion of the heater board of the recording head according to the present invention, and FIGS. 6(a) to (C) are schematic diagrams showing the manufacturing process of the heater board of the recording head according to the present invention, FIG. 7 is a schematic top view of a part of the heater board of the recording head according to the present invention, FIG. 8(a) is a schematic perspective view of an inkjet printer to which the present invention can be applied, and FIG. FIG. 8(a) is a schematic diagram for explaining the main structure of the inkjet printer, FIG. 9(a) is a schematic plan view of the heater board of the inkjet recording head, and FIG.
b) is a schematic sectional view taken along the X-Y line in FIG. 9(a), and FIG. 10 is a wiring circuit configuration diagram of a recording head capable of time-division driving using matrix wiring. (Explanation of symbols) 100... Printer, 401... Inkjet recording head, 402... Guide rail, 403... Platen, 404... Recording paper, 405... Ejection recovery device, 406...・Ink tank, 408... Drive circuit, 501... Heater 502... Electrode, 503...
...Insulating layer, 504...Protective layer, 505...Substrate,
506... Liquid path (nozzle), 50... Protective layer, 6
01... Part of heater, 602-2... Heat storage layer, 60
3-1゜603-2... Heat storage layer, 604... Protective layer, 607... Upper layer, 608... Cavity resistant layer, 620... Substrate, 623... N0 region, 62
4...Diode part, 630...Matrix wiring part, 702-1...Individual No. 43 wiring, 702-2...
Signal selection wiring, 702-3... Common signal selection wiring, 7
02-a... Connection pad part, 703-1, 703-2
... Thermal oxidation layer, 704... Protective layer, 707... Ink resistant layer, 713... Thin oxide film, 720... N type single crystal Si substrate, 721... P region, 722...・・P
1 area, 1401... Recording head, 1406... Ink tank, 1601... Heat generating section, 1624... Diode array, 1630... Matrix wiring section. Figure Figure (a) Figure S-55-65-7 Figure (a) Iυυ

Claims (39)

[Claims] (1) A liquid path defining member for defining a liquid path communicating with an ejection port for ejecting ink, and a plurality of electrothermal conversion elements for generating heat transferred to the ink filling the liquid path. and a matrix wiring part electrically connected to each of the electrothermal conversion elements, the matrix wiring part having a first wiring and an insulating layer on the first wiring. A recording head having a multi-layer structure including a second wiring provided therebetween, wherein a plurality of the electrothermal transducing elements are provided on the insulating layer. (2) The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the ejection opening is provided at a position where the ink is ejected in a direction substantially parallel to the heat generating surface. (3) The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the ejection opening is provided at a position where the ink is ejected in a direction substantially intersecting the heat generating surface. (4) The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the recording head integrally includes an ink tank for accommodating ink to be supplied to the liquid path. (5) The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the electrical conversion element has a heating resistance layer and an electrode. (6) The recording head according to claim 1, further comprising an insulating protective layer provided above the electrothermal conversion element and above the matrix wiring section. (7) The recording head according to claim 1, further comprising an insulating layer under the first wiring. (8) Claims 1 and 7, wherein the insulating layer is formed of silicon oxide or silicon nitride.
Recording head as described. (9) The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the base member further includes a functional element for limiting the current flowing to the electrothermal conversion element. (10) The recording head according to claim 9, wherein the functional element is a diode. (11) The recording head according to claim 9, wherein the functional element is a transistor. (12) The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrothermal transducers are divided into a plurality of groups of a predetermined number and are driven block by block. (13) The recording head according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the electrothermal conversion elements are driven in a time division manner. (14) The matrix wiring section connects N×M individual wirings connected to N×M electrothermal conversion elements and N×M individual wirings commonly connected to each M of the N×M individual wirings. 2. The recording head according to claim 1, further comprising: a common wiring line. (15) A claim characterized in that the matrix wiring section includes wirings each having one end connected to each of the N×M electrothermal conversion elements and the other end connected to each of the N×M functional elements. 9 and 14. (16) A liquid path defining member for defining a liquid path communicating with an ejection port for ejecting ink, and a plurality of electrothermal conversion elements for generating heat transferred to the ink filling the liquid path. A recording head comprising: a support base on which is disposed via a heat storage layer; and a matrix wiring section disposed on the support base and electrically connected to each of the electrothermal conversion elements. A recording head characterized in that the matrix wiring section has a multilayer wiring structure having at least two conductive layers, and at least one of the conductive layers is provided within the heat storage layer. (17) The conductive layer provided in the heat storage layer is a common wiring electrically connected in common to a predetermined number of the electrothermal conversion elements. recording head. (18) A support base, a heat storage layer provided on the support base, a plurality of electrothermal conversion elements provided on the heat storage layer, and a matrix wiring portion electrically connected to the electrothermal conversion elements. and, wherein the matrix wiring section has a multilayer structure consisting of at least two conductive layers disposed through an insulating layer, and the heat storage layer and the insulating layer are manufactured in the same manner. A base member comprising a layer formed by a process. (19) The layer formed in the same manufacturing process is S
The base member according to claim 18, characterized in that it is formed of iO_2 silicon oxide or silicon nitride. (20) The base member according to claim 18, further comprising a functional element for limiting the current flowing through the electrothermal conversion element. (21) A liquid path defining member for defining a liquid path communicating with an ejection port for ejecting ink, and an electrothermal conversion element for generating heat transferred to the ink filling the liquid path. A recording head comprising: a base member having a plurality of functional elements for controlling a current flowing through the electrothermal transducer; and a multilayer wiring structure electrically connected to the electrothermal transducer. A recording head characterized in that a matrix wiring section is provided between the plurality of electrothermal transducing elements and the functional element. (22) The recording head according to claim 21, wherein the ejection opening is provided at a position where the ink is ejected in a direction substantially parallel to the heat generating surface. (23) The recording head according to claim 21, wherein the ejection opening is provided at a position where the ink is ejected in a direction substantially intersecting the heat generating surface. (24) Claim 2, further comprising an integral ink tank for accommodating ink to be supplied to the liquid path.
1. The recording head according to 1. (25) The recording head according to claim 21, wherein the electrothermal conversion element has a heating resistance layer and an electrode. (26) The recording head according to claim 21, wherein an insulating protective layer is provided above the electrothermal conversion element and above the matrix wiring section. (27) The recording head according to claim 21, further comprising a heat storage layer that also serves as an interlayer insulating layer of the matrix wiring section. (28) The recording head according to claim 21 or 27, wherein the heat storage layer is formed of silicon oxide or silicon nitride. (29) The recording head according to claim 21, wherein the base member further includes a functional element for limiting the current flowing to the electrothermal conversion element. (30) The recording head according to claim 29, wherein the functional element is a diode. (31) The recording head according to claim 29, wherein the functional element is a transistor. (32) The recording head according to claim 21, wherein the plurality of electrothermal transducing elements are divided into a plurality of groups each having a predetermined number and are driven for each block. (33) The recording head according to claim 21, wherein a plurality of the electrothermal conversion elements are driven in a time division manner. (34) The matrix wiring section includes N×M individual wirings connected to N×M electrothermal conversion elements and N pieces commonly connected to each M of the N×M individual wirings. 22. The recording head according to claim 21, further comprising: a common wiring line. (35) A claim characterized in that the matrix wiring section includes wirings each having one end connected to each of the N×M electrothermal conversion elements and the other end connected to each of the N×M functional elements. The recording head described in 29 and 34. (36) A plurality of ejection ports for ejecting ink, N×M electrothermal conversion elements for generating thermal energy used to eject ink from the ejection ports, and the electrothermal conversion elements. A plurality of M common wirings commonly electrically connected to each of the N elements, and N common wirings and an insulating layer commonly electrically connected to each of the M electrothermal conversion elements. a recording head having a matrix wiring section with a layered structure, in which the N×M electrothermal transducer elements are provided on the insulating layer; and through the N common wirings and the M common wirings. What is claimed is: 1. A printing apparatus comprising: a driving means for selectively supplying an electric signal; and printing is performed by ejecting ink from the ejection opening. (37) The recording apparatus according to claim 36, wherein the driving means supplies an electric signal for driving the electrothermal conversion element in a time-division manner. (38) A plurality of ejection ports for ejecting ink, N×M electrothermal conversion elements for generating thermal energy used to eject ink from the ejection ports, and the electrothermal conversion elements. A functional element section for controlling the current flowing through the element, and a common electrical conductor disposed between the N×M electrothermal transducer elements and the functional element section, and common to each N of the electrothermal transducer elements. M common wirings connected to M and M of the electrothermal conversion element
a multilayered matrix wiring section having N common wirings that are commonly electrically connected to each other; What is claimed is: 1. A printing apparatus comprising: a driving means for supplying an electric signal to a printing apparatus, and printing is performed by ejecting ink from the ejection opening. (39) The recording apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the driving means supplies an electric signal for driving the electrothermal conversion element in a time-division manner.