JPH05330053A - Ink-head, manufacture thereof and ink-jet recording device using the same head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To set a resistance value at a high value and reduce the change or the resistance value with the increase of driving power even at the time of a passivation-free state by specifying the composition of a heating resistor for an ink-jet head. CONSTITUTION:A heating resistor for an ink-jet head uses platinum, silicon and nitrogen as components, and the composition of 5<=Si<=85 atomic%, 5<=N<=85 atomic% and 10<=Pt<=35 atomic% and 65<=Si+N<=90 atomic% is obtained regarding each of the components. An electrothermal converter with a heating resistor layer 3 having a specified shape and electrodes 4, 5 is formed onto a supporter, in which a lower layer 2 is shaped onto the surface of a substrate 1. An electrode protective layer 6 covering the electrodes 4, 5 of the electrothermal converter is laminated, and a grooved plate 7 for forming a discharge opening 8 and a flow path 11 is joined onto the layer 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to cavitation impact resistance, chemical stability, oxidation resistance, dissolution resistance,
The present invention relates to an inkjet head provided with a heating resistor having excellent electrochemical stability, heat resistance, and thermal shock resistance, a method for manufacturing the same, and an inkjet recording apparatus using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet system in which ink is heated and foamed by a heating resistor to eject droplets from a nozzle for recording, that is, an ink jet system is capable of high-speed, high-density, high-definition and high-quality recording. Moreover, it is suitable for colorization and compactness, and is applied not only to printers but also to copying machines, facsimiles, calculators, etc., and has been attracting attention in recent years.

In this system, since the recording liquid (ink or the like) is ejected by utilizing the thermal energy, there is a heat acting portion for applying heat to the liquid. This heat acting part is similar to the structure of a conventional so-called thermal head,
At the point of direct contact with liquid, the point of being exposed to mechanical shock (cavitation erosion) due to repeated foaming and defoaming of ink, and the extremely short time of the order of 10 ^-1 to 10 microseconds, the temperature near 1000 ° C. The fundamental technology is greatly different from that of the thermal head in that it is exposed to ascending and descending.

Therefore, in the conventional ink jet head, SiO ₂ , SiC, Si ₃ N ₄ is formed on the heating resistor.
A structure for providing an anti-oxidation and electrical insulation layer due to the like and a cavitation erosion resistant layer such as Ta thereon,
Generally, the heat-acting part is protected from the environment of use. Ta ₂ O _{5 which} is commonly used as a wear resistant layer for thermal heads
And the like are not necessarily excellent in cavitation erosion resistance, and a material strong against cavitation erosion described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-43315 is used.

Apart from this, in order to reduce the power consumption and enhance the responsiveness to the input signal, the heat-acting portion outputs the heat generated by the heating resistor to the ink as efficiently and promptly as possible. Has long been desired. Therefore, in addition to the type in which the protective film is provided, a mode in which the heat generating resistor is in direct contact with the ink (hereinafter, abbreviated as passivation free) is also proposed in JP-A-55-126462. Although this form is superior to the form in which the protective film is provided in terms of thermal efficiency, not only is the heating resistor exposed to cavitation erosion and temperature rise and fall, but also the conductivity of the ink in contact causes current flow to the ink. It also flows through and is exposed to the resulting electrochemical reactions. Therefore, as a heating resistor, Ta ₂ N or R
Various metals, alloys, metal compounds, and cermets are known in addition to uO ₂ , but their durability and stability are not sufficient,
For a passivation-free inkjet head, a Ta-based alloy described in JP-A-59-96971 and the like have been proposed.

[0006]

The ink jet head of the type provided with the protective film as described above is satisfactory in practical use in terms of durability and resistance change.
It is very difficult to completely prevent the occurrence of defects that occur during the formation of the protective film, which is a major factor in reducing the yield during mass production. This is becoming an even greater problem as the number of nozzles per head tends to increase as the recording speed and density are further increased.

If the efficiency of heat transfer from the heating resistor to the ink is poor, the overall power consumption required increases and the temperature change of the entire head during driving increases. A change in the temperature of the head leads to a change in the volume of ejected droplets, which can cause uneven density in an image. Further, if the number of ejections per hour is increased in order to cope with the speeding up of recording, the power consumption of the head increases, and the unevenness of the image density due to the temperature change becomes more remarkable. This is contrary to the demand for higher image quality of recorded images and is a problem to be solved.

In order to solve such a problem, it has been desired to put into practical use an ink jet head which is in direct contact with a heating resistor and ink and which is not affected by defects in the protective film and has good thermal efficiency. However, as described above, in the ink jet head of the passivation free type, the heating resistor is not only exposed to cavitation erosion and temperature rise and fall, but also to the electrochemical reaction. Ta ₂ N, RuO ₂ , HfB
The heating resistors such as No. ₂ had a problem in durability such as mechanical destruction, easy corrosion, and dissolution. The material resistant to cavitation erosion described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-43315 and the like also exerts its effect when it is used as a protective film as described above, but it can be used for a passivation-free inkjet head. When it is used as a heating resistor, it is easily dissolved or corroded due to an electrochemical reaction or the like, and sufficient durability cannot be obtained.

Further, for high-definition and high-quality recording, ejection stability is indispensable, but for that purpose, it is necessary that the resistance change of the heating resistor is small, which is practically 5
% Or less is desirable. JP-A-59-96971
The Ta-based alloys described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1993-242952 are relatively excellent in durability in that the resistor does not break when used as a passivation-free heating resistor.
However, in terms of resistance change during repeated foaming, for example, Ta or Ta-Al alloy is still insufficient, such as about 7 to 10%.

As described above, in the case of forming a passivation-free heating resistor with a conventionally known material, mechanical durability such as cavitation erosion resistance, electrochemical stability, resistance stability, heat-resistant oxidation resistance, heat resistance, etc. None of them satisfies all of the solubility and the thermal shock resistance.

The present inventors first found that Ta, Ir, or A
It has been found that an alloy material containing l, Ta, and Ir as main components is excellent as a passivation-free type heating element for an inkjet head. By using these alloy materials, it is possible to obtain a passivation-free type inkjet head having high durability. However, on the other hand, for the purpose of reducing the cost of the driving IC and reducing the power loss in the wiring, there is an increasing demand for increasing the resistance of the heating element and driving at a higher voltage and a lower current. In such a case, driving at a higher voltage causes electrochemically more severe conditions, and depending on the conditions, sufficient durability may not be obtained even when the above alloy material is used. I understand.

As a means for increasing the resistance of the heating element, for example, there is a method of reducing the film thickness of the resistor. However, in order to set the resistance value actually required, it becomes about several hundred angstroms, and its production. Stability and durability cannot be obtained sufficiently. Further, the applicant has previously proposed that a composite compound containing a metal boride, silicon and nitrogen be used as a heating resistor, but under severe conditions with no passivation, mechanical durability, electrochemical resistance Stability, resistance stability,
It did not satisfy all of the thermal oxidation resistance, thermal dissolution resistance, and thermal shock resistance.

An object of the present invention is to set a high resistance value,
An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet head having a heating resistor which is excellent in durability as well as having a small change in resistance value due to an increase in driving power, not only when a protective film is provided but also when it is in direct contact with ink and is passivation-free. ..

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet device having the above ink jet head.

[0015]

The above object of the present invention is to provide a heating resistor for an ink jet head that foams and ejects ink by thermal energy generated by energization, such as platinum (Pt), silicon (Si), and nitrogen (N). As a component,
5 ≦ Si ≦ 85 atomic% for each, 5 ≦ N ≦ 85
Atomic% and 10 ≦ Pt ≦ 35 atomic%, and 65 ≦
It is achieved by having a composition of Si + N ≦ 90 atomic%.

The heating resistor according to the present invention can be formed in a desired film thickness on a support by various thin film forming techniques such as vapor deposition and sputtering using raw materials capable of supplying the respective constituent elements.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the basic construction of an ink jet head having the heating resistor according to the present invention.
(A) is a front partial view of the main part of the head as seen from the orifice side, and (b) is a partial sectional view taken along the alternate long and short dash line XY of (a). The inkjet head in this example is
An electrothermal converter having a heating resistor layer 3 having a predetermined shape and electrodes 4 and 5 is formed on a support having a lower layer 2 provided on the surface of a substrate 1, and at least the electrode 4 of the electrothermal converter is formed. , 5 are laminated, and a grooved plate 7 for providing at least the ejection port 8 and the liquid passage 11 is further bonded thereon. The electrothermal converter in this example is configured to have electrodes 4 and 5 and a portion (heat generating portion) of the heating resistor 3 sandwiched between these electrodes.
The inkjet head substrate is configured to have a support composed of the substrate 1 and the lower layer 2, the electrothermal converter, and the protective layer 6.

The heat acting portion 9 that transfers heat to the ink is a portion of the heat generating portion which is not covered with the protective layer 6. The lower layer 2 is provided as necessary and has a function of adjusting the amount of heat escaping to the substrate 1 side and efficiently transmitting the heat generated in the heat generating portion to the ink. The electrodes 4 and 5 are for energizing the heating resistor 3 in order to generate heat from the heat generating portion. In this example, the electrode 4 is a common electrode in each heat generating portion, and the electrode 5 is It is a selection electrode for individually energizing the heat generating portion. The electrode protective layer 6 is for preventing the electrodes 4 and 5 from coming into contact with ink to be chemically attacked, or to prevent a short circuit from occurring by passing ink between the electrodes. The electrodes 4,
FIG. 2A shows a plan view at the stage where 5 is provided. Also,
FIG. 2B is a plan view of the stage where the electrode protection layer 6 is provided. The thickness of the heating resistor 3 in the present invention is appropriately determined so that appropriate heat energy is effectively generated at a desired current or voltage, but preferably 500 to 2
It is 0000Å, more preferably 1000 to 10000Å.

The heating resistor 3 is formed into a thin film by the vapor deposition method, the sputtering method or the like as described above. For example, in the vapor deposition method, several kinds of compositions of the material which is the vapor deposition source are prepared in advance, and how is the desired film composition. It is determined whether the film can be obtained, and the film is formed accordingly.

In the sputtering method, several kinds of targets having different compositions may be prepared for film formation as in the vapor deposition method. For example, a Pt small piece may be placed on a silicon nitride (Si ₃ N ₄ ) target. good. In this case, the film composition ratio can be changed by changing the area ratio on the target. Further, nitrogen gas (N ₂ ) may be used as a nitrogen source, and for example, a small piece of Pt may be placed on a Si target,
Reactive sputtering may be performed by introducing a predetermined amount of N ₂ gas into the sputtering apparatus.

The heating resistor 3 contains Si and N at the same time, but these elements are contained in the sense of increasing the resistance value, and the reason is unknown, but in the case of only Si or N, Although the resistance value increases, the durability of the heating resistor decreases. Therefore, in the present invention, it is essential to simultaneously contain Si and N in order to obtain a high resistance and excellent heating resistor. The composition ratio of Si and N in the heating resistor of the present invention is preferably 5 ≦ Si ≦ 85 atomic%, 5 ≦ N ≦ 85 atomic%, and 65 ≦ Si + N ≦ 90 atomic%, and more preferably. 5 ≦ Si ≦ 75 atomic%, 5 ≦
N ≦ 75 atomic%, and 70 ≦ Si + N ≦ 80 atomic%.

Further, Pt, which is another constituent element of the heating resistor of the present invention, is a substance which is rich in heat resistance and oxidation resistance and is chemically stable.
It is presumed that it has an effect of suppressing oxidation, chemical and electrochemical reactions. The Pt in the heating resistor of the present invention
The composition ratio of is preferably 10 ≦ Pt ≦ 35 atomic%, more preferably 15 ≦ Pt ≦ 30 atomic%. The content of Pt is preferably high in terms of durability, but the above range is set in view of the relationship between the content of Si and N, which are elements for increasing resistance.

As an example, FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the total amount of Si and N in the N—Si—Pt alloy and the specific resistance ρ (μΩ · cm). As the total amount of Si and N increases, the specific resistance becomes 65
It begins to rise sharply from atomic% and becomes 1 when it exceeds 90 atomic%.
Since it is more than 0 ⁴ (μΩ · cm), it cannot be used as a heating resistor. Therefore, in order to obtain an effective resistance value, the total amount of Si and N is preferably 65 to 90 atom%.

In the heating resistor of the present invention, the lower layer 2
In order to adjust adhesion, stress, and toughness with
It is preferably contained at 20 atomic%, and more preferably 3 to 10 atomic%.

The substance contained in the heating resistor of the present invention is not limited to the above Si, N, P and Ta, but Al for the purpose of adjusting its strength, adhesion, stress and toughness. , Ti, V, Cr, Ga, Zr, Nb, Hf, etc. may be included.

Further, in general, the surface and the inside of the layer may come into contact with the atmosphere, may be oxidized during the manufacturing process, and may take in gas. In addition, the effect is not deteriorated by slight oxidation inside and incorporation of Ar gas or the like.
That is, in the present invention, such impurities, for example, A
Including r and O, C, B, Na, Cl, Fe and the like are also allowed to be contained within a range that does not affect the composition of the above essential constituent elements.

The structure of the electrothermal converter according to the present invention is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1, and various modes such as the structure shown in FIG. 3 can be adopted. In the configuration of FIG. 3, since the electrodes 4 and 5 are covered with the heating resistor layer 3, the protective layer 6 of the electrodes is not always necessary. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the configurations of the droplet discharge port 8 and the liquid passage 11 are also set so that the ink is supplied onto the thermal action part 9 and the ink is ejected from the discharge port 8. The droplet ejection direction is not limited to the substantially same direction, and the ink supply direction and the droplet ejection direction are substantially perpendicular to each other, as shown in the examples of FIGS. 4A and 4B. Is also possible. Incidentally, (a) is a front partial view as seen from the orifice side of the head, and (b) is a partial sectional view taken along the chain line AB of (a). In the figure, 10 is a plate (orifice plate) of appropriate thickness provided with the discharge port 8, and 12 is a support wall for supporting this orifice plate.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a plurality of ink discharge structure units each including a discharge port, a liquid path, and a heat generating portion may be arranged. For example, the ink discharge structure unit is arranged over the entire printing width of the recording material. The number of driving ICs also increases in this case, and thus the cost reduction of the driving ICs is effective in reducing the price of the head.

By the way, the ink-jet head of the present invention may have a form in which a protective layer is provided on the heating resistor. In that case, although the efficiency of heat transfer to the ink is somewhat sacrificed, it is possible to obtain an inkjet head that is more excellent in terms of durability of the electrothermal converter and resistance change of the heating resistor due to an electrochemical reaction. From this point of view, when the protective layer is provided, it is preferable that the total layer thickness is within the range of 1 to 100 μm.

As the protective layer, specifically, SiO ₂ , Si
It can be formed from an insulating material such as C or SiN. The protective layer does not necessarily have to be made of a single material, and may have a multi-layered structure of the above materials or a structure in which a metal thin film layer for cavitation resistance such as Ta is provided on the outermost surface in contact with a liquid (ink or the like). Good.

The present invention brings excellent effects particularly in a recording head and a recording apparatus of the type which ejects ink by utilizing thermal energy among the ink jet recording systems.

With regard to its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,129 and US Pat.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 740,796 is preferred. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it is arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path holding the liquid (ink). A thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal converter by applying at least one drive signal to the electrothermal converter, which corresponds to the recorded information and causes a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, to thereby generate a recording head. It is effective because the film is boiled on the heat-acting surface, and as a result, bubbles can be formed in the liquid (ink) in a one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal. Liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings by the growth and contraction of the bubbles to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal into a pulse shape, because the bubble growth and contraction are immediately and appropriately performed, so that the ejection of the liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness can be achieved. As this pulse-shaped drive signal, U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,359 is used.
Nos. 4,345,262 are suitable. It should be noted that U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,12, which discloses an invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface
If the conditions described in the specification No. 4 are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the ejection port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications. The present invention also includes configurations using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose configurations in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region. Is. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a structure in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is discharged. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-138461 which discloses a configuration corresponding to each section.

Further, as a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum recording medium width that can be recorded by the recording device, a combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification can be used. It may be configured to satisfy the length or configured as one recording head integrally formed.

In addition, by being mounted on the apparatus main body, it can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body and can be supplied with ink from the apparatus main body by a replaceable chip type recording head or the recording head itself. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge-type recording head that is specially provided is used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, etc., which are provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. .. Specific examples thereof include capping means, cleaning means, pressurization or suction means, an electrothermal converter or a heating element other than this, a preheating means for the recording head, and a recording head for the recording head. It is also effective to perform a preliminary ejection mode in which another ejection is performed for stable recording.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but the recording head may be integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. The present invention is also extremely effective for a device provided with at least one of full color by color mixing.

In the above description, the ink is described as a liquid, but it is an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and is softened or liquid at room temperature, or in the above ink jet, the ink itself is 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or higher. In general, the temperature is adjusted within the following range to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. Therefore, the ink may be in a liquid state when the use recording signal is applied. In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy for the state change of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or the ink that solidifies in the standing state is used for the purpose of preventing the evaporation of the ink. However, in any case, by applying heat energy such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to the recording signal and ejected as an ink liquid, or that has already started to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The use of an ink having a property of liquefying for the first time is also applicable to the present invention. In such a case, the ink is retained as a liquid or solid in the recesses or through holes of the porous sheet as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260. It may be configured to face the electrothermal converter. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view showing an example of an ink jet recording apparatus having a mechanism for the above processing.

In the figure, reference numeral 501 is an ink jet head cartridge (IJC) provided with a nozzle group for ejecting ink so as to face a recording surface of a recording paper fed onto a platen 507. Reference numeral 502 denotes a carriage (HC) that holds the IJC 501, which is connected to a part of the drive belt 504 that transmits the driving force of the drive motor 503 and has two guide shafts 505 and 50 that are arranged in parallel with each other.
By making it slidable with 6, the reciprocating movement over the entire width of the recording paper of IJC501 becomes possible.

Reference numeral 508 is a head recovery device, which is IJC5.
01 is disposed at one end of the movement path, for example, at a position facing the home position. The head recovery device 508 is operated by the driving force of the motor 510 via the transmission mechanism 509, and the IJC 501 is capped. IJC5 by the cap portion 511 of the head recovery device 508
Head recovery device 5 in connection with capping 01
The ink is sucked by an appropriate suction means provided in the nozzle 08 or the ink is pressure-fed by an appropriate pressure means provided in the ink supply path to the IJC 501, and the ink is forcibly discharged from the ejection port to increase the viscosity in the nozzle. Ejection recovery processing such as ink removal is performed. Further, the recording head is protected by capping at the end of recording or the like.

A cleaning blade 512 is provided on the side surface of the head recovery device 508. Blade 512
Is held by the blade holding member 513 in the form of a cantilever, and like the head recovery device 508, is operated by the motor 510 and the transmission mechanism 509 and can be engaged with the ejection surface of the IJC 501. This allows the blade 51 to be operated at an appropriate timing in the recording operation of the IJC 501 or after the ejection recovery process using the head recovery device 508.
2 is projected into the movement path of IJC501, and IJC50
1, the dew condensation, wetting, dust, etc. on the ejection surface of the IJC 501 is wiped off.

[0044]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Example 1 A) Fabrication of head A Si substrate as a support was subjected to thermal oxidation treatment to a thickness of 2.
5 μm of SiO ₂ was formed as a lower layer. Next, the support provided with this lower layer was set in a high frequency sputtering device (CFS-8EP, manufactured by Tokuda Manufacturing Co., Ltd.), and the purity was set to 9
Using a Pt sheet of similar purity placed on a 9.9 wt% or more Si ₃ N ₄ target, sputtering was performed under the conditions shown in the table below, and a heating resistor layer with a thickness of about 2400Å was formed on the lower layer. Formed.

[0046]

[Table 1] Subsequently, the target was switched to Au only, Au was formed in the upper layer of the film to a thickness of 6000Å, and the sputtering was completed. After that, a photoresist is formed twice in a predetermined pattern by a photolithography technique, the Au layer is dry-etched once, and the heating resistor layer is dry-etched by ion milling the second time, as shown in FIG. The heat generating resistor 3 and the electrodes 4 and 5 having the shapes described above were formed. The dimensions of the heat generating portions were 30 μm × 170 μm, the pitch of the heat generating portions was 125 μm, and 24 heat generating portions were formed in a line. Next, a SiO ₂ film was formed on the upper layer by sputtering, and then the SiO ₂ film was patterned by photolithography and reactive ion etching so as to cover the electrodes on both sides of 10 μm of the heat generating portion. Therefore, the size of the heat acting part is 30μm × 150μm
Became. Further, in order to form the discharge port 8 and the liquid passage 11 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the glass grooved plate 7 is formed.
Were joined together to obtain the desired inkjet head. A large number of such heads were produced and an evaluation test was conducted.

B) Measurement of Composition of Heating Resistor In the head obtained in A), the composition of the heating resistor in the heat acting portion was measured before the glass grooved plate was joined.
A (electron probe micro analysis, EPM-810 manufactured by Shimadzu Corp.) was used for measurement.

C) Ejection endurance test A rectangular pulse voltage having a width of 7 μsec and a frequency of 2 kHz is gradually increased from an external power source to the electrodes 4 and 5 so that ink is supplied to the liquid path of the head obtained in A). The ejection threshold voltage (Vth) at which the ink starts to be ejected from the ejection port 8 was applied while being applied. Next, a pulse having a voltage of 1.2 Vth was applied to continuously eject the ink, and the number of applied pulses until the thermal action part 9 was broken and non-ejection was measured. The composition of the ink used was 68 parts by weight of water, 30 parts by weight of diethylene glycol, 2 parts by weight of black dye, and 0.1 parts by weight of pH adjuster.

D) Measurement of film thickness Stylus-type surface profiler (TENCOR INSTRUMENTS, alph
a-step 200).

E) Measurement of specific resistance It was calculated from the sheet resistance value and film thickness measured by a 4-probe resistance meter (K-705RL manufactured by Kyowa Riken).

The above results are shown in the table below.

Examples 2 to 6 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4 Ink jet heads were produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the target area ratios were changed as shown in the table below, and the same evaluation was performed. However, in Example 6 and Comparative Example 3, N ₂ gas was introduced into Ar gas at the time of sputtering as shown in the table.

[0053]

[Table 2] * Discharge durability is shown as a relative ratio when Comparative Example 1 is set to 1.0. In Comparative Example 2, the durability was sufficient, but the resistance value was low, so that the cost of the driving IC could not be kept low.

Further, when the head obtained in the example was mounted on a recording apparatus having a known structure and characters and the like were printed, the printed matter obtained was extremely good.

[0055]

As described above, the present invention is an ink jet head having a heating resistor having high resistance and excellent durability, which is formed of Pt, Si and N as constituent elements. Even when it directly contacts the heating resistor, the durability is good, and high-quality and high-speed recording can be obtained. Further, since the heating resistor has a high resistance, the driving current can be reduced,
Since the cost of the driving IC can be reduced, the cost of the inkjet head can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an example of a main part of a head of the present invention,
(A) is a front partial view seen from the discharge port side, (b) is (a)
It is a sectional view taken along line XY of FIG.

FIG. 2A is a partial plan view of a substrate at a stage where electrodes are provided, and FIG. 2B is a partial plan view at a stage where an electrode protective layer is provided on FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another example of a substrate used in the inkjet head according to the present invention.

4A and 4B show another example of the main part of the inkjet head according to the present invention, in which FIG. 4A is a partial front view seen from the ejection port side, and FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along line AB of FIG. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the total content of Si and N and the specific resistance of the heating resistor made of the N—Si—Pt composite material according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view showing an example of an inkjet recording apparatus including the inkjet head of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Substrate 2 Lower Layer 3 Heating Resistor 4, 5 Electrode 6 Protective Layer 7 Grooved Plate 8 Discharge Port 9 Thermal Action Section 10 Orifice Plate 11 Liquid Channel 12 Support Wall

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Internal reference number FI Technical indication location B41J 2/16 9012-2C B41J 3/04 103 H (72) Inventor Atsushi Shiozaki Shimomaruko Ota-ku, Tokyo 3-30-2 Canon Inc.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. In an inkjet head for foaming and ejecting ink by thermal energy generated by energization, a heat generating resistor for generating heat has the following composition: 5 atomic% ≤ Si ≤ 85 atomic% 5 atomic% ≤ N ≤ 85 atomic% An ink jet head characterized in that 10 atomic% ≤ Pt ≤ 35 atomic% and 65 atomic% ≤ Si + N ≤ 90 atomic%. 2. The heating resistor according to claim 1, wherein 1 atomic% ≦
An inkjet head containing Ta ≦ 20 atomic%. 3. The inkjet head according to claim 1, wherein the surface layer of the heating resistor is in direct contact with the ink. 4. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet head is a full line type in which a plurality of ejection openings are provided over the entire width of the recording area of the recording medium. 5. When producing an ink jet head for foaming and ejecting ink by thermal energy generated by energization, a heat generating resistor which generates heat is composed of the following composition: 5 atomic% ≦ Si ≦ 85 atomic% 5 atomic% ≦ N ≦ 85 A method for manufacturing an inkjet head, characterized in that it is formed so that atomic% 10 atomic% ≦ Pt ≦ 35 atomic% and 65 atomic% ≦ Si + N ≦ 90 atomic%. 6. The ink jet head according to claim 1, wherein an ink ejection port for ejecting ink is provided facing a recording surface of a recording medium, and a member for mounting the head. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by: 7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein color recording is performed.