JPH05338174A - Ink jet recording head, production thereof and recording apparatus equipped with the head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain good printing characteristics by preventing the warpage of a support substrate and the release of a heat accumulation layer without lowering the temp. of the substrate at the time of the formation of the heat accumulation layer and other layer by providing a stress relaxing layer between the support substrate based on a metal and the heat accumulation layer. CONSTITUTION:A support substrate 100 is formed using 99.9% aluminum. Polyimide is applied to the substrate by spin coating and baked at 400 deg.C to form a stress relaxing layer 101 with a thickness of 0.2mum. Subsequently, Si3N4 is applied to the substrate heated to 400 deg.C by a plasma CVD method to form a heat accumulation layer 102 with a thickness of 3.0mum. Next, the substrate is heated to 150 deg.C and BfB2 is applied to the substrate by a sputtering method to form a heating resistor layer 103 with a thickness of 0.1mum. Next, aluminum is applied to the substrate at 100 deg.C by vapor deposition to form an electrode layer 104.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head which ejects ink from an ink ejection port to form ink droplets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With regard to an ink jet recording head of this type, for example, an ink jet recording method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 54-51837 is that thermal energy is applied to ink to obtain a driving force for ink droplet ejection. However, it has a feature different from other ink jet recording methods.

That is, in the recording method disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, the ink subjected to the action of heat energy is heated to generate bubbles, and the bubbles adhere to the recording member to record information. It is characterized by that.

The recording head applied to this recording method is
In general, an ink ejection port provided for ejecting an ink droplet, a liquid passage having a thermal action portion for applying thermal energy for ejecting the ink droplet to the ink, and communicating with the ink ejection port, A heat generating resistance layer as an electrothermal converter which is an energy generating means, an upper protective layer for protecting the heat generating resistance layer from ink, a heat storage layer for storing heat energy, and a support substrate for supporting the entire recording head. It is equipped with. The upper protective layer may be omitted in some cases.

As a material for forming the supporting substrate, a material having a large thermal conductivity and a good surface property is preferable, and a silicon substrate has been conventionally used. However, since the silicon substrate is expensive and disadvantageous in industrial economy,
Many inexpensive alternative materials have been studied as alternatives.
Therefore, attention has been paid to a metal substrate that has a large thermal conductivity, a good surface property, and is inexpensive. Among them, aluminum is particularly attractive because it is inexpensive and has high thermal conductivity.

In order to use a metal substrate as a supporting substrate for an ink jet recording head, it is necessary to insulate the surface of the substrate. Generally, the surface of the substrate is coated with an insulator. At this time, the insulating film formed on the substrate surface on the heating resistance layer side is formed as a heat storage layer for storing heat energy necessary for ink bubbling.

Since the heat storage layer functions as a heat storage layer and an insulating layer, it is required to have a poor thermal conductivity and an insulating property. Further, since it is intended to prevent the heat radiation to the supporting substrate adjacent to the heat generating resistance layer, it has to withstand a high temperature of 600 ° C. or higher which is the temperature of the heat generating resistance layer during energization. Further, the surface property of the heat acting portion that causes the foaming of the ink is affected, so that the surface property is required to be good.

Therefore, as a heat storage layer material satisfying the above requirements, an inorganic insulator is formed on the surface of the substrate by surface modification such as thermal oxidation, chemical vapor phase reaction such as CVD, or vacuum film forming method such as PVD. Came.

[0009]

However, when the heat storage layer is formed on the metal substrate, warpage of the substrate and peeling of the heat storage layer often occur. When the warp of the substrate is extremely large, there is a problem that the heat storage layer breaks. In addition, the warp of the substrate causes a problem such that the vacuum chuck does not work in the subsequent process. Further, even when the recording head was completed by overcoming the problems in the above process, the completed recording head was warped. When a head having a recording width of 200 mm or more is warped, ink that ejects ink droplets in the surface direction of the heat-generating resistance layer is recorded with the line for recording in the width direction being warped as in the case of the head warping. In the case of a device that discharges perpendicularly to the surface direction of the layer, there is a problem that the distance between the ink discharge port and the recording material is not uniform at the center and the end of the head.

As a result of diligent research, it was found that the substrate temperature during the formation of the heat storage layer affects the occurrence of warpage and the peeling of the heat storage layer. That is, when depositing an inorganic insulator on a metal substrate by CVD, PVD, etc., the substrate temperature during deposition is 300 to 600 ° C.
When the temperature is lowered to room temperature from this state, due to the stress due to the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between the metal substrate and the heat storage layer of the inorganic insulator, the metal substrate warps toward the metal substrate side with a large thermal expansion coefficient. Occurs, and in some cases, the heat storage layer peels off.

Further, it has been found that the thickness of the heat storage layer affects the peeling of the heat storage layer. Thickness of heat storage layer is 1.0 μm
In the following cases, peeling does not occur, but when the thickness is more than that, the heat storage layer peels. However, the heat storage layer needs to have a thickness of about 3.0 μm for the purpose of heat storage.

As a method for solving the above problem, a method of lowering the substrate temperature at the time of forming the heat storage layer is conceivable. However, if the film is formed at a low temperature, the film quality such as the lowering of the withstand voltage is deteriorated, which is not preferable. ..

As a material for forming a heat storage layer, at present, there is no material which has insulation properties, low thermal conductivity and heat resistance and has a coefficient of thermal expansion comparable to that of metals.

Further, since it is necessary to form the heat generating resistance layer, the electrode layer and, if necessary, the upper protective layer after the formation of the heat storage layer at a high temperature as well, there is a risk that the substrate warps in these processes. Occurs.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording head having good printing characteristics by preventing the warp of the substrate and the peeling of the heat storage layer without lowering the substrate temperature during the formation of the heat storage layer and other layers. To provide.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an energy generating element for applying thermal energy to ink, a heat acting portion for forming bubbles in the ink by the energy generating element, and the energy. In an ink jet recording head having an insulating heat storage layer that stores heat energy adjacent to a generating element, and a supporting substrate that supports the heat storing layer, the supporting substrate is composed mainly of metal, and the supporting substrate is The inkjet recording head is characterized in that a stress relaxation layer is provided between the heat storage layer and the heat storage layer.

Further, according to the present invention, an energy generating element for giving thermal energy to the ink, a heat acting portion for forming bubbles in the ink by the energy generating element, and an insulation for accumulating heat energy adjacent to the energy generating element. In an inkjet recording head having a heat storage layer and a support substrate for supporting the heat storage layer, the support substrate contains a metal as a main component, and the heat storage layer contains at least a material forming the support substrate. The inkjet recording head is characterized in that

Further, the present invention is characterized in that in the ink jet recording head, the energy generating element is a heating resistance layer.

Further, the present invention is the above-mentioned full-line type ink jet recording head in which a plurality of ink ejection openings are provided over the entire recording area of the recording medium.

Further, according to the present invention, a stress relaxation layer, a heat storage layer, and a heating resistance layer are sequentially formed on a substrate, electrodes are formed on the stress relaxation layer, and then a desired circuit pattern is formed by photolithography to heat the layer. It is a method for manufacturing the above-mentioned ink jet recording head, which comprises forming a working portion and then forming a protective layer thereon.

Further, the present invention is characterized by including at least the above-mentioned ink jet recording head provided with an ink ejection port facing a recording surface of a recording medium, and a member for mounting the head. It is an inkjet recording device that does.

The present invention will be described in detail below.

First, the recording head of the first present invention will be described.

As the energy generating element, an ordinary one can be used, and for example, an electrothermal converter such as a heating resistor is preferable.

The shape and size of the heat acting portion may be the same as that of the conventional ink jet recording head.

As a material forming the heat storage layer, SiO
An inorganic insulator such as ₂ , Si ₃ N ₄ or Ta ₂ O ₅ is used.

As a material for forming the supporting substrate, an ordinary metal substrate used in an ink jet recording head can be used. Among them, aluminum is particularly preferable because it has a large thermal conductivity and is inexpensive.

As a material for forming the stress relaxation layer, a heat resistant resin having a large elastic modulus that can withstand a high temperature during film formation, such as polyimide, is preferable.

As the heat generating resistance layer, the electrode layer and the upper protective layer, those usually used in an ink jet recording head are used.

The method of manufacturing the ink jet recording head of the present invention is not particularly limited, but the above-mentioned materials are sequentially deposited on the metal substrate.

As a film forming method, a general method such as CVD or PVD can be applied.

The conditions for forming the stress relaxation layer are as follows: substrate temperature 1
It is preferable that the temperature is 00 to 400 ° C. and the film thickness is 0.2 to 1.0 μm.

In the ink jet recording head of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, even if a stress is generated due to the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the supporting substrate and the heat storage layer, the heat storage layer is formed by the stress relaxation layer having a high elastic modulus. Subsequent warpage of the substrate is almost negligible. Here, the negligible degree is the same degree as the warp of the substrate seen in the recording head using the conventional silicon substrate, and indicates the degree to which no problem occurs in the manufacturing process or the recording head after manufacturing.

Further, by adopting the stress relaxation layer, the ink jet recording head can obtain good printing without warping of the substrate even after the formation of the heat generating resistance layer, the electrode layer and the upper protective layer following the heat storage layer. Can be manufactured.

Next, the second recording head of the present invention will be described.

In the present invention, the heat storage layer is formed on the same supporting substrate as in the first invention. At this time, the structure of the heat storage layer changes such that the composition ratio of the inorganic insulating material such as SiO ₂ gradually increases from the composition close to the material of the support substrate from the side of the support substrate toward the side of the heating resistance layer. .. The change at this time may be stepwise or continuous.

The other materials constituting the ink jet recording head and the manufacturing method are in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention.

By changing the composition of the heat storage layer in the above-described manner with respect to the direction normal to the film-forming surface, the stress due to the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion at the interface between the support substrate and the heat storage layer causes the stress. It is possible to prevent the heat storage layer from peeling off.

The present invention is particularly effective in the ink jet recording type recording head and recording apparatus for recording by forming flying droplets by utilizing thermal energy among the ink jet recording methods. is there.

Regarding the typical structure and principle thereof, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
No. 796, the present invention is preferably carried out using these basic principles. This recording method is applicable to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type.

This recording method will be briefly described. A sheet (liquid) holding a liquid (ink) or an electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to a liquid path is converted into a liquid (ink) corresponding to recording information. Thermal energy is generated by applying at least one drive signal for giving a rapid temperature rise that causes the film boiling phenomenon beyond the nucleate boiling phenomenon, and causes the film boiling on the heat acting surface of the recording head. .. In this way, bubbles can be formed in one-to-one correspondence with the drive signal applied from the liquid (ink) to the electrothermal converter, which is particularly effective for the on-demand type recording method. By the growth and contraction of the bubbles, liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection port,
Form at least one drop. 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 the pulse-shaped drive signal, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345 are used.
Those as described in the '262 patent are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

The structure of the recording head is a combination of a discharge port, a liquid flow path, and an electrothermal converter as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path).
Besides, as disclosed in US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600, the present invention also includes a structure in which the heat acting portion is arranged in the bending region.

In addition, JP-A-59-123670 discloses a structure in which a common slit is used as a discharge port of a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a pressure wave of thermal energy is absorbed. The present invention is also effective in a configuration based on Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 138461 of 1984, which discloses a configuration in which the corresponding opening corresponds to the ejection portion.

Further, as a recording head to which the present invention is effectively used, there is a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of the recording medium which can be recorded by the recording apparatus. The full line head may be a full line configuration formed by combining a plurality of print heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification, or may be a single full line print head integrally formed.

In addition, by being attached to 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. to the recording apparatus of the present invention because the recording apparatus of the present invention can be made more stable. Specifically, the recording head is preheated by a capping means, a cleaning means, a pressure or suction means, an electrothermal converter or another heating element, or a combination thereof. It is also effective to perform stable recording by adding means for performing a preliminary ejection mode for performing ejection different from the means and recording.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the mode in which only the mainstream color such as black is recorded, and either the recording head may be integrally formed or a plurality of recording heads may be combined. However, the present invention is extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of a multicolor of different colors or a full color by mixing colors.

In the embodiments of the present invention described above, the liquid ink is used for explanation. However, in the present invention, either an ink which is solid at room temperature or an ink which is in a softened state at room temperature is used. Can be used. In the above-mentioned inkjet device, the temperature of the ink itself is generally adjusted within the range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. Any liquid may be used as long as the ink is liquid.

In addition, an excessive temperature rise of the head or ink due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or the purpose is to prevent evaporation of the ink. It is also possible to use an ink that solidifies when left as it is. In any case, liquefaction occurs only when heat energy is applied, such as when the ink is liquefied by applying heat energy according to the recording signal and ejected as an ink liquid, or when it begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The use of an ink having the property of applying is also applicable to the present invention.

Such an ink is disclosed in JP-A-54-568.
No. 47 or Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-71260, such as facing the electrothermal converter in the state of being held as a liquid or solid in the recesses or through holes of the porous sheet. It may be in the form.

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. 9 is an external perspective view showing an example of an inkjet recording apparatus (IJRA) in which the recording head obtained by the present invention is mounted as an inkjet head cartridge (IJC).

In the figure, reference numeral 20 is an ink jet head cartridge (IJC) provided with a group of nozzles for ejecting ink so as to face the recording surface of the recording paper fed onto the platen 24. Reference numeral 16 is a carriage HC that holds the IJC 20, and is connected to a part of a drive belt 18 that transmits the driving force of the drive motor 17, and is slidable with two guide shafts 19A and 19B arranged in parallel with each other. By doing so, reciprocating movement over the entire width of the recording paper of the IJC 20 is possible.

Reference numeral 26 is a head recovery device, which is an IJC20.
It is arranged at one end of the movement path of, for example, at a position facing the home position. The head recovery device 26 is operated by the driving force of the motor 22 via the transmission mechanism 23, and I
Cap the JC20. In association with capping the IJC 20 by the cap portion 26A of the head recovery device 26, ink is sucked by an appropriate suction means provided in the head recovery device 26 or by an appropriate pressure means provided in an ink supply path to the IJC 20. The ink is pressure-fed and the ink is forcibly discharged from the ejection port to perform ejection recovery processing such as removing thickened ink in the nozzle. Further, the IJC is protected by capping at the end of recording.

Reference numeral 30 is a blade as a wiping member which is disposed on the side surface of the head recovery device 26 and is made of silicon rubber. The blade 31 is a blade holding member 31.
The head recovery device 26 is held by A in a cantilever form.
Similarly to the above, the motor 22 and the transmission mechanism 23 operate to enable engagement with the ejection surface of the IJC 20. As a result, the blade 31 is projected into the movement path of the IJC 20 at an appropriate timing in the recording operation of the IJC 20 or after the ejection recovery process using the head recovery device 26, and the ejection surface of the IJC 20 is accompanied by the movement operation of the IJC 20. It removes dew condensation, wetness, dust, etc.

[0056]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples.

Example 1 FIG. 1 is an enlarged plan view of the vicinity of the heater board of the ink jet recording head used in this example. Figure 2 shows the X-
It is a sectional view taken along the line Y. In this example, 99.9% aluminum was used as the support substrate 100. Then, as the stress relaxation layer 101, polyimide (PIQ, manufactured by Hitachi Chemical) is spin-coated,
Baking was performed at 400 ° C. to form a stress relaxation layer having a thickness of 0.2 μm. Then, at a substrate temperature of 350 ° C., SiO ₂ was deposited to a thickness of 3.0 μm by a sputtering method to obtain a heat storage layer 102. Then, HfB ₂ was deposited at a substrate temperature of 150 ° C. by a sputtering method to obtain a heating resistance layer 103 having a thickness of 0.1 μm. The sheet resistance value of this heating resistance layer was 18 Ω / □. Next, aluminum is vapor-deposited at a substrate temperature of 100 ° C. to form the electrode layer 104.
Got Further, a circuit pattern as shown in FIG. 1 was formed by a photolithography technique to form a heat acting portion 201 of 30 μm × 150 μm. Further, as the first protective layer 105, SiO ₂ is formed at a substrate temperature of 350 ° C. by a sputtering method of 1.0 μm, and as the second protective layer 106, Ta is formed at a substrate temperature of 100 ° C. by a sputtering method of 0.5 μm. did. Further, a photosensitive polyimide (Photo Nice, manufactured by Toray) was applied as the third protective layer 107, patterned, and then post-baked at 300 ° C.

The heater board prepared as described above is used to form a liquid path, an ink discharge port and the like by a usual method, and then, as shown in FIG.
An ink jet recording head having a width of 200 mm in which the heating surface and the ink ejection direction are the same is completed as shown in FIG.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 is an ink ejection port, and 302 is an ink supply port.

When the heat storage layer is completed, the heater board is completed, and the recording head is completed, the warp amount of the substrate is measured by a projector, and FIG.
As shown in, the amount of warpage when the length of the substrate was 200 mm was obtained. The results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative Example 1 An ink jet recording head was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the stress relaxation layer was not formed. The structure around the heater board is shown in FIGS. FIG. 5 shows X- of FIG.
It is sectional drawing along the Y cutting line.

Table 1 shows the results of measuring the amount of warpage of the substrate in the same manner as in Example 1.

Example 2 An ink jet recording head having the structure shown in FIG. 1 and the structure shown in FIG. 2 was prepared in the following manner.

As the supporting substrate 100, 99.9% aluminum was used. Polyimide (PIQ, manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.) was spin-coated on top of it and baked at 400 ° C. to form a stress relaxation layer 101 of 0.2 μm. Then 4
Si ₃ N ₄ was deposited on the substrate at 00 ° C. by the plasma CVD method to form the heat storage layer 102 of 3.0 μm. Next, the substrate temperature is set to 150 ° C., HfB ₂ is deposited by the sputtering method,
A heating resistance layer 103 having a thickness of 0.1 μm was formed. The sheet resistance value of this heating resistance layer was 18 Ω / □. Next, aluminum is vapor-deposited at a substrate temperature of 100 ° C. to form the electrode layer 104.
Formed. Further, a circuit pattern as shown in FIG. 1 was formed by a photolithography technique to form a 30 × 150 μm heat acting portion 201. Next, plasma CVD of Si ₃ N ₄
Method, a film was formed on a substrate at 350 ° C. to form a 1.0 μm first protective layer. Next, Ta was deposited on a substrate at 100 ° C. by a sputtering method to form a 0.5 μm second protective layer. Further, a photosensitive polyimide (Photo Nice, manufactured by Toray) is coated on this, and after patterning, 300
Post-baked at ℃.

The heater board prepared as described above is used to form a liquid path, an ink discharge port and the like by a usual method, and then, as shown in FIG.
An ink jet recording head having a width of 200 mm in which the heating surface and the ink ejection direction are the same is completed as shown in FIG.

Table 1 shows the results of measuring the amount of warpage of the substrate in the same manner as in Example 1.

Comparative Example 2 An ink jet recording head was prepared in the same manner as in Example 2 except that the stress relaxation layer was not formed. The structure is shown in FIGS.

Table 1 shows the results of measuring the amount of warpage of the substrate in the same manner as in Example 1.

Comparative Example 3 An ink jet recording head having a heater board having the structure shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 was prepared as follows.

A silicon substrate was used as the supporting substrate 100. The surface of this substrate was thermally oxidized to form a heat storage layer 102 of SiO ₂ having a thickness of 3.0 μm. Next, HfB ₂ was deposited on the substrate at 150 ° C. by the sputtering method to obtain a heating resistance layer 103 of 0.1 μm. The sheet resistance value of this heating resistance layer was 18Ω / □. Next, aluminum was vapor-deposited on the substrate at 100 ° C. to form the electrode layer 104, and then a circuit pattern as shown in FIG. 5 was formed by the photolithography technique to form the heat acting portion 201 of 30 × 150 μm. Further, as the first protective layer 105, SiO ₂ is formed into a film having a thickness of 1.0 μm on a substrate at 300 ° C. by a sputtering method.
As the protective layer 106, 0.5 μm of Ta was formed on the substrate at 100 ° C. by the sputtering method. Furthermore, the third protective layer 10
As No. 7, a photosensitive polyimide (Photo Nice, manufactured by Toray) was applied, patterned, and post-baked at 300 ° C.

The heater board prepared as described above is used to form the liquid passages, the ink discharge ports and the like by a usual method, and then, as shown in FIG.
An ink jet recording head having a width of 200 mm in which the heating surface and the ink ejection direction are the same is completed as shown in FIG.

Table 1 shows the results of measuring the amount of warpage of the substrate in the same manner as in Example 1.

[0072]

[Table 1] As shown in Table 1, in Examples 1 and 2, as in the case of using the conventional silicon substrate of Comparative Example 3, the warp of the substrate when the heater board was completed was 100 μm or less, so that there was no problem in the manufacturing process. There wasn't. In addition, since the warp of the completed recording head was about 100 μm, it did not significantly affect printing. Even when the printing performance was affected, there was no particular problem in the case of such a degree of warp because it is within the range in which the warp can be mechanically corrected. On the contrary, Comparative Example 1,
In No. 2, the warp of the substrate when the heater board was completed was 500 μm or more, and there was a problem in the manufacturing process such that it could not be installed on a jig or could not be adsorbed by a vacuum chuck. Further, since the warp at the time of completion of the recording head was as large as 1000 μm or more, the printing performance was particularly poor. Furthermore, even if mechanical correction is attempted, problems such as breakage of the liquid channel occur, and it was almost impossible. From this, it is understood that the configuration of the inkjet recording head of the present invention is very effective.

Although aluminum is used as the substrate material in this embodiment, the material is not limited to this as long as it has a good surface property. Furthermore, although polyimide is used as the stress relaxation layer, any material may be used as long as it has a large elastic modulus and can withstand the film forming temperature in the subsequent step.

Examples 3 to 4 Comparative Examples 4 to 6 As examples, ink jet recording heads having the structures shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 were prepared in the following manner. FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of the vicinity of the heater board in this embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line XY.

As a comparative example, an ink jet recording head having the structure shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 was prepared as follows.

First, a substrate having the composition shown in Table 2 was prepared as the supporting substrate 100.

[0077]

[Table 2] Next, the heat storage layer 102 was formed into a film having a thickness of 3.0 μm on the substrate at 300 ° C. by the sputtering method under the conditions shown in Table 3.

[0078]

[Table 3] Next, HfB ₂ was deposited as a heating resistance layer 103 by sputtering on the substrate at 150 ° C. to a thickness of 0.1 μm. The sheet resistance value was 18Ω / □ in both the example and the comparative example. Next, aluminum was deposited as the electrode layer 104 by a vapor deposition method. Further, a circuit pattern as shown in FIG. 1 is formed by the photolithography technique, and the heat acting portion 2 of 30 μm × 150 μm is formed.
01 was formed. Next, Si is used as the first protective layer 105.
The second protective layer 1 was formed by depositing O ₂ by sputtering to a thickness of 1.0 μm.
As No. 06, 0.5 μm of Ta was formed by the sputtering method. Further, a photosensitive polyimide (Photo Nice, manufactured by Toray) was applied as the third protective layer 107, and then patterned and post-baked.

By using the heater board prepared as described above, liquid paths and ink ejection ports were formed, and an ink jet recording head having a heating surface and the same ink ejection direction as shown in FIG. 3 was completed.

The presence or absence of peeling between the heat storage layer and the supporting substrate of the ink jet recording head prepared as described above was examined, and the results are shown in Table 4.

[0081]

[Table 4] From Table 4, peeling of the heat storage layer was not confirmed in Examples 3 and 4 as in Comparative Example 6 using the silicon substrate, but peeling of the heat storage layer was confirmed in Comparative Examples 4 and 5. Therefore, in the present invention, a relatively thick heat storage layer can be formed even when a metal substrate is used.

Although aluminum is used as the substrate material in this embodiment, the material is not limited to this as long as it has a good surface property.

Further, in this embodiment, the sputter power was changed stepwise in order to change the composition of the heat storage layer. However, in order to change the composition continuously, the sputter power was gradually changed continuously. You can change it.

[0084]

As described above, by adopting the stress relaxation layer having a high elastic modulus between the support substrate containing a metal as a main component and the heat storage layer made of an inorganic insulator, the coefficient of thermal expansion is increased. It is possible to relieve the stress caused by the difference between the two and prevent the substrate from being warped, the heat storage layer being cracked, or the like being damaged.

Further, the warp of the substrate that occurs after forming the heating resistance layer and the upper protective layer is almost negligible, and the warp is almost negligible even in the completed ink jet recording head. The characteristics are obtained.

Further, the composition of the heat storage layer in contact with the support substrate containing a metal as a main component is made as close as possible to the support substrate, and the composition ratio of the inorganic insulator is increased as the distance from the support substrate increases, so that the heat storage layer and the heat storage layer are stored. It is possible to prevent the stress generated at the interface with the layer and prevent the heat storage layer from peeling off.

Further, according to the manufacturing method of the present invention, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording head having a good yield and good printing characteristics.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged plan view showing one structural example near a heater board of an inkjet recording head according to a first aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XY of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing one configuration example in the vicinity of a discharge port of an inkjet recording head according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing a configuration example near a heater board of a conventional inkjet recording head.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XY of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing how a warp amount of a substrate is measured.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view showing one structural example near a heater board of an ink jet recording head according to a second aspect of the present invention.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XY in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus including a recording head according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 16 Carriage 17 Drive Motor 18 Drive Belt 19A, 19B Guide Shaft 20 Inkjet Head Cartridge 22 Cleaning Motor 23 Transmission Mechanism 24 Platen 26 Head Recovery Device 26A Cap Part 30 Blade 30A Blade Holding Member 100 Support Substrate 101 Stress Relaxation Layer 102 Heat Storage Layer 103 Heating resistance layer 104 Electrode layer 105 First protective layer 106 Second protective layer 107 Third protective layer 201 Thermal action portion 301 Ink ejection port 302 Ink supply port

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location 9012-2C B41J 3/04 103 H

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An energy generating element for applying thermal energy to ink, a heat acting part for forming bubbles in the ink by the energy generating element, and an insulating heat storage for storing heat energy adjacent to the energy generating element. In an inkjet recording head having a layer and a support substrate that supports the heat storage layer, the support substrate contains metal as a main component, and a stress relaxation layer is provided between the support substrate and the heat storage layer. An ink jet recording head characterized by: 2. An energy generating element for applying thermal energy to the ink, a heat acting portion for forming bubbles in the ink by the energy generating element, and an insulating heat storage which stores heat energy adjacent to the energy generating element. In an inkjet recording head having a layer and a support substrate that supports the heat storage layer, the support substrate contains a metal as a main component, and the heat storage layer contains at least a material forming the support substrate. Inkjet recording head. 3. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the energy generating element is a heating resistance layer. 4. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording head is a full line type in which a plurality of ink ejection openings are provided over the entire width of the recording area of the recording medium. 5. A stress relaxation layer, a heat storage layer, and a heating resistance layer are sequentially formed on a substrate, electrodes are formed thereon, and then a desired circuit pattern is formed by photolithography to form a heat acting portion. The method for manufacturing an inkjet recording head according to claim 1, wherein after forming the protective layer, a protective layer is formed thereon. 6. A heat storage layer and a heat generating resistance layer are sequentially formed on a substrate, electrodes are formed on the heat storage layer, and a desired circuit pattern is formed by photolithography to form a heat acting portion, and then the heat acting portion is formed. The method for manufacturing an inkjet recording head according to claim 2, wherein a protective layer is formed on the protective layer. 7. The ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein an ink ejection port is provided so as to face a recording surface of the recording medium, and a member for mounting the head. An inkjet recording device characterized by the above.