JPH08132668A - Ion-radiating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an ion-radiating apparatus in which a control voltage for radiating generated ions can be lowered and which has a simple structure. CONSTITUTION: The ion-radiating apparatus comprises an ion generator 100 having an ion chamber 130 formed as an electrically insulated closed space and discharge electrodes 111, 113 disposed in the chamber 130, an opening 131 communicating the chamber 130 with the exterior, a control electrode 210 disposed adjacent to the opening 131 at the outer surface of the opening 131, and an opposite electrode 300 for giving an electric field for accelerating the ion to implant the discharged ion to an object.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a so-called ion irradiation device for selectively irradiating an object with ions generated by a discharge phenomenon, and makes it possible to lower the control voltage thereof. Such an ion irradiation device is used for an electrostatic latent image forming device (recording head) such as a printer or an ionizer (static elimination). The ions referred to here are so-called charged particles such as positive ions, negative ions and electrons. Ions in this specification are assumed to indicate such charged particles.

[0002]

16 to 18 exemplify a conventional structure of a recording head using this type of ion irradiation apparatus. The conventional technique will be described below with reference to these drawings.

First, the first conventional apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The recording head 800 includes an ion generating section 81.
0, an ion generating mechanism including a control unit 820, and a latent image forming unit 830. The ion generator 810 is a part that generates ions, and includes a corona wire 811, a shield electrode 812, and an ion generation power supply 813. The positive electrode of the ion generation power supply 813 is connected to the corona wire 811, and the shield electrode 812 is grounded. Has been done. When a predetermined potential difference is applied to the corona wire 811 and the shield electrode 812, the air between them is ionized and ions i (positive (+) ions in the illustrated case) are generated.

The control section 820 is a section for controlling the movement of the ions generated in the ion generating section 810, and is composed of an upper electrode 821 and a lower electrode 822 as control electrodes, an upper electrode power source 823, and a changeover switch 824. . The upper electrode 821 and the lower electrode 822 are provided with an opening 825 as a passage for ions. Further, the second power source 823 is the positive power source 823a and the negative power source 82.
3b, and one of them is selected by the changeover switch 824. That is, when the positive power source 823a is selected, a positive electrode is connected to the upper electrode 821 and a negative electrode is connected to the lower electrode 822, and an electric field E1 (indicated by an arrow in the figure) from the upper electrode 821 to the lower electrode 822 is generated. Occurs. In this case, the ion generator 8
The positive ions i generated in 10 pass through the opening 825 by this electric field E1 and can move to the latent image forming part 830 side. On the other hand, when the negative electrode 823b is selected, an electric field (not shown) is generated from the lower electrode 822 to the upper electrode 821 in the opposite direction to the electric field E1.
In this case, the generated positive ions are blocked by this electric field and cannot pass through the opening 825.

The latent image forming section 830 is a portion for forming an electrostatic latent image by depositing ions on the medium, and is composed of a counter electrode 831, a medium 832 and a lower electrode power source 833.
The medium 832 is a charge receiving medium such as electrostatic recording paper and is arranged between the lower electrode 822 and the counter electrode 831. An electric field E2 from the lower electrode 822 to the counter electrode 831 is generated between the counter electrode 831 and the lower electrode 822 by the power source 833 for the lower electrode. Therefore, the positive ions i that have passed through the opening 825 are accelerated by the electric field E2 and move toward the counter electrode 831 and adhere to the medium 832 to form an electrostatic latent image.

Next, the second conventional device will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 17 is a side view showing the configuration of the entire apparatus, and FIG. 18 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a control section.
This recording head 900 also has an ion generating mechanism including an ion generating section 910 and a control section 920 and a latent image forming section 93.
It consists of zero. The ion generating part 910 is connected to the shield member 911 in which a cylindrical ion chamber 912 is formed, a corona wire 915 arranged substantially in the center of the ion chamber 912, and the corona wire 915. Ion generation power source 916 and the ion chamber 91
2 is composed of an air nozzle 917 arranged corresponding to an air inlet 913 formed in the upper part of the second chamber 2 and an ion outlet 914 provided in the lower part of the ion chamber 912.

The control unit 920 applies a predetermined potential to the substrate 922 to which the control electrode 923 is attached, the insulating layer 921 disposed between the substrate 922 and the shield member 911, and the control electrode 923. It is composed of a control power source 924 and a changeover switch 925 arranged between the control power source 924 and the control electrode 923. Latent image forming unit 9
Reference numeral 30 denotes a drum-shaped electrode 931 as a counter-electrode which is set to a predetermined potential by a counter-electrode power source 933, a dielectric layer 932 as a charge receiving medium formed on the peripheral surface of the drum-shaped electrode 931 and the drum 931. It is composed of a drive mechanism (not shown) that is rotationally driven. With this configuration,
A predetermined potential difference is applied between the shield member 911 and the corona wire 915, and ions i charged to a positive potential are generated. The generated ions i are sent out from the ion outlet 914 by the air flow (shown by the arrow in the figure) from the air nozzle 917. And this ion i
Passes over the control electrode 923, and at this time, the control electrode 9
When 23 is at a predetermined potential by the control power supply 924, the ion i is deflected by the electric field E1 generated between the control electrode 923 and the shield member 911 and absorbed by the shield member 911 (see FIG. 18 states). On the other hand, when the control electrode 923 is at the ground potential, the ions i pass over the control electrode 923 and are emitted to the outside. Then, the ejected ions i are accelerated by an electric field generated between the drum-shaped electrode 931 and the shield member 911, and are attached to the dielectric layer 932 to form an electrostatic latent image.

[0008]

The above-mentioned first and second conventional apparatuses are of the type in which a high DC potential is applied between the corona wire and the shield electrode to ionize air. Therefore, in these methods, the generated ions are accelerated by the electric field formed by the corona wire and the shield electrode, so that the moving speed becomes extremely high. Then, a strong electric field is required to control the movement of the ions.
For example, in the first conventional device, the control voltage applied between the upper electrode and the lower electrode must be increased in order to increase the electric field (electric field E1) that controls the passage of ions through the opening. There was a point. Also the second
In the conventional apparatus, the ions are moved by the air flow to selectively deflect the ions in the slit portion. In this method, since it is sufficient to apply an electric field sufficient to deflect the ions, the control voltage can be lowered.
There is a problem in that a device is complicated because a mechanism for generating an air flow is required. Further, in the above conventional device, the electrode is exposed in the ion chamber that is the ion generating part, so ionized ions collide with the corona wire and the control electrode, and spatter deterioration easily occurs, which makes it difficult to select materials. was there. The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and provides an ion irradiation apparatus which has a simple structure in which the control voltage for ion irradiation can be lowered and which does not cause sputter deterioration or the like of components. The purpose is to provide.

[0009]

Therefore, according to the present invention,
An ion chamber configured as an electrically insulated closed space, and an ion generation unit including a discharge electrode covered with a dielectric layer for generating ions in the ion chamber, and the ion chamber communicates with the outside. An opening, a control electrode arranged in the opening, and a counter electrode as an electric field generating means,
Ions are generated in the ion chamber by applying an AC voltage to the discharge electrode, the generated ions are extracted by the electric field formed by the control electrode, and the extracted ions are targeted by the electric field generated by the counter electrode. An ion irradiation device was configured to irradiate an object.

[0010]

Function: By applying an AC voltage to the discharge electrode, positive and negative bipolar ions are generated in the ion chamber. Since the wall forming the ion chamber is electrically insulated and the electrode that absorbs the generated ions is not exposed, it is considered that the ion chamber is filled with positive and negative ions, and is neutralized in time average. . And the whole ion chamber becomes the same potential,
Since there is no strong electric field in the space, the momentum of the generated ions in the ion chamber is relatively small, and the control voltage for extracting the ions from the opening can be reduced.

[0011]

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention, showing a recording head as an ion irradiation device. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an ion generating mechanism according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a recording head using the ion generating mechanism of FIG. The apparatus according to the first embodiment includes an ion generating unit 100 that generates ions, a control unit 200 that controls the generated ions to be discharged to the outside, and a counter electrode unit 300 that moves the ions discharged to the outside toward the medium M. It consists of

The ion generating section 100 comprises a flat ceramic substrate 110, a glass substrate 120, an ion chamber 130 formed by the glass substrate 120, and an ion generating power source section 140. On the surface of the ceramic substrate 110, a first discharge electrode 111 formed in the longitudinal direction thereof and a second discharge electrode 113 adjacent to the first discharge electrode 111 at a predetermined interval are formed.
The first contact 11 is formed at the end of the first discharge electrode 111.
2 and a second contact 114 is formed at the end of the second discharge electrode 113. These electrodes and contacts are made of a conductive material such as gold and are formed by printing or vapor deposition. In this case, the interval between the first discharge electrode 111 and the second discharge electrode 113 is adjusted to an interval at which ions can be efficiently generated, for example, about several hundreds of microns. And the ceramic substrate 11
On the surface of 0, a glass layer 115 is formed as a dielectric layer that covers the first discharge electrode 111 and the second discharge electrode 113.

The glass substrate 120 is a ceramic substrate 110.
The left side glass substrate 121, which forms the ion chamber 130 on the upper side and is formed of a columnar member having a cross section of a key bracket shape.
And the right glass substrate 122 are arranged so as to face each other with a predetermined interval so as to form the opening 131. The openings at both ends of the ion chamber 130 formed by the left and right glass substrates 121 and 122 are closed by side plates 125 made of an insulating material to form a substantially closed space. The ion generating power supply unit 140 includes the first discharge electrode 111 and the second discharge electrode 1 embedded in the glass layer 115.
The first discharge electrode 111 is connected to the AC oscillator 141, and the second discharge electrode 113 is connected to the ground. That is, the potential of the first discharge electrode 111 is changed between positive and negative with respect to the ground potential of the second discharge electrode 113.

The control unit 200 comprises a control electrode 210 and a control power supply unit 220. The control electrode 210 is an electrode provided on the surfaces of the left and right glass substrates 121 and 122, and is configured as a left individual electrode group 211 and a right individual electrode group 212, respectively. In the apparatus of this embodiment, these electrode groups are formed in a strip shape having a width corresponding to the dot diameter to be recorded. The individual electrodes belonging to the left individual electrode group 211 and the individual electrodes belonging to the right individual electrode group 212 are arranged so as to face each other across the opening 131, and form a pair. The control power supply unit 220 is a part that controls the control electrode 210 to a predetermined potential, and includes a DC control power supply 221 and a switch 222. The switch 222 is provided for each individual electrode pair and sets the potential for each electrode pair.

The counter electrode section 300 includes a counter electrode 310,
The counter electrode power supply unit 320 is included. The counter electrode 310 is made of a conductive material and is arranged so as to face the opening 131 of the ion irradiation apparatus. The counter electrode power supply unit 320 is a portion that sets the counter electrode 310 to a predetermined potential, and has a DC counter electrode power supply 321a whose voltage is variable.

The operation of the embodiment apparatus having the above configuration will be described. First, the AC oscillator 141 of the ion generator 100 is operated to apply a high AC voltage to the first discharge electrode 111. As a result, the air is ionized in the vicinity of these discharge electrodes, and ions of both positive and negative ions are generated in the ion chamber 130. The generated ions accumulate in the ion chamber 130 while repeating recombination and ionization. At this time, since the inside of the ion chamber 130 is a closed space that is electrically insulated, ions are generated in these discharge electrodes 11
The ion chamber 130 is filled with the ion chamber 130 or the ion chamber 13 without being absorbed by the ion chambers 1 and 113 or leaking to the outside.
It is considered that it adheres to the 0 wall portion. At this time, since the positive and negative ions in the ion chamber 130 exert Coulomb force on each other, it is considered that the momentum is small. When taking out the ions filled in the ion chamber 130 in this way, the control power source 221 is applied to the control electrode 210 (the left individual electrode group 211 and the right individual electrode group 212).
And the potential of the control electrode 210 is set to a predetermined potential. As a result, in the opening 131, a potential difference is applied between the inside (on the side of the ion chamber 130) and the outside (on the side of the control electrode 210), and an electric field is generated in the opening 131. Then, the ions in the ion chamber 130 are emitted to the outside by this electric field. In the illustrated case, a negative voltage is applied to the control electrode 210, which causes positive ions to be emitted to the outside. The ejected ions move toward the counter electrode 310 due to the electric field generated by the counter electrode 310.
The ions released at this time are subjected to an electric field generated by the counter electrode 310, that is, a force corresponding to the potential of the counter electrode 310. Then, the ions that have moved adhere to the medium M to form an electrostatic latent image. As described above, the control electrode 210 is composed of a plurality of pairs of individual electrodes corresponding to the dots to be recorded, and its potential can be individually set by the switches 222 provided respectively corresponding to the individual electrode pairs. Has become. Therefore, an arbitrary electrostatic latent image can be formed by controlling the switch 222 according to the image signal.

Next, referring to FIG. 5, the relationship between the amount of extracted ions and the control electrode in this first embodiment will be described. In the figure, the vertical axis represents the amount of ions I extracted from the ion generating mechanism, and the horizontal axis represents the potential Vc of the control electrode 210. The dotted line shows the state where the potential of the counter electrode 310 is too low (unadjusted state), and the solid line shows the state where the potential of the counter electrode 310 is adjusted to the optimum potential. Here, the dotted line is the counter electrode power supply 321a.
Shows a state in which the counter electrode 310 is not grounded, that is, the counter electrode 310 is grounded.
It shows a state in which 10 is set to the optimum potential. The amount of positive ions taken out in the state where the potential of the counter electrode 310 is not adjusted, which is shown by the dotted line in the figure, is initially gentle when the potential of the control electrode 210 is gradually changed from a high potential to a low potential. , And increases sharply from a certain point (potential near 0 in the figure). In this case, since a small amount of ions taken out when the control potential is 0 or more has a sufficient amount of ions for latent image formation, the potential difference required for controlling the extraction of ions is relatively large as indicated by symbol Vc2. Becomes Then, the counter electrode power source 321a is actuated to operate the counter electrode 310.
By adjusting the electric potential of No. 2 to the optimum state (in this case, the positive electric potential is given), the amount of extracted ions has a characteristic of rapidly increasing from a certain electric potential, as shown by the solid line in the figure. . As a result, the potential difference required to control the extraction of ions becomes relatively small as indicated by the symbol Vc1. As described above, in the device of the first embodiment, by controlling the potential of the control electrode 210, the ions generated in the ion chamber 130 can be taken out and applied to the object, and the potential of the counter electrode 310 can be changed. By adjusting to the optimum value, the control voltage of the control electrode 210, that is, the potential difference can be lowered.

Next, the apparatus of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the ion generating mechanism, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the structure of a recording head using this ion generating mechanism. In these figures, the same parts as those described above are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. The difference between the second embodiment device and the first embodiment device is in the following points. Regarding the first discharge electrode and the second discharge electrode, each of these electrodes is formed in a comb shape and these electrodes are arranged alternately. The AC voltage is applied not only to the first discharge electrode but also to the second discharge electrode, and the phase of the AC voltage applied to the first discharge electrode and the AC voltage applied to the second discharge electrode is 1
The point that was shifted by 80 degrees. The point where an AC power source was connected to the counter electrode to apply an AC voltage. A DC bias power supply for adjusting the space potential in the ion chamber is attached to the ion generation power supply. A point in which a bias power source is applied from a DC power source to the AC voltage applied to the counter electrode. Regarding the power supply connected to the control electrode, its voltage polarity can be switched, and positive ions and negative ions can be selectively taken out. On the surface of the opening on the ion chamber side, a float electrode is arranged adjacent to the opening.

Regarding the First Difference (above) The first discharge electrode 111 and the second discharge electrode 113 are formed in a comb shape (two in the figure), and the comb portion is as shown in FIG. From the left, the first discharge electrode 111, the second discharge electrode 113, the first discharge electrode 111, and the second discharge electrode 1
They are arranged alternately in the order of 13. With this structure, discharge can be efficiently generated.

Second Difference (above) The first discharge electrode 111 and the second discharge electrode 113 are connected to a power supply section 140 for ion generation. The ion generating power supply section 140 includes an AC oscillating section 141, a primary side coil 142 connected to the oscillating section 141, and a center tap type secondary side coil arranged in association with the primary side coil. It has 143. One terminal of the secondary coil 143 is connected to the first discharge electrode 111 via a contact 112, and the other terminal is connected to the second discharge electrode 113 via a contact 114. With this configuration, an AC voltage having a 180 ° phase shift, that is, an AC voltage having an opposite phase is applied to the first discharge electrode 111 and the second discharge electrode 113. As a result, the direction of discharge (the direction of the electric field) between these discharge electrodes changes alternately, so that the bias of the spatial potential in the ion chamber can be suppressed and stabilized.

Regarding the Third Difference (above) The AC power source 322 was connected to the counter electrode 310 of the counter electrode section 300. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of this configuration, in which the amount I of ions extracted from the opening 131 of the ion chamber 130 in the state where a predetermined AC voltage is applied to the counter electrode 310.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the electric potential Vc applied to one individual electrode pair of the control electrode 210 and a certain discharge time. In the figure, symbol A is a curve showing the amount of positive ions taken out, and symbol B is a curve showing the amount of negative ions taken out. If the voltage applied to one individual electrode pair of the control electrode 210 is set to, for example, +10 V, positive ions A10 and negative ions B10 are extracted in a predetermined time. This indicates that a net (A10-B10) charge remains on the recording medium. As can be seen from the figure, the total amount of extracted ions (A−B) is 0 when the control voltage is at zero potential, and negative ions are positive when the control voltage is in the positive region and positive when the control voltage is in the negative region. Ions are extracted as effective ions, and their slopes are also changing rapidly. This means that the control reference potential can be set to 0 V, that is, switching can be performed between 0 V and a predetermined voltage, and a large change in the ion amount can be obtained with a small control voltage. Therefore, with this configuration, the control voltage of the individual electrode can be easily and further lowered.

Fourth Difference (above) A DC bias power supply 144 is connected to the center of the secondary coil 143 of the power supply 140 for ion generation. As a result, the first discharge electrode 111 and the second discharge electrode 113 have a voltage Vs1 (the phase of which is shifted by 180 degrees with respect to the bias voltage Vsb regulated by the DC bias power source 144 as shown in FIG. 6). First discharge electrode 1
11) and Vs2 (second discharge electrode 113) are applied respectively. This is the ion extraction curves A and B in FIG.
The function of horizontally shifting the (solid line) to A ', B' (broken line). As a result, when the state in the ion chamber 130 changes due to the ambient environment such as temperature and humidity, the voltage of the DC bias power source 144 is varied to cancel this change and the voltage (potential) to be applied to the control electrode 210.
Is always constant. As a result, switching control related to recording can be facilitated.

Fifth Difference (above) A bias voltage was applied to the counter electrode 310 by the DC power supply 321b. In this configuration, the voltage applied to the counter electrode 310 is an AC voltage based on the bias voltage Vbb as shown in FIG. This is because the ion extraction curves A and B (solid lines) are A ″ and B ″ as shown in FIG.
It acts to vertically shift to (dashed line). That is, as shown in FIG. 7, if a positive voltage is applied to the counter electrode 310 as a bias by the DC power supply 321b, the negative ion extraction curve A increases and the positive ion extraction curve B decreases (whichever Also down) respectively. As a result, the ion chamber 13
The amount of extracted ions in the zero opening 131 can be adjusted. It should be noted that applying the bias voltage Vbb to the counter electrode 310 also applies to the discharge electrodes 111 and 113 described above.
The bias voltage Vsb can be applied to each of FIG.
And for adjusting the ion extraction amount I shown in FIG. Two devices are provided in this embodiment, but any one can be adjusted. In particular, applying a bias voltage to the counter electrode 310 substantially increases or decreases specific ions, and has the advantage of easily adjusting the concentration when used in a recording head.

Regarding the sixth difference (above), the control power supply section 220 for applying a voltage to the control electrode 210 is
Positive power supply 221, negative power supply 223, and changeover switch 22
2 is provided so that the polarity of the control voltage applied to the control electrode 210 can be switched. Thereby, the positive side region or the negative side region shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 can be selected, and the positive ions and the negative ions can be selectively taken out from the ion chamber 130.

Regarding the Seventh Difference (above) In the device of the second embodiment, the float electrode 132 is provided on the inner wall of the ion chamber 130 facing the control electrode 210. Although the float electrode 132 is made of a conductive metal film, it is not electrically connected to another conductor and is in an electrically floating state. This float electrode 1
Reference numeral 32 is for making the potential near the opening 131 uniform, and is provided to prevent uneven charging near the opening 131 of the ion chamber 130. The operation of the float electrode 132 will be described with reference to FIGS. In these figures, the potential of the control electrode 210 is gradually increased from the zero potential (point a) to the positive potential (point b) and then gradually decreased in the state where the alternating voltage is applied to the counter electrode 310. The relationship between the ion extraction amount I and the potential of the control electrode 210 when the negative potential (point c) is raised to the positive potential (point d) again is shown. In both figures, it means that the amount of positive ions taken out increases as the position goes up in the vertical axis, and the amount of negative ions taken out increases as the position goes down. 11 is a diagram when the float electrode 132 is provided, and FIG. 10 is a diagram when the float electrode 132 is not provided.

According to the experiment, when the float electrode 132 is not provided, the ion extraction amount I shows a hysteresis characteristic as shown in FIG. That is, when the potential of the control electrode 210 is increased and then lowered, the amount of negative ions taken out is relatively small and the amount of positive ions taken out is relatively large with respect to the potential of the control electrode. On the other hand, if the potential of the control electrode 210 is lowered and then increased, the amount of negative ions generated is relatively large and the amount of positive ions generated is relatively small with respect to the potential of the control electrode, and the same path is not passed. It is considered that this is because the vicinity of the opening 131 of the ion chamber 130 was charged. On the other hand, when the float electrode 132 is provided, the ion extraction amount I takes the same route as shown in FIG. It is considered that this is because the electric potential of the float electrode 132 is equal over the entire area, so that the charge in the vicinity of the opening 131 in the ion chamber 130 is uniform and stabilized.

As shown in FIG. 12, the float electrode 1
32 may be extended to the wall of the opening 131. In this case, the distance p between the float electrode 132 and the control electrode 210 is
Is a distance that does not cause discharge when a voltage is applied to the control electrode 210. With this configuration, the region of uniform potential can be increased, and the extraction of ions can be made more stable. Although a chromium film is used for the float electrode 132 in the present embodiment, it is not limited to this as long as it has conductivity. However, since ozone is generated with the generation of ions, a substance that is not easily oxidized by this ozone is desirable. Further, since the momentum of the ions in the ion chamber is smaller for the reason described above, the float electrode 132
Spatter deterioration does not occur.

In the devices of the first and second embodiments described above, the control electrode 210 is composed of the left individual electrode 211 and the right individual electrode 212.
As shown in FIG. 3, the right individual electrode 211 and the DC power source 214
It may be configured so as to include the strip-shaped common electrode 213 adjusted to a predetermined potential by. With this configuration, the driver circuit for controlling the potential of the control electrode 210 may be provided only on the left individual electrode 211 side, and the configuration can be simplified. Further, in the above-described apparatus of the embodiment, the opening 131 is formed in a slit shape, but it may be formed of the hole 133 and the individual electrode 215 and the float electrode 134 corresponding to the hole 133 as shown in FIG. . Further, regarding the glass substrate 120 forming the ion chamber 130, a glass member or a member coated with glass on a ceramic substrate is exemplified because it is easy to smooth a flat surface and is easy to process. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Other insulating materials can also be used.

Next, referring to FIG. 15, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. This third embodiment device shows a static eliminator using the ion irradiation device of the present invention.
This static eliminator is used in the IC manufacturing process and the like, and is a device for static erasing charged wafers, ICs, etc., and is composed of an ion generating section 100 and a transport section 400. The ion generating unit 100 is basically the same as that of the second embodiment device, and the ceramic substrate 110 on which the pair of discharge electrodes 111, 113 and the glass layer 115 are arranged, and the glass substrate forming the ion chamber 130. 120 and AC oscillator 1
41, a primary side coil 142 and a secondary side coil 143, and a power source section 140 for ion generation, and further adjacent to the slit-shaped opening 131, the control electrode 210.
And an AC power supply 224 for applying a voltage to the control electrode 210. A major difference between the ion generator 100 and the second embodiment device is that the control electrode 210 is not a pair of individual electrodes but a pair of common electrodes, that is, the opening 131.
The point is that the potential of is changed all at once. The transport unit 400 includes a belt 410 that transports a charged member,
It has charge-removed bodies 421 to 423 such as wafers and ICs. In the device of the third embodiment, these charge-removed bodies 421 to 423 correspond to counter electrodes.

The operation of the static eliminator thus configured will be described. First, a predetermined AC voltage is applied to the first discharge electrode 111 and the second discharge electrode 113 to generate ions, and the ions are filled in the ion chamber 130. At the same time, an AC voltage is applied to the control electrode 210 to alternately generate an electric field E3 in the direction toward the ion chamber 130 from the outside and an electric field E4 in the direction opposite to the electric field E3 in the vicinity of the opening 131. As a result, negative ions are generated when the electric field E3 is generated, and positive ions are generated when the electric field E4 is generated.
Emitted from 31. Therefore, for example, when the discharged object 421 charged to a positive (+) potential is positioned below the ion generating part 100 (opening 131), the negative ions from the opening 131 charge the discharged object 421. The electric field generated by the characteristics moves toward the object 421 to be discharged. Then, the negative ions are neutralized by adhering to the object to be neutralized and the potential thereof is made zero. Also negative (-)
In the case of the discharged object 422 charged to the electric potential, the positive ions move to set the electric potential of the discharged object 422 to zero.

[0031]

As described above, according to the ion generator and the recording head of the present invention, the control voltage can be lowered and the structure can be simplified.
Furthermore, since the ion chamber serving as the ion generator is electrically insulated, the generated ions do not deteriorate the electrodes and the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of a first embodiment device.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the first embodiment device.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of a second embodiment device.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the second embodiment device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the potential of the control electrode and the amount of extracted ions in the device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a voltage applied to a discharge electrode in the second embodiment device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a voltage applied to a counter electrode in the device of the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the potential of the control electrode and the amount of extracted ions in the apparatus of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the potential of the control electrode and the amount of extracted ions in the device of the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a float electrode.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the action of the float electrode.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another configuration of the float electrode.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another configuration of the control electrode.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another configuration of the opening.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the configuration of a third example device.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a first conventional device.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a second conventional device.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a second conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Ion generation part 110 Ceramic substrate 111, 113 Discharge electrode 120 Glass substrate 130 Ion chamber 131, 133 Opening part 132,134 Float electrode 140 Ion generation power supply part 200 Control part 210 Control electrode 220 Control power supply part 300 Counter electrode part 310 Opposition Electrode 320 Power supply unit for counter electrode 400 Transport unit

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An ion chamber configured as a closed space by an electrically insulated member, an opening as an ion emission port provided in the ion chamber, and the ion chamber or the vicinity of the ion chamber. And a discharge generating electrode for generating ions in the ion chamber, the surface of which is covered with a dielectric layer, and the ion generating portion, which is disposed in the opening or in the vicinity of the opening. A control electrode that applies an electric field in a predetermined direction to the opening to control the emission of ions from the opening, and a counter electrode that applies an electric field that accelerates the emitted ions to irradiate an object. By applying a predetermined AC voltage to the discharge electrode, ions are generated in the ion chamber, and the generated ions are selectively taken out by the control electrode and generated by the counter electrode. Ion irradiation apparatus characterized by being configured so as to irradiate the object by an electric field. 2. The ion irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a DC voltage is applied to the AC voltage applied to the discharge electrode. 3. The ion irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharge electrode is composed of two sets of electrodes and the potential between the sets is controlled symmetrically. 4. The ion irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a conductor which is not connected to the other is disposed adjacent to the opening on the ion chamber side of the opening. 5. The opening is formed in a slit shape, an individual electrode is provided on one side of the slit, and a common electrode set to a predetermined potential is provided on the other side. 1. The ion irradiation device according to 1. 6. The ion irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an alternating voltage is applied to the counter electrode to alternately change the direction of the electric field generated by the alternating voltage. 7. The ion irradiation apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a DC voltage is applied to the AC voltage applied to the counter electrode.