JPH10128985A - Manufacture of ink jet recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply remove an unnecessary coating layer of a solid layer by formation of an ink branch supply passage by connecting an ink discharge port forming part to a base plate material, cutting a through hole blocked by a covering material, forming an ink supply opening and a protective layer at its peripheral edge, and then removing the solid layer with a remover. SOLUTION: First, a through hole 34a of a base plate material having a resist layer 32 as a solid layer and the hole 34a communicating with the layer 32 is blocked by a covering material, and connected to an ink discharge port forming part provided oppositely to the solid layer to obtain a recording element base plate material. Then, the blocked hole 34a is cut, and protective layer of the covering material is formed at an ink supply opening and its peripheral edge. The layer 32 as the solid layer of the base plate material formed with the opening is removed by remover supplied through the opening, and an ink branch supply passage for supplying ink to a pressure generator is formed in communication with the opening.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head capable of obtaining a recorded image by discharging ink onto a recording surface of a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet recording apparatus has been put to practical use in which ink is selectively discharged from a plurality of ink discharge ports onto a recording surface of a recording medium based on recording data and the ink is adhered to the recording surface to form an image. Has been provided. Such an ink jet recording apparatus is provided with an ink jet recording head which is disposed opposite to a recording surface of a recording medium and which is selectively mounted on a carriage portion which is scanned in a direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the recording medium. .

[0005] The ink jet recording head includes a main body portion including an ink supply portion in which an ink tank is mounted, and an input terminal portion electrically connected to the carriage portion and receiving a drive control signal group from the carriage portion. A printing element substrate that is adhered to the surface to be joined of the ink supply unit of the main body, and a printed wiring board that is electrically connected to the printing element substrate and supplies a drive control signal group from an input terminal unit. I have.

When the recording element substrate is of a side shooter type, for example, the ink supply opening communicating with the opening end of the ink supply path of the ink supply section and the ink supplied through the ink supply opening are heated. A substrate having a heater as an ink heating unit, an ink branch supply path disposed on the substrate and individually introducing ink supplied to each heater through an ink supply opening, and an opposed arrangement to each heater And an orifice plate having an ink discharge port.

[0005] In manufacturing such a recording element substrate, for example, the steps shown in FIGS. 5A to 5I and FIGS. 6A to 6G are performed.
(A) to (I) of FIG. 5 and (A) to (G) of FIG.
, A part of the substrate and the like is shown in an enlarged manner.

First, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 6A, a plurality of substrates are formed on one surface of a flat substrate 2 made of a metal material and having an ink-resistant protective film formed thereon. Is formed. The heaters 4i are provided to face each other, for example, on two parallel parallel straight lines, and on oblique lines intersecting the straight lines at a predetermined angle at a predetermined interval.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 6B, a resist layer (solid layer) 6 covering each heater 4 i is formed on the substrate 2. The resist layer 6 is made of, for example, a positive resist, and extends along the arrangement direction of the heaters 4i between the branch layer 6b branched corresponding to each heater 4i and the above-described two rows of parallel straight lines. And a connection layer 6a connecting the branch layers 6b.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 6C, a curable resin material is applied so as to cover the resist layer 6 on the substrate 2 and the orifice plate material 8 is formed. Is formed with a predetermined thickness.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG.
With the predetermined mask 12 positioned at the position where the ink discharge port is to be provided in the orifice plate material 8, the exposure is performed by the exposure device for a predetermined exposure time according to the resist sensitivity and the like, and then the developing process is performed. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 5D and 6D, the orifice plate 10 in which each ink ejection port 10a is formed to face each heater 4i is obtained.

Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 5E and 6E, the resist layer 6 has an opening end opening to the connecting layer 6a of the resist layer 6 along the arrangement of the heaters 4i. The extending through hole 2a is a connecting layer 6a of the resist layer 6 on the substrate 2.
Is provided by cutting at a position opposed to.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5F and FIG. 6F, a coating material having corrosion resistance to ink is applied to the inner peripheral edge of the through hole 2a of the substrate 2, and A coating is applied with a predetermined thickness to a portion of the resist layer 6 facing the through-hole 2a in the connection layer 6a to form a coating layer. This means that, on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 2a provided by the cutting process, a portion of the substrate 2 where there is no coating layer is exposed, so that a coating layer having corrosion resistance to ink is required.

Subsequently, in order to remove the covering layer 14 of the portion 14a of the connecting layer 6a of the resist layer 6 facing the through hole 2a, the portion is subjected to ashing (ashing). This process is necessary because the resist layer 6 described below cannot be removed when the opening end of the through hole 2a is closed by the coating layer 14.

In performing the ashing process, as shown in FIG. 5 (G), for example, a metal plate made of a stainless steel plate member having a thickness of 0.3 mm, for example, in oxygen plasma. Is disposed on the lower surface of the substrate 2. The mask 16 includes a portion 14 of the connection layer 6a of the resist layer 6 in the substrate 2 which faces the through hole 2a.
A through hole 16a corresponding to a is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 5 (H) and 6 (F), the ashing process removes the covering layer 14a in the portion of the connecting layer 6a of the resist layer 6 which faces the through hole 2a. A ring-shaped coating layer 14 'is formed. At this time, the mask 16 is removed because the ink tank is adhered to the lower surface of the substrate 2.

Subsequently, in order to make the resist layer 6 soluble in the removing agent, UV whole surface exposure is performed.

Then, a remover for the resist layer 6 is sprayed on the through-hole 2a in which the coating layer 14 'is formed, as shown in FIGS. 5 (I) and 6 (G). ,
The resist layer 6 is removed and the ink branch supply paths 6
As a result, a recording element substrate provided with the ink supply openings 18 formed by the ring-shaped coating layer 14 'is obtained.

[0017]

In the above-described process of manufacturing the recording element substrate, the portion of the connecting layer 6a of the resist layer 6 which faces the through hole 2a in the connecting layer 6a is removed to remove the covering layer 14a. A labor-intensive operation such as ashing (ashing) is required. In the above-described manufacturing process, the coating material having corrosion resistance to the ink is applied to the substrate 2.
A predetermined thickness is applied to the inner peripheral edge of the through hole 2a and the portion of the connection layer 6a of the resist layer 6 facing the through hole 2a, but the coating material is uniformly applied to the entire inner peripheral edge. In particular, there is a possibility that a thinner portion may be formed at the corner portion than at other portions.

In view of the above problems, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head capable of obtaining a recorded image by discharging ink onto a recording surface of a recording medium, wherein the method comprises the steps of: An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head which can easily remove an unnecessary coating layer and can uniformly form a coating layer on an inner peripheral edge portion of an ink supply opening of a substrate.

[0019]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention is directed to a substrate comprising a solid layer having a pressure generating portion and a through hole communicating with the solid layer. The substrate material is combined with the ink discharge port forming part, in which the through hole of the material is closed by the coating material and the ink discharge port is formed to face the solid layer and discharges the ink pressurized by the pressure generating part. A first step of obtaining a recording element substrate material to be obtained, an ink supply opening for cutting the through-hole closed by the coating material in the recording element substrate material and supplying ink to the pressure generating unit, and A second step of forming a protective layer made of a coating material on a peripheral portion of the supply opening, and a solid layer in the recording element substrate material having the ink supply opening formed through the ink supply opening; Configured to include a third step of obtaining a recording element substrate in which the ink branching supply passage for supplying ink to the pressure generating unit communicates with the ink supply opening is removed by the sheet is the removing agent is formed.

[0020]

FIG. 3 shows an ink jet recording head to which an example of a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention is applied.

The ink jet recording head 22 shown in FIG. 3 is, for example, of a side shooter type, and is electrically connected to an ink supply section 22B in which an ink tank IT is mounted and a carriage section (not shown). Unit 22 comprising an input terminal unit 22A to which a drive control signal group from the main unit 22 is input, and an ink supply unit 22B of the main unit 22
And a printed wiring board 26 that is electrically connected to the printing element substrate 24 and supplies a drive control signal group from the input terminal 22A.

The recording element substrate 2 is provided in the ink supply section 22B.
4 is provided with a concave portion 22b. One opening end of an ink supply path for introducing ink from the ink tank IT is opened at the bottom of the concave portion 22b forming the surface to be bonded.

As shown in FIG. 1F, the recording element substrate 24 has an ink supply opening 30a and an ink supply opening 30a that communicate with the opening end of the ink supply path in the ink supply section 22B. A substrate 30 having a plurality of heaters 30i disposed on both sides thereof so as to sandwich the substrate 30
And an ink branch supply path 28ai that is individually provided corresponding to each heater 30i on the substrate 30 and guides ink supplied through the ink supply opening 30a to the heater 30i.
(I = 1 to n, where n is an integer) provided with an orifice plate 28.

The substrate 30 is formed in a plate shape with a thickness of about 1.5 mm from, for example, an aluminum alloy material.
The heater 30i on the substrate 30 is made of, for example, hafnium bolite or tantalum nitride. The heater 30i is, as shown in FIG.
The two lines are provided so as to be opposite to each other on two parallel straight lines sandwiching the ink supply opening 30a, and oblique lines intersecting the straight lines at a predetermined angle (600 dpi) at a predetermined angle.

The outer peripheral portion of the substrate 30 including the heater 30i is covered with silicon dioxide (Si) as a protective film for ink.
A thin film made of O ₂ ) is formed with a predetermined thickness.
The thin film made of silicon dioxide is formed by using, for example, sputtering.

The orifice plate 28 is formed of a curable resin material, for example, a plate having a thickness of 15 μm. The curable resin material includes, for example, a first component (product model name EH
PE-3150: manufactured by Daicel Chemical Industries, a second component (product name: Adeka Optomer SP170: manufactured by Asahi Denka Kogyo), and a third component (xylene) each by 1
The composition contains 00 parts by weight, 100 parts by weight, and 1.5 parts by weight.

The substrate 30 in the orifice plate 28
As shown in FIG. 2E, ink discharge ports 28bi are provided at positions facing the respective heaters 30i. The number of ink ejection ports is, for example, 128 in accordance with the number of heaters 30i.

The recording element substrate 24 having such a configuration
Is manufactured by the steps shown in FIGS. 1A to 1F and FIGS. 2A to 2E. 1A to 1F and FIGS. 2A to 2E, a part of the recording element substrate 24 is shown in an enlarged manner.

First, as shown in FIG. 2A, a substrate material 34 having an elongated through hole 34a at substantially the center is prepared, and a heater 30i is formed on one surface thereof.
The heater 30i of the substrate material 34 made of an aluminum alloy material is placed on two parallel straight lines sandwiching the through-hole 34a and on a diagonal line crossing the straight line at a predetermined angle (600 dpi) at a predetermined angle. It is formed of hafnium bolite or tantalum nitride so as to face each other. At this time, a thin film made of silicon dioxide (SiO ₂ ) as a protective film for ink is formed at a predetermined thickness on the outer peripheral portion of the substrate material 34 and the surface of the heater 30i. Thereby, the substrate 30 having the through holes 34a is obtained.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2B, a resist layer 3 as a solid layer is formed.
2 corresponds to each heater 30i and has a thickness of 10 μm on the substrate 30.
It is formed with the thickness of.

The resist layer 32 forms an outline of an ink branch supply path, which will be described later. As shown in FIG. 2B, each of the heaters 30i is substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the through hole 34a extends. It comprises each branch layer 32a to be covered and a connection layer 32b formed along the periphery at one opening end of the through hole 34a and connecting each branch layer 32a.

The resist layer 32 is made of, for example, a positive resist (product name: ODUR-1010, manufactured by Tokyo Ohka).
Made with Further, the through hole 3 directly below the resist layer 32 is formed.
4a is a coating material 36 formed of a curable resin, for example,
An orifice plate having the same composition as the orifice plate 28 is filled. At the lower end of the covering material 36, a concave portion 36a having a substantially trapezoidal cross section is formed.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 1B and FIG. 2C, an orifice plate material 38 as an ink discharge port forming portion is coated with a molding material by a rotary coating machine. The substrate 3 has a predetermined thickness, for example, 15 μm.
0, a surface on which the resist layer 32 is provided; and
It is formed so as to cover the outer peripheral surface of the ink supply opening 30a. The orifice plate material 38 is formed of a material similar to the above-described covering material 36.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG.
In order to form an ink discharge port 28i for a portion of the orifice plate material 38 facing each heater 30i, a predetermined mask 40 is positioned at a position where the ink discharge port is to be provided in the orifice plate material 38. An exposure apparatus (model PLA630, manufactured by Canon Inc.) performs exposure for a predetermined exposure time, for example, 10 seconds according to the resist sensitivity and the like, and performs an after-bake process at 60 degrees for 30 minutes. Then, it is developed with methyl isobutyl ketone.

Thus, FIG. 1 (D) and FIG.
As shown in (C), the orifice plate 28 in which each ink ejection port 28bi is formed to face each heater 30i is obtained.

Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 1E and 2D, an ink supply opening 30a is formed in the central portion of the resin material 36 filled in the through hole 34a. In order to perform the cutting, for example, a diamond tool, for example, a diamond saw is used. The formed ink supply opening 30a has, for example, a width and a heater 30.
i are 1 mm, 5.
4 mm. Thereby, the ink supply opening 30a
Is formed, and a coating layer 42 is formed, for example, by about 50 μm between the outer periphery of the ink supply opening 30a and the inner periphery of the through hole 34a.
It is formed uniformly with a thickness of μm. Further, a tapered portion 36a is formed on the periphery of the other opening end of the ink supply opening 30a.

At this time, the covering material 36 attached to the connecting portion 32b of the resist layer 32 is also removed, so that the ashing process for removing the covering material 36 becomes unnecessary.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1F and FIG. 2E, the resist layer 32 is exposed for a predetermined exposure time, for example, by a light exposure device (model name: PLA520: manufactured by Canon Inc.). After the entire surface exposure is performed for 120 seconds to make the resist layer 32 soluble in the removing agent, methyl isobutyl ketone as the removing agent is supplied to the ink supply opening 3.
The resist layer 32 is removed by being supplied through Oa. As a result, the ink branch supply path 28ai in the orifice plate 28 is
And the recording element substrate 24 is obtained.

FIGS. 4A to 4F show another example of a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention.

In the example shown in FIGS. 4A to 4F, the substrate material 34 having the through hole 34a is used in the example shown in FIGS. 1A to 1F. A flat substrate material 44 having no through hole is used. In the examples shown in FIGS. 1A to 1F, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

In this example, first, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a heater 30i is formed on one surface of a flat substrate material 44 having a thickness of 2 mm, for example, as described above. Further, the outer peripheral portion of the substrate material 44 made of an aluminum alloy material and the heater 30
On the surface of i, a thin film made of silicon dioxide (SiO ₂ ) as a protective film for ink is formed with a predetermined thickness. Further, a resist layer 32 as a solid layer is formed with a thickness of 10 μm on the substrate material 44 corresponding to each heater 30i.

At this time, since the substrate material 44 is a flat plate made of an aluminum alloy material, the possibility of deformation of the substrate material 44 during the working process is avoided.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the orifice plate material 38 as an ink discharge port forming portion is formed by applying a curable resin by a spin coater.
Is formed on the substrate material 44 with a predetermined thickness, for example, 15 μm so as to cover the surface on which the resist layer 32 is provided.
The orifice plate material 38 is formed of a material similar to the above-described covering material 36.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG.
In order to form an ink discharge port 28i for a portion of the orifice plate material 38 facing each heater 30i under the condition that a predetermined mask 40 is positioned at a position where an ink discharge port is to be provided in the orifice plate material 38, Exposure is performed by the exposure device in the same manner as in the above example,
After-bake processing is performed. Then, it is developed with methyl isobutyl ketone.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 4D, an orifice plate 28 in which each ink discharge port 28bi is formed to face each heater 30i is obtained.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG.
A substantially central portion between the opposed heaters 30i in the substrate material 44 is cut by a diamond saw to form a through-hole 44a having a predetermined width and length.

Then, as shown in FIG.
The coating material 3 is provided in the through-hole 44a directly below the resist layer 32.
6. For example, a material having a composition similar to that of the orifice plate 28 described above is filled. After that, FIG.
Then, the printing element substrate 24 is obtained through a process similar to the process shown in FIG. Therefore, similarly to the above-described example, the covering material 36 attached to the connecting portion 32b of the resist layer 32 is also removed by the cutting, so that the ashing process for removing the covering material 36 becomes unnecessary.

[0048]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention,
In the first step, after the through hole of the substrate material in the recording element substrate material to which the ink discharge port forming portion is coupled with the substrate material having the through hole communicating with the solid layer is covered with the coating material, the second step is performed. An ink supply opening for supplying the ink to the ink heating unit by performing a cutting process on the through-hole closed by the coating material in the recording element substrate material in the process, and a protective layer of the coating material on the periphery of the ink supply opening The unnecessary coating layer in the connection layer of the resist layer as a solid layer can be easily removed by cutting. In addition, the coating layer on the inner peripheral edge of the ink supply opening of the substrate material can be formed uniformly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A to 1F are cross-sectional views for explaining the operation of each step in an example of a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A to 2E are plan views used to explain the operation of each step in an example of the method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an ink jet recording head to which an example of the method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention is applied.

FIGS. 4A to 4F are cross-sectional views for explaining the operation of each step in another example of the method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to the present invention.

FIGS. 5A to 5I are cross-sectional views for explaining the operation of each step in an example of a conventional method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head.

6 (A) to 6 (G) are plan views used to explain the operation of each step in the example shown in FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 24 printing element substrate 28 orifice plate 28bi ink discharge port 30 substrate 30a ink supply opening 30i heater 32 resist layer 34 substrate material 34a through hole 36 coating material 42 coating layer

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A substrate material comprising a solid layer having a pressure generating portion and a through hole communicating with the solid layer is closed by a coating material and provided to face the solid layer. A first step of obtaining a recording element substrate material in which an ink ejection port forming section for forming an ink ejection port for ejecting ink pressurized by the section and the substrate material are joined; and covering the recording element substrate material. A second step of forming an ink supply opening for supplying ink to the pressure generating section by performing a cutting process on the through hole closed by the material, and forming a protective layer of the coating material on a peripheral portion of the ink supply opening.
The solid layer in the recording element substrate material having the ink supply opening formed therein is removed by a removing agent supplied through the ink supply opening, and communicates with the ink supply opening to supply the ink to the pressure generating unit. And a third step of obtaining a recording element substrate on which a branch ink supply path is formed. 2. An ink which is formed in a substrate material including a solid layer having a pressure generating section and which has a through hole communicating with said solid layer and which is provided to face said solid layer and is pressurized by said pressure generating section. A first step of obtaining a recording element substrate material in which an ink ejection port forming portion in which an ink ejection port for discharging ink is formed and the substrate material are combined; and a through hole closed by a covering material in the recording element substrate material. Forming an ink supply opening for supplying ink to the pressure generating unit by performing a cutting process on the pressure supply unit;
The solid layer in the recording element substrate material having the ink supply opening formed therein is removed by a removing agent supplied through the ink supply opening, and communicates with the ink supply opening to supply the ink to the pressure generating unit. And a third step of obtaining a recording element substrate on which a branch ink supply path is formed. 3. The method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein an ink discharge port of an ink discharge port forming portion of the recording element substrate material is arranged to face the pressure generating portion. . 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate material is formed of a metal material. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the coating material is a curable resin and has corrosion resistance to the ink. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fixing layer is a positive resist layer. 7. The method according to claim 4, wherein the substrate material is a flat plate made of an aluminum alloy material. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the through holes in the substrate material are elongated holes extending along the arrangement of the pressure generating portions. 9. The ink supply device according to claim 1, wherein the ink branch supply path is formed along an array of the pressure generating portions.
A method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head according to claim 2. 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pressure generating unit is a heater.