JPS61222201A - Thermal recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a thermal recording head used in a recording method that performs recording using thermal energy.

[Prior Art] Traditionally, recording methods that use thermal energy have the advantage of being non-impact and therefore producing very little noise during recording, and in recent years have also become capable of color recording. And it is gradually attracting attention.

In such a recording method, recorded information is transmitted in the form of an electrical signal to a thermal recording head, that is, an electrothermal conversion element. The electro-thermal conversion element used includes a heat generating resistance layer formed on a base and at least one pair of electrodes connected to the heat generating resistance layer.

Incidentally, the term "substrate" as used herein means one that supports the heating resistor me, and the substrate is simply a support with appropriate layers formed thereon as necessary. Since thermal recording heads are generally relatively small, their heating resistance layers are of a thin film type, a thick film type, or a semiconductor type. especially,
Thin-film types consume less power than other types and have relatively good thermal responsiveness, so they are preferred as components of thermal recording heads, and their applications are gradually increasing.

Therefore, the performance required of the heat generating resistive layer of a thermal recording head is that it has good responsiveness to heat generation to a predetermined electric signal, good thermal conductivity, and heat resistance against its own heat generation. Examples include good properties and various types of durability (for example, durability against thermal history). Furthermore, when the thermal recording head is used in pressure contact with thermal paper or thermal transfer ink ribbon, it is required that the coefficient of friction with these is small.

However, it cannot be said that the above performance is necessarily satisfactory in the heat generating resistive layer of the conventionally used thermal recording head, and further improvement of the characteristics is desired.

Furthermore, in conventional thermal recording heads, a wear-resistant layer is provided on the surface of the heat-generating resistor layer in order to improve wear resistance, but this comes at the expense of thermal responsiveness.

In addition, when using a conventional thermal recording head to record on a recording medium such as paper with a rough surface, it is necessary to press the recording medium more firmly in order to record in a perfect dot shape, which reduces the rate of wear. But quickly.

Further improvement in performance is desired.

[Object of the invention] In view of the above-mentioned prior art, one of the objects of the present invention
One object of the present invention is to provide a thermal recording head having a heat generating resistive layer with improved thermal responsiveness.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a thermal recording head having a heating resistance layer with improved thermal conductivity.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a thermal recording head having a heating resistance layer with improved heat resistance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a thermal recording head having a heat generating resistive layer with improved durability.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a thermal recording head having a heating resistance layer with improved wear resistance.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a thermal recording head having a heat generating resistance layer with a small coefficient of friction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above objects are achieved by a novel thermal recording head according to the present invention.

In the thermal recording head of the present invention, the heating resistance layer is made of an amorphous material having carbon atoms as a matrix and containing silicon atoms, germanium atoms, halogen atoms, and hydrogen atoms. It is characterized by atoms, halogen atoms and/or hydrogen atoms being distributed non-uniformly in the film thickness direction.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partial plan view showing the construction of a 4S example of the thermal recording head of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line n--2.

In the figure, 2 is a support (substrate here), 4 is a heating resistance layer, and 6.7 is a pair of electrodes. 1st
As shown in the figure, a plurality of pairs of a heat generating resistor layer 4 and a pair of electrodes 6.7 connected to the heat generating resistor layer 4 are provided, thereby forming a dot-shaped effective heat generating portion 8.8'. ,8″,
... are arranged on a straight line at predetermined intervals. When the thermal recording head is in use, the heat generating resistive layer 4 side is brought into pressure contact with thermal paper or thermal transfer ink ribbon, etc., and is moved relative to the thermal paper or thermal transfer ink ribbon in the -■ direction. At this time, an electrical signal, which is recorded information, is timely applied to the heating resistor layer 4 constituting each heating section 8.8', 8'', +111-, through the electrode 6.7, and based on this, each heating section Heat is generated, and the thermal energy at this time is used to perform recording using a thermal method, a thermal transfer method, or the like.

In the present invention, there is no particular restriction on the material of the support 2, but in practice it has good adhesion to the heating resistor layer 4 and the electrodes 6.7 formed on its surface. It is preferable to use a material that has good durability against the heat generated during the formation of the electrodes 6 and 7 and the heat generated by the heat generating resistor layer 4 during use.

Further, it is preferable that the support 2 has a larger electrical resistance than the heating resistance Mj4 formed on the surface - A material is selected that has thermal conductivity that does not degrade responsiveness to physical input.

Examples of the support 2 used in the present invention include those made of inorganic materials such as glass, ceramics, and silicon, and those made of organic materials such as polyamide resin and polyimide resin.

In the present invention, heating resistance! Does #4 have a carbon atom as its parent body? It is made of an amorphous material containing silicon atoms, germanium atoms, halogen atoms, and hydrogen atoms. Examples of halogen atoms include F, CI, and Br.

As the halogen atom, F and C1 are particularly preferable, and F is particularly preferable.

The content of silicon atoms in the heating resistance layer 4 is appropriately selected so as to obtain desired characteristics, but is preferably 0.
．． 0001 to 40 at%, more preferably 0°0
005-20jX%, preferably 0.001-1
It is 0 atom%.

The content rate of germanium atoms in the heating resistance layer 4 is
The content is appropriately selected so as to obtain the desired properties, but is preferably 0.0001 to 40 atom%, and more preferably o
, ooos ~ 20 atomic %, preferably o, oot ~
It is 10 atom%.

The content of halogen atoms in the heating resistance layer 4 is appropriately selected so as to obtain desired characteristics, but is preferably 0.
．． 0001 to 30 at%, more preferably o, o
oos to 20 at%, preferably 0.001 to 10
It is atomic percent.

The content of hydrogen atoms in the heating resistance layer 4 is appropriately selected so as to obtain desired characteristics, and is preferably o,
ooot~30 at%, more preferably 0.0
005 to 20 atomic %, preferably 0.001 to 1O
It is atomic percent.

The sum of the silicon atom content, germanium atom content, halogen atom content, and hydrogen atom content in the heat generating resistance layer 4 is appropriately selected so as to obtain desired characteristics, but is preferably The content is 0°0001 to 40 at%, more preferably 0°0005 to 30 at%, and preferably 0.001 to 20 at%.

In the present invention, the distribution of silicon atoms, germanium atoms, halogen atoms and/or hydrogen atoms in the heat generating resistor layer 4 is non-uniform in the thickness direction. The content rate of atoms, germanium atoms, halogen atoms, and/or hydrogen atoms may be changed such that the content rate gradually increases from the substrate 2 side to the surface side, or conversely, the content rate may decrease such that the content rate changes. Furthermore, the content of silicon atoms, germanium atoms, halogen atoms, and/or hydrogen atoms may have a maximum value or a minimum value in the resistor N4. Changes in the content of silicon atoms, germanium atoms, halogen atoms, and/or hydrogen atoms are appropriately selected so as to obtain desired characteristics.

3 to 8 show specific examples of changes in the content of silicon atoms, germanium atoms, halogen atoms and/or hydrogen atoms in the film thickness direction in the heat generating resistive layer 4 of the thermal recording head of the present invention. In these figures, the vertical axis represents the distance T in the film thickness direction from the interface with the base 2, t represents the film thickness of the heat generating resistor layer 4, and the horizontal axis represents the distance T from the interface with the base 2, and the horizontal axis represents the distance T from the interface with the substrate 2. In each figure representing the content C of atoms and/or hydrogen atoms, the scales of the vertical axis T and the horizontal axis C are not necessarily uniform.

The figures have been changed to bring out the characteristics of each figure.

Therefore, in actual application, various distributions are used for each diagram based on the differences in specific numerical values.

In the thermal recording head of the present invention, an amorphous material (hereinafter referred to as ra-C, :Si:G
e: Sometimes abbreviated as (X, H)J. Here, X represents a halogen atom) The heating resistor layer 4 is formed by, for example, a plasma CVD method such as a glow discharge method, or a vacuum deposition method such as a sputtering method.

For example, a-C:Si:Ge:
Resistance W consisting of (X, H)! 4, basically the substrate 2 is placed in a deposition chamber under reduced pressure, and a raw material gas for C supply that can supply carbon atoms (C) and silicon atoms (Si) are added to the deposition chamber. A source gas for Si supply that can be supplied, a source gas for Ge supply that can supply germanium atoms (Ge), a source gas for X supply that can supply halogen atoms (X), and a hydrogen atom (H). A raw material gas for supplying H to be obtained is introduced into the deposition chamber while changing the introduced amounts of the raw material gas for Si supply, the raw material gas for Ge supply, the raw material gas for X supply, and/or the raw material gas for H supply. A glow discharge may be generated using high frequency waves or microwaves to form a layer consisting of a-C:Si:Ga:(X,H) on the surface of the substrate 2.

In addition, a-C:Si:Ge:
In order to form the resistor fi4 consisting of (X, H), basically the base 2 is placed in a deposition chamber under reduced pressure, and an inert gas such as Ar, He, etc. or these gases is introduced into the deposition chamber. When sputtering a target composed of C in an atmosphere of a mixed gas as a base, a source gas for Si supply, a source gas for Ge supply, a source gas for X supply, and/or a source gas for H supply are present in the deposition chamber. Introduce raw material gas.

At this time, the amount introduced may be changed.

In the above method, as the raw material gas for C supply, the raw material gas for SS supply, the raw material gas for Ge supply, the raw material gas for X supply, and the raw material gas for H supply, in addition to those in a gas state at room temperature and normal pressure. Substances that can be gasified under reduced pressure can be used.

Examples of raw materials for C supply include saturated hydrocarbons having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, ethylene hydrocarbons having 2 to 5 carbon atoms, acetylenic hydrocarbons having 2 to 4 carbon atoms, aromatic hydrocarbons, etc. The saturated hydrocarbons are methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6).

Propane (C3HB), n-butane (n -C4[10
), pentane (C5H12), -c tyrenic hydrocarbons include ethylene (C2H4), propylene CC3
H(+), butene-1 (C4H8), butene-2 (0
4H8), inbutylene (C4H8), pentene (C
s Hlo), acetylene (C2H2), methylacetylene (C3H4) as acetylene hydrocarbons
, butyne (Ca He ), and aromatic hydrocarbons include benzene (Co Ha ) and the like.

As raw materials for Si supply, for example, SiH4, Si2
Silicon hydride such as H6,5i3HB, 5i4H1q, (
silanes), S iF4, (S iF2)
s, (S i F2) a, (S i F2
) 4, Si2 F6, Si3 FB, SiHF
3, SiH2F2.5iC14 (SiC12)s, S
iBr4, (SiBr2)5. Si2 C16, Si2
Examples include silicon halides (silane derivatives substituted with halogen atoms) such as Cl3F3.

Examples of raw materials for supplying Ge include GeH4, Ge2
H6, Ge3 HB, Ge+ Hto, Ge5H1
2, G ee H14, G et Hta, G e B
) Its, germanium hydride such as Ge5H2o.

GeF+ , (GeF2)s, (GeF2)e, (Ge
F2)4, Ge2 F6, Ge3 FB, Ge
HF3, GeB2 F2, GeC14 (GeC12
)5. GeBr4, (GeBr2)s.

Examples include germanium halides (hydrogen halide derivatives substituted with halogen atoms) such as Ge2C1g and Ge2C13F3.

Examples of raw materials for supplying X include halogens, halides, interhalogen compounds, halogen-substituted hydrocarbon derivatives, etc. Specifically, the halogens include F2, C12, and Br.
2, I2, halides include HF, HCI,
HBr, HI, BrF, CI as interhalogen compounds
F, ClF3, BrF5, BrF3. HF3. IF
7, IC1, IBr, halogen-substituted hydrocarbon derivatives include CF4, C-HF3, CH2F2, CH3
F, CCI<, CHCl5. CH2Cl2.
CH3C1, CB r4 , CHB r3 , C
H2B r2 , CH3Br, CI4 , CI(I
3, CI(2I2, CH3I, etc.).

Examples of raw materials for supplying H include hydrogen gas and hydrocarbons such as Sowa hydrocarbons, ethylene hydrocarbons, acetylene hydrocarbons, and aromatic hydrocarbons, which are also the raw materials for supplying C.

These raw materials may be used alone or in combination.

In the heating resistance layer forming method as described above, the amount of silicon atoms, the amount of germanium atoms, the amount of halogen atoms, and the characteristics of the resistance layer 4 including the amount of hydrogen atoms contained in the resistance layer 4 to be formed are controlled. For this purpose, the substrate temperature, supply amount of raw material gas, discharge power, pressure in the deposition chamber, etc. are appropriately set.

In particular, in order to obtain the heating resistance layer 4 in which silicon atoms, germanium atoms, halogen atoms and/or hydrogen atoms are unevenly distributed in the film thickness direction of the present invention, silicon atoms, germanium atoms, and halogen atoms are And/or it is preferable to change the degree of introduction of hydrogen atoms over time, for example by pulp control; the substrate temperature is preferably 20 to 1500'C1, more preferably 30 to 1200C, most preferably 50 to 1100C. selected from.

The supply amount of the raw material gas is determined as appropriate depending on the desired performance of the heating resistance layer and the desired film formation rate.

The discharge power is preferably o,oot~20W/C, more preferably 0.01~15W/c, optimally 0,0
'5~10W/ctn'+7).

The pressure inside the deposition chamber is preferably 10-4 to 10 Torr.
, more preferably 10-2 to 5 Torr.

The resistive layer of the thermal recording head of the present invention obtained using the heat generating resistive layer forming method as described above has properties close to those of diamond. That is, for example, a bead hardness of 1800 to 5000
, Thermal conductivity 0.3~2cal/cm*5ecs"c!,
Resistivity 105~1011Ω・cm, thermal expansion coefficient 2XlO−
5-10-6/'0. Friction coefficient 0.15-0.25,
It has a density of 1.5 to 3.0, and contains silicon atoms, germanium atoms, halogen atoms, and hydrogen atoms, so it has extremely good chemical resistance and flexibility.

In the thermal recording head of the present invention, the abrasion resistance of the resistance layer 4 is particularly good, so the resistance layer can be made extremely thin, and a special abrasion resistant layer is not required, so that the thermal responsiveness is extremely high. You can get a good one.

However, it goes without saying that a layer having appropriate protection and other functions may be provided on the heating resistance layer 4 of the thermal recording head of the present invention. For example, by providing a protective layer, even more durability can be achieved. You can make improvements.

In the embodiments described above, an example is shown in which the heating resistance layer and the electrode are provided on the substrate in this order, but in the thermal recording head of the present invention, the electrode and the heating resistance layer may be provided on the substrate in this order. FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view of such a thermal recording head. In FIG. 1, 2 is a support (here, a base).
4 is a heating resistance layer, and 6 and 7 are paired electrodes.

In this case, since the more durable heat-generating resistive layer is placed on the recording medium side, an extremely excellent thermal recording head can be provided even without providing a wear-resistant layer.

In the above embodiments, the base is simply a support 2.
However, the substrate in the present invention may be a composite body.
As shown in the figure, the base 2 is made of a composite of a support 2a and a surface layer 2b, and the support 2a includes, for example, the first layer described above.
The support material explained in connection with the figure or even metal can be used, and as the surface layer 2b, a material with better adhesion to the resistance layer 4 formed thereon can be used. The layer 2b is made of, for example, an amorphous material having carbon atoms as a matrix, a conventionally known oxide, or the like. Such a surface layer 2b can be obtained by depositing appropriate raw materials on the support 2a by a method similar to the above-mentioned method for forming the heating resistor layer. Further, the surface layer 2b may be a normal glassy glaze layer.

The electrodes 6.7 in the thermal recording head of the present invention may be of any material as long as they have a predetermined conductivity, such as Au, Cu,
A1. Made of metal such as Ag and Ni.

Next, the outline of the method for manufacturing the thermal recording head of the present invention will be explained.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an apparatus used when forming a heating resistance layer on the surface of a substrate. 1101 is a deposition chamber, 1102 to 1106 are gas cylinders, and 110
7 to 1111 are mass flow controllers, and 111
2 to 1116 are inflow valves, 1117 to 1121
is the outflow valve lJ, 1122-1126 is the gas cylinder valve, 1127-1131 is the outlet pressure gauge, 1132 is the auxiliary valve, 1133 is the lever, 1134 is the main valve, and 1135 is the leakage valve. 1136 is a vacuum gauge, 113 is a valve, and 1136 is a vacuum gauge;
7 is the base material of the thermal head to be manufactured, 11
38 is a heater, 1139 is a base support means,
1140 is a high voltage power supply, 1141 is an electrode,
1142 is a shutter. Note that 1142-1 is a target attached to the electrode 1141 when performing the sputtering method.

For example, 1102 is sealed with CH4 gas (purity of 99.9% or more) diluted with Ar gas, and 1103
5tH4 gas (purity 99.9) diluted with Ar gas.
% or more) is sealed, 1104 is sealed with GeF4 gas (purity of 99.9% or more) diluted with Ar gas, and 1105 is sealed with Si gas diluted with Ar gas.
F4 gas (purity 99.9% or more) is sealed,
1106 is sealed with GeH4 gas (purity of 99.9% or more) diluted with Ar gas. Before the gas in these cylinders is allowed to flow into the deposition chamber 1101, it is confirmed that the valves 1122 to 1126 and the leak valve 1135 of each gas cylinder 1102 to 1106 are closed, and the inflow valves 1112 to 1116 and the outflow valve 11
17 to 1121 and the auxiliary valve 1132 are opened, first open the main valve 1134 to evacuate the deposition chamber 1101 and gas piping.
When the reading of 136 becomes 1.5X10-6 Torr, the auxiliary valve 1132 and the inflow valves 1112 to 111
6 and outflow valves 1117-1121 are closed. Thereafter, a valve of a gas pipe connected to a cylinder of gas to be introduced into the deposition chamber 1101 is opened to introduce a desired gas into the deposition chamber 1101.

Next, an example of the procedure for forming the resistive layer of the thermal recording head of the present invention by the glow discharge method using the above-described apparatus will be described. Open the valve 1122 and open the gas cylinder 11.
Let the CH4/Ar gas flow out from 02 and close the valve 1123.
Open the valve 1124 to let SiH4/Ar gas flow out from the gas cylinder 1103, and open the valve 1124 to let the SiH4/Ar gas flow out from the gas cylinder 1103.
Let the GeF4/Ar gas flow out from the outlet pressure gauge! 1
Adjust the pressure of 27.1128.1129 to 1 kg/crn', then inlet valve 1112.1113.1114
Open the mass flow controller 1107, tt
og, 1109, followed by outflow valve 1117.1118.1119, auxiliary pulp 1132
is gradually opened to introduce CH4/Ar gas, SiH4/Ar gas, and GeF4/Ar gas into the deposition chamber 1101. At this time, the flow rate of CH4/Ar gas and S i H4/A
The mass flow controller 1107.1 controls the flow rate of 1 gas and the flow rate of GeF4/Ar gas to a desired value.
10B and 1109, and the opening degree of the main valve 1134 while checking the reading of the vacuum gauge 1136 so that the pressure in the deposition chamber 1101 reaches a desired value. Then, the heater 1 is heated so that the temperature of the substrate 1137 supported by the support means 1139 in the deposition chamber 1101 reaches a desired temperature.
After heating by 138, the shutter 1142 is opened to generate glow discharge in the deposition chamber 1101. and 1
Outflow valve 1117 manually or by an externally driven motor, etc.
．． 1118 and 1119 to change the CH number/Ar gas flow rate, SiH4/Ar gas flow rate, and/or GeF4/Ar gas flow rate over time according to a predesigned change rate curve. , thereby changing the content of 5illion atoms, Ge atoms, Fg atoms, or H atoms in the resistance layer 4 in the film thickness direction.

Next, an example of a procedure for forming the resistive layer of the thermal recording head of the present invention by sputtering using one or more devices will be described. High-purity graphite 1 is pre-prepared on the electrode 1141 to which a high voltage is applied by the high-voltage power supply 1140.
142-1 as a target, CH from the gas cylinder 1102 in the same manner as in the glow discharge method.
4/Ar gas from gas cylinder 1103 S i H4/
Ar gas and GeF4/Ar gas are introduced into the deposition chamber 1101 from the gas cylinder 1104 at desired flow rates. By opening the shutter 1142 and turning on the high-voltage power supply 1140, sputtering is performed on the Targetera) 1142-1. At this time, the heater 1138 heats the base 113.
7 to a desired temperature and adjusting the opening degree of the main valve 1134 to bring the inside of the deposition chamber 1101 to a desired pressure is the same as in the case of the glow discharge method. and,
As in the case of the glow discharge method described above, the outflow valve 1117.
The flow rate of CH4/Ar gas was adjusted by changing the opening degree of 1118 and 1119.

SiH4/Ar gas flow rate and/or G e F 4
/Ar gas flow rate is changed over time according to a pre-designed change rate curve, thereby increasing the Si in the resistance layer 4.
The content of atoms, Ge atoms, F atoms, and/or H atoms is changed in the film thickness direction.

In the case of a thermal recording head such as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the formation of the heat generating resistive layer on the substrate by one or more of the glow discharge method and sputtering method is carried out over almost the entire surface of the substrate, Thereafter, by forming a conductive layer and etching the conductive layer and heat generating resistive layer using photolithography, a thermal recording head having a plurality of dot-shaped effective heat generating parts as shown in FIG. 1 can be obtained. .

Furthermore, in the case of a thermal recording head as shown in FIG.
After forming a conductive layer on a substrate in advance and etching the conductive layer using photolithography, a heat generating resistive layer is formed on the substrate by the glow discharge method and sputtering method as described above.

A specific example of the thermal recording head of the present invention will be shown below.

Example 1: A heating resistor layer was formed on the surface of the base using a support made of an alumina ceramic plate with a glaze layer as shown in FIG. 11. The method was carried out using a glow discharge method using a device similar to the one described above.

CH4/Ar=0, 5 (capacity ratio) as raw material gas,
SiH4/Ar gas, 1 (capacity ratio) and GeF4/Ar
Gas, 05 (volume ratio) was used. The conditions for deposition are the first
As per the table. During deposition, the opening degree of the valve is continuously changed to control the flow rate of SiH4/Ar gas and Ge.
A heat generating resistor layer having a thickness shown in Table 1 was formed by changing the flow rate of F4/Ar gas.

After forming an A1 layer on the formed resistance layer by electron beam evaporation, the A1 layer is formed by photolithography.
The layer was etched into the desired shape to form multiple pairs of electrodes.

Subsequently, a predetermined portion of the resistive layer was removed using a photolithography technique using an HF-based etching solution. Sho 1
In this example, the size of the resistance layer between the electrode pairs is 200 Bm x 3004 m. In this example, seven heating elements formed between the electrode pairs are arranged vertically. A plurality of heating resistance elements were fabricated on the same substrate.

The electrical resistance of each heating resistor element of the thus obtained thermal head was measured and found to be 90Ω.

Furthermore, an electrical pulse signal was input to each heating resistor element of the thermal head obtained in this example to measure the durability of the heating resistor element.

Note that the duty of the electrical pulse signal is 50%, and the applied voltage is 6.
v, drive frequency 0.5kHz, 1.0kHz, 2.0k
Hz.

As a result, in all cases of driving at different driving frequencies, the heating resistor element was not destroyed even when the electrical pulse signal input reached 1XloLO times, and its resistance value hardly changed.

Next, when we printed characters with a composition of 5 dots horizontally x 7 dots vertically using thermal recording paper, we found that 2x10
Even after printing 9 characters, no problems such as missing dots occurred in the recorded characters. Furthermore, it was found that when the thermal head of this example was used as a so-called thermal transfer type in which recording is performed on a recording paper via a thermal transfer ink ribbon, extremely excellent durability was similarly observed.

Furthermore, when recording was performed using so-called type paper with a rough surface as recording paper, the thermal head of this example had extremely superior durability performance compared to conventional thermal heads. That is, compared to printing using the conventional thermal head, in which printing defects occurred after 30 million characters, in printing using the thermal head of this embodiment, no printing defects occurred after printing 30 million characters. There wasn't.

Example 2: The raw material gas was CH4/A r=0, 5 (capacity ratio),
SiH4/Ar gas, 1 (volume ratio) and GeF4/A
A heating resistor layer having the same thickness was deposited in the same manner as in Example 1 except that r gas and 05 (capacity ratio) were used.

Next, when a thermal head was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 and electrical pulse signals were input, the heating resistive element was not destroyed even when the electrical pulse signal input reached 1910 times. Further, no change in resistance value was observed.

Next, in the same manner as in Example 1, printing was performed on thermal recording paper, further printing was performed as a thermal transfer type, and further printing was performed on type paper, and as in Example 1, sufficient durability was obtained. It was confirmed that

Example 3: A heating resistor layer of the same thickness was deposited in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the SiH4/Ar gas flow rate and the GeF4/AT gas flow rate were kept constant and the discharge power was continuously varied.

Next, when a thermal heater was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 and an electrical pulse signal was input, the heating resistive element was not destroyed even when the electrical pulse signal input reached 1XloLO times. Further, no change in resistance value was observed.

Next, in the same manner as in Example 1, printing was performed on thermal recording paper, further printing was performed as a thermal transfer type, and further printing was performed on type paper, and as in Example 1, sufficient durability was obtained. It was confirmed that

Example 4: A heating resistor layer with the same thickness was deposited in the same manner as in Example 2, except that the SiF4/Ar gas flow rate and G e H4/Ar gas flow rate were kept constant and the discharge power was continuously varied. did. .

Next, when a thermal head was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 2 and an electrical pulse signal was input, the heating resistive element was not destroyed even when the electrical pulse signal input reached 1XloIO times. Further, no change in resistance value was observed.

Next, in the same manner as in Example 2, printing was performed on thermal recording paper, further printing was performed as a thermal transfer type, and further printing was performed on type paper, and as in Example 2, sufficient durability was obtained. It was confirmed that

[Effect of the Invention 1 According to the present invention as described above, an amorphous material made of carbon atoms as a matrix and containing silicon atoms, germanium atoms, halogen atoms, and hydrogen atoms is used as the heating resistance layer. Accordingly, a thermal recording head having extremely good thermal responsiveness, thermal conductivity, heat resistance and/or durability, as well as chemical resistance and flexibility is provided. Also, in particular, according to one invention,
A thermal recording head having an excellent heat generation resistance layer with good wear resistance and/or a low coefficient of friction is provided.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the content of silicon atoms, germanium atoms, halogen atoms, and/or hydrogen atoms in one heat generating resistor layer is distributed unevenly in the film thickness direction, so that heat storage and heat dissipation properties are improved. Various properties such as adhesion between the resistive layer and the resistive layer can be easily achieved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial plan view of the thermal recording head of the present invention;
The figure is a sectional view taken along line ■-■. 3 to 8 are graphs showing the distribution of the content of silicon atoms, germanium atoms, halogen atoms, and/or hydrogen atoms in the heating resistance layer. 9 and 10 are partial cross-sectional views of the thermal recording head of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an apparatus used for manufacturing the thermal recording head of the present invention. 2: Substrate 4: Heating resistance layer 6.7: Electrode 1101: Deposition chamber 1137: Substrate Representative Patent Attorney Jo Taira Yamashita Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 7 Figure 10 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5'' Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8

Claims (8)

[Claims] (1) In a thermal recording head in which at least one set of a heating resistance layer and at least one pair of electrodes electrically connected to the heating resistance layer is formed on a substrate, the heating resistance layer has carbon atoms as a matrix. The heating resistance layer is made of an amorphous material containing silicon atoms, germanium atoms, halogen atoms, and hydrogen atoms, and the silicon atoms, germanium atoms, halogen atoms, and/or hydrogen atoms are nonuniform in the film thickness direction. A thermal recording head characterized in that the thermal recording head is distributed over the area. (2) The content of silicon atoms in the heating resistance layer is 0.
The thermal recording head of claim 1, wherein the thermal recording head has a content of 0,001 to 40 atom %. (3) The content of germanium atoms in the heating resistance layer is 0.0001 to 40 at%, Claim 1
Thermal recording head. (4) The content of halogen atoms in the heating resistance layer is 0.
The thermal recording head of claim 1, wherein the thermal recording head has a content of 0,001 to 30 at. (5) Hydrogen atom content in the heating resistance layer is 0.00
The thermal recording head of claim 1, wherein the thermal recording head has a content of 0.01 to 30 atom %. (6) The sum of the silicon atom content, germanium atom content, halogen atom content, and hydrogen atom content in the heating resistance layer is 0.0001 to 40 atomic %;
A thermal recording head according to claim 1. (7) The thermal recording head according to claim 1, wherein the halogen atom is F or C1. (8) The thermal recording head according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has a surface layer made of an amorphous material containing carbon atoms as a matrix on the side on which the heating resistance layer is formed.