KR100976204B1 - Ink-jet head and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An inkjet head and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed. A reservoir for storing ink, an inlet port through which ink is supplied to the reservoir, a chamber for receiving ink from the reservoir, a restrictor connecting the reservoir and the chamber, a nozzle for discharging ink, and an interposition between the chamber and the nozzle A method of manufacturing an inkjet head comprising a damper portion, the method comprising: machining one surface of a first SOI substrate to correspond to the nozzle; Machining the other surface of the first SOI substrate so as to correspond to the damper portion; Machining one surface of a second SOI substrate so as to correspond to the chamber and the restrictor; Processing the other surface of the second SOI substrate to correspond to the inlet; Processing a glass substrate so as to correspond to the reservoir and the damper portion; And bonding the first SOI substrate and the second SOI substrate through the glass substrate. The inkjet head manufacturing method may stably secure the length of the nozzle in a simple process and expect improved printing quality. have.

Inkjet, Head, SOI Board, Nozzle

Description

Inkjet head and manufacturing method thereof

The present invention relates to an inkjet head and a method of manufacturing the same.

The inkjet head uses a principle that converts an electrical signal into a physical force so that ink is ejected in the form of droplets through a small nozzle. The inkjet head is manufactured by processing various components such as a chamber, a restrictor, a nozzle, a damper, and the like on each layer, and then bonding the processed layers to each other. The inkjet technology is not only used in the graphic inkjet industry for printing on paper and textiles, but also recently, the use of inkjet technology has been expanded to manufacture electronic components such as print-based and LCD panels.

However, the inkjet printing technology for electronic components, which requires accurate and precise ejection of functional inks compared to conventional graphic printing, requires functions not required in the conventional inkjet head. For example, variations in the size and speed of discharge droplets are basically required, and in addition, high nozzle density and high frequency characteristics are required to increase production.

Conventional inkjet heads are made mainly of stainless steel (SUS), high-temperature ceramics and single crystal silicon. In the case of SUS, it is necessary to manufacture using a mold, so design change is not easy, so the head of a single crystal silicon material is receiving attention recently. In the production method using single crystal silicon wafers, elements having respective functions are processed into two or three wafers separately and bonded.

Processing of the inkjet head nozzle made of such a silicon wafer is made by dry etching using plasma. That is, first, the damper part is processed and then the nozzle part is processed. According to such a processing method, not only the length of the nozzle is already determined when the damper portion is processed, but also the processing depth varies due to the different processing speed depending on the plasma density distribution.

As described above, when the processing is performed under an equipment with an unbalanced plasma density and etching conditions, there is a considerable variation in the length of the nozzle which has the greatest influence on the discharge characteristics in the inkjet head.

The present invention provides an inkjet head and a manufacturing method capable of stably securing the length of a nozzle in a simple process and expecting improved print quality.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a reservoir for storing ink, an inlet for supplying ink to the reservoir, a chamber for receiving ink from the reservoir, a restrictor for connecting the reservoir and the chamber, a nozzle for discharging ink, and A method of manufacturing an inkjet head comprising a damper portion interposed between the chamber and the nozzle,

Machining one surface of the first SOI substrate so as to correspond to the nozzle; Machining the other surface of the first SOI substrate so as to correspond to the damper portion; Machining one surface of a second SOI substrate so as to correspond to the chamber and the restrictor; Processing the other surface of the second SOI substrate to correspond to the inlet; Processing a glass substrate so as to correspond to the reservoir and the damper portion; And bonding the first SOI substrate and the second SOI substrate through the glass substrate.

The nozzle may include an inclined portion connected to the damper portion, and a straight portion connected to the inclined portion, and the processing of one surface of the first SOI substrate may be performed by a dry reactive ion etching (DRIE) process. Can be performed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a reservoir for storing ink, an inlet port through which ink is supplied to the reservoir, a chamber for receiving ink from the reservoir, a restrictor for connecting the reservoir and the chamber, a nozzle for discharging ink, and An inkjet head comprising a damper portion interposed between the chamber and the nozzle.

A first SOI substrate having a nozzle formed on a lower surface thereof and a portion of the damper portion formed on an upper surface thereof; A glass substrate bonded to an upper surface of the first SOI substrate and having a portion of the damper portion and the reservoir formed thereon; And a second SOI substrate bonded to an upper surface of the glass substrate, on which a chamber and the restrictor are formed, and an inlet formed on an upper surface thereof.

In this case, the nozzle may include an inclined portion connected to the damper portion, and a straight portion connected to the inclined portion.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the length of the nozzle can be stably secured by a simple process, and improved printing quality can be expected.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all transformations, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an inkjet head and a method of manufacturing the same according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding components are given the same reference numbers Duplicate description thereof will be omitted.

First, an inkjet head manufacturing method according to an aspect of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

1 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of an inkjet head manufacturing method according to an aspect of the present invention, Figures 2 to 9 is a process chart showing an embodiment of an inkjet head manufacturing method according to an aspect of the present invention. 2 to 10, the first SOI substrate 10, the silicon layers 11 and 12, the insulating layer 13, the nozzle 15, the inclined portion 15a, the straight portion 15b, and the mask ( 20, 30, openings 22, 32, dampers 17, 44, glass substrate 40, reservoir 42, second SOI substrate 50, chamber 52, diaphragm 54, inlet 56, the restrictor 58 is shown.

Before describing the inkjet head manufacturing method according to the present embodiment in detail, the components of the above-described inkjet head will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 10.

The chamber 52 accommodates ink, and when pressure is applied by an actuator (not shown) formed on the upper surface of the diaphragm 54, the contained ink moves in the direction of the nozzle 15 so that the ink can be discharged. Means.

The reservoir 42 is a means for receiving ink from the outside through an inlet 56 or the like and storing the ink, and supplying ink to the chamber 52 described above.

The restrictor 58 communicates the reservoir 42 and the chamber 52 described above, and is a means for controlling the flow of ink generated between the reservoir 42 and the chamber 52. The restrictor 58 is formed to have a smaller cross-sectional area than the reservoir 42 and the chamber 52, and is supplied from the reservoir 42 to the chamber 52 when the diaphragm 54 vibrates by an actuator (not shown). The amount of ink to be adjusted can be adjusted.

The nozzle 15 is connected to the chamber 52 to receive the adhesive ink from the chamber 52 and to spray the adhesive ink. When the vibration generated by the actuator is transmitted to the chamber 52 through the diaphragm 54, pressure is applied to the chamber 52, and the nozzle 15 can eject ink by this pressure.

Meanwhile, damper portions 17 and 44 are formed between the chamber 52 and the nozzle 15 described above. The damper unit may perform a function of concentrating energy generated in the chamber 52 toward the nozzle 15 and buffering a sudden pressure change.

In order to form the above-described components, the present embodiment proposes a method using two SOI substrates 10 and 50 and one glass substrate 40. That is, the above-described components are formed by dividing the SOI substrates 10 and 50 and the glass substrate 40 into two sheets, and then bonding them to manufacture an inkjet head. Hereinafter, this will be described in more detail.

First, one surface of the first SOI substrate 10 is processed to correspond to the nozzle 15 (S110). That is, as shown in FIG. 2, a first SOI substrate 10 having a form in which an insulating layer 13 such as SiO ₂ is interposed between the silicon layers 11 and 12 is prepared, and then shown in FIG. 3. As described above, the mask 15 is formed by arranging the mask 20 in which the portion on which the nozzle 15 is to be formed is selectively opened 22 on the lower silicon layer, and then selectively etching the open portion to form the nozzle 15. When the nozzle 15 is formed using the SOI substrate 10, the insulating layer 13 positioned between the upper and lower silicon layers 11 and 12 may function as an etch stop. The length of the nozzle 15 can be secured stably.

That is, regardless of the environment of the process of processing the nozzle 15, the length of the nozzle 15 can be determined according to the thickness of the lower silicon layer 11, corresponding to the length of the nozzle 15 to be formed By preparing the SOI substrate 10 having the lower silicon layer 11 having a thickness, it is possible to secure a stable length of the nozzle 15 regardless of various process environments.

As such, a method of processing the lower surface of the first SOI substrate 10 may use a dry reactive ion etching (DRIE) process, which is advantageous for vertical shape control.

Then, the other surface of the first SOI substrate 10 is processed to correspond to the damper portion 17 (S120). That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the mask 30 having the region corresponding to the damper portion 17 is selectively opened 32 is disposed on the upper silicon layer 12, and then the open portion is etched. will be. The upper silicon layer 12 is machined such that a portion 17 of the damper portion and the nozzle 15 communicate with each other.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the nozzle 15 formed by processing the lower silicon layer 11 includes an inclined portion 15a and an inclined portion 15a connected to the damper portion 17. It may be made of a straight portion 15b connected to. That is, the angle of the interface between the nozzle 15 and the damper portion is formed at an obtuse angle. Through such an obtuse structure, it is possible to reduce the possibility of microbubbles being formed at the interface between the nozzle 15 and the damper portion 17. Further, by forming only part of the nozzle 15 as the inclined surface 15a and forming the remaining part as the straight surface 15b, the straightness of the ejected ink can also be ensured. Based on the above, it is possible to expect the effect of improving the quality of printing.

In order to form the inclined portion 15a, when the dry reactive ion etching (DRIE) process is used, ions are charged to the insulating layer 13 of the SOI substrate 10, and thus, the silicon layer 11 is removed. It is possible to use a method to cause notch phenomenon at the end. That is, even after the processing of the straight region of the nozzle 15 is completed, the dry reactive ion etching (DRIE) process is continuously performed, whereby repulsion occurs between the charges charged on the insulating layer 13 and the charges supplied for the processing. In this way, a notch phenomenon occurs at the end of the silicon layer 11. This principle is shown in FIG.

Then, one surface of the second SOI substrate 50 is processed to correspond to the chamber 52 and the restrictor 58 (S130), and the other surface of the second SOI substrate 50 to correspond to the inlet 56. Process (S140). In the same manner as the above-described first SOI substrate 10, the two sides of the second SOI substrate 50 are processed respectively to form the chamber 52, the restrictor 58, and the inlet port 56. will be.

Separately, the glass substrate 40 is processed to correspond to the reservoir 42 and the damper portion 44 (S150).

Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the first SOI substrate 10 and the second SOI substrate 50 are bonded to each other via the glass substrate 40 (S160). The inkjet head is formed by bonding the first SOI substrate 10, the second SOI substrate 50, and the glass substrate 40 formed by dividing the components of the inkjet head through the above-described process.

When the glass substrate 40 is disposed and bonded between two SOI substrates 10 and 50 as in this embodiment, the anodic bonding between the silicon and the glass can be realized at each bonding surface, thereby providing a firm bonding force. Based on this, improved product reliability can be expected.

As shown in FIG. 10, two SOI substrates 10 and 50 and one glass substrate 40 are bonded to each other.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be understood that the invention may be varied and varied without departing from the scope of the invention.

Many embodiments other than the above-described embodiments are within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

1 is a flow chart showing a method of manufacturing an inkjet head according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 to 10 is a view showing each step of the inkjet head manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: first SOI substrate 11, 12: silicon layer

13: insulation layer 15: nozzle

15a: inclined portion 15b: straight portion

20, 30: mask 22, 32: opening

17, 44: damper portion 40: glass substrate

42: reservoir 50: second SOI substrate

52: chamber 54: diaphragm

56: inlet 58: restrictor

Claims (5)

A reservoir for storing ink, an inlet port through which ink is supplied to the reservoir, a chamber for receiving ink from the reservoir, a restrictor connecting the reservoir and the chamber, a nozzle for discharging ink, and an interposition between the chamber and the nozzle A method of manufacturing an inkjet head comprising a damper portion, Machining one surface of the first SOI substrate so as to correspond to the nozzle; Machining the other surface of the first SOI substrate so as to correspond to the damper portion; Machining one surface of a second SOI substrate so as to correspond to the chamber and the restrictor; Processing the other surface of the second SOI substrate to correspond to the inlet; Processing a glass substrate so as to correspond to the reservoir and the damper portion; And Bonding the first SOI substrate and the second SOI substrate through the glass substrate. The method of claim 1, The nozzle, An inclined portion connected to the damper portion, and Inkjet head manufacturing method comprising a straight portion connected to the inclined portion. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The process of fabricating one surface of the first SOI substrate may be performed by a dry reactive ion etching (DRIE) process. A reservoir for storing ink, an inlet port through which ink is supplied to the reservoir, a chamber for receiving ink from the reservoir, a restrictor connecting the reservoir and the chamber, a nozzle for discharging ink, and an interposition between the chamber and the nozzle An inkjet head comprising a damper portion, A first SOI substrate having a nozzle formed on a lower surface thereof and a portion of the damper portion formed on an upper surface thereof; A glass substrate bonded to an upper surface of the first SOI substrate and having a portion of the damper portion and the reservoir formed thereon; And And a second SOI substrate bonded to an upper surface of the glass substrate, on which a chamber and the restrictor are formed, and an inlet formed on an upper surface of the glass substrate. The method of claim 4, wherein The nozzle, An inclined portion connected to the damper portion, and And a straight portion connected to the inclined portion.

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