KR19990067769A - A piezoelectric impulse ink-jet printhead and a method for fabricating the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ultrafine ink jet printer head using a piezoelectric material and a manufacturing method thereof. In the inkjet printer head using the piezoelectric material according to the present invention, the nozzle, the common ink flow path and the ink injection channel are formed integrally with the pressure chamber using Si, and the bulkhead structure of the pressure chamber is inclined by using a bulk Si wafer. By concentrating the pressure wave toward the nozzle, there is less pressure wave loss inside the pressure chamber.

Description

A piezoelectric impulse ink-jet printhead and a method for fabricating the same}

The present invention relates to an ink jet printer head using a piezoelectric material and a manufacturing method thereof.

Conventionally, a thermal bubble jet printer head has been mainly used as a print head. Thermal bubble jet (Cannon & HP basic patent) is a method of ejecting ink by generating bubbles as heat. Instantaneous current flows through the heat conversion film in direct contact with the ink inside the printhead to generate heat due to the intrinsic resistance of the heat conversion film. This heat is transferred to the ink in contact with the heat conversion film so that the water-soluble ink rapidly rises above the boiling point. When the temperature of the ink rises above the boiling point, bubbles are formed, and the formed bubbles apply pressure to the surrounding ink. The pressurized ink is ejected through the nozzle due to the pressure difference from the atmospheric pressure. At this time, the ejected ink is ejected to the ground while forming ink drops to minimize the surface energy inherent in the ink. This process is called drop-on-demand, which uses a computer to operate whenever needed.

At the moment when the bubbles disappear after the bubbles are generated in the thermal bubble jet, the high curvature of the smaller bubbles increases the impact of the bubbles on the protective film on the thermal conversion film, resulting in cavitation damage. Is generated. For this reason, there are many restrictions on extending the life of the print head. In addition, since the ink is ejected only when bubbles are generated, the ink must be boiled at an appropriate temperature, so only ink that can boil at such an appropriate temperature can be used. Due to the physical properties of these inks, there are not many kinds of inks that can be used in thermal bubble jets. The limiting factor in the use of ink results in narrowing the application of the thermal bubble jet itself, such as thermal bubble jets being primarily confined to desktop publications.

In addition, due to the high heat generated when bubbles are generated, the organic additives of the ink tend to react with the protective film located on the heat conversion film and adsorb to the protective film. These adsorbates interfere with heat transfer, so that the heat generated in the heat conversion film is not effectively transferred to the ink. Therefore, even if a sufficient amount of heat to generate bubbles is generated by the heat conversion film, in some cases, the adsorbents formed on the protective film are not sufficiently transferred to the ink, so that the ink cannot be ejected normally.

On the other hand, what has been proposed to solve the above problems is a printer head using a piezoelectric material of the non-heating method. However, ink jet printer heads using piezoelectric materials are generally limited in their use due to the cost increase resulting from complex assembly processes despite the excellent performance due to the assembly process due to the characteristics of piezoelectric materials.

That is, Piezo-electrinc impulse ink-jet is a printing method using a phenomenon that the volume changes when the piezoelectric element receives an electric field momentarily. When the piezoelectric element instantaneously changes its volume, it transmits a pressure wave to the ink, which travels to the nozzle at a speed of sound. Therefore, the nozzle ejects ink by the difference between the delivered pressure and atmospheric pressure. Various design examples using this principle have been published (Ulmann's encyclopedia of industrial chemistry).

First, in the Xaar method, grooves are formed through mechanical processing on piezo-electric plates sintered in a manufacturing process to form flow paths through which ink flows. An electrode, a nozzle plate, a protective film, etc. are additionally formed in the piezoelectric plate in which the flow path was formed, and a printer head is manufactured. Piezoelectric plates are generally manufactured after the separation process and after the sintering process, and are made in the form of irregular aggregates of regular particles. When mechanically processing a piezoelectric plate to form an ink flow path, the amorphous piezoelectric plate irregularly pulls out particles. Particles where the particles are lost become voids in the piezoelectric material, which are theoretically cracked crack centers under low stress. As a result, production yields are significantly lower and production costs rise.

Next, the Epson Push Rod Design method is used in the form of a plurality of rods by mechanically processing a piezoelectric plate composed of multiple layers. Each bar is connected to a diaphragm at the top of the bar, which vibrates as the piezoelectric bar receives an electric field and changes its volume. Such a print head undergoes a considerable number of assembling processes, and even when the assembly is performed, ink droplets are not discharged uniformly unless precise assembly is required, so a high precision assembling process is required. This high precision assembly process increases the cost and also increases the packing density of the nozzle because the rod is mechanically used.

In the Epson Kyser method (patent), the diaphragm and the ink flow path are made of ZrO ₂ . In general, chemical bonds forming ceramic materials are weakly deformable because they are formed by ionic bonding, and must be subjected to a high temperature process because a material having desired physical properties is obtained by heating at a high temperature. Formability is also very weak and difficult to wet etch due to strong ionic bonds. Polycrystalline is usually used because it is difficult to obtain a sufficiently large form with a single crystal. However, in the case of polycrystalline, since the particles are irregularly distributed, it is difficult to perform uniformly when wet etching. Therefore, if the process control is not very precise, it is difficult to realize the uniformity of the printhead, and the precision process is accompanied, so that the production yield is significantly lowered. This approach has the disadvantage of easily increasing production costs due to this low production yield.

1 is a sectional view of a laminated ink jet recording head described in European Patent No. 0 659 562 A2. As shown, the laminated inkjet recording head basically comprises a nozzle plate 101 on which a nozzle 100 is formed, three communicating hole forming boards 201a, 201b, and 201c, and a pressure generating chamber forming board 301. ) And the diaphragm 400 are sequentially laminated (laminated) structure. In the pressure generating chamber 300, the ink stored in the ink storage container 800 is temporarily stored in the storage chamber 600a after passing through the inlet 700, and then filled through the ink inlet 600c and the communication hole 600b. Ink provided from an external ink container flows into the ink storage container 800 through the filter 900. The piezoelectric vibrator 500 is attached to the diaphragm 400 to generate pressure in the ink filled in the pressure generating chamber 300 according to a voltage signal applied thereto. The pressurized ink is discharged through the nozzle 100 through the communicating holes 200a, 200b, and 200c. However, in the inkjet recording head having such a structure, since the nozzle 100 and the ink injection hole 600c are together on the surface facing the diaphragm 400, the discharge pressure of the ink due to the vibration of the diaphragm 400 is divided. This exists. That is, since the pressure through which the ink is discharged through the nozzle 100 is transferred to the ink injection hole 600c, the phenomenon in which the ink injected into the pressure generating chamber 300 flows back easily occurs.

The present invention was devised to improve the above problems, and the structure and the manufacturing process are simplified as much as possible by integrating a nozzle and an ink flow path and directly attaching or forming a piezoelectric material to a diaphragm, and ink backflow during ink ejection. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material that prevents the phenomenon as much as possible and a method of manufacturing the same.

1 is a vertical sectional view of a conventional laminated inkjet recording head,

2 is a schematic perspective plan view of the inkjet printer head using the piezoelectric material according to the present invention as viewed from the nozzle face;

3 is a schematic perspective plan view of the inkjet printer head using the piezoelectric material of FIG. 2 as viewed from a diaphragm having a piezoelectric plate formed thereon;

4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a cross section taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 3,

5A to 5O are vertical cross-sectional views showing cross-sections after the step-by-step processing of the inkjet printer head using the piezoelectric material according to the present invention.

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

1. pressure chamber 2. nozzle

3. ink feed-in channel 4. common manifold

5. Main ink flow path 6. Upper electrode

7. Piezoelectric Plate 8. Common electrode

9. Diaphragm 10. SiO ₂ thin film

11.Si substrate 12.SiO ₂ thin film

13. Si thin film (nozzle plate) 14. SiO ₂ thin film (ink spreading prevention film)

15. Diffusion barrier

The inkjet printer head using the piezoelectric material according to the present invention for achieving the above object, the nozzle plate and the diaphragm are formed on both sides of the bulk silicon substrate on which the pressure chamber and the common ink flow path are formed with one partition therebetween. An ink inflow channel is formed integrally so that the nozzle of the nozzle plate and the piezoelectric plate attached to the outside of the diaphragm are opposed to each other with the pressure chamber interposed therebetween, and the partition wall allows ink of the common ink flow path to flow into the pressure chamber. Characterized in that formed.

In the present invention, the ink inflow channel is formed in contact with the diaphragm, the nozzle plate is formed of monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon, the diaphragm is formed of monocrystalline silicon, and the diaphragm includes ink of a main ink bottle in the common ink. Injection holes for injecting into the flow path are formed, and SiO ₂ films are further formed on the upper surfaces of both partition walls in the pressure chamber, on the upper surfaces of the partition walls of the common ink flow path, and on both surfaces of the nozzle plate. The size of the ink inflow channel is formed larger than the diameter of the nozzle, the diameter of the nozzle is formed in the range of 20 ~ 50㎛, the size of the ink inflow channel is formed to 50㎛ or more, the pressure of the chamber The inclination of both walls is formed to have an inclination of 30 ° to 40 ° with respect to the vertical plane of the nozzle plate, so that the more toward the diaphragm. It is formed so as to open, the size of the pressure chamber is 200㎛ gap between the nozzle plate and the diaphragm, and the partition wall spacing of the nozzle plate side of the gap between the two partition walls of the pressure chamber is formed to 100㎛, the piezoelectric plate is It is formed of Pb (Zr _x Ti _1-x ) O ₃ , the lower common electrode and the upper electrode are formed on each side of the piezoelectric plate, respectively, the lower common electrode is preferably formed of a conductive paste or formed by a metal deposition method In addition, the Si ₃ N ₄ or ZrO ₂ diffusion barrier is further formed between the vibration plate and the piezoelectric plate.

In addition, the production method of the W ink jet printer head using a piezoelectric material according to the present invention for achieving the above object, comprises: (a) forming each of the bulk silicon substrate on both sides in the SiO ₂ film of the upper surface of the one side SiO ₂ film Forming a Si layer for a nozzle plate; (B) A predetermined pattern is formed on the other SiO ₂ film, and the bulk silicon substrate corresponding to the ink inflow channel, the common ink flow path and the pressure chamber is formed by the depth of the ink inflow channel using the SiO ₂ pattern as a mask. Etching; (C) removing the SiO ₂ pattern mask; (D) again forming an SiO ₂ film over the upper surface of the etched portion and the other side of the bulk silicon from which the SiO ₂ pattern mask is removed; (E) patterning the again formed SiO ₂ film to remove the SiO ₂ film formed in a portion where the pressure chamber and the common ink flow path are to be formed; (F) etching the bulk silicon substrate using the patterned SiO ₂ film as a mask to form the pressure chamber and the common ink flow path; (G) a step of coating an inner wall and an ink injection channel an upper surface of the inner wall of the pressure chamber and the common ink passage to the SiO ₂ film is formed SiO ₂ in order to prevent mutual chemical reactions between the ink and the Si; (H) forming a first hole to expose the Si layer for the nozzle plate by etching a predetermined region in the ink chamber among regions of SiO ₂ films formed on the one side using a laser to form a nozzle; (I) wet etching the Si layer exposed by the first hole to form a nozzle; (D) attaching a previously secured Si diaphragm to the nozzle plate opposing surface of the structure formed by the above processes; And (k) forming a piezoelectric structure on the Si diaphragm.

In the present invention, in the step (a), the Si layer for the nozzle plate is formed of single crystal or polycrystalline silicon, and in step (b), the SiO ₂ pattern is formed by photolithography using a photosensitive polymer. An HF solution is used, and a KOH solution is used as an etching solution in the process of etching the bulk silicon, and the SiO ₂ film formed again in the step (e) is patterned by photolithography, and in the step (bar), A KOH solution is used as an etchant to etch the substrate, and the laser used in the step (a) is an excimer laser, and the KOH solution is used as the Si layer etchant in the step (r), and the (step) and (difference) ) between the step forming a film by spreading the deposited SiO ₂ in order to prevent the nozzle is an aqueous ink to spread on the surface Si layer formed Further, in the step (d), the attachment of the Si diaphragm is performed by an anode bonding method or a high temperature heating method, and the step (ka) is performed by (ka-1) of the piezoelectric material upon sintering on the Si diaphragm. Forming a diffusion barrier layer to prevent diffusion; (K-2) a sub step of coating a conductive paste for a lower common electrode on the diffusion barrier layer; (K-3) a sub step of attaching a piezoelectric plate on the conductive paste; (C-4) sub-sintering the piezoelectric plate; And (Ka-5) a sub-step of forming an upper electrode on the piezoelectric plate, wherein the diffusion barrier layer is formed of Si ₃ N ₄ or ZrO ₂ in the (K-1) sub-step. -3) In the sub-step, the piezoelectric plate is made of lead-zirconium-titanate, and is attached without being fired by screen printing. In the sub-step (K-4), the sintering temperature is 1000 ° C or less. Preferably, in the step (ka), the step (ka-1) is eliminated, the piezoelectric plate sintered in the step (ka-3) is attached onto the conductive paste, and the (ka-4) sub It is also desirable to eliminate the steps.

Hereinafter, an inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material according to the present invention and a manufacturing method thereof will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective plan view of the inkjet printer head using the piezoelectric material according to the present invention as viewed from the nozzle face. This figure shows the structure of the ink flow channel and the position of the nozzle from the nozzle face of the printhead. An ink flow channel of a head manufactured using a silicon on insulator (SOI) is manufactured by etching a silicon substrate. A reference numeral 1 denotes a pressure chamber positioned below the piezoelectric plate (see FIG. 3), a reference numeral 2 denotes a nozzle through which ink is discharged, and a reference numeral 3 denotes an ink injection channel for supplying ink to the pressure chamber 1. (ink feed-in channel), reference numeral 4 denotes a common ink manifold for supplying ink through the ink injection channel 3 to each of the pressure chambers 1 located below the piezoelectric plate (see FIG. 3). And reference numeral 5 denotes holes of the flow path or diaphragm for supplying ink from the ink bottle to the common ink flow path 4.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective plan view of the inkjet printer head using the piezoelectric material of FIG. 2 as viewed from a diaphragm having a piezoelectric plate. This figure mainly shows the structure of the ink flow path as seen from the diaphragm of the printer head, the piezoelectric plate and the arrangement of the upper and lower electrodes. Here, members 1, 3, 4, and 5 represent elements as described in FIG. 2, wherein member 6 is an upper electrode, member 7 is a piezoelectric plate, and member 8 is a common electrode formed under the piezoelectric plate ( common electrode).

4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a cross section taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 3. This figure shows in detail the structure of the thin films as a cross-sectional view in the y direction of the coordinates shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown, the inkjet printer head using the piezoelectric material according to the present invention basically includes a pressure chamber 1, an ink feed-in channel 3, and a common ink flow path 4. SiO ₂ or Si ₃ N ₄ thin film to form the SiO ₂ or Si ₃ N ₄ thin films are formed, (10, 12), the nozzle (2) on both sides of the bulk Si substrate 11 for chamber space is formed in order to form The Si thin film 13 and the SiO ₂ thin film 14 are formed on (12). And Si diaphragm 9 for generating the pressure which causes the ink in the pressure chamber 1 to discharge through the nozzle 2 is formed on the surface which opposes a nozzle. On the upper surface of the Si diaphragm 9, a piezoelectric element formed of the upper electrode 6, the piezoelectric plate 7, and the lower electrode 8 for vibrating the diaphragm 9 is attached. In some cases, a diffusion barrier 15 formed of Si ₃ N ₄ or ZrO ₂ may be inserted between the diaphragm 9 and the lower electrode 8 to prevent diffusion of the piezoelectric material when the piezoelectric plate 7 is formed. Here, the piezoelectric plate 7 is made of PbZrTi (lead zirconium titanate) compound, in particular Pb (Zr _x Ti _1-x ) O ₃ . Particularly, the bulk silicon substrate 11 uses (100) surface bulk silicon. The ink chamber 1 has a size of about 200 μm between the nozzle plate surface and the diaphragm surface, and the space between both wall surfaces of the nozzle plate side. An interval of about 100 μm, and the pressure generated by the vibration of the diaphragm 9 is transferred to the nozzle 2 as much as possible, so that the ink chamber 1 is manufactured as follows.

First, the ink injection channel 3 is arranged to be in contact with the diaphragm 9 so that the pressure of the diaphragm vibrating in the vertical direction is transmitted toward the ink injection channel 3 to prevent the ink from flowing back as much as possible.

Secondly, the aperture of the ink injection channel 3 is set to 50 µm or more, which is the aperture of the nozzle 2, so that a sufficient amount of ink flows into the ejected ink.

Third, both wall surfaces of the pressure chamber 1 formed by etching the bulk Si substrate 11 are opened toward the diaphragm 9 in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the Si nozzle plate 13 and at an inclination of about 30 ° to 40 °. Forming so that the pressure by the diaphragm 9 is concentrated towards the nozzle 2. When the (100) plane bulk Si substrate 11 is used, both wall surfaces of the pressure chamber 1 have an inclination of about 35.26 ° with the vertical direction of the plane of the nozzle plate 13.

As described above, the inkjet printer head using the piezoelectric material according to the present invention has a structure in which the nozzle 2, the common ink flow passage 4 and the ink injection channel 3 are formed integrally with the pressure chamber 1 using Si. Can be made simple but its size is small. In addition, the piezoelectric plate 7 processes the piezoelectric material in a simple form and attaches it to the diaphragm 9 or forms a pattern of the piezoelectric material directly on the diaphragm 9 and sinters it directly on the diaphragm 9. Is produced by. In the latter case, a diffusion barrier 15 is inserted between the diaphragm 9 and the lower electrode 8 to prevent the piezoelectric material material from diffusing into the diaphragm 9 when the piezoelectric material is sintered.

An inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material having the above structure is manufactured as follows.

In the inkjet printer head using the piezoelectric material according to the present invention, the nozzle and the ink flow path are integrally formed with the pressure chamber using a silicon-on-insulator (SOI), and the piezoelectric plate is processed into a vibrating plate by processing the piezoelectric material in a simple form. It is produced by attaching or forming a pattern of piezoelectric material directly on the vibration plate and sintering it directly on the vibration plate 9. A wet etching method is used in the nozzle and ink flow path forming process. This is a well known and economic way. By introducing a micro-fabrication process applied to such Si, there is an advantage of widening the range of the print head design, manufacturing costs can be reduced, and the print head can be manufactured precisely. This means that it is possible to economically produce a print head capable of producing high-resolution prints. Such a manufacturing method will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5O.

First, a process for forming an ink feed-in channel for supplying ink to the pressure chamber and the pressure chamber through bulk etching, which corresponds to an ink feed-in channel. For complete etching of the part, it is necessary to form an etching pattern (Pattern) as shown in Figure 5a. In FIG. 5A, SiO ₂ thin films 10a and 12 are coated on both surfaces of the (100) plane bulk Si substrate 11, respectively. Here, the SiO ₂ thin films 10a and 12 used as the etch stop layer may be formed of a Si ₃ N ₄ thin film. Next, an upper surface of the SiO ₂ thin film 12 is coated with a Si thin film for forming a nozzle or a previously prepared Si thin plate is sealed, and a photoresist is coated on the SiO ₂ thin film 10a on the opposite surface. Afterwards, UV light is exposed to the ink feed-in channel and the ink chamber. Subsequently, when the exposed portion is removed, portions corresponding to the ink feed-in channel and the ink chamber are exposed.

Next, an ink injection channel and etching the exposed SiO ₂ layer (10a) to form a SiO ₂ pattern (10b), and the SiO ₂ pattern (10b) as a mask, as shown in Figure 5b (ink feed- in-channel) and portions of the Si substrate corresponding to the ink chamber are etched to the depth of the ink injection channel. At this time, the exposed SiO ₂ layer 10a portion is wet etched using a water-soluble HF solution. The chemical reactions involved are as follows.

SiO ₂ + ₆ HF → H ₂ SiF ₆ + 2H ₂ O

When the SiO ₂ layer 10 reaches the Si substrate 11 as the etching proceeds, the etching of the Si substrate 11 proceeds at a relatively slow speed, so Si is an etch barrier in the SiO ₂ etching process using HF aqueous solution. Semiconductor integrated circuit processing technology, WR Runyan, KE Bean, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company Inc., 1990, New York, USA. If the Si ₃ N ₄ layer 10 is formed instead of the SiO ₂ layer as an etch stop layer, etching is performed by reactive ion etching. The bulk Si substrate 11 is etched using KOH aqueous solution. The chemical reactions involved in the etching of Si atoms are:

Si + H ₂ O + 2KOH → K ₂ SiO ₃ + 2H ₂

During Si wet etching process, SiO ₂ is hardly etched (e.g., when etching solution containing KOH 250 grams, Normal Propanol 200 grams, H ₂ O 800 grams), Si is etched at a rate of 1 μm per minute at 80 degrees Celsius. SiO ₂ is etched at 20 kW / min, Semiconductor integrated circuit processing technology, WR Runyan, KE Bean, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company Inc., 1990, New York, USA) In etching, SiO ₂ serves as an etch barrier.

Next, as shown in Figure 5c, the etching mask SiO ₂ or Si ₃ N ₄ pattern (10b) is removed by etching.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5D, the SiO ₂ layer 10c is again coated. This is necessary to form a mask pattern for etching an Si substrate for forming a pressure chamber and a common ink manifold.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5E, the SiO ₂ layer 10c is etched using a photolithograpy process as in FIGS. 5A and 5B to form a pressure chamber and a common ink manifold. An etching SiO ₂ pattern 10d is formed. The SiO ₂ applied on the upper surface of the ink feed-in channel and the upper surface of the portion forming the one side partition of the pressure chamber remains, and the remaining SiO ₂ layer is removed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5F, the pressure chamber 1 and the common ink manifold 4 are formed by etching the (100) plane Si substrate 11 using the SiO ₂ pattern 10d as a mask. do. In this case, since the bulk Si substrate 11 is a (100) plane, the bulk Si substrate 11 is etched to form an inclined surface having an inclination of about 35.26 ° with the vertical direction of the substrate when etched with a KOH solution. That is, the inclination of the inclined surface formed by etching is determined within the range of 30 ° to 40 ° from the vertical direction of the substrate.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5G, the pressure chamber 1 and the common ink flow path 4 and the ink feed-in channel 3 are replaced to prevent the mutual chemical interaction between the ink and Si. coated with SiO ₂ to form an SiO ₂ film (10e).

Next, as shown in FIG. 5H, the SiO ₂ layers 10e and 12 are etched using an excimer laser to form a nozzle.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5I, the nozzle 2 is formed by wet etching the exposed Si layer 13 by etching with an excimer laser.

Next, as shown in Fig. 5J, in order to prevent the water-soluble ink from spreading on the surface of the Si layer 13, SiO ₂ is deposited to form a non-wetting coating film 43.

Next, as shown in Fig. 5K, a single-crystal Si diaphragm 9 secured in advance is attached to the opposing surface of the nozzle plate 13 in the structure formed in the above process. At this time, the Si diaphragm is attached to the structure by using anodic bonding (anodic bonding) method or by high temperature heating bonding.

Next, FIG. 5L forms a diffusion barrier 15 of Si ₃ N ₄ or ZrO ₂ to prevent the piezoelectric material from diffusing when the piezo-electrinc materials are sintered. This step does not need to be performed when the piezoelectric plate is separately manufactured and attached.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5M, a lower common electrode 8 is formed. The lower common electrode 8 is formed by coating a conductive paste by screen printing. This conductive paste serves as an adhesive for attaching the piezoelectric plate 7.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5N, a piezoelectric plate 7 made of a lead zirconium titanate (PbZrTi) -based compound, in particular, Pb (Zr _x Ti _1-x ) O ₃ , is used as a lower common electrode 8, that is, a conductive paste. Attach with adhesive and sinter.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5O, the upper electrode 6 is formed on the upper surface of the piezoelectric plate to complete the device.

As described above, in the inkjet printer head using the piezoelectric material according to the present invention, since the nozzle, the common ink flow path, and the ink injection channel are formed integrally with the pressure chamber using Si, the structure can be simplified and the size thereof can be reduced. . Therefore, the resolution of a printed matter can be raised. The bulkhead structure of the pressure chamber is made obliquely by using a bulk Si wafer, so the pressure wave is concentrated toward the nozzle, so the pressure wave loss inside the pressure chamber is small, so the energy use is efficient. Can be used.

In addition, in the manufacturing method, since the nozzle is integrally manufactured, there is no need to use Pick & Place equipment for attaching the nozzle to the print head, so the process is simple and no nozzle plate is used to manufacture the nozzle. The cost required is reduced. The formation of the flow path through which the ink is moved forms the Si wafer using a direct wet etching method, thereby facilitating the process and reducing the production cost. Wet etching using Si wafers is easy to form complex ink flow paths, and therefore, various types of print heads can be manufactured. As a diaphragm, since a Si thin plate is used, two regular diaphragms can be used. The material of the piezoelectric plate is sintered at 1300 ° C. or less (preferably 1000 ° C. or less) using lead zirconium titanate, so that the piezoelectric plate may be directly sintered on Si when the piezoelectric plate is attached. When the piezoelectric plate is sintered directly on Si, the pattern is formed using screen printing, which reduces the gap between the nozzles.

Claims (34)

Nozzle plates and diaphragms are formed on both sides of the bulk silicon substrate on which the pressure chamber and the common ink flow path are formed, with one partition interposed therebetween. An inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, characterized in that the plate is integrally formed so as to face each other and the partition wall is formed with an ink inflow channel for introducing the ink of the common ink flow path into the pressure chamber. The method of claim 1, And the ink inlet channel is formed to contact the diaphragm. The method of claim 1, And the nozzle plate is formed of monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon. The method of claim 1, The diaphragm is an inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, characterized in that formed of single crystal silicon. The method of claim 1, And the injection plate is formed in the diaphragm to inject the ink of the main ink container into the common ink flow path. The method of claim 1, A piezoelectric film further comprising an SiO ₂ film or a Si ₃ N ₄ film formed on both sides of the barrier ribs inside the pressure chamber, on the barrier ribs of the common ink flow path, and on both surfaces of the nozzle plate to prevent ink from reacting with Si. Inkjet printer head using materials. The method of claim 1, And the ink inflow channel has a size larger than the diameter of the nozzle. The method of claim 1, The nozzle has a diameter of 20 ~ 50㎛ range, the ink inlet channel size of the inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, characterized in that formed in 50㎛ or more. The method of claim 1, An inclination of both walls of the pressure chamber is formed to have an inclination of 30 ° to 40 ° with respect to the vertical plane of the nozzle plate is formed so as to further open toward the diaphragm, the inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material. The method of claim 1, The size of the pressure chamber is an ink jet printer head using a piezoelectric material, characterized in that the gap between the nozzle plate and the diaphragm is 200㎛ or more, and the partition wall spacing of the nozzle plate side is formed to 100㎛ of the gap between the partition walls of the pressure chamber. . The method of claim 1, The piezoelectric plate includes a PbZrTi-based compound, characterized in that the inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material. The method of claim 1, An inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, characterized in that lower common electrodes and upper electrodes are formed on both surfaces of the piezoelectric plate, respectively. The method of claim 12, The lower common electrode is formed of a conductive paste or an inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, characterized in that formed by depositing a metal. The method of claim 1, An inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, characterized in that a diffusion barrier is further formed between the diaphragm and the piezoelectric plate. The method of claim 14, The diffusion barrier is an inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, characterized in that formed of Si ₃ N ₄ or ZrO ₂ . (A) forming a SiO ₂ film on each side of the bulk silicon substrate, and forming a Si layer for the nozzle plate on the upper surface of the one side SiO ₂ film; (B) A predetermined pattern is formed on the other SiO ₂ film, and the bulk silicon substrate corresponding to the ink inflow channel, the common ink flow path and the pressure chamber is formed by the depth of the ink inflow channel using the SiO ₂ pattern as a mask. Etching; (C) removing the SiO ₂ pattern mask; (D) again forming an SiO ₂ film over the upper surface of the etched portion and the other side of the bulk silicon from which the SiO ₂ pattern mask is removed; (E) patterning the again formed SiO ₂ film to remove the SiO ₂ film formed in a portion where the pressure chamber and the common ink flow path are to be formed; (F) etching the bulk silicon substrate using the patterned SiO ₂ film as a mask to form the pressure chamber and the common ink flow path; (G) a step of coating an inner wall and an ink injection channel an upper surface of the inner wall of the pressure chamber and the common ink passage to the SiO ₂ film is formed SiO ₂ in order to prevent mutual chemical reactions between the ink and the Si; (H) forming a first hole to expose the Si layer for the nozzle plate by etching a predetermined region in the ink chamber among regions of SiO ₂ films formed on the one side using a laser to form a nozzle; (I) wet etching the Si layer exposed by the first hole to form a nozzle; (D) attaching a previously secured Si diaphragm to the nozzle plate opposing surface of the structure formed by the above processes; And (K) forming a piezoelectric structure on the Si diaphragm; A method of manufacturing an inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, comprising. The method of claim 16, In the step (a), the bulk silicon substrate is a (100) plane Si substrate manufacturing method of an inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, characterized in that. The method of claim 16, A method of manufacturing an inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, wherein a Si ₃ N ₄ film is formed instead of the SiO ₂ film in the step (a). The method of claim 18, In the step (b), the Si ₃ N ₄ pattern is formed by a reactive ion etching method. The method of claim 16, The method of manufacturing an inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, wherein the Si layer for the nozzle plate is formed of single crystal or polycrystalline silicon in the step (a). The method of claim 16, In the step (b), the SiO ₂ pattern is formed by a photolithography method, but a method of manufacturing an ink jet printer head using a piezoelectric material, characterized in that using the HF solution as an etching solution. The method of claim 16, The method of manufacturing an inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, characterized in that using the KOH solution as an etchant in the process of etching the bulk silicon in the step (b). The method of claim 16, And the SiO ₂ film formed again in the step (e) is patterned by photolithography. The method of claim 16, A method of manufacturing an inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, characterized in that a KOH solution is used as an etchant for etching the bulk silicon substrate in the step (bar). The method of claim 16, The laser used in the step (h) is an inkjet printer head manufacturing method using a piezoelectric material, characterized in that using an excimer laser. The method of claim 16, Method of manufacturing an inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, characterized in that using the KOH solution as the Si layer etching solution in the step (i). The method of claim 16, And forming an anti-spread film by depositing a SiO ₂ or Si ₃ N ₄ film to prevent the water-soluble ink from spreading on the surface of the Si layer in which the nozzle is formed between the (i) and ( _d) steps. An inkjet printer head manufacturing method using a piezoelectric material. The method of claim 16, The method of manufacturing an inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, wherein the attaching of the Si diaphragm is performed by an anode bonding method or a high temperature heating method in the step (d). The method of claim 16, wherein (K) step, (Ka-1) forming a diffusion barrier layer on the Si diaphragm to prevent diffusion of the piezoelectric material during sintering; (K-2) a sub step of coating a conductive paste for a lower common electrode on the diffusion barrier layer; (K-3) a sub step of attaching a piezoelectric plate on the conductive paste; (C-4) sub-sintering the piezoelectric plate; And (K-5) sub-step of forming an upper electrode on the piezoelectric plate; A method of manufacturing an inkjet printer head using a piezoelectric material, comprising. The method of claim 29, And the diffusion barrier layer is formed of Si ₃ N ₄ or ZrO ₂ in the sub-step (ka-1). The method of claim 29, In the sub-step (K-3), the piezoelectric plate is manufactured using a material containing a PbZrTi-based compound. The method of claim 29, And the piezoelectric plate is attached in a non-fired state by screen printing in the sub-step (K-3). The method of claim 29, In the sub-step (k-4), the sintering temperature is 1300 ° C. or less, wherein the piezoelectric inkjet printer head manufacturing method is used. The method of claim 16, wherein in step (k), Using the piezoelectric material, the step (ka-1) is eliminated, the piezoelectric plate sintered in the step (ka-3) is attached onto the conductive paste, and the step (ka-4) is removed. Method for producing an inkjet print head.