KR20110055135A - Manufacturing method of piezo actuator for inkjet head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method of manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator for an inkjet head is provided to increase driving displacement by the increase of driving efficiency compared to driving voltage by the thickness decrease of a piezoelectric actuator and to enable operation at a high frequency. CONSTITUTION: A method of manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator for an inkjet head is as follows. A block(42a) consisting of a bulky piezoelectric material is prepared. The block is bonded to a sacrificial substrate(100). The block is wrapped to form a thickness-decreased piezoelectric body. The thickness-decreased piezoelectric body is polished. The polished piezoelectric body is separated form the sacrificial substrate. First and second electrodes are formed on both sides of the piezoelectric body. The piezoelectric body comprising the first and second electrodes is cut. Poling is performed on the cut piezoelectric body.

Description

Manufacturing method of piezo actuator for inkjet head {Manufacturing Method of Piezo Actuator for inkjet head}

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator for an inkjet head, and more particularly, to a method for manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator for a high performance inkjet head with increased driving efficiency.

In general, an inkjet head is an apparatus for printing a predetermined color image by discharging a small droplet of printing ink to a desired position on a recording sheet. Recently, an inkjet head is also used in an industrial inkjet printer.

For example, by injecting ink containing metals such as gold and silver on a printed circuit board (PCB) to form a circuit pattern directly, manufacturing industrial graphics, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), and the like. It is used in a battery or the like.

The inkjet head can be divided into two types according to the ink ejection method. One is a heat-driven ink jet head that generates bubbles in the ink by using a heat source and discharges the ink by the expansion force of the bubbles. The other is applied to the ink by deformation of the piezoelectric body using a piezoelectric body. It is a piezoelectric inkjet head which discharges ink by losing pressure.

The piezoelectric inkjet head is formed with an inlet and an outlet for inflow and outflow of ink from a cartridge, a reservoir for storing the incoming ink, and a pressure chamber for moving the ink in the reservoir to the nozzle. A piezoelectric actuator for discharging ink to the outside is mounted.

The performance of the piezoelectric inkjet head is determined by the driving efficiency of the piezoelectric actuator according to the driving displacement and the driving frequency. Recently, since the inkjet head has become slimmer, piezoelectric actuators have also been manufactured thinly. According to this technical trend, a technique for reducing the thickness of a piezoelectric actuator for improving the performance of an inkjet head is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator for a high performance inkjet head with increased driving efficiency.

In order to solve the above problems, an embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of providing a block of piezoelectric material in a bulk state; Bonding the block of bulk piezoelectric material to a sacrificial substrate; Wrapping the block of piezoelectric material in the bulk state to produce a piezoelectric member having a reduced thickness; Polishing the piezoelectric body having the reduced thickness; Separating the polished piezoelectric body from the sacrificial substrate; Forming first and second electrodes on both surfaces of the piezoelectric body; Cutting piezoelectric materials on which the first and second electrodes are formed; And a step of polling the cut piezoelectric body, thereby providing a method of manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator for an inkjet head.

The bulk block of piezoelectric material may have a thickness of 100 μm or more.

The sacrificial substrate may be a silicon wafer, a glass wafer, or a quartz wafer.

The block of the piezoelectric material in the bulk state may be bonded to the sacrificial substrate by a bonding material in which bonding strength is reduced by heating.

The lapping step may be performed to have a thickness of 5 to 10 μm greater than the desired thickness of the piezoelectric body.

The polishing step may be performed so that the surface roughness of the piezoelectric body is 10 kPa or less.

The piezoelectric body after the polishing step may have a thickness of 10 μm or more.

Formation of the first and second electrodes may be performed simultaneously by a plating process.

In the method of manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator for an ink jet head according to the present invention, a thin piezoelectric material may be manufactured by performing a lapping and polishing process using a sacrificial substrate.

In addition, by the plating process, the first and second electrodes can be formed at one time, thereby reducing the number of processes.

In addition, the thickness of the piezoelectric actuator is reduced to increase the driving efficiency relative to the driving voltage, so that the driving displacement is increased, and the operation is possible at a high frequency.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a preferred embodiment of the present invention. However, embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various other forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. In addition, the embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the shape and size of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity, and the elements denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings are the same elements.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an ink jet head including a piezoelectric actuator 40 manufactured according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the ink jet head includes a flow path forming substrate 10 and a nozzle substrate 20. The flow path forming substrate 10 is provided with a manifold 13, a plurality of restrictors 12, and a plurality of pressure chambers 11 constituting an ink flow path. A plurality of nozzles 22 corresponding to each of the plurality of pressure chambers 11 are formed in the nozzle substrate 20.

In addition, a piezoelectric actuator 40 is mounted on the flow path forming substrate 10.

The manifold 13 is a passage for supplying ink flowing from an ink reservoir (not shown) to the plurality of pressure chambers 11, and the restrictor 12 is ink from the manifold 13 into the pressure chamber 11. Is the passage through which The plurality of pressure chambers 11 are filled with the ink to be discharged, and are arranged on one side or both sides of the manifold 13.

The pressure chamber 11 generates a pressure change for ejecting or injecting ink by changing its volume by driving the piezoelectric actuator 40. The piezoelectric actuator 40 includes a lower electrode 41, a piezoelectric body 42, and an upper electrode 43 sequentially stacked on the flow path forming substrate 10. A silicon oxide film 31 may be formed between the lower electrode 41 and the flow path forming substrate 10 as an insulating film. The upper electrode 43 is formed on the piezoelectric body 42 and serves as a driving electrode for applying a voltage to the piezoelectric body 42. The upper electrode 43 is connected to a flexible printed circuit (FPC) 50 for voltage application.

When a driving pulse is applied to the upper electrode 43, the piezoelectric body 42 is deformed to change the volume of the pressure chamber 11 so that ink in the pressure chamber 11 is discharged through the nozzle 22.

The performance of the piezoelectric actuator 40 is determined by the driving displacement and the driving frequency. When the thickness of the piezoelectric actuator 40 decreases, the driving efficiency increases with respect to the driving voltage, thereby increasing the driving displacement and enabling operation at a high frequency. This makes it possible to manufacture a high performance, low voltage drive inkjet head.

Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the piezoelectric actuator which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

2 to 6 are process cross-sectional views for explaining a method for manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, a block of bulk piezoelectric material is prepared. Although not limited thereto, the block of bulk piezoelectric material may have a thickness of 100 μm or more.

As a method of obtaining a piezoelectric material, a screen printing method of preparing a paste in which various additives are mixed with a raw material powder, printing through a mask, and then heat-treating, the ultra-fine particle powder has a supersonic The aerosol deposition method sprayed at a speed and coated on the substrate surface, the sputtering method in which the target material is deposited on the substrate by colliding with the sputtering target and the like.

In this embodiment, a piezoelectric material in a bulk state is used, and the piezoelectric material in a bulk state is manufactured and used as a block.

The piezoelectric material is not particularly limited, and for example, PZT can be used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, a block 42a made of a piezoelectric bulk material in a bulk state is bonded to the sacrificial substrate 100. The sacrificial substrate 100 is not particularly limited as long as the thickness variation of the entire substrate is processed to within ± 1, and for example, a silicon wafer, a glass wafer, a quartz wafer, or the like may be used.

The sacrificial substrate 100 is not limited thereto, but may have a thickness of 300 μm or more.

The block 42a of the piezoelectric material in the bulk state may be bonded to the sacrificial substrate 100 by a bonding material (not shown). The bonding material is not particularly limited as long as it loses the bonding strength easily by heating. More specifically, the bonding material may use wax that melts at a temperature of about 80 ° C., thereby easily separating the sacrificial substrate 100 and the block 42a made of a piezoelectric material in bulk.

FIG. 2 illustrates a state in which a plurality of bulk piezoelectric materials are bonded to a 6-inch wafer, and the bulk piezoelectric materials are bonded according to the size of the wafer and the size of the blocks of the bulk piezoelectric materials. The number of blocks made can be adjusted.

3A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II ′ of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3A, a block 42a of bulk piezoelectric material bonded to a sacrificial substrate is wrapped. As a result, a piezoelectric body 42b having a reduced thickness as compared to a block made of a piezoelectric material in a bulk state is manufactured.

At this time, it is wrapped to have a thickness larger than the desired final thickness. More specifically, the wrap is to have a thickness of about 5-10 μm greater than the final designed thickness. This is to form the surface roughness through the polishing process, which is a subsequent process.

3B is a SEM photograph of the surface of the piezoelectric body 42b after the lapping process is performed.

Next, as shown in Fig. 4A, the piezoelectric body 42b having a reduced thickness is polished. Surface roughness is formed on the surface of the piezoelectric member 42b having a reduced thickness by the polishing process. Surface roughness is not limited thereto, but may be less than 10 GPa. 4B is a SEM photograph of the surface of the piezoelectric body 42c having the surface roughness after the polishing process is performed.

When the surface roughness is formed on the piezoelectric body 43c by the polishing process, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of cracks during driving.

The piezoelectric body 43c after the polishing process may have a thickness of 10 μm or more.

Next, the piezoelectric body 43c having the surface roughness is separated from the sacrificial substrate 100.

More specifically, the sacrificial substrate 100 is placed on a hotplate or the like and heated to about 80 ° C. Accordingly, the bonding force of the bonding material is weakened, and the piezoelectric body 43c having the surface roughness is easily separated from the sacrificial substrate 100.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, first and second electrodes 41c and 43c are formed on both surfaces of the piezoelectric body 43c having surface roughness.

Formation of the first and second electrodes may be performed by a plating process. By immersing the piezoelectric body 43c having the surface roughness in the plating bath, the first and second electrodes can be formed on both surfaces at once. As a result, the number of steps is shortened as compared with the steps of forming the first and second electrodes, respectively.

The thickness of the first and second electrodes is not limited thereto, but may be 10 nm to 10 μm. In addition, the electrode material is not particularly limited as long as it is a material capable of plating, and for example, Au, Ag, Pt, Cu, or the like may be used.

The plating process may use an electroless plating process or an electrolytic plating process. In the case of using an electrolytic plating process, a seed layer may be formed and an electrolytic plating process may be performed. The method of forming the seed layer is not particularly limited, and for example, sputters. CVD, E-beam evaporator can be used.

Next, the piezoelectric body 42c on which the first and second electrodes 41c and 43c are formed is cut to a final designed size.

Thereafter, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the piezoelectric material 42 cut by applying voltage to the first and second electrodes 41c and 43c is polled. Polling is a process in which an electric field is generated when the voltage is applied to the first and second electrodes formed on the upper and lower portions of the piezoelectric body, and the dipole directions of adjacent domains are gradually coincided by the electric field.

In the present embodiment, the electrode can be formed at one time by the plating process, but after the electrode is formed, the piezoelectric body is cut and the electrode is not formed on the side surface of the piezoelectric body. Accordingly, it is possible to perform the polling process.

The piezoelectric actuator manufactured according to one embodiment of the present invention can be used by being mounted to a pressure chamber of an ink head or the like, as shown in FIG.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a thin piezoelectric material can be manufactured through a lapping and polishing process using a sacrificial substrate, and the number of processes can be shortened by forming the first and second electrodes at a time by the plating process. In addition, the thickness of the piezoelectric actuator is reduced to increase the driving efficiency relative to the driving voltage, so that the driving displacement is increased, and the operation is possible at a high frequency.

It is intended that the invention not be limited by the foregoing embodiments and the accompanying drawings, but rather by the claims appended hereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. something to do.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an ink jet head including a piezoelectric actuator manufactured according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2-6 is sectional drawing by process for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the piezoelectric actuator for inkjet heads which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

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

10: flow path forming substrate 20: nozzle substrate

40: piezoelectric actuator 42a: block of piezoelectric material in bulk

42b, 42c: piezoelectric 41, 43: electrode

100: sacrificial substrate

Claims (8)

Providing a block of piezoelectric material in bulk; Bonding the block of bulk piezoelectric material to a sacrificial substrate; Wrapping the block of piezoelectric material in the bulk state to produce a piezoelectric member having a reduced thickness; Polishing the piezoelectric body having the reduced thickness; Separating the polished piezoelectric body from the sacrificial substrate; Forming first and second electrodes on both surfaces of the piezoelectric body; Cutting piezoelectric materials on which the first and second electrodes are formed; And Polling the cut piezoelectric body; Method of manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator for an inkjet head comprising a. The method of claim 1, And wherein said block of bulk piezoelectric material has a thickness of at least 100 [mu] m. The method of claim 1, The sacrificial substrate is a silicon wafer, a glass wafer or a quartz wafer, characterized in that the piezoelectric actuator for ink jet head. The method of claim 1, And the block of the piezoelectric material in the bulk state is bonded to the sacrificial substrate by a bonding material whose bonding force is lowered by heating. The method of claim 1, And said lapping step is performed to have a thickness of 5 to 10 [mu] m larger than a desired final thickness of the piezoelectric body. The method of claim 1, The polishing step is a piezoelectric actuator for inkjet head, characterized in that the surface roughness of the piezoelectric material is performed to be less than 10Å. The method of claim 1, The piezoelectric body after the polishing step has a thickness of 10㎛ or more, characterized in that the piezoelectric actuator for inkjet head. The method of claim 1, Forming the first and second electrodes is a method of manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator for ink jet head, characterized in that carried out simultaneously by a plating process.

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