In the following, the producing method for ink jet head of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, structures of equivalent functions may be represented by like numbers and may not be described in repetition.
Such ink jet head is so positioned that a surface bearing the supply opening 3 is opposite to the recording surface of the recording medium. The ink filled in the flow path through the supply opening 3 is given a pressure generated by the energy generating element 2, whereby the droplet of ink liquid is discharged from the discharge port 4 and is deposited onto the recording medium thereby achieving a recording.
“Ink” or “liquid” is to be interpreted widely, and is to mean a liquid that is used, by being deposited onto the recording medium, for forming an image, a pattern and the like, for a working on the recording medium, or for processing the ink or the recording medium. The processing of the ink or the recording medium includes, for example, an improvement in the fixing property, an improvement in the recording quality or the color developing property, or an improvement in the durability of the image, by agglomeration or insolubilization of a colorant in the ink to be deposited onto the recording medium.
On the adhesion layer 5, provided is a first flow path forming member 6, subjected to a predetermined patterning, as a side wall of the flow path. The first flow path forming member 6 is provided in a position where the resolving power becomes deficient in a mold material, to be employed in the producing process to be described later. More specifically, in the present exemplary embodiment, the resolving power becomes deficient in a lower portion of a flow path wall 8, which constitutes a partitioning part of the flow path forming member between the adjacent flow paths. Therefore the first flow path forming member 6 is provided in the lower portion of the flow path wall 8. In the present exemplary embodiment, after the lower portion of the flow path wall 8 is formed by the first flow path forming member 6, the remaining part of the flow path forming member 9 is formed by a second flow path forming member 7. The first flow path forming member 6 may have a thickness within a range of from 5 to 14 μm. A lower limit of the thickness is determined by a value, calculated from a resolvable aspect ratio of a pattern, which serves as a flow path mold material to be described later. On the other hand, an upper limit of the thickness can be basically made as large as the height of the flow path wall, but is preferably made lower in consideration of the flatness in coating the mold material. In consideration of the foregoing, the thickness of the layer of the first flow path forming member 6 was selected as 5 μm. Also the material of the first flow path forming member 6 may be different from that of the second flow path forming member 7, but it is necessary to select a material having an ink resistance and having an adhesivity to the adhesion layer 5 and the second flow path forming member 7.
By forming the first flow path forming member 6 with a thickness of 5 μm, the height of the flow path wall 8 to be formed in a next step becomes correspondingly lower. Therefore, even though the resolvable aspect ratio of the resin layer for forming the pattern 14, serving as the mold material, remains as 4:3, the remaining first flow path forming member 6 can be formed with a smaller width dimension. Also the first flow path forming member 6 is so formed as to cover the adhesion layer 5, namely so as to surround the side faces of the adhesion layer 5, the first flow path forming member 6 can secure a large adhesion area to the adhesion layer 5. Therefore, the first flow path forming member 6 and the second flow path forming member 7 are made less liable to be peeled from the silicon substrate 1. In the present exemplary embodiment, the resin layer constituting the pattern 14 was formed by a solvent-soluble resin (ODUR manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Co.), with a thickness of 16 μm. However, the portion of the pattern 14 formed on the adhesion layer 5 has a thickness of 14 μm, by subtracting the thickness of 2 μm of the adhesion layer 5.
On the first flow path forming member 6, the second flow path forming member 7 is formed with a predetermined patterning. In the present exemplary embodiment, the second flow path forming member 7 was formed with a thickness of 21 μm, so that the total thickness of the first flow path forming member 6 and the second flow path forming member 7 was 26 μm.
Whether the flow path forming member 9 has a two-layered structure formed by the first flow path forming member 6 and the second flow path forming member 7 can be verified by a component analysis, when the first flow path forming member 6 and the second flow path forming member 7 are formed by different materials. Also, in the patterning steps of the members 6 and 7, because of an alignment error in the exposure apparatus, an alignment error is generated between the first flow path forming member 6 and the second flow path forming member 7. Therefore, even when the first flow path forming member 6 and the second flow path forming member 7 are formed by a same material, the presence of a two-layered structure can be easily verified for example by an electron microscope.
The dimensions described above are merely an example, and do not limit at all the claims of the present invention.
A silicon substrate 1, illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
Finally, as illustrated in
Through the above-described process, the substrate 1 bearing the nozzle portion is completed. Then the substrate 1 is cut into individual chip for example with a dicing saw. In each chip, electric wirings are bonded to the energy generating element 3 for ink discharge, and an chip tank member for ink supply is adjoined to complete an ink jet recording head.
In the present exemplary embodiment, as described above, the first flow path forming member 6 is provided in a portion where the resolving power becomes deficient in the resin constituting the pattern 14, thereby forming the lower portion of the flow path wall 8. As the first flow path forming member 6 can be formed utilizing a producing apparatus same as that for forming the second flow path forming member 7, the first flow path forming member 6 can be provided without a significant cost increase in the producing apparatus. Since the presence of the first flow path forming member 6 decreases the remaining height of the flow path wall 8, the flow path wall 8 can be made thinner without an increase in the resolving power of the pattern 14. Therefore, for example when the pattern 14 has a thickness of 14 μm, the flow path wall 8 can be formed with a width of 7 μm. Therefore the nozzle density at one side of the common ink supply opening 3 can be increased from the conventional 600 dpi to 1200 dpi, thus enabling a significant improvement in the image quality recorded by the recording head. Also a cost reduction by a size reduction of the substrate 1, incorporating the electrical control circuit, is possible in the future.
In the ink jet recording head of the present exemplary embodiment, as in the first embodiment described above, the adhesion layer 5 is patterned on the substrate 1. The adhesion layer 5 is formed by a polyether amide resin as a material thereof. However, the adhesion layer 5 in the present exemplary embodiment has a width and a length same as those of the first flow path forming member 6 formed thereon. Other structures of the second exemplary embodiment are same as those in the first exemplary embodiment, and will not therefore be explained further.
In the present exemplary embodiment, in a step illustrated in
Then an adhesion layer 5 is formed on the silicon nitride film 12. The adhesion layer 5 is formed by a polyether amide resin, which is a thermoplastic resin. The adhesion layer 5 has a function of improving the adhesivity with a nozzle layer 9 to be described later. The polyether amide resin, constituting the adhesion layer 5, may be coated on the silicon substrate 1, for example by a spin coating.
Then, a first flow path forming member 6 is patterned in a portion on the adhesion layer 5 where the resolving power of the mold member becomes deficient in a subsequent exposure step (in the present exemplary embodiment, principally a lower portion of the flow path wall 8). The patterning of the first flow path forming member 6 is executed by coating a photosensitive resin for example by a spin coating, followed by an exposure with an ultraviolet light or a deep UV light and a development.
Then, as illustrated in
Subsequent steps illustrated in
In the first exemplary embodiment, a coating and a patterning of a positive resist are necessary for patterning the adhesion layer 5. In contrast, in the present exemplary embodiment, the adhesion layer 5 is patterned utilizing the first flow path forming member 6 formed thereon as a mask, so that the coating of the positive resist for patterning the adhesion layer 5 can be dispensed with and the process can be correspondingly simplified. Also the first flow path forming member 6, at the formation, need not be aligned with the adhesion layer 5, so that the operation for this purpose can be dispensed with.
A third exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
In the case of the ink jet head of the present exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in
The producing method for the ink jet head of the present exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to
A substrate 1 bearing energy generating element 2 is prepared as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
The subsequent steps illustrated in
The ink jet head of the present exemplary embodiment, having the first flow path forming member 6 in the bottom portion of the flow path, has an increased contact area between the substrate 1 and the first flow path forming member 6, thereby improving the adhesivity between the substrate 1 and the flow path forming member. The first flow path forming member 6 provided in the bottom portion of the flow path may be made continuous with portions serving as side walls within the first flow path forming member, or may be independent therefrom. Also, if necessary, an adhesion layer 5 may be provided between the first flow path forming member 6 formed on the bottom portion of the flow path and the substrate 1. Such construction increases the contact area between the substrate 1 and the adhesion layer 5, and simultaneously increases the contact area between the adhesion layer 5 and the first flow path forming member 6. Stated differently, the area of the adhesion layer 5, that can be present between the substrate 1 and the first flow path forming member 6, can be increased. The present invention enables to increase the adhesivity between the substrate 1 and the flow path forming members 6, 7, thereby providing an ink jet head of a high reliability in which the flow path forming members are less liable to be peeled off. Also, the first flow path forming member 6 is preferably so formed as to completely cover the adhesion layer 5 (the adhesion layer 5 and the flow path being insulated by the first flow path forming member 6). In such construction, the adhesion layer 5 does not come in contact with the solvent employed in the manufacture or the ink, thus increasing the freedom in selection of the material constituting the adhesion layer 5.
Now a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
The ink jet head of the present exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in
Now the producing method for the ink jet head of the present exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to
At first, steps illustrated in
Then, a pattern 14 as a mold for the flow path 15 is formed as illustrated in
Then, a second flow path forming member 7 is formed as illustrated in
Then, a discharge port 4 is formed in the second flow path forming member 7 as illustrated in
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2006-123736, filed Apr. 27, 2006, 2006-160069, filed Jun. 8, 2006, and 2006-166002 filed Jun. 15, 2006, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2006-123736 | Apr 2006 | JP | national |
2006-160069 | Jun 2006 | JP | national |
2006-166002 | Jun 2006 | JP | national |