Method of forming nozzle for injection device and method of manufacturing inkjet head

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6375858
  • Patent Number
    6,375,858
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, January 5, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, April 23, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
When a nozzle 21 with a stepwise cross-section, which is provided with a small cross-sectional nozzle portion 21a formed on the front side thereof and with a large cross-sectional nozzle portion 21b formed on the rear side thereof in a discharge direction, respectively, is formed by applying etching to a silicon wafer 200 for forming a nozzle plate 2, a resist film 210 is formed on a surface 200a of the silicon wafer 200, and patterning by half-etching and patterning by full-etching is applied to the resist film 210. Next, anisotropic-dry-etching is applied to the silicon wafer 200 by ICP discharge, thereby forming grooves at the full-etched portions. Next, the resist film at the half-etched portions is removed and anisotropic-dry-etching is applied to the portions from which the resist film is removed by ICP discharge. As a result, there can be simply formed on a monocrystalline silicon substrate an ink nozzle having a stepwise cross-section and further having an action, which is larger than that of a conventional ink nozzle, for aligning the directions of pressures applied from cavities to nozzles in a nozzle axis direction.
Description




TECHNICAL FIELD




The present invention relates to a method of forming a nozzle for an ejection device for ejecting or spraying a liquid or a gas. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of forming a nozzle having a cross-section which is made smaller stepwise toward the front end thereof by etching a silicon monocrystalline substrate. Further more, the present invention relates to a method of forming a nozzle plate which is preferable for an inkjet head for ejecting ink droplets.




BACKGROUND ART




For example, the inkjet head of an inkjet printer generally comprises a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink droplets therefrom and an ink supply passage communicating with the nozzles.




Recently, it has become necessary to more precisely and more minutely process inkjet heads to permit ultrafine characters to be printed. For this purpose, there have been proposed many methods of forming micropore nozzles by applying anisotropic-etching to a silicon substrate.




It is preferable to use a nozzle having such a cross-sectional shape that a thin nozzle hole portion is formed on the front end side thereof and a nozzle hole portion expanding in a conical shape or a pyramidal shape is formed at the rear end side thereof in order to improve the ink ejection characteristics of the respective nozzles of an inkjet head. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 56-135075, when a nozzle is formed in a cylindrical shape at the front end side thereof and the inner periphery of the nozzle is formed in a truncated-quadrangular-prism shape at the rear side thereof, the directions of ink pressures imposed on nozzles from an ink cavity side can be aligned in the axial directions of the nozzles, as compared with a case where cylindrical nozzles are used. Stable ink ejection characteristics can be obtained thereby. That is, since variations in the trajectories of ink droplets can be eliminated, they are prevented from flying in differing directions, whereby variations in the amount of the ink droplets can be suppressed.




As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 56-135075, however, since the truncated-quadrangular-prism-shaped inner periphery of the nozzle on the rear side is formed in a silicon substrate using anisotropic-etching, the inner periphery is formed along the crystal direction of the silicon. Thus, the angle of the inclined rear portion of the nozzle is reduced to obtain an action for aligning the directions of ink pressures imposed on the nozzles from the ink cavity side in the axial directions of the nozzles. That is, it is impossible to decrease the cross-sectional area of the nozzle on the rear side thereof.




In contrast, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-50601, filed by the applicants, discloses a method of manufacturing an electrostatic drive type inkjet head in which a nozzle and an ink supply passage are formed with pinpoint accuracy by applying photolithography and wet-type-crystal-anisotropic etching to a silicon monocrystalline substrate.




The inkjet head disclosed in the publication employs a structure in which nozzles, reservoirs, ink supply passages such as cavities and the like, and diaphragms are formed on a silicon monocrystalline substrate bonded to a glass electrode substrate, on which electrodes for deflecting the diaphragms by electrostatic force are formed.




The use of this structure allows a manufacturing method to be employed in which after the patterns (nozzles, ink supply passages, electrodes) of respective inkjet heads are formed on the respective substrates, the substrates are bonded to each other and the thus-bonded substrates are cut and separated into the respective inkjet heads (the so-called method of making multiple inkjet heads from a single substrate), whereby the inkjet heads can be manufactured at low cost. Note that an example of the method of making multiple inkjet heads from a single substrate is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-300630, filed by the applicants. Specifically, the publication proposes a method of bonding a plurality of cover substrates and a flow passage substrate in a row state so that terminals formed at a lower substrate to supply a signal or power are exposed.




Incidentally, when nozzles are formed on a cover substrate for covering an ink supply passage and the cover substrate itself is used as a nozzle plate, it is preferable for accuracy that after a single nozzle plate is bonded to a flow passage substrate, the combined substrate be separated to respective inkjet heads, as compared with the method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-300630.




In this case, a through-hole for exposing terminals formed on the lower substrate must be formed, in addition to the nozzles, on the nozzle plate as the uppermost substrate of these three substrates.




Etching is carried out at a relatively low rate in a process for forming nozzle holes because pinpoint processing accuracy is required in the process. In contrast, etching is carried out at a relatively high rate in a process for forming the through-hole whose accuracy is relatively not as stringent as that for the nozzle holes because a reduction in etching time takes precedence over processing accuracy. As a result, the process for forming the nozzle holes and the process for forming the through-hole, the etching conditions of which are different from each other, have ordinarily been performed independently from each other. That is, after the through-hole is formed by etching, the nozzle holes are etched; or after the nozzle holes are formed by etching, the through-hole etched.




Thus, all the sub-processes relating to the etching process, such as patterning including the formation of a resist film, masking, and the removal of the resist film, rinsing, and the like, must be carried out twice, whereby problems arise in that the manufacturing process is complex and the manufacture is time-consuming.




Problems to be solved by the present invention, which was made in view of the above points, primarily reside in the following two points:




1) to propose a method for forming a nozzle for an ejection device in a monocrystalline silicon substrate, the nozzle having a substantial action for aligning the directions of pressures imposed on nozzles from a cavity side in the axial directions of the nozzles, as compared with the action obtained by a conventional method; and




2) to propose a method for manufacturing an inkjet head capable of forming a nozzle without lowering the processing accuracy thereof, as well as capable of forming a through-hole, which is very large relative to the nozzle, on a monocrystalline silicon substrate simultaneously with the formation of the nozzle, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing manufacturing time.




Disclosure of the Invention




To solve the problem 1), the present invention employs a dry-etching method by ICP (induction coupled plasma) discharge as an anisotropic dry-etching method to form a nozzle having a cross-section made smaller stepwise toward the front end thereof by applying etching to a silicon monocrystalline substrate.




That is, in a method of forming a nozzle of the present invention, first, an oxidized silicon film, for example, is formed as a resist film on a surface of the silicon monocrystalline substrate. Next, a first opening pattern is formed by removing the resist film at a portion corresponding to the rear end of the nozzle and a second opening pattern which is smaller than the first pattern is formed by removing the resist film at a portion corresponding to the front end of the nozzle. Next, dry-etching is applied by plasma discharge to the exposed portions of the surface of the silicon monocrystalline substrate exposed by the first and second opening patterns. At this time, a gas for etching silicon by conversion to a plasma by plasma discharge and a gas for suppressing the etching of silicon by conversion to a plasma by plasma discharge are alternately charged into a processing vessel in which the silicon substrate is disposed. With this processing, a nozzle is formed having a cross-section which coincides with the shapes of the respective opening patterns and is made smaller stepwise from the rear end thereof toward the front end thereof.




Furthermore, when the respective opening patterns are formed as described below, a nozzle whose cross-section is made smaller stepwise from the rear end thereof toward the front end thereof can be formed by performing dry-etching only from one side of the silicon substrate, whereby the manufacturing process can be further simplified.




That is, after a resist film is formed on a surface of the silicon monocrystalline substrate, the opening pattern, which corresponds to the portion of the nozzle at the rear end thereof, is formed at the resist film by half-etching the resist film (first patterning process). Next, an opening pattern which corresponds to the portion of the nozzle at the front end thereof is formed as the exposed portion of the surface of the silicon monocrystalline substrate by full-etching a portion of the half-etched region of the resist film at which the above opening pattern is formed (second patterning process). Thereafter, a first groove having a predetermined depth is formed by applying dry-etching to the exposed portion of the silicon monocrystalline substrate by plasma discharge (first dry-etching process). Then, after the surface of the silicon monocrystalline substrate is exposed by full-etching the half-etched region of the resist film, a second groove having a predetermined depth, while the first groove remains on the bottom thereof, is formed by applying dry-etching to the silicon monocrystalline substrate by plasma discharge (second dry-etching process).




When anisotropic-dry-etching is started by plasma discharge in the first dry-etching process, only the surface portion of the silicon monocrystalline substrate whose surface is exposed by the full-etching is vertically removed by the etching so that the first groove having a predetermined depth is formed. In the second dry-etching process, the etching of the surface of the silicon monocrystalline substrate is conducted in a state in which the first groove which was formed first by the etching remains as it is, and the second groove is formed. When etching conditions are properly determined, the depth of the portion of the first groove can be set to a size which coincides with the nozzle at the front end thereof having a small cross-section and the depth of the portion of the second groove can be set to a size which coincides with the nozzle at the rear end thereof having a large cross-section.




According to the method, a master pattern need not be repeatedly formed on the surface of the silicon monocrystalline substrate. Further more, a master pattern need not be formed along the surface of the silicon monocrystalline substrate in the stepwise state after a recess is formed at the silicon monocrystalline substrate. Thus, according to the nozzle forming method of the present invention, the nozzle having the stepwise-cross-section can be effectively and simply formed.




To solve the problem 2), the present invention employs a method arranged such that a first fine groove acting as the nozzle is formed up to a predetermined depth and a second groove acting as a part of a through-hole, which exposes a terminal disposed on a substrate to be bonded to the lower side of a substrate serving as a nozzle plate, are formed from a surface of the substrate serving as the nozzle plate by etching. Thereafter, a third groove, larger than the first groove, is formed from the other surface of the upper substrate by etching, and the nozzle and the through-hole are simultaneously formed by penetrating the first groove and the second groove.




With this procedure, the through-hole can be formed simultaneously with the nozzle without lowering processing accuracy. When the through-hole is relatively large, it is preferable to form the second groove by etching into a shape which follows the contour of the outer periphery of the through-hole. Since the etching area of the portion of the through-hole can be reduced thereby, the reduction of etching speed can be prevented, and the deterioration of the accuracy of the grooves in a depth direction caused by the etching applied to a wafer surface can be prevented.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is an exploded perspective view showing an example of an electrostatic rive type inkjet head to which a method of the present invention can be applied.





FIG. 2

is a schematic sectional view of the inkjet head shown in FIG.


1


.




In FIG.


3


(A) is an explanatory view showing a first thermally-oxidized-film forming process in a manufacturing process of a nozzle plate for the inkjet head in

FIG. 1

, FIG.


3


(B) is an explanatory view showing a first patterning process of a SiO


2


film in the manufacturing process, and (C) is an explanatory view showing a second patterning process of the SiO


2


film in the manufacturing process.




In FIG.


4


(A) is an explanatory view showing a first dry-etching process applied to a silicon wafer in the manufacturing process of the nozzle plate for the inkjet head in

FIG. 1

, FIG.


4


(B) is an explanatory view showing a state after a half-etched-portion is removed in the manufacturing process,(C) is an explanatory view showing a second dry-etching process

FIG. 4

applied to the silicon wafer in the manufacturing process, and FIG.


4


(D) is an explanatory view showing a state after the SiO


2


film is removed in the manufacturing process.




In FIG.


5


(A) is an explanatory view showing a second thermally-oxidized-film forming process in the manufacturing process of the nozzle plate for the inkjet head in

FIG. 1

, FIG.


5


(B) is an explanatory view showing a third patterning process of the SiO


2


film in the manufacturing process, FIG.


5


(C) is an explanatory view showing a wet-etching process applied to the silicon wafer in the manufacturing process, and FIG.


5


(D) is an explanatory view showing a state after the SiO


2


film is removed in the manufacturing process.





FIG. 6

is an explanatory view showing a final thermally-oxidized-film forming process in the manufacturing process of the nozzle plate for the inkjet head in FIG.


1


.




In FIG.


7


(A) is an explanatory view showing a first thermally-oxidized-film forming process in the manufacturing process of another embodiment of the nozzle plate for the inkjet head in

FIG. 1

, FIG.


7


(B) is an explanatory view showing a first patterning process of a SiO


2


film in the manufacturing process, and FIG.


7


(C) is an explanatory view showing a second patterning process of the SiO


2


film in the manufacturing process.




In FIG.


8


(A) is an explanatory view showing a first dry-etching process applied to a silicon wafer in the manufacturing process of another embodiment of the nozzle plate for the inkjet head in

FIG. 1

, FIG.


8


(B) is an explanatory view showing a state after a half-etched portion is removed in the manufacturing process, FIG.


8


(C) is an explanatory view showing a second dry-etching process applied to the silicon wafer in the manufacturing process, and FiG.


8


(D) is an explanatory view showing a state after the SiO


2


film is removed in the manufacturing process.




In FIG.


9


(A) is an explanatory view showing a second thermally-oxidized-film forming process in the manufacturing process of the another embodiment of the nozzle plate for the inkjet head in

FIG. 1

, FIG.


9


(B) is an explanatory view showing a third patterning process of the SiO


2


film in the manufacturing process, FIG.


9


(C) is an explanatory view showing a wet-etching process applied to the silicon wafer in the manufacturing process, and FIG.


9


(D) an explanatory view showing a state after the SiO


2


film is removed in the manufacturing process.





FIG. 10

is a graph showing the relationship between the aperture ratio of a silicon wafer and an etching speed in the dry-etching process of a silicon wafer.











BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION




Example of an inkjet head to which the present invention is applied





FIG. 1

is an exploded perspective view of an inkjet head to which a method of the present invention can be applied, and

FIG. 2

shows a schematic cross-section of the inkjet head in FIG.


1


.




Description below is made with reference to

FIGS. 1 and 2

; the inkjet head


1


of the example is an electrostatic drive type inkjet head similar to the inkjet head disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-50601, filed by the applicant. The inkjet head


1


is arranged by similarly bonding together a nozzle plate


2


(upper substrate) composed of a silicon monocrystalline substrate, a cavity plate


3


(first lower substrate) composed of a silicon monocrystalline substrate, and a glass substrate


4


(second lower substrate).




Note that while both figures show a single head to simplify description, patterns for a plurality of inkjet heads are formed on each of the substrates


2


,


3


, and


4


. After the substrates are bonded together, they are divided into individual inkjet heads by being cut by dicing along plane C—C and plane D—D shown in FIG.


2


.




A plurality of ink cavities


31


and a common ink reservoir


32


for supplying ink to the respective ink cavities


31


are formed on the cavity plate


3


. A plurality of nozzles


21


communicating with the respective ink cavities


31


and ink supply ports


22


for communicating the respective ink cavities


31


with the common ink reservoir


32


are formed in the nozzle plate


2


. Each ink supply port


22


has a cross-sectional shape such that a deep groove portion


22




a


is formed at one end thereof and a shallow groove portion


22




b


is formed at the other end thereof




Recesses


41


are formed on the glass substrate


4


, which is bonded to the back surface of the cavity plate


3


, at the portions thereof confronting diaphragms


33


which define the bottoms of the ink cavities


31


. Individual electrodes


42


are formed on the bottoms of the recesses in confrontation with the diaphragms


33


.




The individual electrodes


42


are connected to individual terminals


42




b


disposed in recesses


45


through leads


42




a


disposed in grooves


44


.




A through-hole


36


is formed at the cavity plate


3


so that the individual terminals


42




b


are exposed when the cavity plate


3


is bonded to the glass substrate


4


. A common terminal


35


is disposed in the vicinity of the through-hole


36


to supply an electrical charge to the diaphragms


33


. A through-hole


23


is also formed at the nozzle plate


2


to expose the individual terminals


42




b


and the common terminal


35


when nozzle plate


2


is bonded to the lower substrate. After the bonded substrates are divided into the individual inkjet heads, an FPC (not shown) is connected to these individual terminals


42




b


and


35


.




Furthermore, an ink supply hole


34


is formed at the bottom of the ink reservoir


32


and communicates with an ink supply passage


43


formed through the glass substrate


4


. Ink can be supplied from an external ink supply source to the ink reservoir


32


through the ink supply passage


43


and the ink supply hole


34


.




The diaphragms


33


formed at the cavity plate


3


and regulating the bottoms of the respective ink cavities


31


act as a common electrode. When a voltage is applied across the cavity plate


3


and the individual electrodes


42


confronting the respective diaphragms


33


, the diaphragms


33


confronting the individual electrodes


42


on which the voltage is applied are deflected by electrostatic force, whereby the volumes of the cavities


31


are changed and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles


21


.




The nozzle


21


is a nozzle having a stepwise cross-section. That is, a small cross-sectional circular nozzle portion


21




a


(portion on a small cross-sectional side) is formed on the front side of the nozzle


21


in an ink droplet ejecting direction and a large cross-sectional circular nozzle portion


21




b


(portion on a large cross-sectional side) is formed on the rear side thereof, also in that direction. Furthermore, a boundary portion therebetween is arranged as an annular stepped surface


21




c


. Therefore, the cross-sectional shape of the nozzle


21


is made smaller stepwise toward the front end thereof when taken along the axial line thereof. Furthermore, the opening


21




d


of the nozzle


21


at the front end thereof is opened to the bottom of a recess


24


formed at the opposite surface of the nozzle plate


2


.




Embodiment of method of manufacturing nozzle plate




FIG.


3


A-

FIG. 6

show an example of a process for manufacturing the nozzle late


2


. A procedure for manufacturing the nozzle plate


2


will be described with reference to these figures.




(Step 1: first thermally-oxidized-film forming process)




First, as shown in FIG.


3


(A), a silicon wafer


200


having a thickness of 180 microns is prepared and thermally oxidized, and an SiO


2


film


210


having a thickness of at least 1.2 microns is formed on a surface thereof as a resist film.




(Step 2: first patterning process of the SiO


2


film)




Next, as shown in FIG.


3


(B), the SiO


2


film


210


covering the surface


200




a


of the silicon wafer


200


is half-etched and a pattern


201




b


and a pattern


202




b


are formed so as to form the large cross-sectional nozzle portion


21




b


of the nozzle


21


and the shallow groove portion


22




b


of the ink supply port


22


. Ammonium fluoride (HF : NH4F=880 ml: 5610 ml) may be used as an etchant. Furthermore, the etching depth can be set to, for example, 0.5 micron.




(Step 3: second patterning process of the SiO


2


film)




Thereafter, as shown in FIG.


3


(C), patterns


201




a


and


202




a


for forming the small cross-sectional nozzle portion


21




a


of the nozzle


21


and the deep groove portion


22




a


of the ink supply port


22


are formed at the portions of the patterns


201




b


and


202




b


as the half-etched regions of the SiO


2


film


210


. That is, these half-etched regions are fully etched to thereby form the patterns


201




a


and


202




a


where the surface of the silicon wafer is exposed. A pattern


203


for forming the electrode through-hole


23


is also formed by full-etching the SiO


2


film


210


together with the above patterns. Ammonium fluoride, similar to that used above, can be also used as an etchant at this time.




A resist film of a light-sensitive resin is used as a resist film for partially etching the SiO


2


film. The resist film is half-solidified when it is coated and then heated, and then it is completely solidified when it is further heated after it is exposed and developed. Thereafter, the SiO


2


film is etched as described above, whereby the resist film for etching the silicon is formed.




(Step 4: first dry-etching process)




After the patterning is applied to the SiO


2


film


210


twice, anisotropic-dry-etching is applied to the silicon wafer


200


by plasma discharge as shown in FIG.


4


(A). With this processing, the surface of the silicon wafer


200


is vertically etched in shapes corresponding to the patterns


201




b


,


202




b


, and


203


formed at step


3


, whereby grooves


221


,


222


, and


223


, having the same depth, are formed, respectively. At this time, a carbon fluoride (CF) gas and sulfur hexafluoride (SF


6


) an be alternately used as an etching gas. The CF gas is used to protect the sides of the grooves so that the etching does not advance thereto and the SF


6


is used to promote the etching in the vertical direction of the silicon wafer.




After the grooves


221


,


222


, and


223


, each having an etching depth of, for example, 35 microns, are formed as described above, the SiO


2


film


210


is removed in a thickness of 0.7 micron by etching with a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution. As a result, the portions of the patterns


201




b


and


202




b


formed at step 2 are completely removed as shown in FIG.


4


(B) so that the surface of the silicon wafer


200


is exposed.




(Step 5: second dry-etching process)




Next, anisotropic-dry-etching is performed again by plasma discharge as shown in FIG.


4


(C). As a result, the surface portions of the silicon wafer exposed from the patterns


201




b


,


202




b


, and


203


are vertically etched in a thickness direction while maintaining the cross-sectional shapes thereof Etching gases used at this time are the same as those used at step


4


, and an etching depth is set to, for example, 55 microns. As a result, a nozzle groove


231


having a cross-sectional shape corresponding to the stepwise nozzle


21


and a groove


232


having a cross-sectional shape corresponding to the ink supply port


22


are formed. In addition, a groove


233


having a depth half that of the electrode disposing through-hole


23


is also formed.




Thereafter, the SiO


2


film


210


is entirely removed with a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution (for example, HF : H


2


O=1 : 5 vol, at 25° C). FIG.


4


(D) shows this state.




(Step 6: second thermally-oxidized-film forming process)




Subsequently, the surface of the silicon wafer


200


is again thermally oxidized, thereby forming an SiO


2


film


240


as a resist film. It is sufficient to set the thickness of the SiO


2


film


240


to 1.2 microns in this case also.




(Step 7: third patterning process of the SiO


2


film)




Next, the portion of the SiO


2


film


240


covering the surface of the silicon wafer


200


opposite to that processed before is etched as shown in FIG.


5


(B) to thereby form a pattern


204


corresponding to the recess


24


where the nozzle


21


is opened and a pattern


203


A corresponding to the through-hole


23


. The etchant used at step


2


can be also used at this time.




(Step 8: wet-etching process)




Next, as shown in FIG.


5


(C), anisotropic wet-etching is performed on the exposed portion of the silicon wafer


200


by dipping it into an etchant to form a groove


244


corresponding to the recess


24


. Furthermore, a groove


233


A corresponding to the through-hole


23


is formed. An etchant used at this time is a potassium hydroxide aqueous solution having a concentration of 2 wt % and a liquid temperature of 80° C. The etching depth is set to, for example, 110 microns. After completion of the etching, the SiO


2


film


240


is completely removed with a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution, as shown in FIG.


5


(D), so that the grooves


231


and


244


, and the grooves


233


and


233


A become connected respectively.




(Step 9: final thermally-oxidizing-process)




Finally, the silicon wafer is again thermally oxidized and an SiO


2


film is formed in order to secure the ink resistant property of the silicon wafer and the intimate contact property of a nozzle surface achieved by water repelling processing. The nozzle plate


2


can be obtained by the above procedure.




Another Embodiment of Method of Manufacturing a Nozzle Plate




In the above embodiment, etching is conducted on one surface side of the silicon wafer


200


for forming the nozzle plate


2


so that the fine groove


231


for the nozzle


21


, and the groove


223


for the electrode wiring through-hole


23


, are formed. Furthermore, the grooves


244


and


233


A, which are larger than the groove of the nozzle


21


, are formed from the other surface side of the silicon wafer


200


so that the nozzle groove


231


connects the groove


244


to thereby form the nozzle


21


, and the groove


233


connects the groove


233


A to thereby obtain the through-hole


23


at the same time.




When the etched area of the through-hole


23


is made very large in the dry-etching processes at steps


4


and


5


at the time the nozzle and the through-hole are formed by the above method, etching speed will be reduced and variation of etching depths will be greatly increased at the surface of the wafer. However, these problems can be solved by the method described below.




FIG.


7


A-

FIG. 10

show the manufacturing process of the nozzle plate


2


of another embodiment of the present invention. The manufacturing procedure of the nozzle plate


2


will be described with reference to these figures. In the following description, the description of the points overlapping with the above embodiment will be omitted.




(Step 1-step 3)




A first thermally-oxidized-film forming process is carried out in step 1 and a first patterning process for a SiO


2


film is carried out in step 2 in manners similar to those in the above embodiment. A second patterning process for the SiO


2


film is carried out in step 3 thereafter in manner similar to that in the above embodiment. However, a pattern


303


for forming an electrode through-hole


23


is formed in the SiO


2


film


310


by full-etching it into a ring groove shape so that the contour of the outer periphery of the through-hole


23


is drawn. Note that ammonium fluoride, similar to that above, can be used as an etchant at this time.




(Step 4-step 5)




After the patterning is conducted on the SiO


2


film


310


as described above, anisotropic-dry-etching is applied to a silicon wafer


300


by plasma discharge, for example, by ICP discharge as shown in FIG.


8


(A) in manner similar to the above embodiment.




With this processing, in step 4, one surface side of the silicon wafer


300


is vertically etched in the shapes corresponding to patterns


301




b


,


302




b


, and


303


formed in step 3, whereby grooves


321


,


322


, and


323


having the same depth are formed, respectively.




Thereafter, the SiO


2


film


310


is completely removed at the portions of the patterns


301




b


, and


302




b


, with a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution and anisotropic-dry-etching is carried out again by plasma discharge, for example, by ICP discharge as shown in FIG.


8


(C). As a result, the surface portions of the silicon wafer exposed from the patterns


301




b


,


302




b


, and


303


are vertically etched in a thickness direction while maintaining the cross-sectional shapes thereof.




In each of the dry-etching processes performed twice in step 4 and step 5, the groove


323


is only the outer peripheral groove for forming the through-hole. Thus, the etching area can be greatly reduced and etching speed can be increased, and the variation of the etching depths in the surface of the wafer can be avoided.





FIG. 10

shows an example of the relationship between the etching speed and an opening ratio. The opening ratio described here is the ratio of the area of the etched portions of the wafer to the area of the wafer. When the opening ratio is, for example, 30%, the etching speed is 1.4 μm/min, and when the opening ratio is, for example, 7%, the etching speed is 1.9 μm/min, as shown in FIG.


10


. That is, when the opening ratio is reduced from 30% to 7%, the etching speed increases about 36%. Furthermore, regarding the variation of the depths in the wafer surface, when the opening ratio is 30%, the uniformity in the wafer surface is 6%, whereas when the opening ratio is 7%, the uniformity in the wafer surface is greatly improved to 4%.




Thereafter, a second thermally-oxidized-film forming process (step 6), a third patterning-process for the SiO


2


film (step 7), a wet-etching process (step 8) and a final thermally-oxidizing-process (step 9) are carried out in manners similar to those of the above embodiment, whereby the nozzle plate is completed. Note that in step 8, a groove


333


A formed by anisotropic-wet-etching penetrates to groove


333


formed in step 5, whereby the silicon of the portion surrounded by the groove


333


is removed from the silicon wafer


300


so as to form the through-hole


23


.




Other Embodiments




As other anisotropic-dry-etching methods, ECR (electron cyclotron resonance) discharge, HWP (helicon wave plasma) discharge, RIE (reactive ion etching) and the like may be used.




Furthermore, while the inkjet head used for an inkjet printer has been described in the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is effective to apply the nozzle forming method of the present invention to the nozzle of an ejection device provided with a nozzle for spraying a liquid or a gas. For example, the present invention may be applied to form the nozzle of a fuel injection device of an engine.



Claims
  • 1. A method of forming a nozzle for an ejection device by conducting etching on a silicon monocrystalline substrate, comprising the steps of:forming a resist film on a surface of the silicon monocrystalline substrate; forming a first opening pattern by removing the resist film at a portion corresponding to a rear end of the nozzle; forming a second opening pattern smaller than the first pattern by removing the resist film at a portion corresponding to a front end of the nozzle; and applying dry-etching by plasma discharge to exposed portions of the surface of the silicon monocrystalline substrate exposed by the first and second opening patterns to form the nozzle having a cross-section smaller stepwise from the rear end toward the front end.
  • 2. A method of forming a nozzle for an ejection device according to claim 1, wherein said resist film comprises a silicon-oxide film.
  • 3. A method of forming a nozzle for an ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the dry-etching is carried out by alternately using a first gas and a second gas, said first gas being converted into a plasma for etching silicon by plasma discharge, and said second gas being converted into a plasma for suppressing the etching of silicon by plasma discharge.
  • 4. A method of forming a nozzle for an ejection device according to claim 3, wherein the first gas comprises sulfur fluoride, and the second gas comprises carbon fluoride.
  • 5. A method of forming a nozzle, which has a cross-section narrowing stepwise from a rear end toward the front end thereof, for an ejection device by applying etching to a silicon monocrystalline substrate, comprising the steps of:forming a resist film on a surface of the silicon monocrystalline substrate; forming a first opening pattern, which corresponds to a rear portion of the nozzle at a rear end thereof, in the resist film, by half-etching the resist film; forming a second opening pattern, which corresponds to a front portion of the nozzle at the front end thereof, by full-etching a portion of the first opening pattern; forming a first groove having a predetermined depth by applying dry-etching to the exposed portion of the silicon monocrystalline substrate by plasma discharge; fully etching the remaining portion of said first opening so as to expose the surface of the silicon monocrystalline substrate; and thereafter forming a second groove having a predetermined depth while the first groove remains at the bottom of the second groove by applying dry-etching to the silicon monocrystalline substrate by plasma discharge.
  • 6. A method of forming a nozzle for an ejection device according to claim 5, wherein the resist film comprises a silicon-oxide film.
  • 7. A method of forming a nozzle for an ejection device according to claim 5, wherein the dry-etching is carried out by alternately using a first gas and a second gas, said first gas being converted into a plasma for etching silicon by plasma discharge, and said second gas being converted into a plasma for suppressing the etching of silicon by plasma discharge.
  • 8. A method of forming a nozzle for an ejection device according to claim 7, wherein the first gas comprises sulfur fluoride, and the second gas comprises carbon fluoride.
  • 9. A method of forming a nozzle for an ejection device according to claim 5, further comprising a step of:forming a third groove by applying wet-anisotropic-etching to a second surface of the silicon monocrystalline substrate opposite to the first surface to which the dry-etching is applied, said third groove being performed to penetrate the silicon monocrystalline substrate up to said first groove.
  • 10. A method of manufacturing an inkjet head, comprising the steps of:forming a nozzle by conducting etching on a silicon substrate, comprising the steps of: forming a resist film on a surface of the silicon substrate, forming a first opening pattern by removing the resist film at a portion corresponding to a rear end of the nozzle, forming a second opening pattern smaller than the first pattern by removing the resist film at a portion corresponding to a front end of the nozzle, and applying dry-etching by plasma discharge to exposed portions of the surface of the silicon monocrystalline substrate exposed by the first and second opening patterns to form the nozzle having a cross-section smaller stepwise from the rear end toward the front end; bonding a substrate on which an ink passage is formed to the lower side of the silicon substrate provided with the nozzle so as to communicate the nozzle with the ink passage.
Priority Claims (3)
Number Date Country Kind
9-124573 May 1997 JP
10-006687 Jan 1998 JP
10-020550 Feb 1998 JP
PCT Information
Filing Document Filing Date Country Kind
PCT/JP98/02108 WO 00
Publishing Document Publishing Date Country Kind
WO98/51506 11/19/1998 WO A
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Number Name Date Kind
4733823 Waggener et al. Mar 1988 A
5487483 Kubby Jan 1996 A
5513431 Ohno et al. May 1996 A
5534900 Ohno et al. Jul 1996 A
5635337 Bartha et al. Jun 1997 A
5738757 Burns et al. Apr 1998 A
5912684 Fujii et al. Jun 1999 A
6139132 Yasukawa et al. Oct 2000 A
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