CN1302930C - Ink jetting head assembly and production method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses an ink gun assembly and a manufacturing method thereof. Photosensitive polymers are used as base materials of the ink gun assembly, fluid structures of jet holes, an ink storage chamber, etc. are manufactured in a photoetching mode, and then, modes of exposing, developing or electroforming, etc. are in mixed utilization in order that the ink storage chamber, the jet holes and electric connecting leading legs of a chip are conformed to a single ink gun assembly. The manufacture of the ink gun assembly is completed through an integral manufacturing process.

Description

Inkjet head assembly and manufacturing method thereof

technical field

The invention relates to an ink-jet head assembly and a manufacturing method thereof, in particular to an ink-jet head assembly with reduced manufacturing cost and a manufacturing method thereof.

Background technique

The inkjet head assembly is the key component of the inkjet printer. In terms of the current packaging structure of the inkjet head, most of the assembly process first completes the orifice sheet and the inkjet head chip, and then puts the photosensitive adhesive on the surface. Lay it on the chip, form the ink storage chamber and the flow channel for supplying ink on the adhesive by photolithography, and then use the adhesive to carry out alignment and bonding of the orifice sheet and the chip, and finally wrap the tape and roll automatically The pins (Lead) of the chip are aligned and attached to the electrical signal contacts (Pads) of the chip by means of high temperature and external pressure, so as to provide the external electrical connection of the chip.

Wherein, the signal contacts of the inkjet head chip are aligned and hot-pressed in the form of inner pins, so that they are combined with the wire pins of the substrate. Inner Lead Bonding (ILB, Inner Lead Bonding) equipment using semiconductor technology is required. During packaging, the signal contacts of the inkjet chip and the wire pins of the substrate are firstly aligned; then the wires are bonded by hot melt pressure. The feet are welded to the signal contacts, and the welded area is filled with primer to increase reliability. Due to the high precision and difficulty of this process, its process conditions are likely to affect the quality of the packaging structure of the component. In addition, the orifice sheet used in the prior art is made by electroforming. Before making it, it is necessary to precisely adjust the formula of the electroplating solution. After a long period of adjustment and correction, better electroforming quality can be obtained. Therefore, it is difficult to precisely control the size and roundness of the orifice holes and the thickness uniformity of the orifice sheets obtained by this method. At the same time, the bonding strength between the metal orifice sheet and the inkjet chip will be eroded by the ink in the ink storage chamber, and the adhesion will continue to decrease over time, thereby causing local delamination.

In addition, laser perforation can also be used to make nozzle holes on the tape-and-reel automatic packaging sheet. Please refer to US Patent No. 5,305,015. The wires for signal transmission are produced by electroforming or pasting copper foil, and then the focused laser is used to etch the nozzle holes. After the cleaning procedure, it is finally combined with the chip by hot pressing to complete the packaging of the inkjet head chip. However, in this patented method, the nozzle holes must be produced one by one by laser, which makes the manufacturing process slow, and high heat will be generated during the manufacturing process, which will easily lead to deformation around the nozzle holes. In addition, if you want to produce nozzle holes of different sizes, you need to use different lenses to focus the laser, which will increase the manufacturing time and cost, and the debris generated around the nozzle holes during the laser process is not easy to remove.

Contents of the invention

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an inkjet head assembly and its manufacturing method, which directly integrates the ink storage chamber, the nozzle hole, and the electrical connection pins to the chip into a single assembly, and through an integral manufacturing process To be manufactured.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing an inkjet head assembly, the steps of which include:

providing a substrate;

forming a sacrificial layer on the surface of the substrate;

forming a metal conductive line on the surface of the sacrificial layer;

forming a first photosensitive polymer layer on the surface of the metal conductive circuit;

Forming more than one spray hole and more than one through hole in the first photosensitive polymer layer by photolithography, the spray hole provides fluid passage, and the through hole is used to expose the metal conductive circuit a pin terminal;

the step of having a fluid structure with more than one ink storage chamber corresponding to and connected to the nozzle hole; and

The sacrificial layer is removed to separate the photosensitive polymer layer and the metal conductive lines attached thereto from the substrate.

The above-mentioned manufacturing method of the inkjet head assembly is characterized in that the step of forming a metal conductive circuit on the sacrificial layer is to form the metal conductive circuit by electroforming.

The method for manufacturing the above-mentioned inkjet head assembly is characterized in that the sacrificial layer is formed of non-metallic material, and before the step of forming a metal conductive circuit on the sacrificial layer, it also includes a A step of forming an electroformed seed layer.

The above-mentioned manufacturing method of the inkjet head assembly is characterized in that the step of forming a metal conductive circuit above the sacrificial layer is to first form a metal layer above the sacrificial layer, and then cooperate with photolithography to etch the metal. layer to form the metal conductive lines.

The above-mentioned manufacturing method of the inkjet head assembly is characterized in that the step of forming a fluid structure having more than one ink storage chamber is to form a second photosensitive polymer on the surface of the first photosensitive polymer layer layer, and form the fluid structure by photolithography.

The above-mentioned manufacturing method of the inkjet head assembly is characterized in that it further includes a step of forming a protective layer on the surface of the metal conductive circuit.

The method for manufacturing the above-mentioned inkjet head assembly is characterized in that the sacrificial layer is formed of a metal material.

The present invention also provides an inkjet head assembly comprising:

A photosensitive polymer layer substrate, which has more than one orifice to provide fluid passage, and the orifice is formed by photolithography;

A metal conductive circuit is arranged on the surface of the photosensitive polymer layer substrate, the metal conductive circuit has a front end and a pin end, the front end is used to receive external signals, and the pin end is used to provide an electrical connection to a chip, the pin ends being exposed on the photopolymer layer substrate; and

A fluid structure, which is combined with the base material of the photosensitive polymer layer, the fluid structure has more than one ink storage chamber, and the ink storage chamber corresponds to and connects with the nozzle hole.

The above-mentioned inkjet head assembly is characterized in that the fluid structure further includes more than one flow channel, and the flow channel is used to supply ink to the ink storage chamber.

The above-mentioned inkjet head assembly is characterized in that it also includes a protective layer formed on the surface of the metal conductive circuit

The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, but not as a limitation of the present invention.

Description of drawings

1 to 7 are the production flow charts of the first embodiment of the present invention; and

8 to 11 are the production flowcharts of the second embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The inkjet head assembly disclosed in the present invention and its manufacturing method can be combined with exposure, development and electroforming to produce an integrated inkjet head assembly.

Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 7 , which are the production flowcharts of the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 , firstly, a metal sacrificial layer 110 is deposited on the surface of the substrate 100 . The so-called sacrificial layer is the material that separates other layers when the structure is made.

As shown in FIG. 2 , a photoresist layer (photoresist) 120 is formed on the surface of the sacrificial layer 110 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , a metal conductive line 130 is formed in the gap of the photoresist layer 120 above the metal sacrificial layer 110 by electroforming.

As shown in Figure 4, a photosensitive polymer layer 140 is coated on the metal conductive circuit 130, and a spray hole and a through hole exposing the pin end of the metal conductive circuit are made by photolithography, so as to serve as the external electrical connection of the metal conductive circuit 130. sexual connection. The mask 200 is divided into a light-transmitting area and an opaque area. The opaque area can block light from passing through, and the light-transmitting area allows light to pass through, irradiating some areas of the photosensitive polymer layer 140 to form links. After exposing the photosensitive polymer layer 140 with a suitable light source through the photomask 200, the nozzle holes and the through holes exposing the pin ends of the metal conductive circuits are formed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5 , the exposure pattern of the photosensitive polymer layer 140 is developed to form spray holes and through holes exposing the pin ends of the metal conductive circuits.

As shown in Figure 6, the photoresist layer used when removing the metal sacrificial layer 110 and electroforming metal, make the metal conductive circuit 130 and the photosensitive polymer layer 140 separate from the substrate 100 to form a flexible circuit board with spray holes, so as to The above-mentioned method can quickly manufacture the components required for the packaging of the inkjet head chip. The components include several nozzle holes and metal conductive lines, which can replace the original nozzle holes and tape-and-roll automatic packaging chips.

And, as shown in FIG. 7 , before removing the photoresist layer used for electroforming metal, the flexible circuit board can be turned over, and the protective layer 150 is formed on the surface of the metal conductive circuit 130 by photolithography, and then the The photoresist layer used when electroforming metal is removed while developing the pattern of the resist layer 150 .

Wherein, the metal sacrificial layer in the first embodiment of the present invention can also be replaced by a sacrificial layer of other materials, but when forming a metal conductive circuit by electroforming, a metal seed layer (seed layer) needs to be formed on the surface of the sacrificial layer in advance. , to facilitate the subsequent electroforming process. Alternatively, photolithography can be used directly to fabricate metal conductive lines. Firstly, a metal layer is deposited on the surface of the sacrificial layer, and then steps such as photoresist coating, exposure, development and etching are performed to form metal conductive lines.

In addition, the present invention also includes integrating the ink storage chamber and the flow channel into the structure of the flexible circuit board with spray holes.

Please refer to FIG. 8 to FIG. 11 , which are the production flowcharts of the second embodiment of the present invention.

First, the steps are the same as those shown in Figures 1 to 4 of the first embodiment. First, after depositing a metal sacrificial layer on the surface of the substrate; a photoresist layer is produced on the surface of the sacrificial layer; line. And coating a first photosensitive polymer layer on the metal conductive circuit, after exposing the first photosensitive polymer layer through a photomask with a suitable light source, the nozzle holes and the pin ends of the exposed metal conductive circuit are produced. through hole.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8 , form a second photosensitive polymer layer 141 on the surface of the first photosensitive polymer layer 140 that has been manufactured, and utilize a suitable photomask 200 to expose the second layer of photosensitive polymer layer 141 To manufacture fluid structures such as ink storage chambers and flow channels.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the exposure patterns of the second photosensitive polymer layer 141 and the first photosensitive polymer layer 140 are developed to form nozzle holes, through holes exposing the pin ends of metal conductive circuits, ink storage chambers and flow channels. Fluid structures such as channels.

As shown in FIG. 10 , the metal sacrificial layer 110 and the photoresist layer used for electroforming metal are removed, so that the metal conductive circuit 130 , the first photosensitive polymer layer 140 and the second photosensitive polymer layer 141 are all separated from the substrate. 100 to form a flexible circuit board with nozzle holes, ink storage chambers and flow channels.

And, as shown in FIG. 11 , before removing the photoresist layer used in electroforming metal, the flexible circuit board can be turned over, and a protective layer 151 is formed on the surface of the metal conductive circuit 130 by photolithography, and then the When developing the pattern of the protective layer 151 , the photoresist layer used for electroforming metal is removed together, and the protective layer 151 is formed on the surface other than the surface on which the metal conductive circuit 130 is attached to the first photosensitive polymer layer 140 .

The invention uses photolithography technology to make the nozzle hole, and its roundness and thickness can be controlled at will, and the quality of the roundness and thickness is far superior to the traditional technology, and the irregular nozzle hole can be made only by changing the photomask . Integrating the orifice and the ink storage chamber in the flexible circuit board to form a single component can effectively reduce the cost, and there is no need to additionally manufacture the orifice sheet and form the ink storage chamber on the chip. At the same time, the substrate of the flexible circuit board, the inkjet Holes and ink storage chambers can be quickly and accurately completed on the same manufacturing platform and using the same manufacturing method.

Of course, the present invention can also have other various embodiments, and the structure of the device can be further improved without departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention, but these corresponding changes should all belong to the appended claims of the present invention scope of protection.

Claims (10)

1. A method for manufacturing an inkjet head assembly, comprising the following steps: providing a substrate; forming a sacrificial layer on the surface of the substrate; forming a metal conductive line on the surface of the sacrificial layer; forming a first photosensitive polymer layer on the surface of the metal conductive circuit; Forming more than one jet hole and more than one through hole in the first photosensitive polymer layer by photolithography, the jet hole provides fluid to pass through, and the through hole is used to expose a lead of the metal conductive circuit end; a fluid structure having more than one ink storage chamber corresponding to and connected to the orifice; and The sacrificial layer is removed to separate the photosensitive polymer layer and the metal conductive lines attached thereto from the substrate. 2. The method for manufacturing an inkjet head assembly according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming a conductive metal circuit on the sacrificial layer is to form the conductive metal circuit by electroforming. 3. The method for manufacturing an inkjet head assembly according to claim 2, wherein the sacrificial layer is formed of a non-metallic material, and before the step of forming a metal conductive circuit on the sacrificial layer, further comprising: A step of forming an electroformed seed layer on the surface of the sacrificial layer. 4. The method for manufacturing an inkjet head assembly according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming a metal conductive circuit on the sacrificial layer is to first form a metal layer on the sacrificial layer, and then cooperate with The metal layer is etched by photolithography to form the metal conductive lines. 5. The method for manufacturing an inkjet head assembly according to claim 1, wherein said step of forming a fluid structure having more than one ink storage chamber is formed on the surface of said first photosensitive polymer layer A second photosensitive polymer layer is used to form the fluid structure by photolithography. 6. The method for manufacturing an inkjet head assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a step of forming a protective layer on the surface of the metal conductive circuit. 7. The method of manufacturing an inkjet head assembly according to claim 1, wherein the sacrificial layer is formed of a metal material. 8. An inkjet head assembly, characterized in that it comprises: A photosensitive polymer layer substrate, which has more than one orifice to provide fluid passage, and the orifice is formed by photolithography; A metal conductive circuit is arranged on the surface of the photosensitive polymer layer substrate, the metal conductive circuit has a front end and a pin end, the front end is used to receive external signals, and the pin end is used to provide an electrical connection to a chip, the pin ends being exposed on the photopolymer layer substrate; and A fluid structure, which is combined with the base material of the photosensitive polymer layer, the fluid structure has more than one ink storage chamber, and the ink storage chamber corresponds to and connects with the nozzle hole. 9. The inkjet head assembly according to claim 8, wherein the fluid structure further comprises more than one flow channel for supplying ink to the ink storage chamber. 10. The inkjet head assembly according to claim 8, further comprising a protective layer formed on the surface of the metal conductive circuit.

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