JP2019162858A - Actuator, liquid discharge head, liquid discharge unit, and liquid discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

To enable measuring dimensions of space itself occupied by an actuator.SOLUTION: An actuator such as an actuator substrate with a space such as a pressurized liquid chamber 5 formed in the substrate, or the like, comprises a tabular part such as a diaphragm 3 constituting one inner wall of the space, a major part of which is made of a material that blocks light having a particular wavelength, for example, a visible light. Portions corresponding to at least two positions in a rim of the space in the tabular part, for example, at both width-wise ends, are provided with transmission regions 15' which allow the light having the particular wavelength to penetrate therethrough.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an actuator, a liquid discharge head, a liquid discharge unit, and an apparatus for discharging a liquid.

  Conventionally, an actuator having a plate-like portion constituting one inner wall surface of a space formed in a substrate is known. For example, a liquid discharge head of an ink jet recording apparatus includes an actuator having a pressurized liquid chamber that is a space formed in a substrate. The nozzle plate in which the nozzle hole for discharging the liquid in this pressurized liquid chamber was formed, and the diaphragm which is a plate-shaped part which forms the inner wall surface on the opposite side on both sides of a liquid chamber are provided. An electromechanical conversion element is provided on the surface of the diaphragm opposite to the pressurized liquid chamber. And the thing of the structure suitable for measuring the dimension in this pressurized liquid chamber is also known.

  For example, Patent Document 1 includes a diaphragm that is opaque to visible light, a space having a shape similar to that of the pressurized liquid chamber is formed at the end of the pressurized liquid chamber for measurement, and the space is formed as a diaphragm. Describes a liquid discharge head provided with a partition plate transparent to visible light at a position corresponding to the above. It is said that the width of the diaphragm in the pressurized liquid chamber can be measured by visible light through the partition plate.

  However, in the liquid discharge head of Patent Document 1, there remains a problem that the original pressurized liquid chamber itself cannot be measured when the diaphragm, which is a plate-like portion, is opaque.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an actuator having a space formed in a substrate, and a material that does not allow light of a specific wavelength to pass through most of a plate-like portion that forms one inner wall surface of the space. And a portion corresponding to at least two of the peripheral edges of the space in the plate-shaped portion is formed of a material that transmits light of the specific wavelength.

According to the present invention, even when the plate-like portion is opaque, an excellent effect is obtained that the space itself of the actuator can be measured.

FIG. 3 is a partially broken perspective view showing the internal configuration of the liquid ejection head in the embodiment. The bottom view which shows the internal structure of the liquid discharge head. Sectional drawing of AA 'of FIG. Sectional drawing of BB 'of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the manufacturing method of the liquid discharge head. Explanatory drawing of length measurement of the liquid discharge head. Explanatory drawing of an example of the specific method of detecting the edge of a pressurized liquid chamber. Explanatory drawing in the case of the forward taper shape in which a wall surface inclines so that a pressurized liquid chamber may become narrow at the bottom part side rather than the piezoelectric element part side. Explanatory drawing in the case of the reverse taper shape in which a wall surface inclines so that the width | variety by the side of a piezoelectric element part may become narrower than a bottom part side. Explanatory drawing of the example which formed the through-hole as a measurable structure. Sectional drawing of the liquid discharge head in other embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection head in still another embodiment. Explanatory drawing of a modification. Explanatory drawing of another modification. Furthermore, explanatory drawing of another modification. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a liquid discharge head according to still another embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the inkjet recording device in embodiment. It is a side view which shows an example of the mechanism part of the inkjet recording device of FIG. It is principal part top explanatory drawing which shows an example of a liquid discharge unit. It is principal part top explanatory drawing which shows the other example of a liquid discharge unit. It is front explanatory drawing which shows the further another example of a liquid discharge unit.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a liquid discharge head of an ink jet recording apparatus as an image forming apparatus which is an apparatus for discharging a liquid will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a liquid discharge head portion having a sub-frame substrate according to the present invention and having a piezoelectric actuator, FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing two piezoelectric actuators, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA ′ of FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB ′ of FIG.

  As shown in the figure, the liquid discharge head unit 1 is of a side shooter type that discharges liquid droplets from nozzle holes 6 provided in the substrate surface portion, and includes an actuator substrate 100, a subframe substrate 200, and a nozzle substrate 300.

  The actuator substrate 100 includes a piezoelectric element 2 and a diaphragm 3 that generate liquid ejection energy. Further, a pressurized liquid chamber partition wall 4, a pressurized liquid chamber 5, a fluid resistance portion 7, and a common liquid chamber 8 are formed. Each pressurized liquid chamber 5 is partitioned by a pressurized liquid chamber partition wall 4. Further, a passivation film 50 is formed for the purpose of protecting the lead wiring layer (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

  The subframe substrate 200 is provided on the actuator substrate 100. A gap 67 (counterbore) is formed so that the liquid supply port 66 for supplying liquid from the outside, the common liquid supply path 9, and the diaphragm 3 can be bent (see FIGS. 3 and 4). The subframe substrate 200 constitutes a gap forming substrate. Further, since the gap 67 covers the piezoelectric element 2, the subframe substrate 200 is also referred to as a protective substrate.

  The nozzle substrate 300 has nozzle holes 6 formed at positions corresponding to the individual pressurized liquid chambers 5. By bonding the actuator substrate 100, the subframe substrate 200, and the nozzle substrate 300, the liquid discharge head unit 1 is formed.

Here, the actuator portion 68 which is a feature of the present invention is applied. The actuator portion 68 that is a feature of the present invention may be a dummy bit that is not driven.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4, the actuator substrate 100 has a diaphragm 3 that forms a partial wall surface of the pressurized liquid chamber 5, and a side facing the pressurized liquid chamber 5 through the diaphragm 3. A piezoelectric element 2 is formed. The piezoelectric element 2 is formed of a common electrode 10, individual electrodes 11, and a piezoelectric body 12. In addition, the diaphragm 3 also forms a partial wall surface of the fluid resistance portion 7 connected to the pressurized liquid chamber. A portion corresponding to the common liquid chamber 8 is formed with a through hole so that ink that is liquid from the outside can be supplied to the common liquid chamber 8 through the common liquid supply path 9 of the subframe substrate 200. .

  In the liquid discharge head unit 1 formed in this way, the recording liquid is discharged from the control unit based on the image data in a state where each pressurized liquid chamber 5 is filled with a liquid, for example, a recording liquid (ink). A pulse voltage is applied to the individual electrode 11 corresponding to the nozzle hole 6 to be performed. For example, a pulse voltage of 20 V is applied by the oscillation circuit through the lead wiring and the connection hole formed in the interlayer insulating film 45. By applying this voltage pulse, the piezoelectric body 12 itself contracts in the direction parallel to the diaphragm 3 due to the electrostrictive effect, and the diaphragm 3 bends in the direction of the pressurized liquid chamber 5. As a result, the pressure in the pressurized liquid chamber 5 rises rapidly, and the recording liquid is discharged from the nozzle holes 6 communicating with the pressurized liquid chamber 5. Next, after applying the pulse voltage, the contracted piezoelectric body 12 returns to its original position, so that the deflected diaphragm 3 returns to its original position, and the pressurized liquid chamber 5 has a negative pressure compared to the common liquid chamber 8. It becomes. At this negative pressure, the ink supplied from the outside via the liquid supply port 66 is supplied from the common liquid supply path 9 and the common liquid chamber 8 to the pressurized liquid chamber 5 via the fluid resistance portion 7. By repeating this, droplets can be ejected continuously, and an image is formed on a recording medium (paper) disposed facing the liquid ejection head.

In the present embodiment, visible light transmitting processing regions 15 (six pressure liquid chambers 5 in the illustrated example) for forming visible light transmitting regions indicated by broken lines in FIG. 2 are provided. As shown in FIG. 4, the visible light transmitting processing region 15 includes a vibrating plate visible light impervious film 21 (described later) that constitutes the diaphragm 3 at the other pressurized liquid chamber (see FIG. 3). Active layer Si 16) and common electrode 10 are not present, and only visible light transmitting film 20 (Box layer SiO ₂ 17 described later) is used. In the visible light transmission processing region 15, in the range overlapping the pressurizing fluid chamber 5, it is visible from the pressurizing fluid chamber of the actuator substrate 100 to the piezoelectric element side, and from the piezoelectric element side of the actuator substrate 100 to the pressurizing fluid chamber. It can be transmitted with light. In addition, the visible light transmitting processing region 15 is included so as to include the position of the partition wall 4 in the diaphragm 3 in the width direction of the pressurizing fluid chamber 5 in particular (the boundary position applied in the width direction of the pressurizing fluid chamber). Is set. In the illustrated example, the visible light transmitting processing regions 15 at the four corners include boundary positions in the longitudinal direction. As a result, the hatched region in the figure that overlaps the pressurized liquid chamber 5 in the visible light transmitting processing region 15 becomes the visible light transmitting region 15 ′.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the manufacturing process. Actually, a pattern corresponding to a plurality of chips is formed on the wafer. Here, two bits of the actuator portion 68 of the actuator substrate 100 including the present invention will be described.
(A) An SOI substrate (for example, a plate thickness of 400 μm) having a surface orientation (110) is used as the actuator substrate 100, and the active layer Si 16 and the Box layer SiO ₂ 17 are used as the subsequent diaphragm 3. Since the active layer Si does not transmit visible light, the active layer Si 16 in the visible light transmitting processing region 15 is measured by a lithoetch method so that the width of the pressurized liquid chamber can be detected by measuring the edge with transmitted light of visible light. Remove. At this time, the Si etching is performed by, for example, etching with an ICP etcher using a Bosch method to remove the active layer Si in the visible light transmitting processed region 15 without almost etching the underlying Box layer SiO ₂ 17. Can do.

Here, the film thickness of the active layer Si 16 has a function for obtaining the rigidity of the diaphragm 3 so that droplets can be optimally discharged, and is arbitrarily set within a range of 1 μm to 20 μm. The active layer Si 16 of the SOI substrate is used as a vibration plate regardless of its thickness. The crossing of the film thickness can be about ± 0.2 μm. This is superior to the laminated film. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a highly accurate actuator with little variation between bits. Further, the thickness of the Box layer SiO ₂ 17 needs to have a function as a stopping layer at the time of etching for forming the pressurizing liquid chamber 5 to be formed later, and therefore the film thickness of 70 nm to 1 μm may be arbitrarily set. . Here, the vibration plate 3 is the active layer Si 16 of the SOI wafer. However, even when a vibration plate material that does not transmit visible light, such as a polysilicon film, is used, the width of the pressurized liquid chamber is set to the transmitted light of visible light. In order to measure, the visible light transmitting processing region 15 may be opened.

(B) Next, in order to obtain adhesion with the common electrode 10, SiO ₂ is formed as a thermal oxide film 51 on the active layer Si 16 in the range of 70 nm to 1 μm.
(C) Next, as the common electrode 10, for example, TiO ₂ as an adhesion layer and Pt as an electrode are formed to a thickness of 50 nm and 120 nm, respectively, by sputtering. TiO ₂ film oxidizes Ti in RTA method in an oxygen atmosphere after forming a Ti by sputtering may be TiO _2.

  Next, PZT is formed as the piezoelectric body 12 in a plurality of times, for example, by spin coating, and finally a film having a thickness of 2 μm is formed. Next, a Pt individual electrode 11 is deposited by sputtering, for example, to 70 nm. Here, the film forming method of the piezoelectric body 12 is not limited to the spin coating method, and may be formed by, for example, a sputtering method, an ion plating method, an air sol method, a sol gel method, an ink jet method, or the like.

  Then, the individual electrode 11, the piezoelectric body 12, and the common electrode 10 are patterned in order to form the piezoelectric element 2 at a position corresponding to the pressurized liquid chamber 5 to be formed later by a lithoetch method. Thereafter, the common electrode 10 is patterned by a lithoetch method. At this time, the common electrode 10 layer at a location that will later become the common liquid chamber 8 is also patterned.

(D) Next, an interlayer insulating film 45 is formed in order to insulate the common electrode 10 and the piezoelectric body 12 from a lead wiring to be formed later. As the interlayer insulating film 45, a SiO ₂ film is formed by, for example, a plasma CVD method. The interlayer insulating film 45 may be a film other than the SiO _{2 of the} plasma CVD method as long as it does not affect the piezoelectric body 12 and the electrode material and has an insulating property.

  Next, a connection hole for connecting the individual electrode 11 and the lead wiring is formed by a lithoetch method. When the common electrode 10 is also connected to the lead wiring, a connection hole is similarly formed.

  Next, as the lead wiring, for example, TiN / Al is formed into a film with a thickness of 30 nm / 1 μm by sputtering. TiN is applied as a barrier layer that avoids direct contact between Pt, which is the material of the individual electrode 11 or the common electrode 10, and Al, which is the material of the lead-out wiring, at the bottom of the connection hole. This is because, when in direct contact, it is alloyed by a thermal history in a subsequent process, and film peeling or the like is prevented from being caused by stress due to volume change.

Next, as the passivation film 50, a silicon nitride film is formed to a thickness of 700 nm by, for example, a plasma CVD method. Thereafter, the lead-out wiring pad portion and the actuator portion 68 of the lead-out wiring and the common liquid supply passage 9 are also opened by the lithoetch method.
Next, the diaphragm 3 is removed by the litho-etching method at portions where the common liquid chamber flow path 9 part and the subsequent common liquid chamber 8 part become.

(E) Next, the subframe substrate 200 including the gap 67 corresponding to the position of the liquid supply port 66 and the actuator portion 68 is bonded to the actuator substrate 100 via the bonding portion 48 with an adhesive. The adhesive is applied to the subframe substrate 200 side with a thickness of about 1 to 4 μm by a general thin film transfer device.

  Next, in order to form the subsequent pressurized liquid chamber 5, common liquid chamber 8, and fluid resistance portion 7, the actuator substrate 100 is polished by a known technique so as to have a desired thickness t (for example, a thickness of 80 μm). To do. Etching may be used in addition to the polishing method.

Next, the partition walls other than the pressurized liquid chamber 5, the common liquid chamber 8, and the fluid resistance portion 7 are covered with a resist by a litho method. Thereafter, anisotropic wet etching is performed with an alkali solution (KOH solution or TMHA solution) to form the pressurized liquid chamber 5, the common liquid chamber 8, and the fluid resistance portion 7. The pressurized liquid chamber 5, the common liquid chamber 8, and the fluid resistance portion 7 may be formed by dry etching using an ICP etcher other than anisotropic etching with an alkaline solution.
Next, the nozzle substrate 300 having the nozzle holes 6 opened at positions corresponding to the separately formed pressurized liquid chambers 5 is bonded. Thus, the liquid discharge head unit 1 is completed.

  Since the processing dimension accuracy of the pressurized liquid chamber is important, the bottom of the liquid chamber (piezoelectric element side) and the upper dimension are measured with an optical measuring device. The bottom side dimension is measured through a diaphragm that irradiates transmitted light from the upper side (pressure liquid chamber side) and transmits visible light from the bottom side (piezoelectric element side). However, it is difficult to detect the lower pattern edge (here, the bottom of the pressurized liquid chamber) through a material that does not transmit visible light (for example, single crystal Si). If the material transmits infrared light, the width of the pressurized liquid chamber 5 can be measured by transmitting the infrared light and detecting the edge of the base. However, since infrared light has a wavelength larger than that of visible light, the resolution is lower than that of visible light, and a resolution of 1 μm or less cannot be obtained, which is not suitable for dimension measurement of fine processing. In addition, if the material does not transmit visible light or infrared light, it is impossible to measure dimensions at all.

  Therefore, the present embodiment is characterized in that the width dimension of the pressurized liquid chamber can be measured with the transmitted light of visible light with high measurement accuracy by providing the minimum visible light transmitting region 15 '. That is, by forming the minimum visible light transmission region 15 ′ in the actuator portion 68, visible light is transmitted and the edge of the pressurized liquid chamber 5 can be visually recognized, so that the width of the pressurized liquid chamber 5 can be measured. It becomes.

As shown in FIG. 6B, in the place where there is no visible light transmission region 15 ′, Pt of the common electrode 10 layer and the active layer Si 16 of the diaphragm 3 constituting film do not transmit visible light. Visible light incident on the edge of the pressurized liquid chamber 5 from the side opposite to the piezoelectric element portion is reflected by the surface of the common electrode 10 layer, and the edge of the pressurized liquid chamber 5 cannot be visually recognized. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6A, since only the Box layer SiO ₂ 17 of the diaphragm 3 is provided in the visible light transmitting region, the visible light is transmitted and the edge of the pressurized liquid chamber 5 is observed. I can confirm. By providing the visible light transmitting region 15 ′ in this way, it is possible to measure the width dimension that greatly affects the actuator characteristics at the bottom of the pressurized liquid chamber 5 regardless of the cross-sectional shape (taper, reverse taper) of the pressurized liquid chamber partition 4. It becomes. Further, when it is not necessary to have an actuator function, for example, a configuration without the piezoelectric element 2 may be used as a dimension measurement pattern.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a specific method for detecting the edge of the pressurized liquid chamber. When a range including two visible light transmission regions 15 ′ indicated by X in FIG. 7A is viewed with a microscope, an image I corresponding to the two visible light transmission regions 15 ′ is obtained as shown in FIG. 7B. Detected. Since the outer edges E1 and E2 of the two images I correspond to the edges of the liquid chamber, the liquid chamber width W can be measured by measuring the distance between the edges E1 and E2 of the images.

  The arrow shown in FIG. 6 (a) is applied by irradiating visible light from the bottom of the pressurized liquid chamber opposite to the piezoelectric element side and detecting the light transmitted from the piezoelectric element side. The case where the width dimension of the bottom part by the side of the piezoelectric element part of a pressurized liquid chamber is measured is shown. Conversely, when measuring the width of the bottom of the pressurized liquid chamber opposite to the piezoelectric element, the visible light is irradiated from the bottom of the liquid chamber opposite to the piezoelectric element. Measure from the same side. Thus, since the transmitted light is irradiated from the bottom of the pressurized liquid chamber opposite to the piezoelectric element portion, the length measurement is performed before the nozzle substrate 300 is bonded.

Further, when the taper angle of the cross section of the pressurized liquid chamber is other than 90 °, it is desirable to make the visible light incident side and the length measuring side as follows.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the case where the pressurized liquid chamber has a forward tapered shape in which the wall surface is inclined so that the width on the bottom side is narrower than the piezoelectric element side. As shown in FIG. 8A, when measuring the pressure liquid chamber width W1 on the piezoelectric element side, the visible light is irradiated from the piezoelectric element side of the pressure liquid chamber and observed from the same side. Is preferred. Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, when measuring the width W2 on the bottom side of the pressurized liquid chamber, visible light is irradiated from the bottom side of the pressurized liquid chamber and observed from the same side. preferable.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the case where the pressurized liquid chamber has an inversely tapered shape in which the wall surface is inclined so that the width on the piezoelectric element portion side is narrower than the bottom portion side. As shown in FIG. 9A, when measuring the pressure liquid chamber width W1 on the piezoelectric element side, visible light irradiation and observation can be performed from either the piezoelectric element side or the bottom side, It is preferable to observe from the piezoelectric element part side by irradiating visible light from the bottom part side. As shown in FIG. 9B, in the measurement of the width W2 on the bottom side of the pressurized liquid chamber, it is preferable to observe from the same side by irradiating visible light from the bottom side.

  In the example of the manufacturing method described with reference to FIG. 5, the subframe substrate 200 is bonded when the pressurized liquid chamber 5 is formed. Therefore, a portion corresponding to the visible light transmission region 15 ′ of the subframe substrate 200 is formed so as to be able to measure dimensions. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an example in which a through hole 201 is formed as a measurable structure. When a through hole is formed as a measurable structure in this way, it is closed by a plate that forms a common liquid chamber that is further bonded onto the subframe substrate 200. Unlike the manufacturing method described with reference to FIG. 5, when the pressurized liquid chamber 5 is formed before the subframe substrate 200 is bonded (for example, the subframe substrate 200 is bonded before and after the nozzle substrate 300 is bonded). In the case of carrying out), the subframe substrate 200 does not require a special structure for enabling dimension measurement.

[Embodiment 2]
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection head according to another embodiment. The liquid ejection head according to this embodiment is the same as that of Embodiment 1 except that the material of the visible light transmission region 15 ′ is different. That is, in the first embodiment, the visible light transmission region 15 ′ is only a thin Box layer SiO ₂ single layer, and the SiO ₂ film itself has a compressive stress. May buckle. When the visible light transmission region 15 'is buckled, the film of the visible light transmission region 15' is broken to cause a problem, and the quality of the actuator and the liquid discharge head is remarkably deteriorated. In view of this, the second embodiment aims to prevent buckling and improve the reliability of the actuator by providing a tensile stress film that transmits visible light so as not to cause such buckling. And

In the second embodiment, the visible light transmitting tensile stress film 44 is formed before the interlayer insulating film 45 is formed, so that visible light is formed on the Box layer SiO ₂ 17 which is a compressive stress film in the visible light transmitting region 15 ′. A transmission tensile stress film 44 is laminated. Specifically, the visible light transmitting tensile stress film 44 is formed of a material having a tensile stress such as Al ₂ O ₃ , Si ₃ N ₅ , ZrO _{2, and the} like that transmits visible light. These films are formed by, for example, a sputtering method or an ALD film forming method. As described above, unlike the first embodiment, the second embodiment is unlikely to buckle the visible light transmission region 15 ′, and the visible light transmission region is formed. Therefore, the dimensions can be measured with higher accuracy than the configuration of the first embodiment. Is possible.

[Embodiment 3]
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid ejection head according to still another embodiment (Embodiment 3).
In the third embodiment, all the constituent films of the visible light transmission region 15 'are removed. Other points are the same as those of the first and second embodiments. As a result, the edge of the pressurized liquid chamber partition wall 4 is not affected by the permeable membrane at all because the edge of the pressurized liquid chamber partition wall 4 does not exist in the visible light transmission region 15 ′. Compared to the first and second embodiments, the dimension can be measured with the highest accuracy.

However, since there is no constituent film in the visible light transmission region, a dedicated pattern (dummy pattern) only for dimension measurement is assumed. Since no liquid is supplied to the dummy pattern, liquid leakage does not occur even if there is no film material in a part of the liquid chamber. Actually, it is necessary to dispose this dedicated pattern in a region where there is no functional influence as a liquid ejection head.
In any of the first, second, and third embodiments, the visible light transmissive processing region 15 is as shown in (B), (C), or (D) in addition to (A) as shown in FIG. You may provide in a location. All are set so that the pressurized liquid chamber partition wall edge can be visually recognized at least in the width direction. FIGS. 13A and 13D show a configuration in which the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the pressurized liquid chamber 5 can be measured. In the case of a dummy pattern, the piezoelectric element 2 may or may not be present.

FIG. 14 is a bottom view showing an example of a dummy pattern formation location.
A dummy liquid chamber 5A was formed at the end of the row of the original pressurized liquid chambers 5, and a visible light transmission processing region 15 similar to that of the first embodiment was formed in the liquid chamber 5A.

FIG. 15 is a bottom view showing an example of another dummy pattern forming portion. A dummy liquid chamber 5A is formed at the end of the row of original pressurized liquid chambers 5, and a common liquid chamber 8 is formed therefrom. The chamber was extended to the position in the longitudinal direction while maintaining the width of the pressurized liquid chamber. Then, a visible light transmission processing region 15 was formed in the extended portion.

  Each of the above embodiments is an example using visible light for length measurement, but is not limited thereto. Depending on the required resolution, for example, infrared light or the like can be used for measurement. At that time, the visible light transmission processing region is formed so as to transmit the measurement light to be used.

[Embodiment 4]
FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge 105 that is integrally provided with the liquid ejection head unit 1 according to the first to fourth embodiments and contains ink as a liquid. The ink cartridge 105 is obtained by integrating a liquid discharge head unit 1 having nozzles 6 and the like, and an ink tank 105 a that supplies ink to the liquid discharge head unit 1. As described above, when the ink tank 105a is a single liquid discharge head, the yield and reliability of the ink cartridge 105 can be improved by increasing the accuracy, density, and reliability of the actuator unit. Thus, the cost of the ink cartridge 105 can be reduced.

[Embodiment 5]
Next, an example of an ink jet recording apparatus that is an apparatus for ejecting a liquid that includes the liquid ejection head unit 1 according to the first to fourth embodiments will be described.
FIG. 17 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the embodiment, and FIG. 18 is a side view illustrating an example of a mechanism unit of the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG.
The ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment includes a carriage that can move in the main scanning direction inside a recording apparatus main body 91, a liquid discharge head (recording head) 104 that has the liquid discharge head unit 1 mounted on the carriage, and a liquid discharge head 104. A printing mechanism 92 including an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the printer is housed.

  A sheet feeding cassette (or a sheet feeding tray) 94 on which a large number of sheets 93 can be stacked from the front side can be removably mounted on the lower part of the recording apparatus main body 91, and the sheets 93 can be manually inserted. The manual feed tray 95 for feeding paper can be turned over. Then, the paper 93 fed from the paper feed cassette 94 or the manual feed tray 95 is taken in, and after a required image is recorded by the printing mechanism unit 92, the paper is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 96 mounted on the rear side.

  The printing mechanism 92 holds the carriage 103 slidably in the main scanning direction by a main guide rod 101 and a sub guide rod 102 which are guide members horizontally mounted on the left and right side plates. The carriage 103 includes a liquid discharge head (recording head) 104 that discharges ink droplets of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (Bk) as a plurality of ink discharge ports (nozzles). They are arranged in a direction crossing the scanning direction. The ink droplet is ejected in the downward direction. Further, each ink cartridge 105 for supplying ink of each color to the liquid ejection head 104 is replaceably mounted on the carriage 103.

  The ink cartridge 105 has an atmosphere port communicating with the atmosphere above, a supply port for supplying ink to the liquid ejection head 104 below, and a porous body filled with ink inside. The ink supplied to the liquid ejection head 104 is maintained at a slight negative pressure by the capillary force of the porous body. Further, although the liquid discharge heads 104 of the respective colors are used here as the liquid discharge heads, one liquid discharge head having nozzles for discharging ink droplets of the respective colors may be used.

  Here, the carriage 103 is slidably fitted to the main guide rod 101 on the rear side (downstream side in the paper conveyance direction), and slidably mounted on the secondary guide rod 102 on the front side (upstream side in the paper conveyance direction). It is location. In order to move and scan the carriage 103 in the main scanning direction, a timing belt 110 is stretched between a driving pulley 108 and a driven pulley 109 that are rotationally driven by a main scanning motor 107. The timing belt 110 is fixed to the carriage 103, and the carriage 103 is reciprocated by forward and reverse rotation of the main scanning motor 107.

  Next, a mechanism for conveying the sheet 93 set in the sheet feeding cassette 94 to the lower side of the liquid discharge head 104 will be described. First, a sheet feeding roller 111 and a friction pad 112 for separating and feeding the sheet 93 from the sheet feeding cassette 94, a guide member 113 for guiding the sheet 93, and a conveying roller 114 for inverting and feeding the fed sheet 93 are provided. Have. A conveyance roller 115 pressed against the peripheral surface of the conveyance roller 114 and a leading end roller 116 for defining a feeding angle of the sheet 93 from the conveyance roller 114 are provided. The transport roller 114 is rotationally driven by a sub-scanning motor 117 via a gear train.

  A printing receiving member 119 is provided as a paper guide member that guides the paper 93 fed from the transport roller 114 on the lower side of the liquid ejection head 104 in accordance with the movement range of the carriage 103 in the main scanning direction. On the downstream side of the printing receiving member 119 in the paper conveyance direction, a conveyance roller 121 and a spur 122 that are rotationally driven to send the paper 93 in the paper discharge direction are provided. Further, a discharge roller 123 and a spur 124 for feeding the sheet 93 to the discharge tray 96, and guide members 125 and 126 for forming a discharge path are provided.

  During recording, the liquid ejection head 104 is driven according to the image signal while moving the carriage 103 to eject ink onto the stopped sheet 93 to record one line, and after the sheet 93 is conveyed by a predetermined amount Record the next line. Upon receiving a recording end signal or a signal that the trailing edge of the sheet 93 has reached the recording area, the recording operation is terminated and the sheet 93 is discharged.

  In addition, a recovery device 127 for recovering the ejection failure of the liquid ejection head 104 is disposed at a position outside the recording area on the right end side in the movement direction of the carriage 103. The recovery device 127 includes a capping unit, a suction unit, and a cleaning unit. While waiting for printing, the carriage 103 is moved to the recovery device 127 side and the liquid ejection head 104 is capped by the capping unit, and the ejection port portion is kept in a wet state to prevent ejection failure due to ink drying. Further, by ejecting ink that is not related to recording during recording or the like, the ink viscosity of all the ejection ports is made constant and stable ejection performance is maintained.

  When a discharge failure occurs, the discharge port (nozzle) of the liquid discharge head 104 is sealed by the capping unit, and bubbles and the like are sucked from the discharge port through the tube by the suction unit. As a result, the ink, dust, etc. adhering to the ejection port surface are removed by the cleaning means, and the ejection failure is recovered. The sucked ink is discharged to a waste ink reservoir installed at the lower part of the main body, and is absorbed and held by an ink absorber inside the waste ink reservoir.

  The ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the liquid discharge head 104 having the liquid discharge head unit 1 according to any one of the first to third embodiments. For this reason, the electromechanical conversion element of the liquid discharge head 104 can maintain good ink discharge characteristics and can perform stable ink discharge.

  In this specification, “an apparatus that discharges liquid” is an apparatus that includes a liquid discharge head or a liquid discharge unit and drives the liquid discharge head to discharge liquid. The apparatus for ejecting liquid includes not only an apparatus capable of ejecting liquid to an object to which liquid can adhere, but also an apparatus for ejecting liquid toward the air or liquid.

  This “apparatus for discharging liquid” may include means for feeding, transporting, and discharging a liquid to which liquid can adhere, as well as a pre-processing apparatus and a post-processing apparatus.

  For example, as a “liquid ejecting device”, an image forming device that forms an image on paper by ejecting ink, a powder is formed in layers to form a three-dimensional model (three-dimensional model) There is a three-dimensional modeling apparatus (three-dimensional modeling apparatus) that discharges a modeling liquid onto the powder layer. There is also an apparatus for discharging a liquid resist for patterning during patterning.

  Further, the “apparatus for ejecting liquid” is not limited to an apparatus in which significant images such as characters and figures are visualized by the ejected liquid. For example, what forms a pattern etc. which does not have a meaning in itself, and what forms a three-dimensional image are also included.

  The above-mentioned “thing to which liquid can adhere” means that liquid can adhere at least temporarily, and adheres and adheres, or adheres and penetrates. Specific examples include recording media such as paper, recording paper, recording paper, film, and cloth, electronic parts such as electronic substrates and piezoelectric elements, powder layers (powder layers), organ models, and test cells. Yes, unless specifically limited, includes everything that the liquid adheres to.

  As the material of the above-mentioned “material to which liquid can adhere”, liquid such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, building materials such as wallpaper and flooring, textiles for clothing, etc. However, it only needs to be attached.

  The “liquid” is not particularly limited as long as it has a viscosity and surface tension that can be discharged from the liquid discharge head, but the viscosity is 30 [mPa · s] at room temperature, normal pressure, or by heating and cooling. The following is preferable. More specifically, solvents such as water and organic solvents, colorants such as dyes and pigments, functional materials such as polymerizable compounds, resins, and surfactants, and biocompatible materials such as DNA, amino acids, proteins, and calcium. And edible materials such as natural pigments, solutions, suspensions, emulsions and the like. These can be used, for example, in applications such as inkjet inks, surface treatment liquids, components for electronic elements and light emitting elements, liquids for forming electronic circuit resist patterns, and three-dimensional modeling material liquids. Specifically, the “liquid” includes inks, processing liquids, DNA samples, resists, pattern materials, binders, modeling liquids, solutions and dispersions containing amino acids, proteins, and calcium.

  In addition, the “device for ejecting liquid” includes a device in which the liquid ejection head and the device to which the liquid can adhere move relatively, but is not limited thereto. Specific examples include a serial type apparatus that moves the liquid discharge head, a line type apparatus that does not move the liquid discharge head, and the like.

  In addition to the “device for discharging liquid”, a processing liquid coating apparatus for discharging a processing liquid onto a sheet for applying a processing liquid to the surface of the sheet for the purpose of modifying the surface of the sheet, or a raw material There is an injection granulator for granulating raw material fine particles by spraying a composition liquid dispersed in a solution through a nozzle.

  A “liquid ejection unit” is a unit in which functional parts and mechanisms are integrated with a liquid ejection head, and is an assembly of parts related to liquid ejection. For example, the “liquid discharge unit” includes a combination of at least one of a head tank, a carriage, a supply mechanism, a maintenance / recovery mechanism, and a main scanning movement mechanism with a liquid discharge head.

  Here, the term “integrated” refers to, for example, a liquid discharge head, a functional component, and a mechanism that are fixed to each other by fastening, adhesion, engagement, etc., and one that is held movably with respect to the other. Including. Further, the liquid discharge head, the functional component, and the mechanism may be configured to be detachable from each other.

  For example, as a liquid discharge unit, there is a liquid discharge unit 440 in which a liquid discharge head 104 and a head tank 441 are integrated as shown in FIG. In some cases, the liquid discharge head 104 and the head tank 441 are integrated by being connected to each other by a tube or the like. Here, a unit including a filter may be added between the head tank 441 and the liquid discharge head 104 of these liquid discharge units.

  In addition, there is a liquid discharge unit in which a liquid discharge head and a carriage are integrated.

  In addition, there is a liquid discharge unit in which the liquid discharge head and the scanning movement mechanism are integrated by holding the liquid discharge head movably on a guide member that constitutes a part of the scanning movement mechanism. Further, as shown in FIG. 20, there is a liquid discharge unit in which the liquid discharge head 104, the carriage 103, and the main scanning movement mechanisms 107 to 109 are integrated.

  Also, there is a liquid discharge unit in which a cap member that is a part of the maintenance / recovery mechanism is fixed to a carriage to which the liquid discharge head is attached, and the liquid discharge head, the carriage, and the maintenance / recovery mechanism are integrated. .

  As the liquid discharge unit, as shown in FIG. 21, a tube is connected to the liquid discharge head 104 to which a head tank or a flow path component 444 is attached, and the liquid discharge head and the supply mechanism are integrated. There is.

  The main scanning movement mechanism includes a guide member alone. The supply mechanism includes a single tube and a single loading unit.

  In addition, the terms “image formation”, “recording”, “printing”, “printing”, “printing”, “modeling” and the like in the terms of the present application are all synonymous.

What has been described above is merely an example, and the present invention has a specific effect for each of the following modes.
(Aspect 1)
In an actuator such as the actuator substrate 100 having a plate-like portion such as the vibration plate 3 constituting one inner wall surface of the space such as the pressurized liquid chamber 5 formed in the substrate, the plate-like portion emits light of a specific wavelength. A portion that corresponds to at least two of the peripheral edges of the space in the plate-shaped portion, for example, at both ends in the width direction. It is made of a material that transmits light. According to this, as described in the above embodiment, the position of the peripheral edge of the space located at the two locations is confirmed using light of a specific wavelength that can be transmitted through the transmission region at the end of the space to be measured. Thus, the distance between the peripheral edges located at the two locations can be measured accurately.

(Aspect 2)
In the first aspect, the nozzle 6, the pressurized liquid chamber 5 serving as the space communicating with the nozzle, the diaphragm 3 serving as the plate-like portion constituting a part of the inner wall surface of the pressurized liquid chamber, An electromechanical conversion element such as a piezoelectric element 2 provided on the opposite side of the diaphragm to the pressurized liquid chamber side, and the electromechanical conversion element has the electromechanical conversion element at a location corresponding to the two locations. The electrode of the mechanical conversion element is not provided. According to this, since the processing dimension of the pressurized liquid chamber can be measured with high accuracy, good liquid discharge performance can be guaranteed.

(Aspect 3)
In the actuator according to aspect 2, the diaphragm includes a Si layer and a SiO ₂ layer, and portions corresponding to the _two portions are formed of a SiO ₂ layer. Therefore, the liquid in the pressurized liquid chamber does not permeate and the liquid discharge function can be satisfactorily exhibited.

(Aspect 4)
The SiO ₂ layer constituting the locations corresponding to the two locations includes a tensile stress film that transmits the light of the specific wavelength. According to this, this region does not buckle, and a highly reliable actuator can be obtained.

(Aspect 5)
In the actuator according to aspect 4, the tensile stress film is a film made of any one of Al ₂ O ₃ , Si ₃ N ₅ , and ZrO ₂ , or a film in which two or more films made of any one of them are laminated. is there. According to this, by applying a relatively inexpensive material, a highly reliable actuator can be realized while suppressing costs.

(Aspect 6)
In the actuator according to any one of Aspects 1 to 5, a gap forming substrate in which a gap allowing deformation of the plate-like portion is bonded to the substrate on which the actuator is formed, Through holes are respectively formed at locations corresponding to the two locations on the gap forming substrate.

(Aspect 7)
In an actuator having a substrate on which a pressurized liquid chamber to which liquid ejected from a nozzle is supplied is formed, and a vibration plate constituting one inner wall surface of the pressurized liquid chamber,
A dummy chamber to which the liquid is not supplied is formed on the substrate, and the width of the dummy chamber is the same as the width of the pressurized liquid chamber. The dummy chamber has at least two peripheral edges in the width direction. There is no wall surface in the place.

(Aspect 8)
A liquid discharge head that discharges liquid by the actuator according to any one of aspects 1 to 7. According to this, the discharge performance can be stabilized.

(Aspect 9)
A liquid discharge unit comprising the liquid discharge head according to aspect 8. According to this, the discharge performance can be stabilized.

(Aspect 10)
The liquid discharge unit according to aspect 9, wherein a head tank that stores liquid to be supplied to the liquid discharge head, a carriage on which the liquid discharge head is mounted, a supply mechanism that supplies liquid to the liquid discharge head, and the liquid discharge head At least one of a maintenance / recovery mechanism that performs maintenance / recovery, a main scanning movement mechanism that moves the liquid ejection head in the main scanning direction, and the liquid ejection head are integrated. According to this, the discharge performance can be stabilized.

(Aspect 11)
An apparatus for discharging a liquid, comprising the liquid discharge head according to aspect 8 or the liquid discharge unit according to aspect 9 or 10. According to this, the discharge performance can be stabilized.

1: Liquid ejection head 2: Piezoelectric element 3: Diaphragm 4: Pressurized liquid chamber partition wall 5: Pressurized liquid chamber 6: Nozzle hole 7: Fluid resistance portion 8: Common liquid chamber 9: Common liquid supply path 10: Common Electrode 11: Individual electrode 12: Piezoelectric body 15: Visible light transmitting region 15 ': Visible light transmitting region 44: Visible light transmitting tensile stress film 45: Interlayer insulating film 48: Junction 50: Passivation film 66: Liquid supply port 67: gap portion 68: actuator portion 70: actuator substrate 80: subframe substrate 90: nozzle substrate 91: recording apparatus main body 92: printing mechanism portion 93: paper 94: paper feed cassette 95: manual feed tray 96: paper discharge tray 100: Actuator substrate 101: Main guide rod 102: Sub guide rod 103: Carriage 104: Liquid ejection head (recording head)
105: Ink cartridge 107: Main scanning motor (main scanning movement mechanism)
108: Drive pulley (main scanning movement mechanism)
109: driven pulley (main scanning movement mechanism)
110: Timing belt 111: Feeding roller 112: Friction pad 113: Guide member 114: Conveying roller 115: Conveying roller 116: Front end roller 117: Sub-scanning motor 119: Printing receiving member 121: Conveying roller 122: Spur 123: Exhaust Paper roller 124: Spur 125: Guide member 126: Guide member 127: Recovery device 200: Subframe substrate 300: Nozzle substrate 440: Liquid discharge unit 441: Head tank 444: Flow path component

JP 2012-196829 A

Claims (11)

In an actuator having a plate-like portion constituting one inner wall surface of a space formed in a substrate,
The plate-like portion includes a material that does not transmit light of a specific wavelength and a material that transmits light of a specific wavelength,
The actuator is characterized in that portions corresponding to at least two of the peripheral edges of the space in the plate-like portion are made of a material that transmits light of the specific wavelength. The actuator of claim 1.
A nozzle, a pressurized liquid chamber serving as the space communicating with the nozzle, a diaphragm as the plate-like portion constituting a part of an inner wall surface of the pressurized liquid chamber, and the pressurized liquid of the diaphragm An electromechanical conversion element provided on a side opposite to the chamber side, and an electrode of the electromechanical conversion element is not provided at a position corresponding to the two positions in the electromechanical conversion element. Actuator. The actuator of claim 2,
The diaphragm has a Si layer and a SiO ₂ layer,
The actuator is characterized in that a part corresponding to the two parts is composed of a SiO ₂ layer. The actuator of claim 3,
The actuator characterized in that the SiO ₂ layer constituting the portions corresponding to the two locations is provided with a tensile stress film that transmits the light of the specific wavelength. The actuator of claim 4,
The tensile stress film is a film made of any one of Al ₂ O ₃ , Si ₃ N ₅ , and ZrO ₂ , or a film formed by laminating two or more layers each made of any one of the above. Actuator. The actuator according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
On the substrate on which the actuator is formed, a void portion forming substrate in which a void portion that allows deformation of the plate-like portion is formed is joined, and at the locations corresponding to the two locations on the void portion forming substrate. Are actuators each having a through hole. In an actuator having a substrate on which a pressurized liquid chamber to which liquid ejected from a nozzle is supplied is formed, and a vibration plate constituting one inner wall surface of the pressurized liquid chamber,
In the substrate, a dummy chamber to which the liquid is not supplied is formed, and the width of the dummy chamber is the same as the width of the pressurized liquid chamber,
2. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the dummy chamber has no wall surface at least at two peripheral edges.   A liquid discharge head, wherein liquid is discharged by the actuator according to claim 1.   A liquid discharge unit comprising the liquid discharge head according to claim 8. The liquid discharge unit according to claim 9, wherein
A head tank for storing liquid to be supplied to the liquid discharge head, a carriage on which the liquid discharge head is mounted, a supply mechanism for supplying liquid to the liquid discharge head, a maintenance / recovery mechanism for maintaining and recovering the liquid discharge head, and the liquid A liquid ejection unit, wherein at least one of a main scanning movement mechanism for moving the ejection head in the main scanning direction and the liquid ejection head are integrated.   An apparatus for discharging a liquid, comprising the liquid discharge head according to claim 8 or the liquid discharge unit according to claim 9 or 10.