JPH08156254A - Liquid ejecting head, liquid ejecting apparatus including the head, and method for manufacturing the head - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Object] A liquid ejecting head having highly reliable fine nozzles for generating recording liquid droplets used in an ink jet recording system, a liquid ejecting apparatus including the head, and an easy and stable operation of the head. Method is provided. A photosensitive layer made of a positive photoresist is formed on a substrate to be processed having a liquid discharge energy generating portion,
After performing the required exposure and development processing to pattern the positive photoresist, a thermosetting liquid flow path forming material is coated on the substrate to be processed by the transfer molding method,
A resist serving as a liquid flow path of a liquid ejecting head having a structure in which a liquid flow path and a liquid chamber portion are formed by dissolving and removing a positive photoresist that has been subjected to patterning after curing the liquid flow path forming material. After the pattern is coated with a curable resin material and cured, a thermosetting liquid flow path forming material is coated on the substrate to be processed by a transfer molding method to form a target head.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting head having highly reliable fine nozzles for generating recording liquid droplets used in an ink jet recording system, a liquid ejecting apparatus having the head, and an easy method for the head. And a stable manufacturing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A liquid jet recording head applied to an ink jet recording system (liquid jet recording system) generally has a fine recording liquid discharge port (orifice), a liquid flow path and a liquid discharge path provided in a part of the liquid flow path. It has an energy generator. As a conventional method for producing such a liquid jet recording head, for example, JP-A-61-154947,
In addition, the following steps are known as described in JP-A-62-253457 (Fig. 1 (a)-
(See (f)).

First, a photosensitive resin layer (positive photoresist 2) is formed on a substrate 1 to be processed (see FIG. 1A), and this is exposed through a mask 3 (FIG. 1B). Patterning the photosensitive resin by applying a developing treatment,
A solid layer is formed on the substrate to be processed (see FIG. 1 (c)).
Next, the patterned solid layer is coated with an active energy ray curable or thermosetting liquid flow path forming material 5 (see FIG. 1D), and the active energy ray is irradiated or heated to activate the active material. An energy ray curable or thermosetting liquid flow path forming material is cured (see FIG. 1E).
Furthermore, the patterned solid layer is dissolved and removed using an organic solvent such as a halogen-containing hydrocarbon, a ketone, an ester, an ether, or an alcohol, or an alkaline aqueous solution such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, to obtain a liquid flow path. 6 is formed (see FIG. 1 (f)).

[0004]

In the above steps,
When a thermosetting liquid flow path forming material is used, it is very effective to coat the liquid flow path forming material by a transfer molding method in terms of simplifying the process and improving productivity.

When the liquid flow path forming material is coated on the resist pattern by the transfer molding method, it is necessary that the liquid flow path forming material can be quickly filled between the resist patterns. However, the resin that is usually used for transfer molding has a high softening temperature of 150 to 18
Since the molding is performed at a temperature of about 0 ° C., there is a problem that the resist pattern is softened, the resist material is hardened, or the resist material and the liquid flow path forming material are incompatible with each other.
Further, since a pressure of about 30 to 50 kg / cm ² is applied during molding, there is a problem that the resist pattern is deformed by the pressure during molding.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above problems,
A highly reliable liquid ejecting head, a liquid ejecting apparatus including the head, and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0007]

The above object can be achieved by the present invention described below. As a result of earnest research, the present inventors have found that an excellent liquid jet head with high reliability and a method for manufacturing the head can be obtained as follows.

That is, according to the present invention, a photosensitive layer made of a positive photoresist is formed on a substrate to be processed having a liquid ejection energy generating portion, and after performing a required exposure and development treatment to pattern the positive photoresist, A liquid is formed by coating a thermosetting liquid flow path forming material on a substrate to be processed by a transfer molding method, curing the liquid flow path forming material, and then dissolving and removing the patterned positive photoresist. In a liquid ejecting head having a structure in which a flow path and a liquid chamber portion are formed, a thermosetting liquid flow path is formed after a curable resin material is coated on a resist pattern serving as the liquid flow path and cured. Disclosed is a liquid-jet head, which is formed by coating a material on a substrate to be processed by a transfer molding method.

Further, according to the present invention, the liquid ejecting head, in which the liquid flow path is provided with an ejection port for ejecting a recording liquid droplet facing the surface to be recorded of the recording medium, and the head is mounted. The present invention also discloses a liquid ejecting apparatus characterized by comprising at least a member for

Further, according to the present invention, a photosensitive layer made of a positive type photoresist is formed on a substrate to be processed having a liquid discharge energy generating portion, and after performing a required exposure and development treatment to pattern the positive type photoresist, A liquid is formed by coating a thermosetting liquid flow path forming material on a substrate to be processed by a transfer molding method, curing the liquid flow path forming material, and then dissolving and removing the patterned positive photoresist. In a method for manufacturing a liquid jet head that forms a flow path and a liquid chamber portion, after coating a photo-curable material or a thermosetting material on a resist pattern to be the liquid flow path and curing the resist pattern, the thermosetting liquid flow Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a liquid jet head, which comprises coating a substrate for processing with a path forming material by a transfer molding method.

In the present invention, a photo-curable material or a thermosetting material can be used as the curable resin material coated on the resist pattern which becomes the liquid flow path. When a thermosetting material is used, In order to prevent the deformation of the resist pattern due to heat and the compatibility with the thermosetting material, it is preferable that the material is a low temperature curable material. When a positive type resist containing a naphthoquinonediazide derivative is used as a resist material and is coated with a photo-curable material, the photo-curable material is transferred into the photo-curable material due to N ₂ gas foaming from the resist during exposure and curing. It is preferable that the resist is degassed in advance in order to prevent the inclusion of bubbles.

The photocurable material or thermosetting material used in the present invention is preferably a liquid or paste at room temperature in consideration of operability, but is a solid material that melts at a low temperature. There is no problem even if there is. Further, a solvent-free system is preferable, but a solvent-containing system may be used as long as it does not dissolve the resist pattern.

[0013]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.
The present invention is not limited to these.
It should be noted that all the numbers indicating the composition of each component are on a weight basis, unless otherwise specified.

Example 1 As an epoxy resin and a curing agent Epoxy Co., Ltd. epoxy: Epicoat 828 85 parts Ciba Geigy epoxy: DY022 10 parts Shin-Etsu Chemical epoxy: KBM403 5 parts Yuka Shell Co. curing agent: Epomate B002W 20 parts were blended to prepare a low temperature curing type epoxy resin composition.

A positive photoresist AZ-4903 (manufactured by Hoechst) having a film thickness of 30 μm is formed on a silicon substrate on which an electrothermal converter as a liquid discharge energy generating element is formed.
And a pre-bake at 90 ° C. for 40 minutes in an oven to form a resist layer. Pattern exposure was performed on the resist layer with a mask aligner PLA-501 (manufactured by Canon Inc.) through a nozzle pattern of a nozzle and a liquid chamber portion at an exposure dose of 800 mJ / cm ² , and then a 0.75 wt% sodium hydroxide aqueous solution was used. Developed, then rinsed with deionized water,
Post-baking was performed at 70 ° C. for 30 minutes to obtain a resist pattern.

Next, the low temperature curing type epoxy resin composition prepared above is applied onto the resist pattern of the nozzle portion by screen printing, and after defoaming treatment in a vacuum chamber for 1 hour, at 50 ° C. Hold for 24 hours to cure.

Next, thermosetting epoxy resin EME-7
00 (manufactured by Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.) at a molding temperature of 150 ° C.
Coating was performed by the transfer molding method under the conditions of a plunger pressure of 40 kg / cm ² and a holding time of 5 minutes. Furthermore,
The substrate to be treated was heat-treated at 150 ° C. for 5 hours to completely cure the epoxy resin, and then immersed in acetone to dissolve and remove the resist.

When the cross section of the nozzle thus formed was observed by an optical microscope, a highly reliable nozzle free from obstacles such as deformation of the nozzle was obtained. Further, the liquid ejecting apparatus provided with the liquid ejecting head thus produced was capable of stable printing.

Example 2 As epoxy resin and reaction initiator Epoxy Co., Ltd. epoxy: Epicoat 828 85 parts Ciba Geigy epoxy: DY022 10 parts Shin-Etsu Chemical epoxy: KBM403 5 parts Asahi Denka reaction initiator: ADEKA 2 parts of Optomer SP-170 was blended to prepare a photocurable epoxy resin composition.

A positive photoresist AZ-4903 (manufactured by Hoechst) having a film thickness of 30 μm is formed on a silicon substrate on which an electrothermal converter as a liquid discharge energy generating element is formed.
And a pre-bake at 90 ° C. for 40 minutes in an oven to form a resist layer. Pattern exposure was performed on the resist layer with a mask aligner PLA-501 (manufactured by Canon Inc.) through a nozzle pattern of a nozzle and a liquid chamber portion at an exposure dose of 800 mJ / cm ² , and then a 0.75 wt% sodium hydroxide aqueous solution was used. Developed, then rinsed with deionized water,
Post-baking was performed at 70 ° C. for 30 minutes to obtain a resist pattern.

Further, PLA-501 was used to expose the entire surface of the resist pattern at an exposure amount of 1 J / cm ² , and then the resist pattern was left in a vacuum chamber for 1 hour to defoam the resist.

Next, the photo-curable epoxy resin composition prepared above was applied onto the resist pattern of the nozzle portion by a dispenser, and defoaming treatment was carried out in a vacuum chamber for 1 hour. Then, PLA-501 was applied. Using 1 J / cm ²
The entire surface was exposed with an exposure amount of 5 to cure.

Next, a thermosetting epoxy resin EME-7
00 (manufactured by Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.) at a molding temperature of 150 ° C.
Coating was performed by the transfer molding method under the conditions of a plunger pressure of 40 kg / cm ² and a holding time of 5 minutes. Furthermore,
The substrate to be processed was subjected to heat treatment at 150 ° C. for 5 hours to completely cure the epoxy resin, and then immersed in acetone to dissolve and remove the resist.

When the cross section of the nozzle thus formed was observed with an optical microscope, a highly reliable nozzle free from obstacles such as nozzle deformation was obtained. Further, the liquid ejecting apparatus provided with the liquid ejecting head thus produced was capable of stable printing.

Comparative Example 1 A positive photoresist AZ- was formed on a silicon substrate on which an electrothermal converter as a liquid ejection energy generating element was formed.
4903 (manufactured by Hoechst) was spin-coated to a film thickness of 30 μm, and prebaked at 90 ° C. for 40 minutes in an oven to form a resist layer. 800 on the resist layer with a mask aligner PLA-501 (manufactured by Canon Inc.) through the nozzle pattern of the nozzle and the liquid chamber.
0.75 wt after exposure pattern of mJ / cm ²
% Aqueous sodium hydroxide solution, followed by rinsing with ion-exchanged water and post-baking at 70 ° C. for 30 minutes to obtain a resist pattern.

Next, a thermosetting epoxy resin EME-7
00 (manufactured by Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.) at a molding temperature of 150 ° C.
Coating was performed by the transfer molding method under the conditions of a plunger pressure of 40 kg / cm ² and a holding time of 5 minutes. Furthermore,
The substrate to be treated was heat-treated at 150 ° C. for 5 hours to completely cure the epoxy resin, and then immersed in acetone to dissolve and remove the resist.

When the cross section of the nozzle thus formed was observed with an optical microscope, a semicircular nozzle cross section was observed. Further, in the liquid ejecting apparatus including the liquid ejecting head thus manufactured, stable printing cannot be performed.

[0028]

By adopting the method for manufacturing a liquid jet head according to the present invention, it is possible to easily and stably obtain a liquid jet head having highly reliable fine nozzles and a liquid jet apparatus equipped with the head. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of manufacturing a conventional liquid jet recording head.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 substrate to be processed 2 positive photoresist 3 mask 4 resist pattern 5 liquid flow path forming material 6 liquid flow path

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A substrate to be processed after a photosensitive layer made of a positive photoresist is formed on a substrate to be processed having a liquid discharge energy generating portion, and the positive photoresist is patterned by performing required exposure and development processes. A thermosetting type liquid flow path forming material is coated thereon by a transfer molding method, and after curing the liquid flow path forming material, the pattern type positive photoresist is dissolved and removed to form a liquid flow path and In a liquid jet head having a structure in which a liquid chamber portion is formed, a thermosetting liquid flow path forming material is transferred after a curable resin material is coated on a resist pattern to be the liquid flow path and cured. A liquid jet head formed by coating on a substrate to be processed by a molding method. 2. The liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, wherein the curable resin material that coats the resist pattern to be the liquid flow path is a thermosetting material. 3. The liquid jet head according to claim 1, wherein the curable resin material that coats the resist pattern that serves as the liquid flow path is a photo-curable material. 4. The liquid jet head according to claim 1, wherein the liquid ejection energy generating section is an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy. 5. A discharge port for discharging a recording liquid droplet is provided in the liquid flow path so as to face a recording surface of a recording medium, and a plurality of discharge ports are provided over the entire width of a recording region of the recording medium. The liquid jet head according to claim 1, wherein the liquid jet head is a full line type. 6. The liquid jet head according to claim 1, wherein the ejection port provided in the liquid flow path is formed by integrally molding ejection ports for multiple colors. 7. The liquid jet head according to claim 1, wherein the liquid flow path is provided with an ejection port for ejecting a recording liquid droplet facing the surface to be recorded of the recording medium. A liquid ejecting apparatus, comprising: 8. A substrate to be processed after a photosensitive layer made of a positive photoresist is formed on the substrate to be processed having a liquid discharge energy generating portion, and the positive photoresist is patterned by performing required exposure and development processes. A thermosetting type liquid flow path forming material is coated thereon by a transfer molding method, and after curing the liquid flow path forming material, the pattern type positive photoresist is dissolved and removed to form a liquid flow path and In a method of manufacturing a liquid jet head for forming a liquid chamber portion, after coating a resist with a photocurable material or a thermosetting material on the resist pattern to be the liquid flow path and curing the resist pattern, the thermosetting liquid flow path is formed. A method of manufacturing a liquid jet head, comprising coating a material on a substrate to be processed by a transfer molding method. 9. The method of manufacturing a liquid jet head according to claim 8, wherein a liquid curable material is coated on the resist pattern to be a liquid flow path by screen printing. 10. The method for manufacturing a liquid jet head according to claim 8, wherein the liquid curable material is coated on a resist pattern to be a liquid flow path with a dispenser.