JP5083499B2 - Method for manufacturing actuator device and liquid jet head - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention provides a method for manufacturing an actuator device provided with a vibration plate on one surface side of a substrate and a piezoelectric element provided through the vibration plate, and a liquid such as ink by displacement of the actuator device formed by the manufacturing method. The present invention relates to a liquid jet head that ejects droplets.

  An actuator device including a piezoelectric element that is displaced by applying a voltage is mounted on, for example, a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid droplets. As such a liquid ejecting head, for example, pressure generation that communicates with a nozzle opening is performed. There is known an ink jet recording head in which a part of a chamber is constituted by a diaphragm, and the diaphragm is deformed by a piezoelectric element to pressurize ink in a pressure generating chamber and eject ink droplets from a nozzle opening. Two types of ink jet recording heads have been put into practical use: those equipped with a piezoelectric actuator device in a longitudinal vibration mode that extends and contracts in the axial direction of the piezoelectric element, and those equipped with a piezoelectric actuator device in a flexural vibration mode. Yes.

  The former can change the volume of the pressure generation chamber by bringing the end face of the piezoelectric element into contact with the vibration plate, and it is possible to manufacture a head suitable for high-density printing, while the piezoelectric element is arranged in an array of nozzle openings. There is a problem that the manufacturing process is complicated because a difficult process of matching the pitch into a comb-like shape and an operation of positioning and fixing the cut piezoelectric element in the pressure generating chamber are necessary. On the other hand, the latter can flexibly vibrate, although a piezoelectric element can be built on the diaphragm by a relatively simple process of sticking a green sheet of piezoelectric material according to the shape of the pressure generation chamber and firing it. There is a problem that a certain amount of area is required for the use of, and high-density arrangement is difficult. In addition, in order to eliminate the inconvenience of the latter, a uniform piezoelectric material layer is formed by a film forming technique over the entire surface of the diaphragm, and this piezoelectric material layer is cut into a shape corresponding to the pressure generating chamber by a lithography method. Some have piezoelectric elements formed so as to be independent for each pressure generating chamber.

For example, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is used as the material of the piezoelectric material layer constituting such a piezoelectric element. In this case, when the piezoelectric material layer is fired, the lead component of the piezoelectric material layer is diffused to the silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ) film that is provided on the surface of the flow path forming substrate made of silicon (Si) and forms the diaphragm. Resulting in. The diffusion of the lead component causes the melting point of silicon oxide to drop, and there is a problem that it is melted by the heat at the time of firing the piezoelectric material layer. In order to solve such a problem, for example, a zirconium oxide film constituting a vibration plate is provided on a silicon oxide film, and a piezoelectric material layer is provided via the zirconium oxide film, so that the piezoelectric material layer is changed to the silicon oxide film. There is one that prevents the diffusion of lead components. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  Such a zirconium oxide layer is formed, for example, by forming a zirconium film by sputtering and then thermally oxidizing the zirconium film. And the manufacturing method (for example, refer patent document 2) which improves the adhesiveness with a foundation | substrate by making the orientation degree of the zirconium film | membrane formed in this way become a predetermined orientation, and the surface roughness of a zirconium layer is desired. As a range, a manufacturing method for improving the adhesion with the upper layer (for example, see Patent Document 3) has been proposed.

JP-A-11-204849 JP 2005-166719 A JP 2005-295786 A

  However, an abnormally grown portion having a height of several tens of nanometers is generated on the surface of the zirconium layer, and this abnormally grown portion is present in the zirconium oxide layer as well, and further to the lower electrode layer provided on the zirconium oxide layer. There is a problem that the reliability of the actuator device is lowered.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing an actuator device that can be obtained by forming a zirconium layer having no abnormally grown portion to improve the reliability, and an actuator device formed by the method. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejecting head including the above.

  One aspect of the present invention that achieves the above object includes a vibration plate provided on one side of a substrate, and a piezoelectric element including a lower electrode, a piezoelectric layer, and an upper electrode provided through the vibration plate. In the manufacturing method of the actuator device, comprising a zirconium layer forming step of forming a zirconium layer on one side of the substrate by a sputtering method, and a zirconium oxide layer forming step of thermally oxidizing the zirconium layer to form a zirconium oxide layer, The zirconium layer forming step includes a high pressure step of forming a first zirconium layer having a thickness of 30 nm to 60 nm at a relatively high sputtering pressure and a low film formation rate, and a lower sputtering pressure and a higher film formation rate than the high pressure step. In a low-pressure process in which the second zirconium layer is formed until the total film thickness reaches a desired thickness, the columnar shape and the degree of orientation have priority over the (101) plane. In the manufacturing method of the actuator device, characterized in that forms a Koniumu layer.

  In the present invention, by performing a high pressure process at a relatively high sputtering pressure and a low film formation rate, and a low pressure process at a low sputtering pressure and a high film formation rate, zirconium having no abnormally grown portion is generated. A layer can be formed, and a highly reliable actuator device can be manufactured.

Here, for example, it is preferable that the sputtering pressure in the high-pressure process is in the range of 2 to 6 Pa, and the sputtering pressure in the low-pressure process is less than 1 Pa.
That is, the abnormal growth portion is suppressed by forming it thinly at a sputtering pressure of 2 to 6 Pa. On the other hand, when the sputtering pressure is less than 1 Pa, a surface film having a relatively small surface roughness is easily formed and there is no abnormal growth portion. A zirconium layer can be deposited.

For example, it is preferable that the conditions of the high-pressure process are conditions where the power density is 3 to 10 kW / m ² and the film formation temperature is room temperature.
That is, a highly reliable zirconium layer can be formed as a whole by depositing the film within a predetermined range of sputtering conditions.

For example, it is preferable that the high-pressure step and the low-pressure step in the zirconium layer forming step are executed at intervals of 5 to 15 seconds while maintaining a reduced pressure state.
In other words, in order to alternately repeat the high-pressure process and the low-pressure process, it is possible to maintain reliability without abnormal growth by changing the pressure while maintaining the reduced pressure state without returning the inside of the sputtering apparatus chamber to normal pressure. A high zirconium layer can be formed.

For example, it is preferable that the total film thickness of the zirconium layer formed in the said zirconium layer formation process is 200-500 nm.
That is, by forming a predetermined layer having a thickness of 30 nm to 60 nm alternately under different conditions to 200 to 500 nm, a highly reliable zirconium layer without an abnormally grown portion can be finally formed. it can.

In addition, for example, it is preferable that the zirconium layer forming step is performed by a sputtering apparatus in which the distance between the target and the substrate is smaller than half the substrate diameter that can be formed.
In other words, by using a sputtering apparatus in which the distance between the target and the substrate is smaller than the half of the substrate diameter that can be formed, a highly reliable zirconium layer without an abnormally grown portion can be formed more easily. it can.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an actuator device formed by the above-described actuator device manufacturing method is provided, and a liquid droplet is discharged from a nozzle opening communicating with a pressure generating chamber provided in the substrate by the displacement. In the liquid ejecting head, the liquid ejecting head is provided.
That is, a reliable liquid ejecting head can be obtained by using a reliable actuator device having a zirconium oxide layer obtained from a highly reliable zirconium layer having no abnormally grown portion.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to more easily form a highly reliable zirconium layer having no abnormally grown portion as a whole by forming a zirconium layer using sputtering processes having different conditions of a high pressure process and a low pressure process. Thus, a reliable actuator device can be manufactured.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments.
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an ink jet recording head including an actuator device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view of FIG. As shown in the figure, the flow path forming substrate 10 is made of a silicon single crystal substrate having a plane orientation (110) in the present embodiment, and one surface thereof is made of silicon dioxide previously formed by thermal oxidation. A 2 μm elastic film 50 is formed. A plurality of pressure generating chambers 12 are arranged in parallel in the width direction of the flow path forming substrate 10. In addition, a communication portion 13 is formed in a region outside the longitudinal direction of the pressure generation chamber 12 of the flow path forming substrate 10, and the communication portion 13 and each pressure generation chamber 12 are provided for each pressure generation chamber 12. Communication is made via a supply path 14 and a communication path 15. The communication part 13 communicates with a reservoir part 31 of a protective substrate, which will be described later, and constitutes a part of a reservoir that serves as a common ink chamber for the pressure generating chambers 12. The ink supply path 14 is formed with a narrower width than the pressure generation chamber 12, and maintains a constant flow path resistance of ink flowing into the pressure generation chamber 12 from the communication portion 13. In this embodiment, the ink supply path 14 is formed by narrowing the width of the flow path from one side. However, the ink supply path may be formed by narrowing the width of the flow path from both sides. Further, the ink supply path may be formed by narrowing from the thickness direction instead of narrowing the width of the flow path. Further, each communication passage 15 is formed by extending the partition walls 11 on both sides in the width direction of the pressure generating chamber 12 to the communication portion 13 side to partition the space between the ink supply path 14 and the communication portion 13. Yes. That is, the flow path forming substrate 10 has an ink supply path 14 having a cross-sectional area smaller than the cross-sectional area of the pressure generating chamber 12 in the width direction, and communicates with the ink supply path 14 and disconnects the ink supply path 14 in the width direction. A communication passage 15 having a cross-sectional area larger than the area is provided by being partitioned by a plurality of partition walls 11.

Further, a nozzle plate 20 having a nozzle opening 21 communicating with the vicinity of the end portion of each pressure generating chamber 12 on the side opposite to the ink supply path 14 on the opening surface side of the flow path forming substrate 10 will be described later. It is fixed by an adhesive, a heat welding film or the like through a mask film. The nozzle plate 20 has a thickness of, for example, 0.01 to 1 mm, a linear expansion coefficient of 300 ° C. or less, for example, 2.5 to 4.5 [× 10 ⁻⁶ / ° C.], glass ceramics, silicon It consists of a single crystal substrate or non-rust steel.

On the other hand, as described above, the elastic film 50 made of silicon dioxide (SiO ₂ ) having a thickness of, for example, about 1.0 μm is formed on the side opposite to the opening surface of the flow path forming substrate 10. On the elastic film 50, an insulator film 55 made of zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ) having a thickness of 200 to 500 nm, for example, about 400 nm is formed in this embodiment. As will be described in detail later, the insulator film 55 of the present invention is formed by thermally oxidizing a zirconium layer formed in a predetermined manufacturing process, and the adhesion to the elastic film 50 is improved. .

  Further, on the insulator film 55, a lower electrode film 60 having a thickness of, for example, about 0.2 μm, a piezoelectric layer 70 having a thickness of, for example, about 1.0 μm, and a thickness of, for example, about 0 The upper electrode film 80 having a thickness of 0.05 μm is laminated by a process described later to constitute the piezoelectric element 300. Here, the piezoelectric element 300 refers to a portion including the lower electrode film 60, the piezoelectric layer 70, and the upper electrode film 80. In general, one electrode of the piezoelectric element 300 is used as a common electrode, and the other electrode and the piezoelectric layer 70 are patterned for each pressure generating chamber 12. In addition, here, a portion that is configured by any one of the patterned electrodes and the piezoelectric layer 70 and in which piezoelectric distortion is generated by applying a voltage to both electrodes is referred to as a piezoelectric active portion. In this embodiment, the lower electrode film 60 is a common electrode of the piezoelectric element 300, and the upper electrode film 80 is an individual electrode of the piezoelectric element 300. However, there is no problem even if this is reversed for the convenience of the drive circuit and wiring. In either case, a piezoelectric active part is formed for each pressure generating chamber. In addition, here, the piezoelectric element 300 and the vibration plate that is displaced by driving the piezoelectric element 300 are collectively referred to as a piezoelectric actuator (actuator device). In the present embodiment, the elastic film, the insulator film, and the lower electrode film act as a diaphragm, but of course, only the elastic film and the insulator film may act as a diaphragm.

  The upper electrode film 80 of each piezoelectric element 300 is connected to a lead electrode 90 made of, for example, gold (Au) or the like, and a voltage is selectively applied to each piezoelectric element 300 via the lead electrode 90. Is applied.

  Further, a protective substrate 30 having a piezoelectric element holding portion 31 capable of securing a space that does not hinder the movement of the region facing the piezoelectric element 300 is bonded to the surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 on the piezoelectric element 300 side. It is joined via the agent 35. Since the piezoelectric element 300 is formed in the piezoelectric element holding part 31, it is protected in a state hardly affected by the external environment. Further, the protective substrate 30 is provided with a reservoir portion 32 in a region corresponding to the communication portion 13 of the flow path forming substrate 10. In this embodiment, the reservoir portion 32 is provided along the direction in which the pressure generating chambers 12 are arranged so as to penetrate the protective substrate 30 in the thickness direction, and as described above, the communication portion of the flow path forming substrate 10. The reservoir 100 is connected to the pressure generation chamber 12 and serves as a common ink chamber for the pressure generation chambers 12.

  Here, the communication part 13 of the flow path forming substrate 10 may be divided into a plurality for each pressure generation chamber 12 and only the reservoir part 32 may be used as the reservoir. Further, for example, only the pressure generation chamber 12 is provided in the flow path forming substrate 10, and a reservoir and a member interposed between the flow path forming substrate 10 and the protective substrate 30 (for example, the elastic film 50, the insulator film 55, etc.) An ink supply path 14 that communicates with each pressure generation chamber 12 may be provided.

  In addition, a through hole 33 that penetrates the protective substrate 30 in the thickness direction is provided in a region between the piezoelectric element holding portion 31 and the reservoir portion 32 of the protective substrate 30, and the lower electrode film 60 is provided in the through hole 33. A part of the lead electrode 90 and the leading end of the lead electrode 90 are exposed, and one end of a connection wiring extending from the drive IC is connected to the lower electrode film 60 and the lead electrode 90, although not shown.

  In addition, examples of the material of the protective substrate 30 include glass, ceramic material, metal, resin, and the like, but it is more preferable that the material is substantially the same as the coefficient of thermal expansion of the flow path forming substrate 10. In this embodiment, the silicon single crystal substrate made of the same material as the flow path forming substrate 10 is used.

  A compliance substrate 40 including a sealing film 41 and a fixing plate 42 is bonded onto the protective substrate 30. The sealing film 41 is made of a material having low rigidity and flexibility (for example, a polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) film having a thickness of 6 μm), and one surface of the reservoir portion 32 is sealed by the sealing film 41. Yes. The fixing plate 42 is made of a hard material such as metal (for example, stainless steel (SUS) having a thickness of 30 μm). Since the region of the fixing plate 42 facing the reservoir 100 is an opening 43 that is completely removed in the thickness direction, one surface of the reservoir 100 is sealed only with a flexible sealing film 41. Has been.

  In such an ink jet recording head of this embodiment, ink is taken in from an external ink supply means (not shown), filled with ink from the reservoir 100 to the nozzle opening 21, and then in accordance with a recording signal from a drive IC (not shown). Then, a voltage is applied between each of the lower electrode film 60 and the upper electrode film 80 corresponding to the pressure generation chamber 12 to bend and deform the elastic film 50, the insulator film 55, the lower electrode film 60, and the piezoelectric layer 70. As a result, the pressure in each pressure generating chamber 12 increases and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle openings 21.

  Here, a method of manufacturing such an ink jet recording head will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6 are cross-sectional views of the pressure generating chamber 12 in the longitudinal direction. First, as shown in FIG. 3A, a channel forming substrate wafer 110 which is a silicon wafer is thermally oxidized in a diffusion furnace at about 1100 ° C., and a silicon dioxide film 51 constituting an elastic film 50 is formed on the surface thereof. To do.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, an insulator film 55 made of zirconium oxide is formed on the elastic film 50 (silicon dioxide film 51). Specifically, first, a zirconium layer is formed on the elastic film 50 by sputtering, for example, DC sputtering in this embodiment.

  Here, in order to form a reliable zirconium layer having no abnormally grown portion, the film is formed by multi-steps in which two kinds of processes having different sputtering conditions are performed. Specifically, film formation is performed by performing a high-pressure process and a low-pressure process to form a zirconium layer having columnar crystals and a (101) plane orientation degree of 50% or more.

  Here, “degree of orientation” refers to a ratio of diffraction intensities generated when a zirconium layer is measured by the X-ray diffraction wide angle method. Specifically, when the zirconium layer is measured by the X-ray diffraction wide angle method, peaks of diffraction intensity corresponding to the (100) plane, the (002) plane, and the (101) plane are generated. The “degree of (101) plane orientation” means the ratio of the peak intensity corresponding to the (101) plane to the sum of the peak intensity corresponding to each of these planes.

FIG. 4 shows a process of forming a zirconium layer in this embodiment to form a zirconium oxide layer. Here, the sputtering conditions in the zirconium layer forming step for forming the zirconium layer are as follows: the film forming temperature is from room temperature to 100 ° C. and the power density is 10 to 60 kW / m ^{2 in} both the high pressure step and the low pressure step. The sputtering pressure is preferably in the range of 2 to 6 Pa. This is because the conditions are suitable for obtaining a zirconium oxide layer suitable for a reliable actuator device. In addition, the DC sputtering apparatus to be used is preferably a sputtering apparatus in which the distance between the target and the substrate is smaller than half of the substrate diameter that can be formed. In this embodiment, the distance between the target and the substrate is 65 mm. A device was used. This is because when such an apparatus is used, a highly reliable zirconium layer having no abnormally grown portion can be finally formed relatively easily.

  In the zirconium layer film forming step, as shown in FIG. 4A, first, a high pressure step of forming a zirconium first layer 541 having a thickness of 30 nm to 60 nm at a relatively high sputtering pressure and a low film forming rate is performed. Run. The sputtering pressure in such a high-pressure process is, for example, in the range of 2-6 Pa, preferably in the range of 3-4 Pa. Further, in such a high-pressure process, a crystal film in which (101) plane orientation is prioritized is formed, and the degree of (002) plane orientation is low.

In such a high-pressure process, it is preferable that the film formation rate is relatively low, that is, the film formation condition at a low rate is, for example, to lower the film formation temperature and lower the power density. Specifically, the film forming temperature is about room temperature, and the power density is preferably 3 to 10 kW / m ² , particularly preferably 3 to 5 kW / m ² . This is because abnormal growth tends to occur when the film forming rate is high.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, a low-pressure process is performed in which the zirconium second layer 542 is formed at a sputtering pressure lower than that in the high-pressure process and at a high film formation rate until the total film thickness reaches a desired thickness. To do. The sputtering pressure in such a low-pressure process is, for example, in the range of 0.01 Pa to less than 1 Pa, preferably in the range of 0.01 to 0.7 Pa.

  The zirconium layer film forming process is a multi-step that executes such a high-pressure process and a low-pressure process, whereby a zirconium layer having no abnormally grown portion as a whole can be obtained. Here, when performing the high pressure process and the low pressure process, the high pressure process and the low pressure process are performed while changing the pressure while maintaining the reduced pressure state without returning the inside of the sputtering apparatus to the normal pressure. preferable. That is, these steps are preferably performed at intervals of 5 to 15 seconds, for example.

  After the zirconium layer 54 is formed in this manner, as shown in FIG. 4C, for example, in a diffusion furnace heated to 850 to 1000 ° C., for example, 300 mm / min or more, preferably 500 mm / min or more. The flow path forming substrate wafer 110 is inserted at a speed to thermally oxidize the zirconium layer 54 to form an insulator film 55 made of a zirconium oxide layer. Thereby, the insulator film 55 having a good crystal state without an abnormally grown portion can be obtained. That is, the zirconium oxide constituting the insulator film 55 becomes a columnar crystal without an abnormally grown portion, and the reliability of the diaphragm can be improved.

  As a result, it is possible to prevent occurrence of peeling of the vibration plate and the like, and it is possible to realize an actuator device with improved durability and reliability and an ink jet recording head including the actuator device.

  As described above, after forming the insulator film 55, as shown in FIG. 3C, for example, after forming the lower electrode film 60 by laminating platinum and iridium on the insulator film 55, The lower electrode film 60 is patterned into a predetermined shape. Next, as shown in FIG. 3D, a seed titanium layer 65 is formed on the lower electrode film 60 and the insulator film 55 by sputtering titanium (Ti), for example, DC sputtering. The seed titanium layer 65 is preferably formed to have a thickness in the range of 1 nm to 8 nm. This is because by forming the seed titanium layer 65 with such a thickness, the crystallinity of the piezoelectric layer 70 formed in the process described later can be improved.

  Next, a piezoelectric layer 70 made of, for example, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and an upper electrode film 80 made of, for example, iridium are formed on the entire surface of the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 on the seed titanium layer 65. . Here, in the present embodiment, a so-called sol-gel is obtained in which a so-called sol in which a metal organic material is dissolved and dispersed in a catalyst is applied, dried, gelled, and further fired at a high temperature to obtain a piezoelectric layer 70 made of a metal oxide. The piezoelectric layer 70 made of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is formed by the method. When the piezoelectric layer 70 is formed in this way, the lead component of the piezoelectric layer 70 may diffuse into the elastic film 50 during firing. However, an insulator film made of zirconium oxide is formed below the piezoelectric layer 70. 55 is provided, the lead component of the piezoelectric layer 70 does not diffuse into the elastic film 50. The method for forming the piezoelectric layer 70 is not limited to the sol-gel method, but may be a MOD (Metal-Organic Decomposition) method or a sputtering method.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5A, the piezoelectric layer 300 is formed by patterning the piezoelectric layer 70 and the upper electrode film 80 in regions facing the pressure generation chambers 12. Next, the lead electrode 90 is formed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5B, a metal layer 91 made of, for example, gold (Au) or the like is formed over the entire surface of the flow path forming substrate wafer 110. Thereafter, for example, the lead electrode 90 is formed by patterning the metal layer 91 for each piezoelectric element 300 through a mask pattern (not shown) made of a resist or the like.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, a protective substrate wafer 130 that is a silicon wafer and serves as a plurality of protective substrates 30 is bonded to the piezoelectric element 300 side of the flow path forming substrate wafer 110. By bonding the protective substrate wafer 130, the rigidity of the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 is remarkably improved.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5D, the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 is thinned to a certain thickness. Next, as shown in FIG. 6A, a mask film 52 is newly formed on the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 and patterned into a predetermined shape. Then, the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 is anisotropically etched through the mask film 52, whereby, as shown in FIG. 13, the ink supply path 14 and the communication path 15 are formed.

  Thereafter, unnecessary portions of the outer peripheral edge portions of the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 and the protective substrate wafer 130 are removed by cutting, for example, by dicing. The nozzle plate 20 having the nozzle openings 21 formed on the surface of the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 opposite to the protective substrate wafer 130 is bonded, and the compliance substrate 40 is bonded to the protective substrate wafer 130. By dividing the flow path forming substrate wafer 110 and the like into the flow path forming substrate 10 and the like of one chip size as shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet recording head of this embodiment is obtained.

(Example)
Here, specific examples and comparative examples in which the zirconium layer 54 is formed are shown. From the following examples and comparative examples, it is possible to form a highly reliable zirconium layer having no abnormally grown portion by forming a zirconium layer by multi-steps in which the above-described high-pressure process and low-pressure process are performed. Recognize. On the other hand, in the high-pressure process and the low-pressure process, it was confirmed that when the film formation rate in the high-pressure process was increased as in the comparative example, an abnormal growth portion was generated.

Example 1
Using a DC sputtering apparatus with a distance between the target and the substrate of 65 mm, a high pressure process is performed under conditions of a sputtering pressure of 3 Pa, a power density of 3 kW / m ² , and a room temperature to form a 50 nm zirconium first layer. A low pressure process was performed under the conditions of 0.5 Pa, power density 15 kW / m ² , and room temperature to form a 220 nm zirconium second layer, and a total thickness of 270 nm zirconium layer was formed.

  When such a zirconium layer was observed, it was a columnar crystal having no abnormally grown portion. Further, when the (101) orientation degree was measured, it was 51.7% (note: (002) plane orientation degree was 24.6%), and (101) orientation was preferential.

(Example 2)
Using a DC sputtering apparatus with a distance between the target and the substrate of 65 mm, a high pressure process is performed under conditions of a sputtering pressure of 4 Pa, a power density of 3 kW / m ² , and a room temperature to form a 50 nm zirconium first layer. A low pressure process was performed under the conditions of 0.5 Pa, power density 15 kW / m ² , and room temperature to form a 220 nm zirconium second layer, and a total thickness of 270 nm zirconium layer was formed.

  When such a zirconium layer was observed, it was a columnar crystal having no abnormally grown portion. When the (101) orientation degree was measured, it was 55.2% (note: (002) plane orientation degree was 20.8%).

(Comparative Example 1)
Using a DC sputtering apparatus with a distance between the target and the substrate of 65 mm, a zirconium first layer of 50 nm is formed under conditions of a sputtering pressure of 3 Pa, a power density of 30 kW / m ² and a room temperature, and then a sputtering pressure of 0.5 Pa and a power density. A 220 nm zirconium second layer was formed under conditions of 15 kW / m ² and room temperature, and a zirconium layer having a total film thickness of 270 nm was formed.

  When such a zirconium layer was observed, it was a columnar crystal and an abnormally grown portion was observed. When the degree of orientation was measured, it was 74.0%.

(Comparative Example 2)
Using a DC sputtering apparatus with a distance between the target and the substrate of 65 mm, a zirconium first layer of 50 nm is formed under conditions of a sputtering pressure of 4 Pa, a power density of 30 kW / m ² and a room temperature, and then a sputtering pressure of 0.5 Pa and a power density. A 220 nm zirconium second layer was formed under conditions of 15 kW / m ² and room temperature, and a zirconium layer having a total film thickness of 270 nm was formed.

  When such a zirconium layer was observed, it was a columnar crystal and a small size, but an abnormally grown portion was observed. Further, the (002) orientation degree was measured and found to be 66.7%.

(Other embodiments)
As mentioned above, although each embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the insulator film 55 is formed on the elastic film 50. However, the insulator film 55 only needs to be provided closer to the piezoelectric layer 70 than the elastic film 50. Another layer may be provided between the elastic film 50 and the insulator film 55. In the above-described embodiments, the present invention has been described by exemplifying an ink jet recording head as an example of the liquid ejecting head. However, the basic configuration of the liquid ejecting head is not limited to the above-described configuration. The present invention covers a wide range of liquid ejecting heads, and can naturally be applied to those ejecting liquids other than ink. Other liquid ejecting heads include, for example, various recording heads used in image recording apparatuses such as printers, color material ejecting heads used in the manufacture of color filters such as liquid crystal displays, organic EL displays, and FEDs (field emission displays). Examples thereof include an electrode material ejection head used for electrode formation, a bioorganic matter ejection head used for biochip production, and the like.

  It goes without saying that the manufacturing method of the present invention can be applied not only to an actuator device mounted on a liquid jet head (inkjet recording head) but also to an actuator device mounted on any device.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the recording head according to the first embodiment. 2A and 2B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view of the recording head according to the first embodiment. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a manufacturing process of the recording head according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a zirconium layer forming process in the manufacturing process of the recording head according to the first embodiment. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a manufacturing process of the recording head according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a manufacturing process of the recording head according to Embodiment 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Flow path formation board | substrate, 12 Pressure generation chamber, 20 Nozzle plate, 21 Nozzle opening, 30 Protection board, 31 Piezoelectric element holding | maintenance part, 32 Reservoir part, 40 Compliance board | substrate, 50 Elastic film, 55 Insulator film, 60 Lower electrode film , 70 piezoelectric film, 80 upper electrode film, 100 reservoir, 300 piezoelectric element

Claims (7)

In a method for manufacturing an actuator device comprising a diaphragm provided on one surface side of a substrate, and a piezoelectric element comprising a lower electrode, a piezoelectric layer and an upper electrode provided via the diaphragm,
A zirconium layer forming step of forming a zirconium layer on one side of the substrate by sputtering, and a zirconium oxide layer forming step of thermally oxidizing the zirconium layer to form a zirconium oxide layer,
The zirconium layer forming step includes a high pressure step of forming a first zirconium layer having a thickness of 30 nm to 60 nm at a relatively high sputtering pressure and a low film formation rate, and a lower sputtering pressure and a higher film formation rate than the high pressure step. An actuator device comprising: a low-pressure step of forming a zirconium second layer until a total film thickness reaches a desired thickness; and forming a zirconium layer having a columnar shape and an orientation degree of (101) plane priority. Production method. 2. The method of manufacturing an actuator device according to claim 1, wherein a sputtering pressure in the high pressure step is in a range of 2 to 6 Pa, and a sputtering pressure in the low pressure step is less than 1 Pa. 3. 3. The method of manufacturing an actuator device according to claim 1, wherein the high-pressure process is performed under the conditions of a power density of 3 to 10 kW / m ² and a film formation temperature of room temperature. Method. The manufacturing method of the actuator device according to any one of claim 1 to 3, wherein said high pressure process of the zirconium layer forming step and the low-pressure process at intervals of 5 to 15 seconds while maintaining the vacuum state A method for manufacturing an actuator device, wherein the actuator device is executed. The manufacturing method of the actuator device according to any one of claims 1-4, the total thickness of the zirconium layer formed by the zirconium layer forming step for an actuator device which is a 200~500nm Production method. The manufacturing method of the actuator device according to any one of claim 1 to 5 the zirconium layer forming step, the distance between the target and the substrate is carried out in a smaller sputtering apparatus than the size of half of the substrate diameter can be deposited A method for manufacturing an actuator device, comprising: Comprising an actuator device formed by the manufacturing method of any one of the actuator device according to claim 1 to 6, by the displacement to eject liquid droplets from the nozzle openings communicating with the pressure generating chamber provided on the substrate A liquid jet head characterized by that.