JPH047709B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device that records characters, graphics, etc. by ejecting liquid ink from minute nozzles.

Structure of a conventional example and its problems FIG. 1 shows an ink jet according to an earlier application filed by the present applicant, which has a ring-shaped projection 2 around the outlet of an ink nozzle 1. The advantage of a micro nozzle having the shape shown in FIG. 1 is that the wetting state of the ink around the exit of the micro nozzle is uniform, and the direction of ink ejection is stabilized.

When used in an inkjet recording device that uses electrostatic force to attract and eject ink, the meniscus shape of the ink is stabilized, making it easier for the electric field to concentrate at the tip of the mechanical ink, resulting in a high-performance inkjet recording device. realizable.

When adopted in an inkjet recording device that uses air flow as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-120452, a stable meniscus of ink can be formed even when the air flow flows out, resulting in stable performance. An inkjet recording device can be realized.

etc.

One method for manufacturing such micronozzles is to use chemical etching. Among these, the method of manufacturing using photosensitive glass is excellent in terms of precision and shape.

A conventional example of a method of manufacturing a micro nozzle using photosensitive glass will be described below.

FIG. 2 shows an example of manufacturing a micro nozzle using photosensitive glass. Photosensitive glass is CeC ₂ ,
It is a SiO ₂ −Al ₂ O ₃ −Li ₂ O glass containing Ag ₂ O,
When exposed to ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 280 to 350 μm and subjected to heat treatment, Li ₂ O—SiO ₂ crystals are generated in the exposed portions, and only the crystallized portions become extremely easily soluble in acid.

In FIG. 2, a indicates a photosensitive glass whose parts other than the ring-shaped part 3 have been exposed and crystallized.
In b, resist patterns 4 and 5 are provided on the photosensitive glass of a, and in c, half etching is performed from the surface of the resist pattern 4 in b, and a nozzle is drilled halfway. d is obtained by removing the resist pattern 5 of c and etching it from the surface opposite to c, allowing a nozzle to penetrate therethrough and forming a ring-shaped protrusion 6.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment in which the steps a and b are the same as those in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, but in step c, the resist pattern 8 of b is etched from the surface and the nozzle 7 is passed through it. d is obtained by removing the resist pattern 8 from one side of c, and e is obtained by half-etching d to form a ring-shaped protrusion 10.

FIG. 4 shows yet another embodiment, in which one side of a photosensitive glass which has been exposed and crystallized is coated with a resist 11. In b, a ring-shaped protrusion 12 is formed by half-etching a. c removes resist 11 and removes resist 13
and 14 are provided. d etches c and penetrates the nozzle 15, resists 13,1
4 was removed to form the desired micronozzle.

As described above, by using photosensitive glass as in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a micro nozzle having a ring-shaped protrusion as shown in FIG. 1 can be formed. In photosensitive glass, the portions that are not exposed and crystallized are hardly etched, so a micro nozzle with good dimensional accuracy and clean edges is formed.

By the way, in the steps shown in FIGS. 2 to 4,
In either case, a resist pattern must be formed.

The resist pattern is made by coating a photoresist 16 on a photosensitive glass substrate 18 that has been exposed and crystallized, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, for example.
An exposure mask 17 is placed thereon, and the pattern is formed by exposing to ultraviolet light and fixing the phenomenon. That is, the photoresist is removed from the portions of the photoresist 16 that are not irradiated with the ultraviolet light, and the photoresist is removed from the removed portion 20.
is formed. However, the crystallized portion of the photosensitive glass substrate 18 is discolored and opaque, and may cause some diffused reflection. Therefore, when exposed to ultraviolet light for a long period of time, the diffusely reflected light from the crystallized portions may expose the photoresist portions corresponding to the masked removal portions 20.
A portion of the photoresist remained in the removed portion 20. Further, when there is a ring-shaped protrusion 21 on the back surface as shown in FIG. 6, the protrusion 21 causes diffused reflection, making it impossible to form a pattern accurately.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims to manufacture minute nozzles with high precision by using photosensitive glass and eliminating the influence of diffused reflection.

Structure of the Invention The present invention comprises a first step of exposing the photosensitive glass to ultraviolet light in a portion other than the ring-shaped portion of the cylindrical frame and crystallizing it by heat treatment, and half-etching the surface side of the photosensitive glass. a second step of forming the protrusion of the ring-shaped portion on the front side of the photosensitive glass; and covering the entire back side of the photosensitive glass with a mask that does not transmit ultraviolet light; The third step is to cover the entire surface of the resist mask.
and a fourth step of removing the resist located inside the outer edge of the frame of the ring-shaped portion to form a ring-shaped resist pattern by exposing and developing the photosensitive glass from the back surface side. and etching the photosensitive glass, and using the ring-shaped resist pattern, similarly to the resist pattern, remove the thin mask located inside the outer edge of the frame of the ring-shaped part to form a ring. a fifth step of forming a shaped thin mask pattern, etching the photosensitive glass, and etching the photosensitive glass inside the edge of the ring-shaped portion by the ring shaped thin mask pattern; an inkjet nozzle comprising: a sixth step of removing and penetrating the photosensitive glass to form a minute nozzle; and a seventh step of removing the resist and thin mask coated on the back side of the photosensitive glass. This is a manufacturing method.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the present invention. First, as shown in a, the photosensitive glass substrate 22 is exposed to crystallization, leaving the ring-shaped portion 31, and one side thereof is covered with a resist 32. Next, as shown in b, the photosensitive glass 22 is half-etched to form a ring-shaped protrusion 33. The steps up to this point are the same as those in FIGS. 4a and 4b. Next, as shown in FIG. 7c, a thin mask 23 is formed on one side of the photosensitive glass substrate 22, and a photoresist 24 is coated thereon. The mask 23 is made of a material that does not transmit ultraviolet light and is resistant to boiling acid, such as gold, which can withstand the use of boiling acid as described later.
Coat to ~2 μm. An exposure mask 25 is placed on top of it, and ultraviolet light is irradiated thereon. In this case, the ultraviolet light is completely reflected by the surface of the transparent mask 23, and no ultraviolet light enters the photosensitive glass 22. Therefore, the crystallized portion of the conventional photosensitive glass 22,
Alternatively, diffused reflection due to the protrusions 32 on the back surface can be completely prevented. Since the ultraviolet light reflected by the transparent mask 23 is parallel light and follows the original optical path, the ultraviolet light no longer enters the photoresist below the non-transparent portion 26 of the exposure mask 25. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7d, the non-transparent part 26
A pattern that accurately corresponds to can be realized. Next, in FIG. 7e, the non-transparent part 26 of the transparent mask 23 is
This shows the removal of the pattern portion corresponding to , but aqua regia was used because the material of the mask 23 is gold. Next, in FIG. 7f, the back surface of the photosensitive glass substrate 22 is coated with a resist 27, and then, as shown in FIG. 7g, micro nozzles 28 are formed through etching with hydrochloric acid. After that, photoresist 24, Shiyahei mask 23, resist 2
7 is removed to complete a minute nozzle as shown in FIG. 7h.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention involves forming a mask that does not transmit ultraviolet light on one side of photosensitive glass that has been exposed and crystallized in a predetermined pattern, and then forming a resist pattern on the mask. In this method of manufacturing an inkjet nozzle, which performs etching, a resist pattern with high precision can be formed because diffuse reflection of ultraviolet light from the photosensitive glass does not occur.
Therefore, highly accurate micro nozzle processing can be realized.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a nozzle manufactured according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 to 4 are sectional views showing conventional nozzle processing steps, and FIGS.
The figure shows a cross-sectional view showing a conventional resist pattern forming method, and FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the inkjet nozzle manufacturing process according to the present invention. 1...Minute nozzle, 2...Ring-shaped projection, 22
. . . Photosensitive glass substrate, 23 . . . Shiyahei mask, 24 . . . Photoresist, 25 .

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first step of exposing the photosensitive glass to ultraviolet light in a portion other than the ring-shaped portion of the cylindrical frame and crystallizing it by heat treatment, and half-etching the surface side of the photosensitive glass. a second step of forming the protrusion of the ring-shaped portion on the front side of the photosensitive glass; and covering the entire back side of the photosensitive glass with a mask that does not transmit ultraviolet light; a third step of covering the entire surface of the resist mask, and removing the resist located inside the outer edge of the frame of the ring-shaped portion by exposing and developing the photosensitive glass from the back side; a fourth step of forming a ring-shaped resist pattern; and etching the photosensitive glass, and the ring-shaped resist pattern allows the ring-shaped portion to be placed inside the outer edge of the frame, similar to the resist pattern. a fifth step of removing the located thinning mask to form a ring-shaped thinning mask pattern; etching the photosensitive glass, and forming the ring-shaped thinning mask pattern by etching the photosensitive glass; A sixth step of removing and penetrating the photosensitive glass inside the edge of the shaped part to form a micro nozzle, and removing the resist and the flexible mask coated on the back side of the photosensitive glass. A method for manufacturing an inkjet nozzle, comprising a seventh step of removing the inkjet nozzle.