JPH0611656B2 - Masking method for photosensitive glass - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photosensitive glass plate having minute openings such as an ink nozzle plate of an ink jet recording head for recording characters, figures, images, etc. on an object to be recorded. The present invention relates to a method for masking a photosensitive glass for manufacturing a glass.

2. Description of the Related Art As an inkjet recording head using a nozzle plate having a minute opening formed on a flat plate such as photosensitive glass, a structure as shown in FIG. 3 is known in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-234853. There is.

As shown in FIG. 3, an air discharge port 2 is formed in an insulating nozzle plate 1 attached to a body member 10. A nozzle plate 3 is attached to the body member 10 in parallel with the nozzle plate 1, and an ink discharge port 4 is formed in the nozzle plate 3 so as to face the air discharge port 2. A ring-shaped projecting portion 5 projecting from the nozzle plate 3 is provided on the ink ejection port 4 side of the air ejection port 2 side. An air flow is sent from the periphery to the air layer 6 formed by the nozzle plate 1 and the nozzle plate 3,
It is flowing out from the air outlet 2. A constant pressure is applied to the ink in the ink ejection port 4, and when the inkjet recording head is not driven, the air pressure in the vicinity of the ink ejection port 4 and the ink pressure in the ink ejection port 4 are substantially equal to each other. The meniscus of the ink generated at the ejection port 4 is adjusted so as to be kept stationary. The signal source 7 communicates with the electrode 8 and the ink ejection port 4 so that a potential difference is generated between the electrode 8 provided on the surface of the nozzle plate 1 and around the air ejection port 2 and the ink in the ink outlet 4. It is electrically connected to the conductive ink supply tube 9 described above.

When a potential difference is generated between the electrode 8 and the ink in the ink ejection port 4 by the signal source 7, the meniscus generated in the ink ejection port 4 is extended in the direction of the air ejection port 2 by the electric field due to the potential difference. The meniscus of the ink stretched by a certain length or more by the electric field is torn off by a rapid change in the pressure gradient caused by the air flow, and flies as an ink droplet from the air ejection port 2. At this time, by providing the ring-shaped protrusion 5 on the ink ejection port 4 as described above, the air flow is bent more rapidly due to the influence of the ring-shaped protrusion 5, and the air flow is generated in the vicinity of the ink ejection port 4. A dead water zone occurs, and there is almost no pressure gradient in the air flow in this dead water zone. Therefore, even if the ink meniscus at the ink ejection port 4 slightly fluctuates, the ink is not ejected, and there is an advantage that the stability of the ink meniscus can be enhanced.

Next, the nozzle plate 3 having the ring-shaped protrusion 5 as described above
The conventional manufacturing method of will be described with reference to FIG. The structure shown in FIG. 4 was first developed by the present inventors in Japanese Patent Application No. 59-92249.
It is the manufacturing method filed as the issue. As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the exposure mask 102 is arranged on the photosensitive glass 101,
Exposure is performed by applying ultraviolet light. At this time, the exposure mask 10
2, the ring-shaped portion 103 blocks light and the other portion 104 transmits light. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the light-exposed portion 105 of the photosensitive glass 101 is exposed to light, and Li ₂ O—SiO ₂ is subjected to the subsequent heat treatment.
Crystals are generated, and etching with an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid becomes easy. In the photosensitive glass 101, the cylindrical portion (the hatching direction is changed for easy understanding) 106 which is not exposed to light is not crystallized. Next, as shown in FIG. 4 (c), both surfaces of the photosensitive glass 101 are half-etched with an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid. The part that is crystallized at this time 10
Since 5 is etched faster than the uncrystallized cylindrical portion 106 as indicated by reference numerals 107 and 108, ring-shaped protrusions 109 and 11 are formed on both surfaces of the photosensitive glass 101.
0 is formed. Next, as shown in FIG. 4 (d), the entire surface of the photosensitive glass 101 on the side of the ring-shaped protrusion 109 is masked with electron wax 111 made of a hydrofluoric acid resistant material. The electron wax 111 is a paraffin adhesive, and raises the temperature of the photosensitive glass 101 to make it liquid and mask it. A glass substrate 112 is attached to the outer surface of the electron wax 111. On the other hand, the entire surface of the photosensitive glass 101 on the opposite side of the ring-shaped protrusion 110 is masked with the electron wax 113. The electron wax 113 raises the temperature of the photosensitive glass 101 to make it liquid and masks it. However, the electron wax 113 applied in the vicinity of the ring-shaped protrusion 110 gradually wets and spreads, and the electron wax 113 of the ring-shaped protrusion 110 spreads. It is masked so as not to go inside. Next, as shown in FIG. 4 (e), from the ring-shaped protrusion 110 on the side masked by the electron wax 113, the second etching of the photosensitive glass 101 is penetrated to the ring-shaped protrusion 109 on the opposite side. Do until you do. Reference numeral 114 indicates a portion which is etched and penetrated, and 115 indicates a portion which is side-etched. After that, water washing is performed, and ultrasonic cleaning with trichloroethylene is performed to separate the electron waxes 113 and 111 and the glass substrate 112 is removed, and as shown in FIG.
(Photosensitive glass (nozzle plate 3 shown in FIG. 3)) having (ring-shaped protrusion 5 shown in FIG. 3) and penetrating portion 5 (ink ejection port 4 shown in FIG. 3) can be formed.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the masking method of the electron wax 113 shown in FIG. 4 (d) in the above manufacturing method has the following problems. In the above masking method, since the surface roughness of the end surface 110a of the link-shaped protruding portion 110 is smaller than the surface roughness of the surface 108a formed by etching in the photosensitive glass 101 and the side surface 110b of the ring-shaped protruding portion 110, the end surface Taking advantage of the poor wettability of the electron wax 113 in 110b, the electron wax 113 is blocked near the peripheral edge 110c of the ring-shaped protrusion 110, and masked so that the electron wax 113 does not enter the ring-shaped protrusion 110. There is. If the electron wax 113 gets into the ring-shaped protrusion 110 in this step, etching with an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid, which will be performed in the next step, cannot be performed. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly determine the masking conditions. Since the viscosity of the electron wax 113 decreases as the temperature rises, the wettability of the end surface 110a of the ring-shaped protrusion 110 is improved and the electron wax 113 enters the ring-shaped protrusion 110. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the temperature. is there. Further, the wetting speed changes depending on the temperature, and further, it is impossible to completely eliminate the wettability of the electron wax 113 on the end surface 110a, so that it will get into the ring-shaped protrusion 110 after a long time. Adjustments need to be made. However, it is difficult to control temperature and time,
In addition, there is a problem of poor mass productivity. In particular, when the number of nozzles is large, electron wax may get into the inside due to improper adjustment, and masking cannot be performed reliably.

Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to perform masking reliably and easily, and to alleviate conditions such as selection of a hydrofluoric acid-resistant material for masking. Furthermore, even when there are a plurality of protrusions, masking is surely performed. It is intended to provide a method for masking a photosensitive glass, which is capable of performing the above.

Means for Solving the Problems And the technical means of the present invention for solving the above problems, a barrier agent having a low surface tension is provided on at least an end face of a protrusion of photosensitive glass provided by half etching. The surface of the photosensitive glass is covered and masked with a hydrofluoric acid resistant material.

Effect The present invention can heat the hydrofluoric acid-resistant material into a liquid state in the above-described structure and uniformly form the hydrofluoric acid-resistant material in the region around the protrusion. At this time, the barrier acid agent can prevent the acid-resistant material from flowing into the inside of the protrusion, so that the temperature and the holding time of heating the photosensitive glass in order to make the acid-resistant material liquid are limited. It is possible to carry out reliable masking without any need.

Example Hereinafter, an example in which the present invention is applied to manufacture a nozzle plate of an inkjet recording head will be described. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 (a), both surfaces of the photosensitive glass 15 are half-etched with an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid, exposed to light and crystallized, and are easily dissolved in acid 2.
On the other hand, the ring-shaped protrusions 16 and 17 are formed by the portion 22 which is not exposed to light and is hardly dissolved in acid. This processing step is the same as in FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (c). One side of the photosensitive glass 15 on the side of the ring-shaped protruding portion 17 is covered with the electron wax 13 made of a hydrofluoric acid resistant material.
Masking is performed at a temperature of not less than 0 ° C., and a glass substrate 14 is attached to this electron wax 13. Next, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), a barrier agent 12 is applied to the surface of a plate of silicon rubber 11 which is a soft member having a smooth surface. The barrier agent 12 is a fluorine-based hardener A-44 manufactured by Daikin Industries, Ltd.
No. 1 is used, and since it is an aerosol type, a thin coating film can be easily obtained by spraying, and it exhibits low surface tension physical properties. FIG. 1 shows the silicone rubber 11 coated with the barrier agent 12.
As shown in (b), the barrier agent 12 is placed on the ring-shaped protrusion 16 and pressed, and the barrier agent 12 is brought into contact with the end surface 19 of the ring-shaped protrusion 16. At this time, since the silicone rubber 11 is soft, the side wall 20 is also slightly contacted with the barrier agent 12. Silicone rubber 11
When the barrier agent 12 is peeled off, the part of the barrier agent 12 that is in contact with the photosensitive glass 15 has a greater adhesiveness than the silicone rubber 11, so that the barrier agent 12 is transferred from the silicone rubber 11 and reaches the ring-shaped protrusion 16. In this way, FIG. 1 (c)
As shown in FIG. 3, at least the end surface 19 of the ring-shaped protrusion 16 of the photosensitive glass 15 can be coated with the low surface tension barrier agent 12. Next, the surface of the photosensitive glass 15 on the side of the ring-shaped protrusion 16 is masked with electron wax 18 made of a hydrofluoric acid resistant material. Electron wax 18
Is a paraffin adhesive (manufactured by So Denshi Kogyo Co., Ltd.) and is approximately 48
It becomes liquid at temperatures above ℃. Therefore, first, the temperature of the photosensitive glass 15 is set to 48 ° C. or higher, and the electron wax 18 is applied around the ring-shaped protrusion 16 so as not to enter the ring-shaped protrusion 16. If you hold it for a certain time,
The electron wax 18 spreads out and masks a predetermined portion of the entire circumference around the ring-shaped protrusion 16 as shown in FIG. 1 (c). At this time, the inside and the outside of the ring-shaped protrusion 16 are completely blocked by the barrier agent 12, and since the barrier agent 12 has a low surface tension and repels the liquid electron wax 18, the electron wax 18 protrudes in the ring shape. Since it can be prevented from flowing into the inside of the portion 16, even if the temperature is raised to about 70 ° C. or the holding time is lengthened, the electron wax 18 does not get into the ring-shaped protruding portion 16, so that it is ensured. It can be masked with good properties and is excellent in mass productivity.

After the masking is completed in this way, the nozzle plate 3 as shown in FIG. 3 is manufactured by performing etching from the inside of the ring protrusion 16 in the same manner as in FIGS. 4 (d) and (e). You can

FIG. 2 shows a masking method according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the electron wax 13 and the glass substrate 14 are provided on one side of the photosensitive glass 15 on the side of the ring-shaped protrusion 17. The barrier agent 12 is applied to the surface of the silicone rubber roller 23. By applying it to the silicone rubber roller 23 as shown in FIG.
At least the end surface 19 of the ring-shaped protrusion 16 can be coated with the low surface tension barrier agent 12. The side surface 20 is also slightly coated with the barrier agent 12. After that, masking is performed as in the embodiment of FIG.

According to this embodiment, the inside and the outside of the ring-shaped protrusion 16 are completely blocked by the barrier agent 12, so that reliable masking can be performed. Moreover, since the barrier agent 12 can be easily coated on the end surface 19 by using the silicon rubber roller 23, the mass productivity is particularly excellent.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the protruding portion of the photosensitive glass has a ring shape has been described, but other than this, for example, a triangle, a square, or the like may be used, and there is no problem even if there is a shape other than the nozzle, such as a partition or a frame. Absent. In addition to electron wax, for example, an epoxy adhesive or the like may be used as the hydrofluoric acid-resistant material, which allows a wide range of use conditions such as viscosity, curing temperature, curing time, materials and the like. As the barrier agent, other fluorine-based or silicon-based coating agents, paints, etc. may be used as long as they can be coated with a material having a low surface tension. Further, two methods have been used as the method of coating the barrier agent, but other methods may be used as long as they can coat the protrusions.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the protruding portion of the photosensitive glass provided by the half etching is coated with the barrier agent, and the predetermined portion is masked with the hydrofluoric acid resistant material. Since it is set, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Since the inside and outside of the protruding part is completely blocked by the barrier agent, it is not necessary to strictly control the temperature and holding time of the photosensitive glass, and reliable masking with excellent mass productivity is provided. Can be done.

(2) The range of conditions such as the material, viscosity, curing temperature, and curing time of the fluorinated acid resistant material can be widened.

(3) Masking can be performed without problems even when the number of protrusions is large and the protrusion time distance is short.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 (a) to 1 (c) are sectional views showing the steps of the first embodiment of the masking method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the steps of the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4A to 4F are cross-sectional views showing an example of an ink jet recording head to which the present invention is applied, and FIGS. 4A to 4F are cross-sectional views showing a conventional manufacturing process of a nozzle plate used in the ink jet recording head of FIG. 15 ... Photosensitive glass, 16, 17 ... Ring-shaped protrusions, 13, 18 ... Electron wax (fluoric acid resistant material), 12 ... Barrier agent.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method of forming a fluorine-containing acid resistant material on a predetermined portion of the photosensitive glass by coating a barrier agent on a protrusion formed by half-etching the photosensitive glass after exposure to a predetermined pattern. A characteristic method for masking photosensitive glass. 2. The method for masking a photosensitive glass according to claim 1, wherein the barrier agent is a material having a low surface tension. 3. A method of masking a photosensitive glass according to claim 1, wherein the photosensitive glass is exposed except for a region surrounding a portion where a through hole is to be formed, and the region is left as a protruding portion. 4. An electron wax is provided outside the protruding portion of the photosensitive glass, and the photosensitive glass is heated and masked by the electron wax.
Item 7. A method for masking a photosensitive glass according to the item. 5. The photosensitive material according to claim 1, wherein a barrier agent is applied to the surface of a soft material having a smooth surface, and the barrier agent side is pressed against the protrusion to transfer the barrier agent onto the protrusion. How to mask glass. 6. The method for masking a photosensitive glass according to claim 1, wherein a barrier agent is applied to the surface of the silicone rubber roller, and the barrier agent is transferred onto the protruding portion by rotating on the photosensitive glass.