CN113059912A

CN113059912A - Multilayer polymer ink-jet chamber capable of preventing ink from overflowing and manufacturing process thereof

Info

Publication number: CN113059912A
Application number: CN202110318402.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陆安江; 张孝宇
Original assignee: Suzhou Inkjet Semiconductor Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Suzhou Inkjet Semiconductor Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2021-03-25
Filing date: 2021-03-25
Publication date: 2021-07-02
Anticipated expiration: 2041-03-25
Also published as: CN113059912B

Abstract

The invention discloses a multilayer polymer ink-jet chamber for preventing ink from overflowing and a manufacturing process thereof, belonging to the technical field of MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) processes; the multilayer polymer ink-jet chamber for preventing ink overflow comprises a substrate, a wall, a heating resistor layer and a jet orifice plate, wherein an ink inlet channel is arranged on the substrate, a pressure cavity is arranged in the wall, the heating resistor layer is arranged at the bottom of the pressure cavity, the jet orifice plate is provided with a jet orifice, the pressure cavity is respectively communicated with the ink inlet channel and the jet orifice, the jet orifice plate comprises a hydrophilic inner wall and a hydrophobic outer wall, the thickness of the hydrophilic inner wall is 15-30 mu m, the thickness of the wall is 15-30 mu m, and the thickness of the hydrophobic outer wall is 1/2-1/6 of the thickness of the hydrophilic inner wall; according to the invention, the spray holes are designed into two layers, the inner wall of each spray hole has hydrophilicity and generates good wettability with ink, the outer wall of each spray hole is made of a wear-resistant material with hydrophobicity and generates non-wettability with ink, and accumulation of residual ink around the spray holes is avoided, so that the printing reliability and the printing quality are improved.

Description

Multilayer polymer ink-jet chamber capable of preventing ink from overflowing and manufacturing process thereof

Technical Field

The invention discloses a process for manufacturing a multilayer polymer ink-jet chamber capable of preventing ink from overflowing, and the multilayer polymer ink-jet chamber capable of preventing ink from overflowing, which is manufactured by the process, and belongs to the technical field of MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) processes.

Background

The printer is widely applied to various occasions, particularly office occasions, and comprises a spray head. In the conventional head structure, voltage pulses are applied to the resistance heater to increase the temperature, and bubbles are generated around the resistance heater to generate ink droplets. The conventional nozzle is usually made of a single material, such as a layer of metal material or hydrophilic material, that is, the hydrophobic property is not enough, and residual ink accumulates around the nozzle after printing for a period of time.

If the spray holes are made of hydrophobic materials, namely the hydrophilicity is not enough, residual air in the pressure cavity can not be effectively discharged, and the normal work of the spray holes is influenced. The ink in the pressure cavity of the traditional ink gun is in a negative pressure state in the using process so as to ensure that the ink cannot overflow in the non-printing state. The ink drop emission frequency is determined by the time for the ink to flow back to fill the pressure chamber after each ink drop is emitted, and the lower the hydrophilicity of the inner wall of the jet hole is, the longer the ink flows back to the pressure chamber, and the lower the ink drop emission frequency is. Furthermore, if a hydrophobic film is coated on the outer wall of a single material, the thickness of the hydrophobic film is typically less than 1um, which is much less than the thickness of the orifice material layer, and this structure may cause a result: in the process of cleaning and wiping the outer wall, the outer wall is easily abraded, so that the hydrophobicity is lost. The existing spray heads have two types: as shown in fig. 1, in the structure, the shape of a pressure chamber is formed by photoetching, and then a polyimide film which is subjected to laser drilling to form a nozzle hole is pasted to the top of a wall body in an alignment mode, wherein the polyimide film has alignment errors during alignment pasting, and the nozzle hole deviates from a target position; the adhesion uniformity of the polyimide film and the magnitude of the adhesion force vary, and it is difficult to perform mass production by the conventional MEMS method. As shown in fig. 2, the upper surface of the nozzle layer of the structure is uneven, ink and other pollutants are easily accumulated between adjacent nozzles, and the nozzles are polluted or blocked in the nozzle scrubbing process.

The application number 201610120045.1 of the Chinese invention patent discloses a multi-layer material spray hole structure and a printer, wherein the inner wall of the spray hole is made of hydrophilic materials, the outer wall of the spray hole is made of hydrophobic materials, and the thickness of the outer wall is larger than 1/2 of the total thickness of the multi-layer spray hole material layer. The multi-layer material spray hole structure can improve the printing speed, reliability and printing quality. However, the upper surface of the orifice layer is uneven, ink and other pollutants are easily accumulated between adjacent orifices, the orifices are easily polluted or blocked in the scrubbing process, the thickness layout of the inner wall and the outer wall is unreasonable, and the time for the ink to flow back to the pressure cavity is long, so that the emission frequency of ink drops is low.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem to be solved

The invention aims to solve the technical problems of ink overflow and ink hanging of the existing jet orifice, uneven upper surface of the jet orifice layer, long time for ink to flow back to the pressure cavity, low ink drop emission frequency and the like.

(II) technical scheme

In order to solve the technical problem, the invention provides a multilayer polymer ink-jet chamber for preventing ink from overflowing, which comprises a substrate, a wall, a heating resistance layer and a jet orifice plate, wherein an ink inlet channel is arranged on the substrate, a pressure cavity is arranged in the wall, the heating resistance layer is arranged at the bottom of the pressure cavity, a jet orifice is arranged on the jet orifice plate, the pressure cavity is respectively communicated with the ink inlet channel and the jet orifice, the jet orifice plate comprises a hydrophilic inner wall and a hydrophobic outer wall, the thickness of the hydrophilic inner wall is 15-30 μm, the thickness of the wall is 15-30 μm, and the thickness of the hydrophobic outer wall is 1/2-1/6 of the thickness of the hydrophilic inner wall.

Further, the hydrophilic inner wall has a thickness of 15 μm, 20 μm, 25 μm, or 30 μm, and the wall has a thickness of 15 μm, 20 μm, 25 μm, or 30 μm.

Further, the hydrophobic outer wall thickness is 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, or 1/6 of the hydrophilic inner wall thickness.

Further, the ink inlet channel and the nozzle hole are respectively arranged in a horn shape, and the pressure cavity can also be arranged in a horn shape.

The invention also provides a manufacturing process of the multilayer polymer ink-jet chamber for preventing ink overflow, which comprises the following steps:

s1, arranging a heating resistance layer on the substrate, pasting a first layer of hydrophilic polymer dry film, and sequentially carrying out photoetching, developing and hardening on the first layer of hydrophilic polymer dry film to manufacture a pressure cavity and a wall of the flow channel;

s2, attaching a second layer of hydrophilic polymer dry film on the first layer of hydrophilic polymer dry film, and precuring the back of the second layer of hydrophilic polymer dry film on a flat hot plate;

s3, removing the second layer of hydrophilic polymer dry film to protect the bottom PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) layer, and integrally pre-curing in an oven;

s4, spin-coating or spray-coating a third layer of hydrophobic polymer, and soft-baking;

s5, photo-etching, developing and hardening the second layer of hydrophilic polymer dry film and the third layer of hydrophobic polymer together to finish the manufacture of the orifice layer.

(III) advantageous effects

The technical scheme of the invention has the following advantages: the hydrophobic outer wall can generate good non-wetting property with ink, the problems of ink overflow and ink hanging of the ink gun are solved, wiping is not needed, and meanwhile resistance in ink jetting is reduced. The reverse assistance of the pressure cavity is increased through the design of the channels such as the horn-shaped ink inlet channel, the jet orifice and the like, the effect of negative pressure devices such as sponge and the like in the ink box is reduced, and the negative pressure is provided by the surface tension of the hydrophobic membrane. The printing speed, the reliability and the printing quality are improved.

The channel pressure cavity and the orifice plate are made of thermoplastic material, and the inner wall of the orifice plate is pre-cured by the ink inlet channel through hole without directly connecting each layer by adhesive. Simple process and is beneficial to batch production. The ink-jet chamber disclosed by the invention has the advantages that the ink overflow phenomenon is avoided in the using process, the wiping is not needed, the runner pressure cavity layer and the orifice layer are all made of polymer materials, the materials are connected, the adhesion can be realized only by heating at a low temperature, the adhesion force is uniform, the process flow is simple, and the cost is reduced.

The thickness of the hydrophilic inner wall and the hydrophobic outer wall is reasonable in layout, the hydrophobic outer wall is prevented from being abraded in the cleaning and wiping process and losing the hydrophobic property, the hydrophilic inner wall is guaranteed to have enough hydrophilic area, the time of ink flowing back to the pressure cavity is shortened, and the ink drop emission frequency is improved. The first layer of hydrophilic polymer dry film, the second layer of hydrophilic polymer dry film and the third layer of hydrophobic polymer are pasted and then flow channels are manufactured, and alignment errors are avoided. The upper surface of the ink-jet cavity obtained by the invention is flat and has no collapse, thereby avoiding the pollution or blockage of the jet orifice.

In addition to the technical problems addressed by the present invention, the technical features constituting the technical solutions and the advantages brought by the technical features of the technical solutions described above, other technical features of the present invention and the advantages brought by the technical features of the technical solutions will be further explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the manufacturing process of the present invention shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the manufacturing process of the present invention shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the manufacturing process of the present invention shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the manufacturing process of the present invention shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the manufacturing process of the present invention shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the present invention with trumpet shaped flow channels.

In the figure: 1-substrate, 2-wall, 3-heating resistance layer, 4-ink inlet channel, 5-pressure cavity, 6-hydrophilic inner wall and 7-hydrophobic outer wall.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without any inventive step based on the embodiments of the present invention, are within the scope of the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that unless otherwise explicitly stated or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" should be construed broadly and include, for example, fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be connected directly or indirectly through intervening media, or they may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood in specific cases to those skilled in the art.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, if the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. are used for indicating the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, it is only for convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, but it is not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

Example 1

The invention provides a multilayer polymer ink-jet chamber for preventing ink overflow and a manufacturing process thereof, wherein a preferred embodiment of the multilayer polymer ink-jet chamber for preventing ink overflow is as follows: the ink jet head comprises a substrate 1, a wall 2, a heating resistance layer 3 and a jet orifice plate, wherein an ink inlet channel 4 is arranged on the substrate 1, a pressure cavity 5 is arranged in the wall 2, the heating resistance layer 3 is arranged at the bottom of the pressure cavity 5, the jet orifice plate is provided with a jet orifice, the pressure cavity 5 is respectively communicated with the ink inlet channel 4 and the jet orifice, the jet orifice plate comprises a hydrophilic inner wall 6 and a hydrophobic outer wall 7, the thickness of the hydrophilic inner wall 6 is 15 microns, 20 microns or 30 microns, the thickness of the wall 2 is 20 microns or 30 microns, the thickness of the hydrophobic outer wall 7 is 1/2-1/6 of the thickness of the hydrophilic inner wall 6, the thickness of the hydrophobic outer wall 7 is preferably 1/2 or 1/3 of the thickness of the hydrophilic inner wall 6, the hydrophobic outer wall 7 can generate good non-wettability with ink, and the problems of ink overflow and ink, the resistance when the ink is sprayed is reduced without wiping; meanwhile, the enough thickness ensures that the hydrophobicity is not easy to damage.

The hydrophilic inner wall 6 may also have a thickness of 25 μm, and the wall 2 may also have a thickness of 15 μm or 25 μm. The hydrophobic outer wall 7 may also be 1/4, 1/5, or 1/6 the thickness of the hydrophilic inner wall 6. The ink inlet channel 4 and the nozzle holes are respectively arranged in a horn shape, as shown in fig. 6, so that the pressure generated in the pressure cavity is mainly released towards the nozzle holes. Without affecting the capillary suction of the walls and roof of the pressure chamber. The reverse assistance of the pressure cavity is increased through the design of the horn-shaped flow channel, the effect of negative pressure devices such as sponge in the ink box is reduced, and the negative pressure is provided by the surface tension of the hydrophobic membrane.

The manufacturing process of the multilayer polymer ink-jet chamber for preventing the ink from overflowing comprises the following steps:

s1, disposing the heating resistor layer 3 on the substrate 1 and attaching the first layer of dry film of hydrophilic polymer, as shown in fig. 1, sequentially performing photolithography, development and hardening on the first layer of dry film of hydrophilic polymer to form the pressure cavity 5 and the wall 2 of the flow channel, as shown in fig. 2;

s2, attaching a second layer of dry hydrophilic polymer film on the first layer of dry hydrophilic polymer film, and precuring the back of the second layer of dry hydrophilic polymer film on a flat hot plate, as shown in FIG. 3;

s4, spin-coating or spray-coating a third layer of hydrophobic polymer, and soft-baking, as shown in FIG. 4;

s5, photo-etching the second layer of hydrophilic polymer dry film and the third layer of hydrophobic polymer, developing, hardening, and finishing the fabrication of the orifice layer, as shown in FIG. 5.

According to the wall provided by the invention, the hydrophilic inner wall 6 and the hydrophobic outer wall 7 are made of thermoplastic materials, the layers are directly connected without adhesives, the inner wall of the orifice plate is pre-cured by utilizing the ink inlet channel through hole, the process is simple, and the mass production is facilitated.

While the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

Claims

1. The utility model provides a multilayer polymer inkjet chamber that prevents ink and spill over, includes base (1), wall (2), heating resistor layer (3) and orifice plate, set up into black passageway (4) on base (1), wall (2) inside sets up pressure chamber (5), pressure chamber (5) bottom sets up heating resistor layer (3), set up the orifice on the orifice plate, pressure chamber (5) communicate with advancing black passageway (4) and orifice respectively, the orifice plate includes hydrophilicity inner wall (6) and hydrophobicity outer wall (7), its characterized in that: the thickness of the hydrophilic inner wall (6) is 15-30 μm, the thickness of the wall (2) is 15-30 μm, and the thickness of the hydrophobic outer wall (7) is 1/2-1/6 of the thickness of the hydrophilic inner wall (6).

2. The ink spill resistant multi-layer polymeric ink jet chamber of claim 1, wherein: the hydrophilic inner wall (6) has a thickness of 15 μm, 20 μm, 25 μm or 30 μm, and the wall (2) has a thickness of 15 μm, 20 μm, 25 μm or 30 μm.

3. The ink spill resistant multi-layer polymeric ink jet chamber of claim 1, wherein: the thickness of the hydrophobic outer wall (7) is 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5 or 1/6 of the thickness of the hydrophilic inner wall (6).

4. The process of claim 1 for making a multilayer polymeric inkjet chamber for preventing ink overflow, wherein: the ink inlet channel (4) and the jet holes are respectively arranged in a horn shape.

5. A process for making a multilayer polymeric ink jet chamber for preventing ink bleed as defined in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein: the method comprises the following steps:

s1, arranging a heating resistance layer (3) on the substrate (1), pasting a first layer of hydrophilic polymer dry film, and sequentially carrying out photoetching, developing and hardening on the first layer of hydrophilic polymer dry film to manufacture a pressure cavity (5) and a wall (2) of the flow channel;