JPS6135259A - Manufacture of nozzle for ink jet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To manufacture a high accuracy miniature nozzle without the effect of irregular reflection by forming a resist pattern on the roughed surface of a photo-sensitive glass. CONSTITUTION:A photo-sensitive glass substrate 32 is exposed and crystallized except a ring shaped section 31, and its one side is covered by a resist 33 and half etched, and a ring shaped projection 34 is formed. Then, the other side of the photo-sensitive glass is ground with an abrasive or the like, a roughed surface is applied with a photoresist 36, an exposure mask 37 is disposed, and ultraviolet ray 38 is projected. In this instance, almost all of the ultraviolet ray is reflected by the roughed surface 35, and little ultraviolet ray is incident into the photo-sensitive glass 32. Therefore, irregular reflection due to a crystallized section of the photo-sensitive glass 32, or the projection 34 on the back or the like is reduced extremely, the ultraviolet ray is not reached to the section of the photoresist 36 where is not to be illuminated and the prescribed pattern can be realized without fail.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention is directed to printing characters 1 by discharging liquid ink from minute nozzles.
The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device for recording figures and the like.

Structure of a conventional example and its problems FIG. 1 shows an inkjet nozzle according to an earlier application by the present applicant, which has a ring-shaped protrusion 2 around the outlet of the ink nozzle 1. In FIG. The advantages of a micronozzle having the shape shown in FIG. 1 are as follows: (1) The wetting state of the ink around the exit of the micronozzle becomes uniform, and the direction of ejection is stabilized.

■ When used in an inkjet recording device that uses electrostatic force to attract and eject ink, the ink meniscus shape becomes stable, making it easier for the electric field to concentrate at the tip of the ink meniscus, resulting in a high-performance inkjet recording device. can be realized.

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

It is a hat.

One method of 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. The photosensitive glass is a 5io2-At2o3-Li20 glass containing CeO2゜Aq2o,
When exposed to ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 280 to 350 mμ and subjected to heat treatment, L L 2O-3in2 crystals are generated in the exposed portions, and only this crystallized portion becomes extremely easy to dissolve in acid.

In FIG. 2, a indicates a photosensitive glass whose parts other than the ring-shaped part 3 have been exposed and crystallized.

1) ld Resist patterns 4 and 6 are provided on the photosensitive glass of A, and C is half-etched from the surface of the resist pattern 4 of B, and a nozzle is drilled halfway. In d, the resist pattern 6 of C is removed and the surface opposite to C is etched to allow a nozzle to pass through and form 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. . 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. In C, resist 11 is removed and resists 13 and 14 are provided.

d is obtained by etching C to penetrate the nozzle 16, removing the resist 13 and 14, and forming the desired micronozzle.0 As shown in the examples shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, photosensitive glass is By using this, a micro nozzle having a ring-shaped protrusion as shown in FIG. 1 can be formed. In photosensitive glass, the parts that are not exposed and crystallized are hardly etched, so a micro nozzle with good dimensional accuracy and clean edges is formed.

Incidentally, in any of the steps shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a resist pattern must be formed.

The resist pattern is, for example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 6, by coating a photoresist 16 on a photosensitive glass substrate 18 that has been exposed and crystallized, and then applying an exposure mask 1 thereon.
7 was placed, exposed to ultraviolet light, and subjected to phenomenon fixing.
It is formed. That is, the photoresist is removed from the portions of the photoresist 16 that have not been irradiated with the ultraviolet light, and a removed portion 2o is formed. However, the crystallized portion of the photosensitive glass substrate 18 may turn opaque and cause diffuse reflection. Therefore, when exposed to ultraviolet light for a long time, the diffusely reflected light from the crystallized portion may expose the photoresist in the masked portion corresponding to the removed portion 20, and some of the photoresist may be exposed to the removed portion 20. Sometimes it remained. Further, when there is a ring-shaped protrusion 21 on the back surface as shown in FIG. 6, the influence of diffused reflection at the protrusion is so severe that a pattern cannot be formed accurately.

Furthermore, even if a resist pattern is formed, when etching photosensitive glass with concentrated acid, for example, if the adhesion between the resist pattern and the photosensitive glass is poor, the resist pattern may be removed by side etching. In order to fabricate a minute nozzle as shown in FIG. 1 using synthetic glass, it was a prerequisite to form an accurate and strong resist pattern.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to form a strong resist pattern with high precision on photosensitive glass, eliminate the influence of diffused reflection, and manufacture a fine nozzle with high precision.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing an inkjet nozzle in which the surface of photosensitive glass is roughened, and a resist pattern is formed and etched on the roughened surface.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the present invention. First, as shown in a, the photosensitive glass substrate 32 is exposed to crystallization, leaving the ring-shaped portion 31, and one side thereof is covered with a resist 33.

Next, as shown in b, the photosensitive glass 32 is etched to form a ring-shaped protrusion 34. The steps up to this point are the same as those in FIGS. 4a and 4b. Next, as shown in FIG. 7C, one side of the photosensitive glass 32 is polished with abrasive grains etc.
A photoresist 36 is applied to the roughened surface as shown in d, an exposure mask 37 is placed, and ultraviolet light 38 is irradiated. In this case, since the surface of the photosensitive glass 32 is roughened, most of the ultraviolet light 38 is reflected by the rough surface 35, and a small amount of the ultraviolet light 38 is reflected inside the photosensitive glass 32.
Only 8 are incident.

Therefore, diffused reflection from the crystallized portions of the photosensitive glass 32 or the protrusions 34 on the back surface is extremely reduced, and ultraviolet light does not reach portions of the photoresist 36 that should not be illuminated. A predetermined pattern as shown in Figure e can be realized accurately.

In addition, the resist pattern 3θ formed on the rough surface 35 has a large adhesion surface, so the adhesive strength is strong, and there is little influence of side etching that occurs when the photosensitive glass 32 is etched with concentrated acid. 36
There is no peeling.

In the example, a resist pattern 36 was created by polishing the photosensitive glass 32 with $600 abrasive grains, and good results were obtained. Finally, the photosensitive glass in the ring-shaped portion 31 is removed by etching to penetrate the nozzle hole, and after removing the resist pattern 36, an electrode 39 is formed on the rough surface 35, thereby manufacturing an inkjet nozzle.

Effect of the invention As described above, the present invention uses exposure in a predetermined pattern.

This is an inkjet nozzle manufacturing method in which one side of crystallized photosensitive glass is roughened and a resist pattern is formed on it and etched. This method prevents diffuse reflection of ultraviolet light on the photosensitive glass and improves accuracy. It is possible to form a resist pattern with good quality and perform highly accurate nozzle processing. Furthermore, since a resist pattern with high adhesive strength can be formed, nozzle etching can be performed stably.

[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 steps of a conventional nozzle processing method, and FIGS. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional resist pattern forming method, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the inkjet nozzle manufacturing process according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Micro nozzle, 2... Ring-shaped projection, 31... Ring-shaped part, 32... Photosensitive glass, 33... Resist, 34 ...Protrusion, 36 ... Rough surface, 36 ... Photoresist, 37 ... Exposure mask, 39 ...
・Name of electrode agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person 1st
Figure @ 2 Figure @ 3 Figure! ! 4 Figure 7 M Figure 5 +++11 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] Manufacture of an inkjet nozzle, characterized in that one surface of photosensitive glass that has been exposed and crystallized in a predetermined pattern is roughened to form a rough surface, a resist pattern is formed on the rough surface, and etched. Method.