Ink jet head and method of producing the same
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorsSeiichi Kato, Kouichi Ohtaka, Makoto Tanaka, Eiji Mochizuki
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An ink jet head that can be easily connected to an external circuit is provided without an increase in the number of production procedures. Diaphragms and a diaphragm external electrode having the same thickness as the diaphragms are formed on a silicon substrate that is a first substrate located on the same plane as the diaphragms. The diaphragm external electrode is located within 2 μm from the individual external electrodes of a plurality of electrodes on a second substrate.
Claims25
An ink jet head comprising:
- nozzle holes that discharge ink droplets;
- discharging chambers that communicate with the nozzle holes;
- diaphragms that form at least one wall surface of each of the discharging chambers;
- electrodes that are adjacent to the diaphragms;
- and
- a diaphragm external electrode that is formed at a same height as the diaphragms;
- wherein the diaphragms are deformed by electrostatic force generated between the diaphragms and the electrodes so as to discharge the ink droplets.
A method of producing an ink jet head, comprising the steps of:
- bonding a first substrate having diaphragms and a diaphragm external electrode formed thereon, said diaphragm external electrode being formed at a same height as said diaphragms, to a second substrate having electrodes and individual external electrodes formed thereon, with a predetermined distance being left between each of the diaphragms and each corresponding one of the electrodes;
- forming a contact portion having the same thickness as the diaphragms, the contact portion including at least a region on the first substrate corresponding to a region including the individual external electrodes on the second substrate and a part to become the diaphragm external electrode;
- and
- removing the region of the contact portion except the part to become the diaphragm external electrode.
A method of producing an ink jet head, comprising:
- bonding a silicon wafer that is a first substrate having diaphragms and a diaphragm external electrode formed thereon, said diaphragm external electrode being formed at a same height as said diaphragms, to a second substrate having electrodes and individual electrodes formed theron;
- performing etching on the first substrate, leaving a contact portion including a region corresponding to the individual electrodes on the second substrate and a part to become the diaphragm external electrode;
- cutting the silicon wafer into head chips;
- and
- removing the region corresponding to the individual electrodes from the contact portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.