JP2013180531A - Liquid ejecting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid ejecting apparatus which is able to obtain a sufficient displacement characteristic by using a compound oxide of a perovskite structure including bismuth, iron, barium and titanium, as a piezoelectric material.SOLUTION: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a piezoelectric element having a piezoelectric layer and an electrode; and a driving means which drives the piezoelectric element, wherein the piezoelectric layer is formed of a compound oxide having a perovskite structure including bismuth, iron, barium and titanium, and is oriented with priority on (110) plane, wherein the driving waveform includes: a polarization process of applying a first voltage equal to or larger than a coercive voltage of the piezoelectric layer to put the layer into a polarized state; a first voltage changing process of applying a voltage of polarity reverse to the first voltage from the first voltage, mitigating the polarization of the piezoelectric layer and decreasing the potential to the minimum potential; and a second voltage changing process of applying a voltage larger than the first voltage, ejecting liquid and increasing the potential to the maximum potential from the minimum potential, and wherein a difference of electric fields applied to the piezoelectric layer at the maximum potential and the minimum potential is 6.1×10(V/m) or less.

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus including a piezoelectric element that causes a pressure change in a pressure generation chamber communicating with a nozzle opening.

  As a typical example of a liquid ejecting head mounted on a liquid ejecting apparatus, for example, a part of a pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle opening for ejecting ink droplets is configured by a diaphragm, and the diaphragm is deformed by a piezoelectric element. There is an ink jet recording head that pressurizes ink in a pressure generating chamber and discharges the ink as ink droplets from a nozzle opening.

A typical example of a piezoelectric material used as a piezoelectric layer constituting such a piezoelectric element is lead zirconate titanate (hereinafter referred to as “PZT”), but from the viewpoint of environmental problems, it contains non-lead or lead. There is a need for a piezoelectric material with a reduced amount. Thus, as a lead-free piezoelectric material, for example, there is a BiFeO ₃ -based piezoelectric material containing Bi and Fe (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-287745 A

  However, since the piezoelectric layer made of a composite oxide with a reduced content of lead or lead is not sufficient in displacement compared to lead zirconate titanate (PZT), an improvement in displacement is required. It has been.

  Such a problem exists not only in the ink jet recording head, but of course in other liquid ejecting heads that eject droplets other than ink, and also in piezoelectric elements used in other than liquid ejecting heads. Exist as well.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention has an object to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus that can obtain sufficient displacement characteristics using a composite oxide having a perovskite structure including bismuth, iron, barium, and titanium as a piezoelectric material. And

An aspect of the present invention that solves the above problems includes a piezoelectric element including a piezoelectric layer and an electrode provided on the piezoelectric layer, and a driving unit that supplies a driving waveform for driving the piezoelectric element to the piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric layer is made of a complex oxide having a perovskite structure including bismuth, iron, barium, and titanium preferentially oriented in the (110) plane, and the drive waveform is the piezoelectric A polarization step of applying a first voltage equal to or higher than the coercive voltage of the body layer to obtain a polarization state; and applying a voltage having a polarity opposite to the first voltage from the application state of the first voltage to polarize the piezoelectric layer A first voltage changing step that relaxes and lowers the voltage to a minimum potential; and a second voltage changing step that applies a voltage higher than the first voltage from the minimum potential to discharge the liquid and raise the voltage to the maximum potential. , A difference of the electric field applied to the piezoelectric layer in the maximum potential and the minimum potential, a liquid-jet apparatus characterized in that ^{6.1 × 10 7 (V / m} ) or less.
According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a liquid ejecting apparatus having excellent piezoelectric characteristics with a low electric field. In addition, since the piezoelectric material is non-leaded, that is, does not contain lead, a liquid ejecting apparatus with a small environmental load can be realized.

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of the recording head according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the recording head according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the recording head according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment. The figure which shows the drive signal (drive waveform) which concerns on embodiment. The figure which shows the electric field-displacement amount of a test example.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an ink jet recording apparatus that is an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus according to the invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in an ink jet recording apparatus II, recording head units 1A and 1B having an ink jet recording head are provided with cartridges 2A and 2B constituting an ink supply means in a detachable manner. 1B is mounted on a carriage shaft 5 attached to the apparatus body 4 so as to be movable in the axial direction. The recording head units 1A and 1B, for example, are configured to eject a black ink composition and a color ink composition, respectively.

  Then, the driving force of the driving motor 6 is transmitted to the carriage 3 via a plurality of gears and a timing belt 7 (not shown), so that the carriage 3 on which the recording head units 1A and 1B are mounted is moved along the carriage shaft 5. The On the other hand, the apparatus body 4 is provided with a platen 8 along the carriage shaft 5, and a recording sheet S that is a recording medium such as paper fed by a paper feed roller (not shown) is wound around the platen 8. It is designed to be transported.

  Here, an ink jet recording head mounted on such an ink jet recording apparatus II will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording head which is an example of a liquid jet head according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA ′ in FIG. 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the flow path forming substrate 10 of the present embodiment is made of a silicon single crystal substrate, and an elastic film 50 made of silicon dioxide is formed on one surface thereof.

  A plurality of pressure generating chambers 12 are arranged in parallel in the width direction of the flow path forming substrate 10. In addition, a communication portion 13 is formed in a region outside the longitudinal direction of the pressure generation chamber 12 of the flow path forming substrate 10, and the communication portion 13 and each pressure generation chamber 12 are provided for each pressure generation chamber 12. Communication is made via a supply path 14 and a communication path 15. The communication part 13 communicates with a manifold part 31 of a protective substrate, which will be described later, and constitutes a part of a manifold that becomes a common ink chamber for each pressure generating chamber 12. The ink supply path 14 is formed with a narrower width than the pressure generation chamber 12, and maintains a constant flow path resistance of ink flowing into the pressure generation chamber 12 from the communication portion 13. In this embodiment, the ink supply path 14 is formed by narrowing the width of the flow path from one side. However, the ink supply path may be formed by narrowing the width of the flow path from both sides. Further, the ink supply path may be formed by narrowing from the thickness direction instead of narrowing the width of the flow path. In the present embodiment, the flow path forming substrate 10 is provided with a liquid flow path including the pressure generation chamber 12, the communication portion 13, the ink supply path 14, and the communication path 15.

  Further, on the opening surface side of the flow path forming substrate 10, a nozzle plate 20 having a nozzle opening 21 communicating with the vicinity of the end of each pressure generating chamber 12 on the side opposite to the ink supply path 14 is provided with an adhesive. Or a heat-welded film or the like. The nozzle plate 20 is made of, for example, glass ceramics, a silicon single crystal substrate, stainless steel, or the like.

  On the other hand, the elastic film 50 is formed on the side opposite to the opening surface of the flow path forming substrate 10 as described above. On the elastic film 50, for example, titanium oxide having a thickness of about 30 to 50 nm or the like. An adhesion layer 56 for improving adhesion between the first electrode 60 such as the elastic film 50 and the like is provided. Note that an insulator film made of zirconium oxide or the like may be provided on the elastic film 50 as necessary.

  Further, on the adhesion layer 56, a first electrode 60, a piezoelectric layer 70 which is a thin film having a thickness of 3 μm or less, preferably 0.3 to 1.5 μm, and a second electrode 80 are laminated. Thus, a piezoelectric element 300 is configured as pressure generating means for causing a pressure change in the pressure generating chamber 12. Here, the piezoelectric element 300 refers to a portion including the first electrode 60, the piezoelectric layer 70, and the second electrode 80. In general, one electrode of the piezoelectric element 300 is used as a common electrode, and the other electrode and the piezoelectric layer 70 are patterned for each pressure generating chamber 12. In the present embodiment, the first electrode 60 is a common electrode of the piezoelectric element 300, and the second electrode 80 is an individual electrode of the piezoelectric element 300. However, there is no problem even if this is reversed for the convenience of the drive circuit and wiring. Also, here, the piezoelectric element 300 and the diaphragm that is displaced by driving the piezoelectric element 300 are collectively referred to as an actuator device. In the above-described example, the elastic film 50, the adhesion layer 56, the first electrode 60, and the insulator film provided as necessary function as a vibration plate. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the elastic film 50 and the adhesion layer 56 may not be provided. Further, the piezoelectric element 300 itself may substantially serve as a diaphragm.

In this embodiment, the piezoelectric material constituting the piezoelectric layer 70 includes perovskite containing bismuth (Bi), iron (Fe), barium (Ba), and titanium (Ti) preferentially oriented in the (110) plane. It is a complex oxide having a structure. In the A site of the perovskite structure, that is, the ABO ₃ type structure, oxygen is 12-coordinated, and in the B site, oxygen is 6-coordinated to form an octahedron. Bi and Ba are located at the A site, and Fe and Ti are located at the B site.

  Such a composite oxide containing Bi, Fe, Ba and Ti and having a perovskite structure is a composite oxide having a perovskite structure of a mixed crystal of bismuth ferrate and barium titanate, or bismuth ferrate and barium titanate. Is also expressed as a solid solution in which the solid solution is uniformly dissolved. In the X-ray diffraction pattern, bismuth ferrate and barium titanate are not detected alone.

Here, bismuth ferrate and barium titanate are known piezoelectric materials each having a perovskite structure, and those having various compositions are known. For example, as bismuth ferrate or barium titanate, in addition to BiFeO ₃ or BaTiO ₃ , some elements (Bi, Fe, Ba, Ti, O) are partially lost or excessive, or some of the elements are other elements However, in the present invention, when expressed as bismuth ferrate or barium titanate, a component deviating from the stoichiometric composition due to deficiency or excess or a part of the element is replaced by another element. Those substituted are also included in the ranges of bismuth ferrate and barium titanate. The ratio of bismuth ferrate to barium titanate can also be changed variously.

The composition of the piezoelectric layer 70 made of a complex oxide having such a perovskite structure is represented, for example, as a mixed crystal represented by the following general formula (1). Moreover, this formula (1) can also be represented by the following general formula (1 ′). Here, the description of the general formula (1) and the general formula (1 ′) is a composition notation based on stoichiometry, and as described above, as long as a perovskite structure can be taken, it is inevitable due to lattice mismatch, oxygen deficiency, etc. Of course, a partial substitution of elements is allowed as well as a slight compositional deviation. For example, if the stoichiometric ratio is 1, the range of 0.85 to 1.20 is allowed. In addition, even when the general formulas are different as described below, those having the same ratio of the A-site element to the B-site element may be regarded as the same composite oxide.
(1-x) [BiFeO ₃ ] -x [BaTiO ₃ ] (1)
(0 <x <0.40)
(Bi _1-x Ba _x ) (Fe _1-x Ti _x ) O ₃ (1 ′)
(0 <x <0.40)

  Further, the composite oxide constituting the piezoelectric layer 70 of the present embodiment may further include an element other than Bi, Fe, Ba, and Ti. Examples of other elements include Mn, Co, and Cr. Also in the case of a complex oxide containing these other elements, it is preferable to have a perovskite structure.

  When the piezoelectric layer 70 contains Mn, Co, and Cr, Mn, Co, and Cr are complex oxides having a structure located at the B site of the perovskite structure. For example, when Mn is included, the composite oxide constituting the piezoelectric layer 70 has a structure in which part of Fe in a solid solution in which bismuth ferrate and barium titanate are uniformly dissolved, is substituted with Mn, or ferric acid It is expressed as a composite oxide having a perovskite structure of mixed crystals of bismuth manganate and barium titanate, and the basic characteristics are the same as those of a composite oxide having a perovskite structure of mixed crystals of bismuth ferrate and barium titanate. However, it has been found that the leakage characteristics are improved. Further, when Co or Cr is included, the leakage characteristics are improved in the same manner as Mn. In the X-ray diffraction pattern, bismuth ferrate, barium titanate, bismuth iron manganate, bismuth iron cobaltate, and bismuth iron chromate are not detected alone. Further, although Mn, Co and Cr have been described as examples, it has been found that leakage characteristics are similarly improved when two other transition metal elements are included at the same time. In addition, other known additives may be included to improve the properties.

The piezoelectric layer 70 made of a composite oxide having a perovskite structure including Mn, Co, and Cr in addition to Bi, Fe, Ba, and Ti is, for example, a mixed crystal represented by the following general formula (2). is there. Moreover, this formula (2) can also be represented by the following general formula (2 ′). In General Formula (2) and General Formula (2 ′), M is Mn, Co, or Cr. Here, the description of the general formula (2) and the general formula (2 ′) is a composition notation based on the stoichiometry, and as described above, as long as the perovskite structure can be taken, it is unavoidable due to lattice mismatch, oxygen deficiency, etc. Such a composition deviation is allowed. For example, if the stoichiometry is 1, one in the range of 0.85 to 1.20 is allowed. In addition, even when the general formulas are different as described below, those having the same ratio of the A-site element to the B-site element may be regarded as the same composite oxide.
(1-x) [Bi (Fe _{1- y My} ) O ₃ ] -x [BaTiO ₃ ] (2)
(0 <x <0.40, 0.01 <y <0.10)
_{(Bi 1-x Ba x)} ((Fe 1-y M y) 1-x Ti x) O 3 (2 ')
(0 <x <0.40, 0.01 <y <0.10)

The piezoelectric layer 70 is preferentially oriented in the (110) plane. In this specification, “preferentially oriented in the (110) plane” means that all crystals are oriented in the (110) plane and most crystals (for example, 80% or more) are ( 110) orienting in the plane. Specifically, the piezoelectric layer 70 of this embodiment has a (110) plane orientation degree of 0.80 or more, preferably 0.90 or more. The degree of orientation of the (110) plane of the piezoelectric layer 70 can be obtained by the following formula.
Degree of orientation of (110) plane of piezoelectric layer 70 = [area of diffraction peak derived from (110) plane of piezoelectric layer 70] / [(100) plane, (110) plane derived from piezoelectric layer 70, and Total area of diffraction peaks on (111) plane]

  Each second electrode 80, which is an individual electrode of the piezoelectric element 300, is drawn from the vicinity of the end on the ink supply path 14 side and extends to the elastic film 50 or an insulator film provided as necessary. For example, a lead electrode 90 made of gold (Au) or the like is connected.

  At least a part of the manifold 100 is formed on the flow path forming substrate 10 on which such a piezoelectric element 300 is formed, that is, on the first electrode 60, the elastic film 50, the insulator film provided as necessary, and the lead electrode 90. A protective substrate 30 having a manifold portion 31 constituting the above is joined via an adhesive 35. In this embodiment, the manifold portion 31 penetrates the protective substrate 30 in the thickness direction and is formed across the width direction of the pressure generating chamber 12. As described above, the communication portion 13 of the flow path forming substrate 10. The manifold 100 is configured as a common ink chamber for the pressure generation chambers 12. Alternatively, the communication portion 13 of the flow path forming substrate 10 may be divided into a plurality of pressure generation chambers 12 and only the manifold portion 31 may be used as a manifold. Further, for example, only the pressure generation chamber 12 is provided in the flow path forming substrate 10 and a member (for example, an elastic film 50, an insulator film provided as necessary, etc.) interposed between the flow path forming substrate 10 and the protective substrate 30 ) May be provided with an ink supply path 14 for communicating the manifold 100 and each pressure generating chamber 12.

  A piezoelectric element holding portion 32 having a space that does not hinder the movement of the piezoelectric element 300 is provided in a region of the protective substrate 30 that faces the piezoelectric element 300. The piezoelectric element holding part 32 only needs to have a space that does not hinder the movement of the piezoelectric element 300, and the space may be sealed or unsealed.

  As such a protective substrate 30, it is preferable to use substantially the same material as the coefficient of thermal expansion of the flow path forming substrate 10, for example, glass, ceramic material, etc. In this embodiment, the same material as the flow path forming substrate 10 is used. The silicon single crystal substrate was used.

  The protective substrate 30 is provided with a through hole 33 that penetrates the protective substrate 30 in the thickness direction. The vicinity of the end portion of the lead electrode 90 drawn from each piezoelectric element 300 is provided so as to be exposed in the through hole 33.

  A drive circuit 120 for driving the piezoelectric elements 300 arranged in parallel is fixed on the protective substrate 30. For example, a circuit board or a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) can be used as the drive circuit 120. The drive circuit 120 and the lead electrode 90 are electrically connected via a connection wiring 121 made of a conductive wire such as a bonding wire.

  In addition, a compliance substrate 40 including a sealing film 41 and a fixing plate 42 is bonded onto the protective substrate 30. Here, the sealing film 41 is made of a material having low rigidity and flexibility, and one surface of the manifold portion 31 is sealed by the sealing film 41. The fixing plate 42 is formed of a relatively hard material. Since the area of the fixing plate 42 facing the manifold 100 is an opening 43 that is completely removed in the thickness direction, one surface of the manifold 100 is sealed only with a flexible sealing film 41. Has been.

  In such an ink jet recording head I of this embodiment, ink is taken in from an ink introduction port connected to an external ink supply means (not shown), and the interior from the manifold 100 to the nozzle opening 21 is filled with ink, and then driven. In accordance with a recording signal (driving signal) from the circuit 120, a voltage is applied between the first electrode 60 and the second electrode 80 corresponding to the pressure generation chamber 12, and the elastic film 50, the adhesion layer 56, and the first electrode are applied. By bending and deforming 60 and the piezoelectric layer 70, the pressure in each pressure generating chamber 12 is increased and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle openings 21.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control configuration example of such an ink jet recording apparatus. With reference to FIG. 5, the control of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment is schematically configured by a printer controller 511 and a print engine 512. The printer controller 511 includes an external interface 513 (hereinafter referred to as an external I / F 513), a RAM 514 that temporarily stores various data, a ROM 515 that stores a control program, a control unit 516 that includes a CPU, and the like. , An oscillation circuit 517 that generates a clock signal, a drive signal generation circuit 519 that generates a drive signal to be supplied to the ink jet recording head I, and dot pattern data (bitmap) developed based on the drive signal and print data An internal interface 520 (hereinafter referred to as an internal I / F 520) for transmitting data) to the print engine 512.

  The external I / F 513 receives print data including, for example, a character code, a graphic function, image data, and the like from a host computer (not shown). Also, a busy signal (BUSY) and an acknowledge signal (ACK) are output to the host computer or the like through the external I / F 513. The RAM 514 functions as a reception buffer 521, an intermediate buffer 522, an output buffer 523, and a work memory (not shown). The reception buffer 521 temporarily stores print data received by the external I / F 513, the intermediate buffer 522 stores intermediate code data converted by the control unit 516, and the output buffer 523 stores dot pattern data. . This dot pattern data is constituted by print data obtained by decoding (translating) gradation data.

  The ROM 515 stores font data, graphic functions, and the like in addition to a control program (control routine) for performing various data processing.

  The control unit 516 reads out the print data in the reception buffer 521 and stores the intermediate code data obtained by converting the print data in the intermediate buffer 522. Further, the intermediate code data read from the intermediate buffer 522 is analyzed, and the intermediate code data is developed into dot pattern data by referring to the font data and graphic functions stored in the ROM 515. Then, the control unit 516 stores the developed dot pattern data in the output buffer 523 after performing necessary decoration processing. Further, the control unit 516 also functions as a waveform setting unit, and controls the drive signal generation circuit 519 to set the waveform shape of the drive signal generated from the drive signal generation circuit 519. The control unit 516 constitutes drive means of the present invention together with a drive circuit (not shown) described later. In addition, the liquid jet driving device that drives the ink jet recording head I may be any device that includes at least the driving unit. In the present embodiment, the liquid jet driving device is exemplified as including the printer controller 511.

  If dot pattern data corresponding to one line of the ink jet recording head I is obtained, the dot pattern data for one line is output to the ink jet recording head I through the internal I / F 520. When dot pattern data for one line is output from the output buffer 523, the developed intermediate code data is erased from the intermediate buffer 522, and the development process for the next intermediate code data is performed.

  The print engine 512 includes an ink jet recording head I, a paper feed mechanism 524, and a carriage mechanism 525. The paper feed mechanism 524 includes a paper feed motor and a platen 8 and the like, and sequentially feeds a print storage medium such as a recording paper in conjunction with the recording operation of the ink jet recording head I. That is, the paper feeding mechanism 524 relatively moves the print storage medium in the sub-scanning direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the carriage mechanism 525 includes a carriage 3 on which the ink jet recording head I can be mounted, and a carriage driving unit that causes the carriage 3 to travel along the main scanning direction. The ink jet recording head I is moved in the main scanning direction by running. The carriage drive unit is composed of the drive motor 6 and the timing belt 7 as described above.

  The ink jet recording head I has a large number of nozzle openings 21 along the sub-scanning direction, and ejects droplets from the nozzle openings 21 at a timing defined by dot pattern data or the like. The piezoelectric element 300 of the ink jet recording head I is supplied with an electrical signal, for example, a driving signal (COM) or recording data (SI) described later via an external wiring (not shown). In the printer controller 511 and the print engine 512 configured as described above, the printer controller 511 and a latch 532 that selectively inputs a drive signal having a predetermined drive waveform output from the drive signal generation circuit 519 to the piezoelectric element 300, A drive circuit (not shown) including a level shifter 533 and a switch 534 serves as a drive unit that applies a predetermined drive signal to the piezoelectric element 300.

  The shift register (SR) 531, the latch 532, the level shifter 533, the switch 534, and the piezoelectric element 300 are provided for each nozzle opening 21 of the ink jet recording head I, and these shift registers 531 are provided. The latch 532, the level shifter 533, and the switch 534 generate a drive pulse from the ejection drive signal and the relaxation drive signal generated by the drive signal generation circuit 519. Here, the drive pulse is an applied pulse that is actually applied to the piezoelectric element 300.

  In such an ink jet recording head I, first, recording data (SI) constituting dot pattern data is serially transmitted from the output buffer 523 to the shift register 531 in synchronization with the clock signal (CK) from the oscillation circuit 517. Are set sequentially. In this case, first, the most significant bit data in the print data of all the nozzle openings is serially transmitted. When the most significant bit data serial transmission is completed, the second most significant bit data is serially transmitted. Similarly, the lower bit data is serially transmitted sequentially.

  When all the nozzles of the recording data of the bit are set in each shift register 531, the control unit 516 causes the latch 532 to output a latch signal (LAT) at a predetermined timing. In response to this latch signal, the latch 532 latches the print data set in the shift register 531. The recording data (LATout) latched by the latch 532 is applied to a level shifter 533 that is a voltage amplifier. The level shifter 533 boosts the recording data to a voltage value that the switch 534 can drive, for example, several tens of volts when the recording data is “1”, for example. The boosted recording data is applied to each switch 534, and each switch 534 is connected by the recording data.

  The drive signal (COM) generated by the drive signal generation circuit 519 is also applied to each switch 534. When the switch 534 is selectively connected, the piezoelectric element 300 connected to the switch 534 is selected. A driving signal is applied. As described above, in the illustrated ink jet recording head I, it is possible to control whether or not the ejection driving signal is applied to the piezoelectric element 300 based on the recording data. For example, since the switch 534 is connected by the latch signal (LAT) during the period when the recording data is “1”, the drive signal (COMout) can be supplied to the piezoelectric element 300, and the supplied drive signal ( The piezoelectric element 300 is displaced (deformed) by COMout). Further, since the switch 534 is in a disconnected state during a period in which the recording data is “0”, the supply of the drive signal to the piezoelectric element 300 is cut off. In the period in which the recording data is “0”, each piezoelectric element 300 holds the previous potential, so that the previous displacement state is maintained.

  The piezoelectric element 300 is a flexural vibration mode piezoelectric element 300. When the piezoelectric element 300 in the flexural vibration mode is used, the piezoelectric layer 70 is contracted in the direction perpendicular to the voltage (31 direction) with the application of voltage, so that the piezoelectric element 300 and the vibration plate are bent toward the pressure generating chamber 12 side. Thereby, the pressure generation chamber 12 is contracted. On the other hand, by decreasing the voltage, the piezoelectric layer 70 extends in the 31 direction, so that the piezoelectric element 300 and the vibration plate bend to the opposite side of the pressure generating chamber 12, thereby expanding the pressure generating chamber 12. In such an ink jet recording head I, since the volume of the corresponding pressure generation chamber 12 changes with charging / discharging of the piezoelectric element 300, a droplet is discharged from the nozzle opening 21 using the pressure fluctuation of the pressure generation chamber 12. Can be discharged.

  Here, a drive waveform representing the drive signal (COM) of this embodiment input to the piezoelectric element 300 will be described. FIG. 6 is a drive waveform showing the drive signal of this embodiment.

  The drive waveform input to the piezoelectric element 300 is applied to the individual electrode (second electrode 80) using the common electrode (first electrode 60) as a reference potential (Vbs in this embodiment). That is, the voltage applied to the individual electrode (second electrode 80) by the driving waveform is shown as a potential with reference to the reference potential (Vbs).

  As shown in FIG. 6, the drive waveform serving as a reference in the present embodiment is in a state in which, for example, an intermediate potential Vm higher than the coercive voltage is applied when the drive waveform is in a preparation state (drive standby state). The step of maintaining the intermediate potential Vm is a polarization step P01 in which the piezoelectric layer 70 is in a polarization state. Subsequently, the intermediate potential Vm is a minimum potential having a polarity opposite to that of the intermediate potential Vm from the state of maintaining the intermediate potential Vm. A first voltage changing step P02 that lowers the potential generation chamber 12 to 1 potential V1 and expands the pressure generation chamber 12, a first hold step P03 that maintains the first potential V1 for a certain period of time, and a first potential V1 to a first potential V1 Is a second voltage change step P04 in which the pressure generation chamber 12 is contracted by raising it to the second potential V2, which has the opposite polarity and the same polarity as the intermediate potential Vm and is greater than the intermediate potential Vm, and the second potential V2. Is maintained for a certain period of time, and a third voltage changing step P06 in which the pressure generating chamber 12 is expanded by lowering from the second potential V2 to the third potential V3 smaller than the intermediate potential Vm, A third hold step P07 for maintaining the third potential V3 for a certain time, a fourth voltage changing step P08 for increasing the potential from the third potential V3 to the intermediate potential Vm, and a fourth hold step for maintaining the intermediate potential Vm You may make it comprise with P09. Here, a third voltage changing step P06 for lowering the second potential V2 to a third potential V3 slightly lower than the intermediate potential Vm, a third holding step P07 for maintaining the third potential V3 for a certain time, and a third potential The fourth voltage changing step P08 for raising the potential from V3 to the intermediate potential Vm is for stabilizing the meniscus after ejecting the droplet, and is conventionally known.

  The predetermined piezoelectric layer 70 made of a complex oxide having a perovskite structure containing Mn, Co, and Cr in addition to Bi, Fe, Ba, and Ti of the present invention is not maintained in polarization when the power is off. In a non-polarized state (a part of the pole is maintained in polarization but includes a case where it can be said that it is substantially non-polarized), and the above-described drive waveform 200 is output to the piezoelectric element 300 (drive standby) State), the intermediate potential Vm is applied, and the piezoelectric layer 70 is polarized. When the drive waveform described above is input, the potential changes from the intermediate potential Vm to the minimum potential V1 having the opposite polarity by the first voltage changing step P02, and the polarization of the piezoelectric layer 70 is relaxed. At the same time, the piezoelectric element 300 is deformed in a direction in which the volume of the pressure generating chamber 12 is expanded, and the meniscus in the nozzle opening 21 is drawn to the pressure generating chamber 12 side. Next, in the second voltage change process P04, the piezoelectric element 300 is deformed in a direction in which the volume of the pressure generating chamber 12 is contracted, whereby the meniscus in the nozzle opening 21 is largely pushed out from the pressure generating chamber 12 side, and the nozzle opening Droplets are ejected from 21.

Here, the first potential V1 is a negative potential, and is set to, for example, −1V to −15V. This potential is −1.1 V / μm to −16.7 V / μm in terms of electric field. Then, in the second voltage changing step P04, the first potential V1 is increased to the second potential V2, which has the opposite polarity to the first potential V1, the same polarity as the intermediate potential Vm, and the maximum potential greater than the intermediate potential Vm. . In the present invention, when the potential difference between the first potential V1 and the second potential V2 is converted to an electric field within 55V, the pressure generating chamber 12 is contracted to 6.1 × 10 ⁷ (V / m) or less.

In the present invention, when the piezoelectric element 300 including the piezoelectric layer 70 made of the predetermined piezoelectric material described above is driven, the driving waveform is maintained at the intermediate potential Vm that is equal to or higher than the coercive voltage, so that the piezoelectric element is polarized. A step of applying a first potential V1, which is a minimum voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the intermediate potential Vm from an applied state of the intermediate potential Vm, to relax the polarization of the piezoelectric layer, and an applied state of the first potential V1 And a step of discharging a liquid by applying a second potential V2 that is a maximum voltage greater than the intermediate potential Vm, and converting a potential difference between the first potential V1 and the second potential V2 to an electric field within 55V As a result, the pressure generating chamber 12 is contracted to 6.1 × 10 ⁷ (V / m) or less, thereby producing an effect of securing a large amount of displacement. Here, the intermediate voltage equal to or higher than the coercive voltage refers to a voltage equal to or higher than the coercive voltage when the hysteresis curve of the piezoelectric layer 70 is drawn at a low frequency (for example, 66 Hz to 1 kHz). It should be noted that the substantial high electric field changes in a higher direction by changing to the above. In the present embodiment, the voltage is 5 V or more, and the electric field is 5.5 V / μm or more.

  In completing the present invention, first, the predetermined piezoelectric layer 70 made of a complex oxide having a perovskite structure including Mn, Co and Cr in addition to Bi, Fe, Ba and Ti cannot maintain a polarization state. When the electric field is removed from the state of polarization due to polarization due to the electric field, polarization relaxation occurs over time, and there is no distortion. When a predetermined voltage changing step is applied from the polarization state, polarization relaxation is promoted by the electric field. It has been found that a polarization relaxation state can be achieved in a short time, and then a large displacement can be obtained.

  Further, when the voltage is changed from the polarization relaxed state to the second potential V2, which is the maximum voltage, bismuth (Bi), iron (Fe), barium (Ba), and titanium (Ti) preferentially oriented in the (110) plane. It has been found that a complex oxide having a perovskite structure including non-180 degree domain rotation can generate a large displacement. The composite oxide preferentially oriented in the (110) plane used in this embodiment has two polarization axes, and one of the polarization axes has a direction perpendicular to the electric field. Not involved. However, when driving with the driving waveform as described above, the direction of the polarization axis that is not originally involved in the displacement changes in the second voltage changing step. This is called non-180 degree domain rotation, and the displacement amount based on the non-180 degree domain rotation is added to the displacement amount accompanying the original piezoelectric constant, and as a result, a large displacement amount can be obtained. As a result, a large amount of displacement can be ensured even if the potential difference between the first potential V1 and the second potential V2 is kept relatively low at 55V or less.

  Such displacement due to non-180 degree domain rotation can be achieved even when a composite oxide containing Bi, Fe, Ba, and Ti and having a perovskite structure preferentially oriented in the (100) plane, that is, using a BFO-BT piezoelectric material. Small effect. This is because in the composite oxide containing Bi, Fe, Ba, and Ti with (100) plane orientation, all polarization axis directions have a 45 ° inclination with respect to the electric field, and the synthesized polarization axis vector is the electric field direction. Therefore, in such a (100) oriented BFO-BT piezoelectric material, the amount of displacement given to the piezoelectric constant is small. Displacement due to non-180 degree domain rotation also occurs in PZT, which has been conventionally used as a piezoelectric material, but it is ineffective and inferior in reliability, so it cannot be used practically. is there.

(Example) (110) Plane Orientation First, a silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ) film having a thickness of 1200 nm was formed on the surface of a (110) single crystal silicon (Si) substrate by thermal oxidation. Next, a 400 nm-thickness zirconium film was formed on the SiO ₂ film by DC sputtering, and this was heat-treated (RTA) in an oxygen atmosphere to form a zirconia layer. Zirconium was formed to a thickness of 40 nm as an adhesion layer on this zirconia layer by DC sputtering, and then a platinum film (first electrode 60) having a thickness of 100 nm and oriented to the (111) plane was also formed by DC sputtering.

  Next, a piezoelectric film was laminated on the first electrode 60 to form a piezoelectric layer 70. The method is as follows. First, each n-octane solution of bismuth 2-ethylhexanoate, iron 2-ethylhexanoate, manganese 2-ethylhexanoate, barium 2-ethylhexanoate and titanium 2-ethylhexanoate, each element in molar ratio A precursor solution was prepared by mixing Bi: Ba: Fe: Ti: Mn = 75: 25: 71.25: 25: 3.75 (BFO: BT = 75: 25).

  And this precursor solution was dripped on the board | substrate with which the 1st electrode was formed, the board | substrate was rotated at 3000 rpm, and the piezoelectric precursor film | membrane was formed (application | coating process). Next, it was dried at 180 ° C. for 2 minutes on a hot plate (drying process). Subsequently, degreasing was performed at 350 ° C. for 4 minutes (degreasing step). Next, the film was baked at 750 ° C. for 5 minutes with an RTA (Rapid Thermal Annealing) apparatus in an oxygen atmosphere to form a piezoelectric film (firing step). A series of steps of the coating step, the drying step, the degreasing step, and the firing step was repeated 12 times to form a piezoelectric layer 70 having a total thickness of 900 nm composed of 12 layers of piezoelectric films.

  Thereafter, an iridium film (second electrode 80) having a thickness of 50 nm is formed as a second electrode 80 on the piezoelectric layer 70 by a sputtering method, and has a perovskite structure including Bi, Fe, Mn, Ba, and Ti. The piezoelectric element 300 having the composite oxide as the piezoelectric layer 70 was formed.

(Comparative Example) (100) Planar Orientation First, a silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ) film having a thickness of 1200 nm was formed on the surface of a (110) single crystal silicon (Si) substrate by thermal oxidation. Next, a 400 nm-thickness zirconium film was formed on the SiO ₂ film by DC sputtering, and this was heat-treated (RTA) in an oxygen atmosphere to form a zirconia layer. After forming 40 nm of zirconium as an adhesion layer on this zirconia layer by DC sputtering, a platinum film (first electrode 60) having a thickness of 50 nm and oriented to the (111) plane was also formed by DC sputtering. On this platinum film, a lanthanum nickelate (LaNiO ₃ ) film having a thickness of 40 nm was formed by sputtering or sol-gel method to form an orientation control seed layer.

  Next, a piezoelectric film was laminated on the first electrode 60 to form a piezoelectric layer 70. The method is as follows. First, each n-octane solution of bismuth 2-ethylhexanoate, iron 2-ethylhexanoate, manganese 2-ethylhexanoate, barium 2-ethylhexanoate and titanium 2-ethylhexanoate, each element in molar ratio A precursor solution was prepared by mixing Bi: Ba: Fe: Ti: Mn = 75: 25: 71.25: 25: 3.75 (BFO: BT = 75: 25).

  And this precursor solution was dripped on the board | substrate with which the 1st electrode was formed, the board | substrate was rotated at 3000 rpm, and the piezoelectric precursor film | membrane was formed (application | coating process). Next, it was dried at 180 ° C. for 2 minutes on a hot plate (drying process). Subsequently, degreasing was performed at 350 ° C. for 4 minutes (degreasing step). Next, in an oxygen atmosphere, a piezoelectric film was formed by baking at 650 ° C. for 5 minutes with a RTA (Rapid Thermal Annealing) apparatus (baking step). A series of steps of the coating step, the drying step, the degreasing step, and the firing step was repeated 12 times to form a piezoelectric layer 70 having a total thickness of 900 nm composed of 12 layers of piezoelectric films.

  Thereafter, an iridium film (second electrode 80) having a thickness of 50 nm is formed as a second electrode 80 on the piezoelectric layer 70 by a sputtering method, and has a perovskite structure including Bi, Fe, Mn, Ba, and Ti. The piezoelectric element 300 having the composite oxide as the piezoelectric layer 70 was formed.

(Test example)
The displacement amounts of the piezoelectric element 300 including the (110) plane-oriented piezoelectric layer 70 of the example and the piezoelectric element 300 including the (100) plane-oriented piezoelectric layer 70 of the comparative example were measured. The drive waveform shown in FIG. 6 is used as a basic waveform, the intermediate potential of the drive waveform is Vm = 20 V, and the first potential V1, which is the minimum potential, is the potential at which the displacement amount is highest in each orientation, that is, the (110) plane. In the case of orientation, V1 = −10V, and in the case of (100) plane orientation, V1 = −7V. Then, the potential difference ΔV from the minimum potential V1 to the maximum potential V2 of the driving waveform is set as a driving voltage (V), and a waveform in which the potential difference ΔV is changed is applied with an interval of 200 ms and a sufficient delay time. The displacement amount of the piezoelectric element 300 was obtained. The amount of displacement is calculated by time-integrating the velocity data measured with a laser Doppler vibrometer manufactured by Graphtec Corp. using an oscilloscope manufactured by Decroy Corp. (25 ° C.). The measurement sample was processed into the shape shown in FIG. 3, and a segment in which a cavity was formed was used, and each drive waveform was applied for measurement.

FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the displacement (nm) of each piezoelectric element 300 and the electric field (V / m) measured by the above method.
The electric field (V / m) was applied in consideration of the potential difference ΔV between the second potential V2 and the first potential V1 of the driving waveform shown in FIG. 6 and the film thickness (900 nm) of the piezoelectric layer 70. Shown as change in electric field.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the example of the (110) plane orientation, the displacement is compared with the (100) plane orientation in the region where the electric field converted from the potential difference between the first potential V1 and the second potential V2 is relatively small. It was found that when it was larger than the example and the electric field was larger than 6.1 × 10 ⁷ (V / m), it was smaller than the (100) plane orientation.
As a result, it has been found that the electric field is 6.1 × 10 ⁷ (V / m) or less that can benefit from the improved displacement based on the non-180 degree domain rotation.

Therefore, a non-180 degree domain rotation is performed by using a (110) -oriented BFO-BT piezoelectric material and driving the electric field to be 6.1 × 10 ⁷ (V / m) or less with a predetermined driving waveform. Based on the above, the effect of improving the displacement can be obtained.

(Other embodiments)
As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, the basic composition of this invention is not limited to what was mentioned above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the silicon single crystal substrate is exemplified as the flow path forming substrate 10, but the present invention is not particularly limited thereto, and for example, a material such as an SOI substrate or glass may be used.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the piezoelectric element 300 in which the first electrode 60, the piezoelectric layer 70, and the second electrode 80 are sequentially stacked on the substrate (the flow path forming substrate 10) is illustrated, but the present invention is not particularly limited thereto. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a liquid ejecting apparatus including a longitudinal vibration type piezoelectric element in which piezoelectric materials and electrode forming materials are alternately stacked to expand and contract in the axial direction.

  In each of the above embodiments, an ink jet recording head has been described as an example of a liquid ejecting head, and an ink jet recording apparatus has been described as an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus. However, the present invention covers a wide range of liquid ejecting apparatuses in general. Of course, the present invention can also be applied to a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid other than ink. Other liquid ejecting heads include, for example, various recording heads used in image recording apparatuses such as printers, color material ejecting heads used in the manufacture of color filters such as liquid crystal displays, organic EL displays, and FEDs (field emission displays). Examples thereof include an electrode material ejection head used for electrode formation, a bio-organic matter ejection head used for biochip production, and the like, and can also be applied to a liquid ejection apparatus including such a liquid ejection head.

  I ink jet recording head (liquid ejecting head), II ink jet recording apparatus (liquid ejecting apparatus), 10 flow path forming substrate, 12 pressure generating chamber, 13 communicating portion, 14 ink supply path, 20 nozzle plate, 21 nozzle opening, 30 protective substrate, 31 manifold portion, 32 piezoelectric element holding portion, 40 compliance substrate, 50 elastic film, 60 first electrode, 70 piezoelectric layer, 80 second electrode, 90 lead electrode, 100 manifold, 120 drive circuit, 300 piezoelectric element

Claims (1)

A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a piezoelectric element including a piezoelectric layer and an electrode provided on the piezoelectric layer; and a driving unit that supplies a driving waveform for driving the piezoelectric element to the piezoelectric element,
The piezoelectric layer is made of a complex oxide having a perovskite structure including bismuth, iron, barium and titanium, preferentially oriented in the (110) plane,
The drive waveform is
A polarization step of applying a first voltage equal to or higher than the coercive voltage of the piezoelectric layer to obtain a polarization state;
A first voltage changing step in which a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the first voltage is applied from the application state of the first voltage to relax the polarization of the piezoelectric layer and drop it to a minimum potential;
A second voltage changing step of applying a voltage higher than the first voltage to discharge the liquid from the minimum potential and raising the voltage to the maximum potential;
A liquid ejecting apparatus, wherein a difference in electric field applied to the piezoelectric layer between the maximum potential and the minimum potential is 6.1 × 10 ⁷ (V / m) or less.

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