Electrode-highly-integrated electrofluid spray head processing technology and electrofluid spray head

Abstract

The invention relates to a processing technology of an electrofluid spray head with highly integrated electrodes and the electrofluid spray head. The processing technology comprises the following steps: processing a spray hole and a containing groove in the bottom surface of a glass substrate; a sinking ring groove is formed in the bottom surface of the glass substrate to form a jet boss; a conducting layer is formed in a patterned mode, electrode rings of the conducting layer surround the outer sides of the spraying bosses respectively, and leads of the conducting layer are connected with the electrode rings and extend into the containing groove to be connected with an external flexible circuit board. According to the electrofluid sprayer formed through the machining technology, the electrode ring on the outer side of the spraying boss is not prone to being polluted, the flexible circuit board can be connected to the top face of the glass substrate by machining the wiring hole and the conducting ring, the occupied structure of the bottom face of the glass substrate is removed, interference on printing height adjustment can be removed, and the printing efficiency is improved. And normal operation of printing processing is ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of inkjet printing technology, and in particular to a processing technology of an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes and an electrofluidic nozzle. Background Art

[0002] As a direct writing technology for additive manufacturing, inkjet printing has the advantages of no need for masks, flexible production, and high material utilization. It has good application prospects in the fields of printed displays, printed circuits, and printed solar cells. Among them, electrofluidic inkjet printing technology uses electric field force as the main driving force, which greatly enhances the driving ability of ink and can print high-viscosity ink; at the same time, because the injection occurs locally on the curved liquid surface, the size of the ink droplets produced can be much smaller than the nozzle diameter, which can significantly improve the printing resolution. Electrofluidic inkjet printing technology overcomes the two major shortcomings of traditional inkjet printing technology and has broad application prospects.

[0003] In the related art, in order to achieve independent control of multiple nozzles of a nozzle, generally, electrode rings are arranged for the multiple nozzles on the injection surface of the nozzle. The electrode rings are located at the nozzles. By separately controlling each electrode ring, the multiple nozzles can be independently controlled, thereby achieving work requirements such as shielding of defective nozzles and complex pattern printing.

[0004] However, when the electrode ring is arranged on the injection surface, on the one hand, when the functional liquid at the nozzle hole forms a Taylor cone, it may adhere to the electrode ring, corrode the electrode ring and affect the electric field at the nozzle hole, causing the nozzle hole to fail. On the other hand, when the external flexible circuit board is electrically connected to multiple electrode rings, one end of the flexible circuit board needs to be fixed and packaged on the injection surface of the nozzle. Due to the flexible circuit board on the injection surface of the nozzle, the printing height between the injection surface of the nozzle and the substrate is limited during the printing process, which interferes with the printing process and affects the normal printing process. Summary of the invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a processing technology and an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes to solve the technical problems in the related art that the functional liquid easily corrodes and damages the electrode ring, and the packaging position of the circuit board interferes with the printing process, affecting the normal printing process.

[0006] In a first aspect, a process for manufacturing an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes is provided, which comprises the following steps:

[0007] obtaining a glass substrate;

[0008] Processing array nozzle holes on the bottom surface of the glass substrate;

[0009] A sunken annular groove is machined around each spray hole on the bottom surface of the glass substrate to form a plurality of spray bosses;

[0010] Processing a receiving groove at the edge of the bottom surface of the glass substrate so that the bottom surface of the glass substrate is stepped, and the length direction of the receiving groove is consistent with the arrangement length direction of the nozzle holes;

[0011] A conductive layer is patterned on the bottom of the glass substrate, wherein the conductive layer includes a plurality of electrode rings and a plurality of leads, wherein the plurality of electrode rings surround the injection bosses respectively, the plurality of leads are respectively connected to the plurality of electrode rings, and the plurality of leads extend to the bottom of the receiving groove;

[0012] A protective layer is covered on the surface of the conductive layer, and a portion of the conductive layer at the bottom of the receiving groove is kept exposed for connection with an external circuit board;

[0013] Complete the processing of the injection plate of the electrofluid nozzle.

[0014] In some embodiments, the process of machining a sinking ring groove around each nozzle hole on the bottom surface of the glass substrate comprises:

[0015] Laser etching to form the sunken ring groove;

[0016] The groove wall of the sinking ring groove is modified by CNC machining so that the groove wall slope of the sinking ring groove is 50-80 degrees.

[0017] In some embodiments, the height of the injection boss is not greater than the depth of the sinking ring groove, and the height of the injection boss ranges from 50 to 150 microns.

[0018] In some embodiments, the diameter of the injection end surface of the injection boss is 2-5 times the diameter of the injection hole.

[0019] In some embodiments, the thickness of the glass substrate is 2-5 times the depth of the receiving groove;

[0020] The depth of the receiving groove is not less than 150 microns.

[0021] In some embodiments, processing the receiving groove at the edge of the bottom surface of the glass substrate includes:

[0022] Laser etching to form the receiving groove;

[0023] The groove wall of the receiving groove is modified by CNC machining so that the groove wall slope of the receiving groove is 50-80 degrees.

[0024] In some embodiments, the conductive layer is patterned on the bottom of the glass substrate, the conductive layer includes a plurality of electrode rings and a plurality of leads, the plurality of electrode rings surround the injection bosses respectively, the plurality of leads are respectively connected to the plurality of electrode rings, and the plurality of leads extend to the bottom of the receiving groove, including:

[0025] A conductive layer is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate using a metal lift-off process;

[0026] The electrode ring of the conductive layer is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate and arranged around the nozzle hole;

[0027] The lead wires of the conductive layer are formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate, the groove wall and the groove bottom of the receiving groove.

[0028] In some embodiments, the conductive layer is patterned on the bottom of the glass substrate, the conductive layer includes a plurality of electrode rings and a plurality of leads, the plurality of electrode rings surround the injection bosses respectively, the plurality of leads are respectively connected to the plurality of electrode rings, and the plurality of leads extend to the bottom of the receiving groove, including:

[0029] A conductive layer is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate using a metal lift-off process;

[0030] The electrode ring of the conductive layer is formed in the middle of the bottom of the sinking ring groove, a safe distance is left between the electrode ring and the groove wall of the sinking ring, and the electrode ring is arranged around the spray hole;

[0031] The lead wires of the conductive layer are formed on the groove bottom and groove wall of the sinking ring groove, the bottom surface of the glass substrate, and the groove wall and groove bottom of the receiving groove.

[0032] In some embodiments, the protective layer is covered on the surface of the conductive layer, and a portion of the conductive layer at the bottom of the receiving groove is kept exposed for connection with an external circuit board, including:

[0033] The passivation layer is covered on the surface of the conductive layer by using a spraying and metal stripping process;

[0034] A hydrophobic layer is sputtered on the surface of the passivation layer.

[0035] In some embodiments, after the protective layer is covered on the surface of the conductive layer, the method further comprises:

[0036] A conductive protrusion is welded on the surface of the lead wire at the bottom of the receiving groove.

[0037] In a second aspect, an electrofluidic nozzle is provided, comprising an ejection plate and an ink cartridge connected to the top surface of the ejection plate; the ejection plate comprises:

[0038] A glass substrate, wherein a plurality of through-spray holes are formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate, and a sinking ring groove is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate near the plurality of spray holes to form a plurality of spray bosses at the bottom of the glass substrate; a receiving groove is formed on the edge of the bottom surface of the glass substrate, and a groove wall on one side of the receiving groove is opened;

[0039] A plurality of electrode rings, each of which surrounds the outer sides of the plurality of injection bosses, and the electrode rings are arranged at the bottom of the sinking ring groove or the bottom surface of the glass substrate;

[0040] A plurality of lead wires, each of which corresponds to the plurality of electrode rings, one end of each lead wire is electrically connected to the electrode ring, and the other end of each lead wire extends to the bottom of the receiving groove; wherein,

[0041] The parts of the plurality of leads located at the bottom of the receiving groove are used for connection with an external flexible circuit board.

[0042] The beneficial effects of the technical solution provided by this application include:

[0043] The embodiment of the present application provides a processing technology for an electrofluid nozzle with a high degree of electrode integration, wherein a spray boss is formed by machining a sunken annular groove on the bottom surface of a glass substrate, and an electrode ring is formed on the circumferential outer side of the spray boss. When a voltage is applied to the electrode ring and an electric field is applied to spray the functional liquid in the spray hole, the functional liquid forms a Taylor cone on the spray surface of the spray boss, and the functional liquid adheres to the spray surface of the spray boss. By machining the spray boss, a position for the functional liquid to form a Taylor cone is reserved. Since the electrode ring is located on the outer side of the spray boss, the functional liquid attached to the spray surface of the spray boss is not easy to contaminate the electrode ring, and the normal operation of the electrode ring is ensured to ensure the normal operation of the corresponding spray hole. Furthermore, since the spray surface of the spray boss is an independent surface, the functional liquid can be attached to the spray surface of the spray boss in a more stable shape to form a Taylor cone with a certain shape to improve the consistency of the spray state of multiple spray holes.

[0044] In addition, by processing a receiving groove on the bottom surface of the glass substrate, the electrode ring is connected to the lead, and the lead extends to the bottom of the receiving groove, and the external flexible circuit board is connected to multiple leads in the receiving groove to apply voltage to multiple electrode rings to control the voltage at the nozzle hole to achieve injection control of the nozzle hole. The placement position of the flexible circuit board is in the receiving groove, and the bottom of the flexible circuit board does not exceed the receiving groove. Therefore, the flexible circuit board and its packaging structure no longer occupy the space under the glass substrate to support the glass substrate to be sufficiently close to the substrate to be printed, sufficiently reduce the printing height, and increase the adjustment range of the printing height. The packaging position of the flexible circuit board will not affect the printing height, will not interfere with the printing process, and ensure the normal operation of the printing process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0046] Figure 1 A flow chart of a process for manufacturing an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 2 A partial cross-sectional view of an electric fluid nozzle provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 3 A partial schematic diagram of the spray surface of the electrofluid spray head provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 4 A partial cross-sectional view of an electric fluid ejector provided in another embodiment of the present application.

[0050] In the figure: 1, glass substrate; 1a, nozzle; 1b, receiving groove; 1c, sinking ring groove; 11, injection boss; 2, conductive layer; 21, electrode ring; 22, lead; 3, protective layer; 31, passivation layer; 32, hydrophobic layer; 4, conductive protrusion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0052] The embodiment of the present application provides a processing technology for an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes and an electrofluidic nozzle. The electrofluidic nozzle formed by the processing technology has an electrode ring on the outside of the injection boss that is not easily contaminated, and by processing a receiving groove to accommodate a flexible circuit board and removing the occupying structure under the glass substrate, interference with the adjustment of the printing height can be eliminated, ensuring the normal operation of the printing process. The present application solves the technical problems in the related art that the functional liquid easily corrodes and damages the electrode ring, and the packaging position of the circuit board interferes with the printing process, affecting the normal printing process.

[0053] Reference Figure 1 , a process for manufacturing an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes, comprising the following steps:

[0054] S100, obtaining a glass substrate 1.

[0055] S200 , processing the array nozzle holes 1 a on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 .

[0056] S300 , a sunken annular groove 1 c is processed around each spray hole 1 a on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 to form a plurality of spray bosses 11 .

[0057] S400, processing a receiving groove 1b at the edge of the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 so that the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 is stepped, and the length direction of the receiving groove 1b is consistent with the arrangement length direction of the nozzle holes 1a.

[0058] S500, patterning a conductive layer 2 at the bottom of the glass substrate 1, the conductive layer 2 including a plurality of electrode rings 21 and a plurality of leads 22, the plurality of electrode rings 21 respectively surround the injection boss 11, the plurality of leads 22 are respectively connected to the plurality of electrode rings 21, and the plurality of leads 22 all extend to the bottom of the accommodating groove 1b.

[0059] S600, covering the surface of the conductive layer 2 with a protective layer 3, and keeping a portion of the conductive layer 2 at the bottom of the receiving groove 1b in an exposed state for connection with an external circuit board.

[0060] S700, completing the processing of the injection plate of the electrofluidic nozzle.

[0061] In this arrangement, the injection boss 11 is formed by machining a sunken annular groove 1c on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, and the electrode ring 21 is formed on the circumferential outer side of the injection boss 11. When a voltage is applied to the electrode ring 21 and an electric field is applied to eject the functional liquid in the nozzle 1a, the functional liquid forms a Taylor cone on the injection surface of the injection boss 11, and the functional liquid adheres to the injection surface of the injection boss 11. The setting of the injection boss 11 reserves a position for the functional liquid to form a Taylor cone. Since the electrode ring 21 is located on the outer side of the injection boss 11, the functional liquid attached to the injection surface of the injection boss 11 is not easy to contaminate the electrode ring 21, and the normal operation of the electrode ring 21 is ensured, so as to ensure the normal operation of the corresponding nozzle 1a. Furthermore, since the injection surface of the injection boss 11 is an independent surface, the functional liquid can be attached to the injection surface of the injection boss 11 in a more stable shape, and a Taylor cone with a certain shape is formed to improve the consistency of the injection state of multiple nozzles 1a.

[0062] In addition, by processing the receiving groove 1b on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, the electrode ring 21 is connected to the lead 22, and the lead 22 extends to the bottom of the receiving groove 1b, and the external flexible circuit board is connected to multiple leads 22 in the receiving groove 1b to apply voltage to multiple electrode rings 21, so as to control the voltage at the nozzle 1a, so as to realize the injection control of the nozzle 1a. The placement position of the flexible circuit board is in the receiving groove 1b, and the bottom of the flexible circuit board does not exceed the receiving groove 1b. Therefore, the flexible circuit board and its packaging structure no longer occupy the space under the glass substrate 1, so as to support the glass substrate 1 to be sufficiently close to the substrate to be printed, sufficiently reduce the printing height, and also increase the adjustment range of the printing height. The packaging position of the flexible circuit board will not affect the printing height, will not interfere with the printing process, and ensure the normal operation of the printing process.

[0063] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3, wherein, in step S100, a glass substrate 1 is obtained.

[0064] In this embodiment, the thickness of the receiving groove 1b is designed according to the thickness of the flexible circuit board itself, the thickness of the connection between the flexible circuit board and the conductive layer 2, and the packaging thickness of the flexible circuit board. The glass substrate 1 of the corresponding thickness is selected according to the thickness of the receiving groove 1b.

[0065] In this embodiment, the thickness of the glass substrate 1 is 2-5 times the depth of the receiving groove 1b. This ensures that the glass substrate 1 is not too thin and lacks strength. After the receiving groove 1b is formed on the glass substrate 1, it is not easy to deform or break. In addition, the glass substrate 1 is not too thick, that is, the nozzle hole 1a is not too long, which reduces the possibility of nozzle hole 1a being blocked.

[0066] In this embodiment, the thickness of the receiving groove 1 b is not less than 150 μm, and the thickness of the glass substrate 1 is between 300 μm and 800 μm.

[0067] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 , wherein, in step S200 , array nozzle holes 1 a are processed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 .

[0068] Specifically, the nozzle holes 1a are processed in the middle of the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 and arranged in multiple rows along the width direction of the glass substrate 1, and multiple nozzle holes 1a in each row are arranged at intervals along the length direction of the glass substrate 1. In this embodiment, the nozzle holes 1a are arranged in two rows. In addition, in this embodiment, the receiving grooves 1b are opened at two opposite edges of the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, and the length direction of the receiving grooves 1b is consistent with the length direction of the arrangement of the nozzle holes 1a.

[0069] In other embodiments, the glass substrate 1 is divided into multiple regions, each region is provided with a spray hole 1a and a receiving groove 1b, and the two rows of spray holes 1a are located between the two receiving grooves 1b. The glass substrate 1 can be divided into multiple regions by a dicing process to improve processing efficiency.

[0070] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the aperture of the nozzle 1a is 15-50 microns. If the aperture of the nozzle 1a is larger than 50 microns, the ejected droplets will be too large, affecting the printing accuracy; if the aperture of the nozzle 1a is too small, the processing will be difficult and the nozzle 1a will be easily blocked.

[0071] Furthermore, the spacing between the nozzle holes 1a is 200-700 microns. By increasing the spacing between the nozzle holes 1a, the electric field crosstalk between the nozzle holes 1a is reduced, thereby ensuring the printing accuracy.

[0072] In this embodiment, the nozzle hole 1a is processed into a through hole by laser etching process.

[0073] Laser processing is used to process marking points and nozzle holes 1a on the surface of the glass substrate 1. The positions of the nozzle holes 1a can be determined by capturing the marking points. Laser-induced etching of the nozzle holes 1a is required during the processing to first form the structural features on the glass substrate 1 to avoid damage to the layer structure on the surface of the glass substrate 1 caused by subsequent laser processing.

[0074] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 In step S300, a sunken annular groove 1c is processed around each spray hole 1a on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 to form a plurality of spray bosses 11.

[0075] Specifically, the height of the injection boss 11 is not greater than the depth of the sinking annular groove 1c, and the height range of the injection boss 11 includes 50-150 microns. By arranging the injection boss 11, and leaving a height difference between the injection surface of the injection boss 11 and the bottom of the sinking annular groove 1c, it is ensured that the functional liquid adheres to the injection surface of the injection boss 11 to form a Taylor cone, the functional liquid is not easy to spread to the bottom of the sinking annular groove 1c, and the functional liquid is not easy to accumulate and adhere to the circumferential outer side of the injection boss 11, so as to keep the injection surface of the injection boss 11 in a clean state, and it is not easy to affect the subsequent Taylor cone forming, thereby ensuring the injection accuracy of the corresponding nozzle 1a. When the height of the injection boss 11 is too high, it affects the direction of the droplets sprayed by the adjacent injection boss 11, affecting the printing uniformity.

[0076] Specifically, step S300 includes steps S310 and S320.

[0077] S310, laser etching to form a sunken annular groove 1c;

[0078] S320, modifying the groove wall of the sinking annular groove 1c by numerical control machining so that the groove wall slope of the sinking annular groove 1c is between 50 and 80 degrees.

[0079] In this way, the sinking ring groove 1c is processed by laser etching, which has low cost and high processing efficiency. However, the verticality of the groove wall of the sinking ring groove 1c formed by laser etching is relatively high, and it is difficult to deposit the conductive layer 2 subsequently. After the groove wall of the sinking ring groove 1c is modified by CNC machining, the slope of the groove wall of the sinking ring groove 1c is adjusted. When the slope of the sinking ring groove 1c is 50-80 degrees, when the conductive layer 2 is subsequently deposited on the groove wall, the deposited conductive layer 2 is not easy to delaminate, curl or even fall off, thereby improving the molding quality.

[0080] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 Furthermore, after the sinking annular groove 1c is processed, the diameter of the injection end surface of the injection boss 11 is 2-5 times the diameter of the injection hole 1a.

[0081] By configuring in this way, the diameter of the ejection surface of the ejection boss 11 is designed correspondingly to the aperture of the ejection hole 1a, so that a stable Taylor cone can be formed and a small volume of droplets can be printed. In this embodiment, printing of droplets less than 1 picoliter can be achieved.

[0082] In step S400, a receiving groove 1b is processed at the edge of the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 so that the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 is stepped, and the length direction of the receiving groove 1b is consistent with the arrangement length direction of the nozzle holes 1a.

[0083] In this way, by processing the receiving groove 1b, space for connecting and installing the flexible circuit board is reserved, so as to avoid the flexible circuit board being directly packaged on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 and occupying the space on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1.

[0084] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 The opening of the receiving groove 1b makes the bottom edge of the glass substrate 1 present a step shape. It can be understood that one side of the receiving groove 1b is provided with an opening. The subsequent flexible circuit board extends downward along the side of the glass substrate 1 and bends to extend into the receiving groove 1b, so as to facilitate the installation of the flexible circuit board.

[0085] In this embodiment, the spray hole 1a, the receiving groove 1b and the sinking annular groove 1c can be processed together to improve the processing efficiency.

[0086] In some embodiments, the entire glass wafer is partitioned into multiple glass substrates 1, each glass substrate 1 is provided with a spray hole 1a and a receiving groove 1b, and after the conductive layer 2 and the protective layer 3 are processed, the entire glass wafer is divided into multiple glass substrates 1 by a dicing process to improve processing efficiency.

[0087] Specifically, step S400 includes steps S410 and S420.

[0088] S410, laser etching to form the receiving groove 1b.

[0089] S420, modifying the groove wall of the receiving groove 1b by numerical control machining so that the groove wall slope of the receiving groove 1b is between 50 and 80 degrees.

[0090] The cost of processing the receiving groove 1b by laser etching is low and the processing efficiency is high. However, the verticality of the groove wall of the receiving groove 1b formed by laser etching is high, and it is difficult to deposit the conductive layer 2 subsequently. After the groove wall of the receiving groove 1b is modified by CNC machining to adjust the slope of the groove wall of the receiving groove 1b, when the slope of the receiving groove 1b is 50-80 degrees, when the conductive layer 2 is subsequently deposited on the groove wall, the deposited conductive layer 2 is not easy to delaminate, curl or even fall off, thereby improving the molding quality.

[0091] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3In step S500, a conductive layer 2 is patterned on the bottom of the glass substrate 1, and the conductive layer 2 includes a plurality of electrode rings 21 and a plurality of leads 22. The plurality of electrode rings 21 respectively surround the injection boss 11, and the plurality of leads 22 are respectively connected to the plurality of electrode rings 21, and the plurality of leads 22 all extend to the bottom of the accommodating groove 1b.

[0092] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 Specifically, in this embodiment, the conductive layer 2 is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, and the conductive ring of the conductive layer 2 surrounds the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, and the lead 22 is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 and the groove wall and groove bottom of the accommodating groove 1b.

[0093] In this embodiment, step S500 specifically includes:

[0094] A conductive layer 2 is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 by using a metal lift-off process.

[0095] The electrode ring 21 of the conductive layer 2 is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 and arranged around the nozzle 1 a.

[0096] The lead wires 22 of the conductive layer 2 are formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 , the groove wall and the groove bottom of the receiving groove 1 b .

[0097] Specifically, in this embodiment, the conductive layer 2 is formed by photolithography using a metal lift-off process, that is, spray photolithography, electron beam evaporation, and lift-off cleaning steps are performed to form the conductive layer 2 on the glass substrate 1. The material of the conductive layer 2 includes one or more of gold, silver, copper, aluminum, and chromium. In this embodiment, the conductive layer 2 includes a laminated structure of chromium and gold. Specifically, a chromium layer is first sputtered, and then a gold layer is sputtered on the surface of the chromium layer. Preferably, the thickness of the chromium layer is 3-10 nanometers, and the thickness of the gold layer is 200-500 nanometers.

[0098] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 Specifically, the electrode ring 21 of the conductive layer 2 is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 and is arranged around the sinking ring groove 1c. In this embodiment, the center lines of the electrode ring 21, the injection boss 11 and the injection hole 1a are consistent.

[0099] Further, the jetting surface of the jetting boss 11 is higher than or flush with the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, and the electrode ring 21 is located below the jetting boss 11, forming a bottom-mounted electrode structure. Preferably, the jetting surface of the jetting boss 11 is higher than the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, that is, the jetting boss 11 is inside the sinking annular groove 1c. At this time, the depth of the sinking annular groove 1c and the height of the jetting boss 11 can be easily controlled. It also prevents the Taylor cone formed by the jetting surface of the jetting boss 11 from being attracted or contaminating the electrode ring 21 at the edge of the sinking annular groove 1c due to external factors.

[0100] Reference Figure 4 Specifically, in some embodiments, the conductive layer 2 is formed on the bottom of the sinking ring groove 1c and the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, specifically, the electrode ring 21 of the conductive layer 2 is formed on the bottom of the sinking ring groove 1c, and the lead 22 is formed on the bottom and wall of the sinking ring groove 1c, the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, and the wall and bottom of the accommodating groove 1b.

[0101] Reference Figure 4 In this embodiment, step S500 specifically includes:

[0102] A conductive layer 2 is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 by using a metal lift-off process.

[0103] The electrode ring 21 of the conductive layer 2 is formed in the middle of the bottom of the sinking ring groove 1c, a safe distance is left between the electrode ring 21 and the groove wall of the sinking ring groove 1c, and the electrode ring 21 is arranged around the spray hole 1a.

[0104] The lead wire 22 of the conductive layer 2 is formed on the groove bottom and groove wall of the sinking ring groove 1c, the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, and the groove wall and groove bottom of the receiving groove 1b.

[0105] Reference Figure 4 Specifically, in this embodiment, the conductive layer 2 is formed by photolithography using a metal lift-off process, that is, spray photolithography, electron beam evaporation and lift-off cleaning steps are performed to form the conductive layer 2 on the glass substrate 1. The material of the conductive layer 2 includes one or more of gold, silver, copper, aluminum and chromium. In this embodiment, the conductive layer 2 includes a laminated structure of chromium and gold. Specifically, a chromium layer is first sputtered, and then a gold layer is sputtered on the surface of the chromium layer. Preferably, the thickness of the chromium layer is 3-10 nanometers, and the thickness of the gold layer is 200-500 nanometers.

[0106] Specifically, the electrode ring 21 of the conductive layer 2 is formed at the bottom of the sinking ring groove 1c. In this embodiment, the center lines of the electrode ring 21, the injection boss 11 and the injection hole 1a are consistent. A safe distance is left between the electrode ring 21 and the groove wall of the sinking ring groove 1c. Preferably, the safe distance is 20-100 microns.

[0107] This arrangement prevents the electrode ring 21 from being too close to the bottom edge of the sinking ring groove 1c. When the electrode ring 21 is formed using a metal stripping process, it prevents excessive deposition of photoresist at the corners of the sinking ring groove 1c, which would affect the exposure effect. It ensures that the groove wall of the sinking ring groove 1c does not have an adverse effect on the conductive layer 2, thereby ensuring that the conductive layer 2 is stably formed.

[0108] The lead wire 22 of the conductive layer 2 is formed on the groove wall of the sinking ring groove 1c, the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, the groove wall and the groove bottom of the receiving groove 1b, and the electrode ring 21 is electrically connected to the conductive ring. In this embodiment, the groove walls of the sinking ring groove 1c and the receiving groove 1b have a certain slope, which reduces the difficulty of forming the conductive layer 2 on the groove walls of the sinking ring groove 1c and the receiving groove 1b, and the conductive layer 2 after forming is more stable and not easy to fall off.

[0109] Reference Figure 4 In this embodiment, the ejection surface of the ejection boss 11 is flush with the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, or the ejection surface of the ejection boss 11 is higher than the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1. Preferably, the ejection surface of the ejection boss 11 is flush with the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, and an upper electrode structure is formed at this time. In this way, not only the ejection boss 11 can be formed by machining the sinking ring groove 1c, but also the ejection boss 11 does not need to be machined to adjust its height, thus saving machining costs; in addition, the ejection surface of the ejection boss 11 can be adjusted to be closer to the desired printing substrate, and the printing height adjustment range is larger.

[0110] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 , wherein, in step S600, the protective layer 3 is covered on the surface of the conductive layer 2, and a portion of the conductive layer 2 at the bottom of the receiving groove 1b is kept exposed for connection with an external circuit board. It includes:

[0111] A passivation layer 31 is covered on the surface of the conductive layer 2 by using a spraying and metal stripping process;

[0112] The hydrophobic layer 32 is formed on the surface of the passivation layer 31 by sputtering.

[0113] Specifically, the material of the passivation layer 31 is silicon dioxide, and the passivation layer 31 is patterned on the surface of the conductive layer 2 by using a spraying and metal stripping process to protect the conductive layer 2. In this embodiment, the end of the lead 22 at the bottom of the receiving groove 1b is not covered with the passivation layer 31 to reserve a connection position with the flexible circuit board. In this embodiment, the thickness of the passivation layer 31 is 300-600 nanometers.

[0114] Since the glass substrate 1 is provided with a plurality of nozzles 1a, and the spacing between the nozzles 1a is small, the electrode rings 31 at the periphery of adjacent nozzles 1a are prone to electrical crosstalk when a DC pulse is passed through. Depositing the passivation layer 31 can prevent the generation of electrical crosstalk, oxidation of the electrode rings 31, and short circuits caused by ink droplet splashing.

[0115] The material of the hydrophobic layer 32 includes parylene, which is covered on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 by sputtering or vapor deposition to cover the structure of the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 and the passivation layer 31 to protect the conductive layer 2. In this embodiment, the end of the lead 22 at the bottom of the receiving groove 1b is shielded by a mask, and the hydrophobic layer 32 can be formed by sputtering. In this embodiment, the thickness of the hydrophobic layer 32 is 300-1000 nanometers.

[0116] The hydrophobic layer 32 can adjust the hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties at the nozzle hole 1 a , and has the functions of anti-oxidation and static discharge, while not affecting the wire bonding process on the top surface of the glass substrate 1 .

[0117] Reference Figure 2 , wherein, after step 600, the surface of the conductive layer 2 is covered with the protective layer 3, the method further comprises:

[0118] The conductive protrusion 4 is welded on the surface of the lead wire 22 at the bottom of the receiving groove 1b.

[0119] In this configuration, by welding the conductive protrusion 4 at the end of the lead 22 to reserve a connection position for the flexible circuit board, the stability of the connection with the flexible circuit board is improved.

[0120] Specifically, the height of the conductive protrusion 4 is less than 20 micrometers. The conductive protrusion 4 is made of one of gold, silver, copper and aluminum.

[0121] When the flexible circuit board is subsequently installed, the thickness of the flexible circuit board is less than 80 microns and the sealing glue thickness is 20-30 microns.

[0122] Wherein, in step S700, the processing of the injection plate of the electrofluidic nozzle is completed.

[0123] Through steps S100 - S600 , the glass substrate 1 is processed into a spray plate of an electrofluidic nozzle, and subsequently an ink cartridge structure is installed on the top surface of the glass substrate 1 to assemble the electrofluidic nozzle.

[0124] The embodiment of the present application provides a processing technology for an electrofluid nozzle with a high degree of electrode integration, wherein a sinking annular groove 1c is processed on the bottom surface of a glass substrate 1 to form a spray boss 11, and an electrode ring 21 is formed on the circumferential outer side of the spray boss 11. When a voltage is applied to the electrode ring 21 and an electric field is applied to spray the functional liquid in the spray hole 1a, the functional liquid forms a Taylor cone on the spray surface of the spray boss 11, and the functional liquid adheres to the spray surface of the spray boss 11. The setting of the spray boss 11 reserves a position for the functional liquid to form a Taylor cone. Since the electrode ring 21 is located on the outer side of the spray boss 11, the functional liquid attached to the spray surface of the spray boss 11 is not easy to contaminate the electrode ring 21, and the normal operation of the electrode ring 21 is ensured, so as to ensure the normal operation of the corresponding spray hole 1a. Furthermore, since the spray surface of the spray boss 11 is an independent surface, the functional liquid can be more stably attached to the spray surface of the spray boss 11 to form a Taylor cone with a certain shape, so as to improve the consistency of the spray state of multiple spray holes 1a.

[0125] In addition, by processing the receiving groove 1b on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, the electrode ring 21 is connected to the lead 22, and the lead 22 extends to the bottom of the receiving groove 1b, and the external flexible circuit board is connected to multiple leads 22 in the receiving groove 1b to apply voltage to multiple electrode rings 21, so as to control the voltage at the nozzle 1a, so as to realize the injection control of the nozzle 1a. The placement position of the flexible circuit board is in the receiving groove 1b, and the bottom of the flexible circuit board does not exceed the receiving groove 1b. Therefore, the flexible circuit board and its packaging structure no longer occupy the space under the glass substrate 1, so as to support the glass substrate 1 to be sufficiently close to the substrate to be printed, sufficiently reduce the printing height, and also increase the adjustment range of the printing height. The packaging position of the flexible circuit board will not affect the printing height, will not interfere with the printing process, and ensure the normal operation of the printing process.

[0126] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 In a second aspect, an electrofluidic nozzle is provided, comprising an ejection plate and an ink cartridge connected to the top surface of the ejection plate; the ejection plate comprises:

[0127] A glass substrate 1, wherein a plurality of through-spray holes 1a are formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, and a sinking annular groove 1c is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1 near the plurality of spray holes 1a, so as to form a plurality of spray bosses 11 at the bottom of the glass substrate 1; a receiving groove 1b is formed on the edge of the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1, and a groove wall of one side of the receiving groove 1b is opened;

[0128] A plurality of electrode rings 21, the plurality of electrode rings 21 respectively surround the outer sides of the plurality of injection bosses 11, and the electrode rings 21 are arranged at the bottom of the sinking ring groove 1c or the bottom surface of the glass substrate 1;

[0129] A plurality of lead wires 22, each of which corresponds to a plurality of electrode rings 21, one end of each lead wire 22 is electrically connected to the electrode ring 21, and the other end of each lead wire 22 extends to the bottom of the receiving groove 1b; wherein,

[0130] A plurality of leads 22 are located at the bottom of the receiving groove 1 b for connection with an external flexible circuit board.

[0131] Since the injection plate of the electrofluidic nozzle is processed by the processing technology of the electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes, the beneficial effects of the electrofluidic nozzle are consistent with the beneficial effects of the processing technology of the electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes, which will not be repeated here.

[0132] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application. Unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be a connection between the two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0133] It should be noted that, in this application, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements.

[0134] The above description is only a specific implementation of the present application, so that those skilled in the art can understand or implement the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but will conform to the widest range consistent with the principles and novel features applied for herein.

Claims

1. A process for processing an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes, characterized in that: It includes the following steps: obtaining a glass substrate; Processing array nozzle holes on the bottom surface of the glass substrate; A sunken annular groove is machined around each spray hole on the bottom surface of the glass substrate to form a plurality of spray bosses; Processing a receiving groove at the edge of the bottom surface of the glass substrate so that the bottom surface of the glass substrate is stepped, and the length direction of the receiving groove is consistent with the arrangement length direction of the nozzle holes; A conductive layer is patterned on the bottom of the glass substrate, wherein the conductive layer includes a plurality of electrode rings and a plurality of leads, wherein the plurality of electrode rings surround the injection bosses respectively, the plurality of leads are respectively connected to the plurality of electrode rings, and the plurality of leads extend to the bottom of the receiving groove; A protective layer is covered on the surface of the conductive layer, and a portion of the conductive layer at the bottom of the receiving groove is kept exposed for connection with an external circuit board; Complete the processing of the injection plate of the electrofluid nozzle.

2. The process for manufacturing an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method of machining a sinking ring groove around each nozzle hole on the bottom surface of the glass substrate comprises: Laser etching to form the sunken ring groove; The groove wall of the sinking ring groove is modified by CNC machining so that the groove wall slope of the sinking ring groove is 50-80 degrees.

3. The process for manufacturing an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes according to claim 1, characterized in that: The height of the injection boss is not greater than the depth of the sinking ring groove, and the height range of the injection boss includes 50-150 microns.

4. The process for manufacturing an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes according to claim 1, characterized in that: The diameter of the injection end surface of the injection boss is 2-5 times the diameter of the injection hole.

5. The process for manufacturing an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the glass substrate is 2-5 times the depth of the receiving groove; The depth of the receiving groove is not less than 150 microns.

6. The process for manufacturing an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of machining a receiving groove at the edge of the bottom surface of the glass substrate comprises: Laser etching to form the receiving groove; The groove wall of the receiving groove is modified by CNC machining so that the groove wall slope of the receiving groove is 50-80 degrees.

7. The process for manufacturing an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conductive layer is patterned on the bottom of the glass substrate, the conductive layer includes a plurality of electrode rings and a plurality of leads, the plurality of electrode rings surround the injection bosses respectively, the plurality of leads are respectively connected to the plurality of electrode rings, and the plurality of leads extend to the bottom of the receiving groove, including: A conductive layer is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate using a metal lift-off process; The electrode ring of the conductive layer is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate and arranged around the nozzle hole; The lead wires of the conductive layer are formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate, the groove wall and the groove bottom of the receiving groove.

8. The process for manufacturing an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conductive layer is patterned on the bottom of the glass substrate, the conductive layer includes a plurality of electrode rings and a plurality of leads, the plurality of electrode rings surround the injection bosses respectively, the plurality of leads are respectively connected to the plurality of electrode rings, and the plurality of leads extend to the bottom of the receiving groove, including: A conductive layer is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate using a metal lift-off process; The electrode ring of the conductive layer is formed in the middle of the bottom of the sinking ring groove, a safe distance is left between the electrode ring and the groove wall of the sinking ring, and the electrode ring is arranged around the spray hole; The lead wires of the conductive layer are formed on the groove bottom and groove wall of the sinking ring groove, the bottom surface of the glass substrate, and the groove wall and groove bottom of the receiving groove.

9. The process for manufacturing an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method of covering the surface of the conductive layer with a protective layer and keeping a portion of the conductive layer at the bottom of the receiving groove in an exposed state for connection with an external circuit board comprises: The passivation layer is covered on the surface of the conductive layer by using a spraying and metal stripping process; A hydrophobic layer is sputtered on the surface of the passivation layer.

10. The process for manufacturing an electrofluidic nozzle with highly integrated electrodes according to claim 1, characterized in that: After the protective layer is covered on the surface of the conductive layer, the method further comprises: A conductive protrusion is welded on the surface of the lead wire at the bottom of the receiving groove.

11. An electrofluid nozzle, characterized in that: The invention comprises an injection plate and an ink cartridge connected to the top surface of the injection plate; the injection plate comprises: A glass substrate, wherein a plurality of through-spray holes are formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate, and a sinking ring groove is formed on the bottom surface of the glass substrate near the plurality of spray holes to form a plurality of spray bosses at the bottom of the glass substrate; a receiving groove is formed on the edge of the bottom surface of the glass substrate, and a groove wall on one side of the receiving groove is opened; A plurality of electrode rings, each of which surrounds the outer sides of the plurality of injection bosses, and the electrode rings are arranged at the bottom of the sinking ring groove or the bottom surface of the glass substrate; A plurality of lead wires, each of which corresponds to the plurality of electrode rings, one end of each lead wire is electrically connected to the electrode ring, and the other end of each lead wire extends to the bottom of the receiving groove; wherein, The parts of the plurality of leads located at the bottom of the receiving groove are used for connection with an external flexible circuit board.

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