Liquid drop ejection method and liquid drop ejection device

Abstract

A liquid droplet ejection method includes using a multi-nozzle head including a plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles arranged at predetermined nozzle intervals in a first direction and ejecting liquid droplets, ejecting a first liquid droplet from a first electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle of the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles to a first liquid droplet ejection position of an object, scanning the multi-nozzle head in the first direction at a predetermined scanning speed, ejecting a second liquid droplet from a second liquid droplet ejection nozzle of the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles to the first liquid droplet ejection position, and ejecting a first liquid droplet from the first liquid droplet ejection nozzle to a second liquid droplet ejection position, wherein a shape of a first structure formed by the first liquid droplet and the second liquid droplet at the first position and a shape of a second structure formed by the first liquid droplet at the second position are different.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid droplet ejection method and a liquid droplet ejection device.BACKGROUND ART

[0002] In recent years, the application of inkjet printing technology to industrial processes has been carried out. For example, a color filter manufacturing process for a liquid crystal display is an example. Conventionally, although a so-called piezo type head that ejects liquid droplets by mechanical pressure or vibration has been widely used as an inkjet printing technique, an electrostatic ejection type inkjet head that can eject finer liquid droplets has attracted attention. Patent Literature 1 discloses an electrostatic ejection type inkjet recording device.CITATION LIST PATENT LITERATURE

[0003] Patent Literature 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H10-34967SUMMARY OF INVENTION TECHNICAL PROBLEM

[0004] On the other hand, in the case where liquid droplets are ejected using a conventional electrostatic ejection type inkjet head, one liquid droplet is ejected with respect to one liquid droplet ejection position. In this case, the cross section of the structure to be formed is affected by surface tension of the ink used as the liquid droplet, wettability of the substrate, and the like, and therefore generally has an arc shape.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to form a structure having a new cross-sectional shape by using an electrostatic ejection type inkjet head.SOLUTION TO PROBLEM

[0006] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a liquid droplet ejection method, including: using a multi-nozzle head including a plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles arranged at predetermined nozzle intervals in a first direction and ejecting liquid droplets; ejecting a first liquid droplet from a first electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle of the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles to a first liquid droplet ejection position of an object; scanning the multi-nozzle head in the first direction at a predetermined scanning speed; ejecting a second liquid droplet from a second electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle of the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles to the first liquid droplet ejection position; and ejecting a first liquid droplet from the first electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle to a second liquid droplet ejection position, wherein a shape of a first structure formed by the first liquid droplet and the second liquid droplet at the first liquid droplet ejection position is different from a shape of a second structure formed by the first liquid droplet at the second liquid droplet ejection position.

[0007] In the liquid droplet ejection method described above, the predetermined nozzle interval may be 20 µm or more and 500 µm or less.

[0008] In the liquid droplet ejection method described above, the predetermined scanning speed may be 0.00001 meters per second or more and 1 meter per second or less.

[0009] In the liquid droplet ejection method described above, a viscosity of a solvent of the liquid droplet may be 0.1 cps or more and 10000 cps or less.

[0010] In the liquid droplet ejection method described above, an ejection amount per one discharge from the electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle may be 0.00001 picoliters or more and 50 picoliters or less.

[0011] In the liquid droplet ejection method described above, the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles may include three or more electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles.

[0012] In the liquid droplet ejection method described above, when satisfying a predetermined condition, the first structure and the second structure may be connected to form a third structure, and the third structure may have a rectangular cross-sectional shape when viewed from the first direction.

[0013] In the liquid droplet ejection method described above, an end portion of the third structure may have a cross-sectional shape of an arc when viewed from a second direction intersecting the first direction.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a liquid droplet ejection device including a multi-nozzle head including a plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles arranged at predetermined nozzle intervals in a first direction for ejecting liquid droplets, and a control unit configured to eject a first droplet from a first electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle among the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles to a first droplet ejection position of an object, scan the multi-nozzle head in the first direction at a predetermined scanning speed, eject a second liquid droplet from a second electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle among the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles to the first liquid droplet ejection position, and eject the first liquid droplet from the first electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle to a second liquid droplet ejection position.

[0015] In the liquid droplet ejection device described above, the predetermined nozzle interval may be 20 µm or more and 500 µm or less.

[0016] In the liquid droplet ejection device described above, the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzles may include three or more electrostatic liquid droplet ejecting nozzles.

[0017] In the liquid droplet ejection device described above, the control unit may control the scanning speed based on a material of the liquid droplet.ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

[0018] By using an embodiment of the present invention, a structure having a new cross-sectional shape can be formed by using an electrostatic ejection type inkjet head.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a liquid droplet ejection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a plan view of a multi-nozzle head. FIG. 2B is an enlarged plan view of a part of a multi-nozzle head. FIG. 3A is an enlarged top view of a liquid droplet ejection nozzle. FIG. 3B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a liquid droplet ejection nozzle. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a method for ejecting liquid droplets. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of ejected liquid droplets. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of ejected liquid droplets. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a method for ejecting liquid droplets. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of ejected liquid droplets. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of ejected liquid droplets. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of ejected liquid droplets. FIG. 11A is a schematic view of a structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11B is a schematic view of a structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 is a plan view of a multi-nozzle head. FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of a control unit of a liquid droplet ejection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is an example of a data set. FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of a liquid droplet ejection method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16 is a photograph of a multi-nozzle head according to the present example. FIG. 17 is a photograph of a multi-nozzle head mounted on a mounting unit in the present example. FIG. 18 is a plan view of a structure formed in the present example. FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional profile image of a structure formed in the present example. FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of a structure formed according to an embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention disclosed in the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist thereof, and is not to be construed as being limited to the description of embodiments exemplified below.

[0021] In addition, in the drawings referred to in the present embodiment, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same reference signs or similar reference signs (only denoted by A, B, or the like after the numerals), and repeated description thereof may be omitted. In addition, the dimensional ratios in the drawings may be different from actual ratios for convenience of explanation, or a part of the configuration may be omitted from the drawings.

[0022] Further, in the detailed description of the present invention, in the case of defining the inclination relationship between one component and another, the terms "above" and "below" include not only a case where the component is inclined directly above or directly below, but also a case where another component is interposed therebetween unless otherwise specified.[First Embodiment](1-1. Configuration of Liquid Droplet Ejection Device 100)

[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a liquid droplet ejection device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] The liquid droplet ejection device 100 includes a control unit 110, a storage unit 120, a power supply unit 125, a drive unit 130, a mounting unit 140, an ink supply unit 145, a multi-nozzle head 150, a display unit 170, an operation unit 180, an adjustment unit 190, an object holding unit 200, and a housing 210. The control unit 110, the storage unit 120, the power supply unit 125, the drive unit 130, the mounting unit 140, the ink supply unit 145, the multi-nozzle head 150, the display unit 170, the operation unit 180, the adjustment unit 190, and the object holding unit 200 are electrically connected by a wiring bus and are arranged inside the housing 210. In the present embodiment, the display unit 170, the operation unit 180, and the adjustment unit 190 may not be necessarily provided.

[0025] The control unit 110 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or another arithmetic processor. The control unit 110 controls a liquid droplet ejection process by the multi-nozzle head 150 using a liquid droplet ejection program set in advance.

[0026] The storage unit 120 has a function as a database configured to store the liquid droplet ejection program and various kinds of information used in the liquid droplet ejection program. As the storage unit 120, memories, SSD, or elements capable of storing are used.

[0027] The power supply unit 125 applies a voltage to the multi-nozzle head 150 based on a signal input from the control unit 110. In this example, the power supply unit 125 applies a pulsed voltage (in this example, 1000 V) to the multi-nozzle head 150. In addition, the voltage is not limited to the pulse voltage, and a constant voltage may be constantly applied.

[0028] The drive unit 130 includes a drive member such as a motor, a belt, and a gear. The drive unit 130 moves the multi-nozzle head 150 relative to on object 220 in one direction (in this case, a second direction D2) based on an instruction from the control unit 110. The drive unit 130 may move the object holding unit 200.

[0029] The mounting unit 140 mounts the multi-nozzle head 150. In this example, the mounting unit 140 is bonded to a plate portion of the multi-nozzle head 150 to mount the multi-nozzle head 150. In this case, the mounting unit 140 may mount the multi-nozzle head 150 using a jig, an adhesive, or the like.

[0030] The ink supply unit 145 (also referred to as an ink tank or an ink cartridge) is arranged away from the mounting unit 140. The ink supply unit 145 stores ink. The ink supply unit 145 supplies the stored ink to the multi-nozzle head 150. It is desirable to use an ink composed of a solvent and a solute or pigment, and more preferably, the solute or pigment component is an inorganic substance or a metal-based ink, and more preferably, a metal ultrafine particle ink is used as the ink.

[0031] The multi-nozzle head 150 is arranged away from the ink supply unit 145. A configuration of the multi-nozzle head 150 will be described later.

[0032] The display unit 170 displays control information (text information or image information) under the control of the control unit 110. In this case, the display unit 170 may display control data via a GUI (Graphical User Interface). Further, the display unit 170 may display information of the multi-nozzle head 150.

[0033] The operation unit 180 includes an operable member. For example, a button, a lever, a numeric keypad, and the like are used for the operation unit 180. Operations such as up, down, left, or right movement, pressing, or rotation, or input of numerical values is performed by using the operation unit 180, and information based on the operation is acquired by the control unit 110. In the case where the display unit 170 has the function of the operation unit 180, the display unit 170 may be used as a touch panel.

[0034] The adjustment unit 190 may adjust a position and inclination of the multi-nozzle head 150. Specifically, the adjustment unit 190 can adjust the inclination of a tip 153a of a liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153 of the multi-nozzle head 150 and orientation (direction) of the multi-nozzle head. A θ stage or a goniometer stage may be used as the adjustment unit 190.

[0035] The object holding unit 200 has a function of holding the object 220. In this example, a stage is used as the object holding unit 200. The mechanism by which the object holding unit 200 holds the object 220 is not particularly limited, and a general holding mechanism is used. In this example, the object 220 is vacuum-attracted to the object holding unit 200. The object holding unit 200 may hold the object 220 using a fixture.(1-2. Configuration of Multi-Nozzle Head 150)

[0036] Hereinafter, the configuration of the multi-nozzle head will be described in detail. FIG. 2A is a plan view of the multi-nozzle head 150. FIG. 2B is an enlarged plan view of the multi-nozzle head. FIG. 3A is an enlarged top view of a liquid droplet ejection nozzle. FIG. 3B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the liquid droplet ejection nozzle.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the multi-nozzle head 150 includes a plate unit 151 and a plurality of liquid droplet ejection nozzles 153 (also referred to as electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles).

[0038] The plate unit 151 is provided in a plate shape. The plate unit 151 extends in a first direction D1. A metal material such as stainless steel is used for the plate unit 151.

[0039] The liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153 is provided on one surface of the plate unit 151. The liquid droplet ejection nozzles 153 are arranged side by side in the first direction D1. In the present embodiment, liquid droplet ejection nozzles 153-1, 153-2, ..., 153-(N-1), and 153-N are provided on the plate unit 151. N is a natural number equal to or greater than 3. In this example, the multi-nozzle head 150 includes ten liquid droplet ejection nozzles 153. In the case where the liquid droplet ejection nozzles 153-1 (also referred to as a first electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle), 153-2 (also referred to as a second electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle), ..., 153-(N-1), and 153-N need not be separately described, they will be collectively described as the liquid droplet ejection nozzles 153. A metal material such as nickel is used for the liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153. As shown in the FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153 has a tapered configuration.

[0040] The plate unit 151 has a through hole 151o having an inner diameter r151o larger than an inner diameter r153a of an ejection port of the liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153 (an opening 153ao on the tip 153a of the liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153) on a portion (a portion overlapping) corresponding to the liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153. The inner diameter of the through hole 151o of the plate unit 151 may be 1 µm or more and 100 µm or less. The inner diameter of the tip 153a of the liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153 may be several hundred nm or more and 50 µm or less, preferably 1 µm or more and 15 µm or less, and more preferably 5 µm or more and 12 µm or less. In the present embodiment, a voltage may be applied to the liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153, a voltage may be applied to the plate unit 151 (or the ink supply unit 145), or a voltage may be applied to the ink. In the case where a voltage is applied to the plate unit 151 and the liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153, an electrode may be provided. The electrode may be provided with tungsten, nickel, molybdenum, titanium, gold, silver, copper, platinum, or the like. In this case, a plurality of electrodes may be arranged so that a voltage is uniformly applied to the entire plate unit 151. Further, in the present embodiment, although an example in which a voltage is applied to the liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153, the plate unit 151, or the ink has been described, a voltage may be applied to a jig that holds the multi-nozzle head 150.

[0041] Here, as shown in FIG. 2B, adjacent liquid droplet ejection nozzles 153 have a predetermined interval (distance S1 between the adjacent nozzles). From the viewpoint of controlling shapes of structures to be formed, it is desirable that the distance S1 between the adjacent nozzles is 20 µm or more and 500 µm or less. In this example, the distance S1 between the liquid droplet ejection nozzles 153 is 200 µm.

[0042] In the present embodiment, the shapes of the structures can be controlled based on a size of the ejected liquid droplets and a distance between adjacent nozzles.(1-3. Liquid Droplet Ejection Method)

[0043] Hereinafter, a liquid droplet ejection method according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 to FIG. 9 are schematic diagrams of a liquid droplet ejection method in the liquid droplet ejection device.

[0044] First, using the multi-nozzle head 150 described above, the multi-nozzle head 150 is scanned in the first direction D1 in which the liquid droplet ejection nozzles 153 are arranged. A scanning speed of the multi-nozzle head 150 is preferably 0.00001 m / sec or more and 1 m / sec or less from the viewpoint of a drying speed of the liquid droplet.

[0045] Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the first liquid droplet 157-1 is ejected from the first liquid droplet ejecting nozzle 153-1 among the plurality of liquid droplet ejecting nozzles 153 using the ink supplied from the ink supplying unit 145 to a first liquid droplet ejection position P1. An ejection amount of the liquid droplets is preferably 0.00001 picoliters or more and 50 picoliters or less from the viewpoint of drying the liquid droplets. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, in the process of drying the first liquid droplet 157-1, a large amount of particles in the ink remain at an end portion as compared with a central portion of the first liquid droplet 157-1 (for example, coffee ring phenomenon). As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, a structure in which an end portion of the first liquid droplet 157-1 is raised is formed.

[0046] Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 7, the second liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153-2 moves above the first liquid droplet ejection position P1 in accordance with the multi-nozzle heads 150 being scanned in the first direction D1. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, a second liquid droplet 157-2, which is a second liquid droplet, is ejected from the second liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153-2 to the first liquid droplet ejection position P1. Similarly, in the second liquid droplet 157-2, while a structure in which an end portion of the second liquid droplet 157-2 is raised is formed, ink particles are accumulated in a groove portion of the central portion formed by the first liquid droplet 157-1 as shown in FIG. 9 (a first structure 158-1 is formed).

[0047] Further, in the case where the second liquid droplet ejecting nozzle 153-2 ejects the second liquid droplet at the first liquid droplet ejection position P1, the first liquid droplet 157-1, which is the first liquid droplet, is ejected using the ink supplied from the ink supply unit 145 from the first liquid droplet ejecting nozzle 153-1 to a second liquid droplet ejection position P2 provided in the direction (first direction D1) in which the multi-nozzle head 150 moves with reference to the first liquid droplet ejection position P1, as shown in FIG. 10. In this case, the structure (first structure 158-1) formed at the first liquid droplet ejection position P1 and a structure (second structure 158-2) formed at the second liquid droplet ejection position P2 differ in form depending on the number of ejected liquid droplets. The first structure 158-1 and the second structure 158-2 approach a rectangle (trapezoid) as the number of times liquid droplets are ejected increases. When a predetermined number of times is exceeded, a shape of the first structure 158-1 and a shape of the second structure 158-2 may be the same.

[0048] In addition, the first structure 158-1 and the second structure 158-2 are connected in the case where a predetermined condition is satisfied. Specifically, in the case where a distance between the first liquid droplet ejection position P1 and the second liquid droplet ejection position P2 is equal to or smaller than the predetermined distance, the first structure 158-1 and the second structure 158-2 are connected (a third structure is formed). The same applies to the liquid droplet ejection positions after the second liquid droplet ejection position P2.

[0049] The liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153 after the third liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153-3, which is arranged in an opposite direction of the first direction D1 than the second liquid droplet ejection nozzle 153-2, also sequentially ejects the liquid droplet to the first liquid droplet ejection position P1 and the second liquid droplet ejection position P2. The same applies to the liquid droplet ejection positions provided in the first direction D1 and after the second liquid droplet ejection position P2.

[0050] FIG. 11A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a structure 159 formed in the present embodiment when viewed from the first direction D1. FIG. 11B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the structure 159 when viewed from the second direction D2. In the present embodiment, since the liquid droplets are repeatedly ejected to the respective liquid droplet ejection positions, a groove of a central portion is filled while having a shape in which a side end portion is warped. As a result of this, as shown in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, a linear structure having a rectangular (trapezoidal) cross-sectional shape is formed without going through a lithography process when viewed from the first direction D1.

[0051] In the conventional liquid droplet ejection method, in the case where an electrostatic ejection nozzle is used, a single nozzle is generally used. Therefore, the structure formed by the liquid droplet ejection has an arc shape. In addition, even if a plurality of liquid droplet ejection nozzles are arranged as in the piezo ink jet nozzle, in the case where scanning is performed with respect to an arranged direction, ink liquid droplets are ejected at different ejection positions for each color.

[0052] On the other hand, in the case of the present embodiment, a size of the liquid droplets is smaller and a drying speed is higher than those of the liquid droplets ejected from the piezo-type inkjet nozzle because the electrostatic ejection type inkjet nozzle is used. Further, in the present embodiment, a distance and a scanning speed between adjacent electrostatic ejection type liquid droplet ejection nozzles are controlled. Further, liquid droplets are ejected a plurality of times at the same liquid droplet ejection position. As a result, a linear structure having a rectangular cross-sectional shape as described above is formed.

[0053] Therefore, by using the present embodiment, it is possible to form a structure having a new cross-sectional shape that is not conventional by using an electrostatic ejection type inkjet head. Since the structure has such a shape, it can also be used as a partition wall, and a structure formed by an ink jet can be used as a new application.[Second Embodiment]

[0054] In the present embodiment, a liquid droplet ejection device different from the first embodiment will be described. Specifically, an example of a multi-nozzle head in which liquid droplet ejection nozzles are two-dimensionally arranged will be described. In addition, due to the relationship of the description, the members will be omitted as appropriate.

[0055] FIG. 12 is a schematic top view of a multi-nozzle head 150A. As shown in FIG. 12, the liquid droplet ejection nozzles 153 may be arranged in the first direction D1 and may also be arranged in the second direction D2. In this case, a plurality of linear structures can be formed by ejecting liquid droplets while scanning in the first direction.[Third Embodiment]

[0056] In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which a scanning speed of the multi-nozzle head is set based on acquired information of a liquid droplet.

[0057] FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram and shows an inner configuration of a control unit 110B. The control unit 110B includes an acquisition unit 111, a setting unit 113, and a drive control unit 115.

[0058] The acquisition unit 111 acquires data input from a user via the operation unit 180 or data stored in the storage unit 120. FIG. 14 is an example of a data set 500 acquired by the acquisition unit 111. As shown in FIG. 13, the data set 500 includes a material name 500a, a viscosity 500b of a material, an adjacent nozzle interval 500c, a temperature 500d, and an ejection amount 500e. In addition, the data set 500 may not include some data.

[0059] The setting unit 113 sets the scanning speed of the multi-nozzle head 150 based on the data set 500 acquired by the acquisition unit 111.

[0060] The drive control unit 115 controls the drive unit 130 using the set scanning speed.

[0061] FIG. 15 is a flowchart for setting a scanning speed of the multi-nozzle head 150 in liquid droplet ejection.

[0062] First, the control unit 110 acquires information related to the multi-nozzle head 150 and information related to the material (S110 and S120). The information related to the multi-nozzle head 150 and the information related to the material are input by the user via the operation unit 180 or acquired from the storage unit 120. The acquired information is processed as an input data set as shown in FIG. 13.

[0063] Next, the control unit 110 sets the scanning speed of the multi-nozzle head 150 based on the acquired information related to the multi-nozzle head 150 and the information related to the material (S130). In this case, the control unit 110 may select the scanning speed from a data group of the scanning speed prepared in advance based on information related to the multi-nozzle head 150 and information related to the material. Further, the control unit 110 may perform machine learning based on teacher data acquired in advance and set the scanning speed.

[0064] The control unit 110 outputs the set scanning speed information to the drive unit 130 to drive the drive unit 130 (S140).

[0065] By using the present embodiment, the user can set the optimum scanning speed of the multi-nozzle head for forming a structure having a rectangular cross-sectional shape by inputting the information related to the material.

[0066] In addition, in the present embodiment, although an example has been described in which the ejection amount is input, the present invention is not limited to this. The control unit 110 may set the ejection amount of the liquid droplet together with the scanning speed of the multi-nozzle head 150.[Example]

[0067] Hereinafter, an example of a liquid droplet ejection method will be described.

[0068] FIG. 16 is a photograph of an example of a multi-nozzle head. FIG. 17 is a photograph in which a multi-nozzle head is mounted on a mounting unit. Further, the multi-nozzle head used to form a structure in the present embodiment is provided with 5 rows × 20 (100) liquid droplet ejection nozzles. In this case, one line is drawn by five nozzles.

[0069] FIG. 18 is a plan view of a structure formed in the present embodiment. FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional profile image of the structure formed in this embodiment. In FIG. 19, the pattern line width of the structure is 36.485 µm. Further, as shown in FIG. 19, it was confirmed that the structure has a rectangular cross-sectional shape.

[0070] As described above, by using the embodiment of the present invention, a linear structure having a rectangular cross-sectional shape can be formed.[Modification]

[0071] Within the scope of the present invention, those skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications and examples, and it is understood that these modifications and examples also fall within the scope of the present invention. For example, the addition, deletion, combination of the various embodiments, or design change of components as appropriate, or addition, omission or changes in conditions of processes by a person skilled in the art based on the embodiments described above are included in the scope of the present invention as long as the gist of the present invention is provided.

[0072] In an embodiment of the present invention, the liquid droplet ejection device may include an inspection device. The inspection device inspects an inclination of the multi-nozzle head 150 mounted on the mounting unit 140. The inspection device can inspect an inclination of the tips 153a of the adjacent liquid droplet ejection nozzles 153 in the multi-nozzle head 150 and shapes of patterns. In this example, an imaging device or a step gauge is used as the inspection device. Specifically, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) type camera or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) type camera may be used as the imaging device. The information acquired by the inspection device may be sent to the control unit 110 and the storage unit 120 to control the scanning speed. Alternatively, the inclination (the first direction, the second direction, and a third direction) between adjacent liquid droplet ejection nozzles 153 may be adjusted according to the shape of the pattern.

[0073] Although the example has been described in which the structure formed by the liquid droplet ejection method of the first embodiment of the present invention has a rectangular cross-sectional shape when viewed from the first direction D1 and the second direction D2, the present invention is not limited thereto. FIG. 20 is a schematic view of a structure 159C. Although the structure 159C has a rectangular cross-sectional shape when viewed from the first direction D1, an end portion of the structure 159C may have an arc cross-sectional shape when the number of times the liquid droplets are ejected at the end portion of the structure 159C is smaller than the number of times the liquid droplets are ejected in the center portion of the structure 159C, depending on the number of times the liquid droplets are ejected, as viewed from the second direction D2, as shown in FIG. 20.REFERENCES SIGNS LIST

[0074] 100: liquid droplet eject device, 110: control unit, 111: acquisition unit, 113: setting unit, 115: drive control unit, 120: storage unit, 125: power supply unit, 130: drive unit, 140: mounting unit, 145: ink supply unit, 150: multi-nozzle head, 151: plate unit, 151o: through hole, 153: liquid droplet ejection nozzle, 153a: tip, 153ao: opening, 157-1: first liquid droplet, 157-2: second liquid droplet, 158-1: first structure, 158-2: second structure, 159: structure, 160: inspection device, 170: display unit, 180: operation unit, 190: adjustment unit, 200: object holding unit, 210: housing, 220: object, 500: data set, 500a: material name, 500b: viscosity, 500c: adjacent nozzle interval, 500d: temperature, 500e: ejection amount

Claims

1. A liquid droplet ejection method, comprising: using a multi-nozzle head including a plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles arranged at predetermined nozzle intervals in a first direction and ejecting liquid droplets; ejecting a first liquid droplet from a first electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle of the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles to a first liquid droplet ejection position of an object; scanning the multi-nozzle head in the first direction at a predetermined scanning speed; ejecting a second liquid droplet from a second electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle of the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles to the first liquid droplet ejection position; and ejecting a first liquid droplet from the first electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle to a second liquid droplet ejection position, wherein a shape of a first structure formed by the first liquid droplet and the second liquid droplet at the first liquid droplet ejection position is different from a shape of a second structure formed by the first liquid droplet at the second liquid droplet ejection position.

2. The liquid droplet ejection method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined nozzle interval is 20 µm or more and 500 µm or less.

3. The liquid droplet ejection method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined scanning speed is 0.00001 meters per second or more and 1 meter per second or less.

4. The liquid droplet ejection method according to claim 1, wherein a viscosity of a solvent of the liquid droplet is 0.1 cps or more and 100000 cps or less.

5. The liquid droplet ejection method according to claim 1, wherein an ejection amount at a time from the electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle is 0.00001 picoliters or more and 50 picoliters or less.

6. The liquid droplet ejection method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles include three or more electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles.

7. A liquid droplet ejection method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first structure and the second structure are connected to form a third structure, and the third structure has a rectangular cross-sectional shape when viewed from the first direction when satisfying a predetermined condition.

8. The liquid droplet ejection method according to claim 7, wherein an end portion of the third structure has a cross-sectional shape of an arc when viewed from a second direction intersecting the first direction.

9. A liquid droplet ejection device, comprising: a multi-nozzle head including a plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles arranged at predetermined nozzle intervals in a first direction for ejecting liquid droplets; and a control unit configured to: eject a first droplet from a first electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle among the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles to a first droplet ejection position of an object, scan the multi-nozzle head in the first direction at a predetermined scanning speed, eject a second liquid droplet from a second electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle among the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles to the first liquid droplet ejection position, and eject the first liquid droplet from the first electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzle to a second liquid droplet ejection position.

10. The liquid droplet ejection device according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined nozzle interval is 20 µm or more and 500 µm or less.

11. The liquid droplet ejection device according to claim 10, wherein the plurality of electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles include three or more electrostatic liquid droplet ejection nozzles.

12. The liquid droplet ejection device according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the control unit is configured to control the scanning speed based on a material of the liquid droplet.

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