Method of manufacturing liquid-jet head and liquid-jet head

Abstract

Included are the steps of: forming piezoelectric elements on a surface of a passage-forming substrate with a vibration plate in between, and forming a penetrating portion by removing an area in the vibration plate, which area will serve as a communicating portion; forming lead electrodes and sealing up the penetrating portion with an interconnect layer; joining a reservoir forming plate to a surface of a passage-forming substrate; forming liquid passages by wet-etching; forming protection films on inner surfaces of the liquid passages; detaching and removing a protection film on an interconnect layer; and causing a reservoir portion and a communicating portion to communicate with each other by removing a corresponding part of the interconnect layer, and in accordance with the manufacturing method, while the liquid passages are being formed, the communicating portion is formed in a way that an edge of an opening of the vibration plate is located outside an edge of an opening which is close to the penetrating portion, and in a way that at least the edge of the opening of the penetrating portion is thus configured of only any one of the vibration plate and the interconnect layer.

1 . A liquid-jet head comprising:
 a passage-forming substrate, in which liquid passages including pressure generating chambers and a communicating portion are formed, the pressure generating chambers communicating respectively with nozzle orifices from which to eject a liquid, and the communicating portion communicating with the pressure generating chambers;   protection films, which are provided respectively to inner surfaces of the liquid passages, and which have resistance to the liquid;   piezoelectric elements, which are provided to one side of the passage-forming substrate with a vibration plate interposed between the group of the piezoelectric elements and the passage-forming substrate, and each of which includes a lower electrode, a piezoelectric layer and an upper electrode;   lead electrodes drawn out respectively from the piezoelectric elements; and   a reservoir forming plate joined to a surface of the passage-forming substrate, over which surface the piezoelectric elements are formed, the reservoir forming plate including a reservoir portion which communicates with the communicating portion through a penetrating portion provided to the vibration plate, and which thus constitutes a part of reservoir,   wherein an interconnect layer is included on an area in the vibration plate, which area corresponds to a peripheral part around an opening of the communicating portion, the interconnect layer being made of the same layer as the lead electrodes are made, but being separated from the lead electrodes, and   wherein at least a part of the interconnect layer is provided continuously to an inner periphery surface of the penetrating portion, and thus a surface of an area in the vibration plate, which area corresponds to the reservoir, is covered with the interconnect layer and the protection film.   
     
     
         2 . The liquid-jet head according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the interconnect layer includes an adhesion layer and a metal layer formed on the adhesion layer, and   wherein the adhesion layer in the interconnect layer is formed continuously from a peripheral part around the penetrating portion to an inner peripheral surface thereof.