Liquid discharge head and method of manufacturing the same

Patterning is performed to thermal oxide films 12a and 12b formed on both surface sides of a silicon substrate in which crystal orientation of a surface is (100) or (110), a liquid chamber pattern and a liquid supplying port pattern are formed, and a liquid chamber and a liquid supplying port are formed separately by anisotropically etching the silicon substrate from both surface sides at the same time. Then, a silicon nitride film is deposited with a low pressure chemical vapor deposition to both surface sides of the silicon substrate and all faces of the liquid chamber and the liquid supplying port which are formed by etching. As a result, when the silicon substrate is used for a top plate, stiffness of the top plate is improved, design freedom of the liquid chamber and the liquid supplying port is increased, misalignment is prevented in bonding to the substrate, degradation of ejecting performance is prevented, and a liquid discharge head having high preciseness and high reliability can be provided.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a liquid discharge head which ejects (discharges) a droplet to adhere to a recording medium and performs printing, image formation, or the like, and a method of manufacturing the same.

2. Related Background Art

The liquid discharge method (inkjet recording method) includes plural orifices ejecting a liquid such as ink, plural liquid channels which are communicated with each orifice, and plural discharge energy generating elements which are arranged in each liquid channel. The liquid discharge method is one of non-impact recording methods in which ejecting energy is given to the liquid by applying a driving signal to the discharge energy generating element and the printing, the image formation, or the like is performed by ejecting the liquid from the orifice. The liquid discharge method is characterized in that high-speed recording can be performed with a low noise level and fine image can be obtained at a low cost. Further, such kind of liquid discharge method can perform the printing, the image formation, or the like to recording media such as paper, string, fiber, cloth, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, and ceramic. The liquid discharge method can be applied to printers as a peripheral of a computer, printing systems such as a copying machine, a facsimile having a communication system, and a word processor, and industrial recording devices combined with various kinds of processing devices, and the liquid discharge method is rapidly becoming widespread in recent years. For such kind of liquid discharge method, there have been proposed and improved various methods in which some of them are available in the market and some of them are under development.

For example, as shown inFIG. 7, the liquid discharge head in such kind of liquid discharge method includes an element substrate202having an energy generating element (heating element)202which generates the ejecting energy to the liquid, a top plate203which has a liquid chamber (not shown) storing the liquid and a liquid supplying port205supplying the liquid to the liquid chamber and forms liquid channels204by being bonded to the element substrate201, and an orifice plate206having fine orifices207for ejecting the liquid.

The top plate203is essential to form the liquid channel204, and the top plate203is the important element affecting ejecting performance of the liquid discharge head. That is, various proposals have been made for the top plate203of the liquid discharge head, in which good bonding properties and precise structure are required in order to prevent crosstalk of each liquid channel and to keep the ejecting speed constant.

When the top plate is formed by using a silicon material in the prior art, the top plate is produced through a step shown inFIGS. 8Ato8F and9A to9F.

FIGS. 8Ato8F show a step of manufacturing the top plate used for a single color liquid discharge head.FIGS. 8Dto8F are sectional views taken on line8D—8D ofFIG. 8A, line8E—8E ofFIG. 8B, and line8F—8F ofFIG. 8Crespectively. Thermal oxide films112aand112bare formed on a surface on the side where a liquid chamber115is formed (hereinafter referred to as liquid chamber surface) and the surface on the side where a liquid supplying port116is formed (hereinafter referred to as liquid supplying port surface) respectively in a silicon substrate111shown in a chip state. As shown inFIGS. 8A and 8D, patterning is performed to the thermal oxide film112aon the liquid chamber surface side by photolithography to form a liquid chamber pattern113. Then, the patterned silicon substrate111is etched by an anisotropic etching technique to make a hole through the silicon substrate111, as shown inFIGS. 8B and 8E. An aqueous TMAH (tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide) solution (for example, TMAH-22 which is a product of Kanto Kagaku) is used as the etching solution for the anisotropic etching, and the through hole is made by the etching though the silicon substrate111having a thickness of 625 μm. Then, by removing the thermal oxide films112aand112bwith wet etching, as shown inFIGS. 8C and 8F, the liquid chamber surface side of the through hole in the silicon substrate111becomes the liquid chamber115, the opposite surface of the through hole becomes the liquid supplying port116, and a top plate110used for the single color liquid discharge head is produced.

FIGS. 9Ato9F show a step of manufacturing a top plate used for a three-color liquid discharge head.FIGS. 9Ato9C are sectional views taken on line9A—9A ofFIG. 9D, line9B—9B ofFIG. 9E, and line9C—9C ofFIG. 9Frespectively. The thermal oxide films112aand112bare formed on the liquid chamber surface and the liquid supplying port surface of the silicon substrate111shown in the chip state. As shown inFIGS. 9A and 9D, the patterning is performed to the thermal oxide film112aon the liquid chamber surface side by the photolithography to form the three liquid chamber patterns113. Then, in the same way as described above, the patterned silicon substrate111is etched by the anisotropic etching technique to make the hole through the silicon substrate111, as shown inFIGS. 9B and 9E. Then, by removing the thermal oxide films112aand112bwith the wet etching, as shown inFIGS. 9C and 9F, the liquid chamber surface side of the three through holes in the silicon substrate111becomes the liquid chambers115, the opposite surface of the three through holes becomes each liquid supplying port116which communicates with each liquid chamber115, and the top plate110used for the three-color liquid discharge head is produced.

The high-speed and fine recording is required as recording technology progresses in recent years, so that weight reduction is required and the smaller top plate is formed in the liquid discharge head. In order to be adapted for various kinds of ink, it is necessary not to expose the ink to faces of the silicon as much as possible. Further, it is necessary to provide an alignment mark for performing electric connection and increasing adhesive properties between a liquid supplying member and the top plate, which supplies the liquid (ink) to the liquid chamber in the top plate after the top plate is bonded to the element substrate, to improve prevention of color mixing.

However, as shown inFIGS. 8Ato8F andFIGS. 9Ato9F, in the case of the method in which the liquid chamber is formed on the silicon substrate to form the top plate, the hole of the liquid supplying port is decreased as a size of the top plate is decreased, so that the sufficient amount of liquid can not be obtained for the high-speed printing. When the liquid chamber is enlarged by decreasing the size of the top plate, stiffness of the top plate is reduced, as a result, lifting of the top plate or the crosstalk occurs when the top plate is bonded to the element substrate. Since the pattern can not be formed on an upper portion of the top plate, a problem is created such that the alignment mark for the electric connection and improvement of adhesive properties of the liquid supplying member supplying the liquid can not be also formed. There is also the problem that the ink reacts with the silicon in the case of only the etching plane (111) of the silicon and the silicon is dissolved to generate kogation in the heating element (heater) because the liquid discharge head is used for various kinds of ink.

In the case of a full-line head in which the plural orifices (ejecting port) are arranged over recordable region of the recording medium, since the stiffness of the top plate is reduced, warping is generated between the top plate and the element substrate and the top plate, where the discharge energy generating elements are arranged, which results in displacement between the top plate and the element substrate. As a result, the bonding is not successful and the ejecting performance is affected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to provide a liquid discharge head, in which the stiffness of the top plate and design freedom of the liquid chamber and the liquid supplying port are improved, the displacement between the element substrate and the top plate can be prevented in the bonding, degradation of the ejecting (discharge) performance is prevented, the accuracy is high, and reliability is high when the silicon substrate is used for the top plate.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a liquid discharge head of the invention comprises a first substrate in which a discharge energy generating element for ejecting a liquid is arranged and a liquid channel wall dividing a liquid channel for guiding the liquid is formed and a second substrate in which a liquid chamber storing the liquid is formed on one surface thereof and a liquid supplying port receiving the liquid supplied to the liquid chamber is formed on the other surface thereof, the first substrate and the second substrate being bonded, wherein the liquid chamber differs from the liquid supplying port in a shape, the liquid chamber and the liquid supplying port are formed at one time from both surface sides of the second substrate.

A method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head of the invention, having a first substrate in which discharge energy generating elements for ejecting a liquid are arranged and a liquid channel wall dividing a liquid channel for guiding the liquid is formed and a second substrate in which a liquid chamber storing the liquid is formed on one surface thereof and a liquid supplying port receiving the liquid supplied to the liquid chamber is formed on the other surface thereof, the first substrate and the second substrate being bonded, the method of comprising a step of forming the liquid chamber and the liquid supplying port at one time from both surface sides of the second substrate.

In the liquid discharge head of the invention and the method of manufacturing the same, it is preferable that a material of the second substrate is silicon and the liquid chamber and the liquid supplying port are formed by etching, and it is preferable that crystal orientation of the surface is (100) or (110) in the second substrate.

In the liquid discharge head of the invention and the method of manufacturing the same, it is preferable that they comprises a step of coating the second substrate with an ink resistance film formed by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method after the step of forming the liquid chamber and the liquid supplying port of the second substrate at one time from the both surface sides of the second substrate.

In the liquid discharge head of the invention and the method of manufacturing the same, a plurality of grooves may be formed on the liquid supplying port surface of the second substrate, the plurality of liquid supplying ports may be formed on the second substrate, and the plurality of grooves may be formed between the adjacent liquid supplying ports. Also, in the method of manufacturing a liquid discharge head of the invention, an alignment mark for electric connection may be formed on the surface where the liquid supplying port is formed in the second substrate.

According to the liquid discharge head of the invention and the method of manufacturing the same, the top plate having the high stiffness can be precisely produced by forming the liquid chamber and the liquid supplying port of the top plate (second substrate) at one time from both surface sides of the substrate. Further, various kinds of liquids (ink) can be used by coating the second substrate by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method after the liquid chamber and the liquid supplying port are formed at one time from both surface sides of the substrate.

By forming the liquid chamber and the liquid supplying port with the etching at one time from both surface sides of the silicon substrate, design freedom of the liquid chamber and the liquid supplying port is increased, the stiffness of the top plate can be improved, preciseness of alignment can be improved in bonding to the substrate or connection of the liquid supplying member, degradation of the ejecting performance can be prevented, and the liquid discharge head having high reliability and high preciseness can be obtained. Since the top plate of the invention has high stiffness, even if the top plate is used for the full line head, the warp never occurs in the top plate, misalignment can be prevented in the bonding, and the degradation of ejecting performance can be prevented. Consequently, the liquid discharge head, in which crosstalk never occurs and the ejecting performance is stable, can be obtained.

The liquid discharge head having the high preciseness and the high reliability can be provided in such a manner that the alignment mark for the electric connection or the bonding groove of the liquid supplying member is formed with the liquid supplying port at one time on the liquid supplying port surface side of the top plate.

Further, in the liquid discharge head of the invention, it is preferable that a movable member is provided on the first substrate and the movable member is located so as to oppose the discharge energy generating element, and it is preferable that an upward displacement control member which controls upward displacement of the movable member is formed in the liquid channel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will be described below referring to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1is a schematically perspective view, partly broken away to show an embodiment of the liquid discharge head according to the invention,FIG. 2is a schematically sectional view of the embodiment of the liquid discharge head according to the invention, andFIGS. 3Ato3H is a view showing a step of manufacturing a top plate used for a single color liquid discharge head in the embodiment of the liquid discharge head according to the invention.FIGS. 3Eto3H are sectional views taken on line3E—3E ofFIG. 3A, line3F—3F ofFIG. 3B, line3G—3G ofFIG. 3C, and line3H—3H ofFIG. 3Drespectively.

First of all the top plate used for single color liquid discharge head of the embodiment will be described referring toFIGS. 3Ato3H showing its manufacturing step.

InFIGS. 3Ato3H, thermal oxide films12aand12bare formed on a surface on the side where a liquid chamber15is formed (hereinafter referred to as liquid chamber surface) and the surface on the side where a liquid supplying port16is formed (hereinafter referred to as liquid supplying port surface) respectively in a silicon substrate11shown in a chip state in which both surface sides are polished to a mirror surface. Then, as shown inFIGS. 3A and 3E, the patterning is performed to the thermal oxide films12aand12bby the photolithography to form one liquid chamber pattern13on the liquid chamber surface and liquid supplying port patterns14(though three liquid supplying ports are provided inFIGS. 3Ato3H, the number of liquid supplying ports can be properly set) on the liquid supplying port surface respectively. In the patterning method, after the patterning is performed to one of the surfaces, the patterning is easily performed on the opposite surface by aligning the alignment mark of a mask and the alignment mark of the patterned surface with image recognition in a double-sided aligner (for example, MA6 which is a product name of Karl Suss). As shown inFIGS. 3A and 3E, the patterned silicon substrate11is obtained in such a manner that the patterning of the liquid chamber pattern13is performed on one of the surfaces and the patterning of the liquid supplying port pattern14is performed on the other surface.FIGS. 3B and 3Fshow the state in which the patterned silicon substrate11is half-etched by using the aqueous TMAH (tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide) solution (for example, TMAH-22 which is a product of Kanto Kagaku) as the etching solution. A temperature is set to 80° C. and a TMAH concentration is set to 22% in etching conditions. In such etching, when surface crystal orientation of the silicon substrate11is (100), the etching progresses with an angle of 54.7°, and the surface having the crystal orientation (111) remains finally as the surface which is not etched. As described above, when the anisotropic etching is performed in the silicon substrate in which the patterning of the different patterns of the liquid chamber pattern13and the liquid supplying port pattern14is performed, the etching progresses from both sides of the liquid chamber pattern13of the liquid chamber and the liquid supplying port pattern14of the liquid supplying port, and pierces the silicon substrate11. Consequently, the holes having a shape shown inFIGS. 3C and 3Gare made. The etching is performed by using TMAH-22, which is the product of Kanto Kagaku, as the etching solution, and the etching pierces through the silicon substrate11having the thickness of 625 μm. In the silicon substrate11produced by the above-described way, as shown inFIGS. 3C and 3G, the liquid chamber15and the liquid supplying port16are formed at different positions. The liquid chamber15is etched to only a half degree compared with the prior art, so that the liquid chamber15and the liquid supplying port16can be provided at an arbitrary position and the stiffness of the silicon substrate11can be also increased. The liquid chamber15and the liquid supplying port16, which have appropriate shapes different from each other, are formed on the silicon substrate in such a manner that the patterning of the liquid chamber pattern13and the liquid supplying port pattern14is performed with the appropriate shape.

The liquid chamber and the liquid supplying port can be also formed respectively in such a manner that the above-described anisotropic etching is performed with the silicon substrate having the surface crystal orientation (110).

After the thermal oxide films12aand12bof the silicon substrate11, in which the anisotropic etching is completed, are removed by the wet etching, as shown inFIGS. 3D and 3H, a silicon nitride film19is deposited to the both surfaces of the silicon substrate11and all faces of the liquid chamber15and the liquid supplying port16, which are formed by the etching, with the low pressure chemical vapor deposition method (LPCVD). As described above, various kinds of ink can be used by coating the surfaces of the silicon substrate11with a material having ink resistance.

The liquid discharge head in which the silicon substrate11formed in the above-described way is built in as the top plate10will be described below referring toFIGS. 1 and 2.

In the element substrate1, the plural heating elements2(electrothermal energy conversion element) as the discharge energy generating element and plural Al leads3for supplying an electric signal to the heating element2are formed on the silicon substrate by a semiconductor process, a movable member4is provided above the heating element2so as to correspond to each heating element2. Plural liquid channel walls5for forming the liquid channel corresponding to each of the plural heating elements2are formed by performing the patterning after a photosensitive resin layer is laminated on the element substrate1. In the same way, a liquid chamber frame6is formed simultaneously on the element substrate1.

The top plate10is bonded to the element substrate1in which various parts are formed in the above-described way. As described above, the liquid chamber15and the liquid supplying port16are formed in the top plate10, and an upward displacement control member20which controls the upward displacement of the movable member4is formed corresponding to the movable member4. The upward displacement control member20can be formed by performing the patterning after the photosensitive resin is formed by application or lamination at the position corresponding to the movable member4of the liquid chamber surface of the top plate10. The top plate10is aligned with the alignment mark, bonded to the liquid channel wall5and the liquid chamber frame6through an adhesive, and combined with the element substrate1. An epoxy adhesive, in which cure shrinkage is finished by becoming B-stage with UV irradiation while tacking properties are held and the curing occurs by heating, is used as the adhesive. In the epoxy adhesive, the bonding can be also performed only by thermo-compression bonding. The epoxy adhesive is transferred with heat to the liquid channel wall5and the liquid chamber frame6, the adhesive is activated with UV irradiation, and then the top plate10is bonded to the element substrate1by the thermo-compression bonding. A head body, in which a liquid channel7is formed, is produced by bonding the element substrate1and the top plate10.

An orifice plate8, in which an orifice9ejecting the liquid is formed, is aligned so that the orifice9corresponds to the liquid channel7, and bonded to the opened surface of the liquid channel7of the head body through the adhesive, and then the liquid discharge head is completed.

In the liquid discharge head which is constructed in the above-described way, when the heating element2is driven to be heated, the heat acts on the liquid (ink) between the heating element2and the movable member4and a bubble is generated on the basis of a boiling phenomenon. Pressure caused by growth of the bubble acts on the movable member4to largely displace a free end portion. Propagation of the pressure caused by the generation of the bubble and the growth of the bubble itself are guided to the orifice9side by the displacement of the movable member4and the liquid is efficiently ejected from the orifice9. Ejecting performance such as ejecting efficiency or ejecting speed of the liquid can be improved by providing the movable member4. The unnecessary displacement of the movable member4can be blocked by providing the upward displacement control member20which controls the upward displacement of the movable member4in the top plate10. When the heating element2stops driving and the heating is finished, the bubble starts vanishing and the movable member4rapidly returns to the initial state during the vanishing of the bubble. At this point, in order to refill a volume of the ejected liquid, the liquid flows from the liquid chamber15to perform the refilling of the liquid, and the stably refilling is efficiently and rationally performed by the rapid returning action of the movable member4.

As described above, when the printing is performed by using the liquid discharge head which is produced in such a manner that the top plate10formed by the embodiment is bonded to the element substrate1and the orifice plate8is bonded, the top plate10is not peeled off, the crosstalk never occurs, misdirection or nonuniformity of the printing is not generated, the good printing is obtained, and stable ejecting characteristics can be achieved. Further, when the liquid discharge head is disassembled, the top plate10and the liquid channel wall5are completely bonded.

Another embodiment of the liquid discharge head according to the invention will be described below referring toFIGS. 4Ato4H.FIGS. 4Ato4H show a step of manufacturing a top plate used for a three-color liquid discharge head in the embodiment.FIGS. 4Ato4D are sectional views taken on line4A—4A ofFIG. 4E, line4B—4B ofFIG. 4F, line4C—4C ofFIG. 4G, and line4D—4D ofFIG. 4Hrespectively.

At first, the top plate used for the three-color liquid discharge head in the embodiment will be described referring toFIGS. 4Ato4H showing the step of manufacturing the top plate. The same member as that used in the above-described embodiment is indicated by the same reference numeral in this embodiment.

InFIGS. 4Ato4H, the thermal oxide films12aand12bare formed on the liquid chamber surface and the liquid supplying port surface respectively in the silicon substrate11shown in the chip state in which both surface sides are polished to the mirror surface. Then, as shown inFIGS. 4A and 4E, the patterning is performed to the thermal oxide films12aand12bby the photolithography, and the three liquid chambers patterns13and the three liquid supplying port patterns14are formed on the liquid chamber surface and the liquid supplying port surface respectively so that the three liquid chambers patterns13are placed in superposed relation with the three liquid supplying port patterns14. The patterning method can be formed in the same way as the above-described embodiment.FIGS. 4B and 4Fshow the state in which the patterned silicon substrate11shown inFIGS. 4A and 4Eis half-etched by using the etching solution, e.g., TMAH-22 which is the product of Kanto Kagaku. The temperature is set to 80° C. and the TMAH concentration is set to 22% in the etching conditions. In such etching, when the surface crystal orientation of the silicon substrate11is (100), the etching progresses with the angle of 54.7°, and the surface having the crystal orientation (111) remains finally as the surface which is not etched. As described above, when the anisotropic etching is performed in the silicon substrate in which the patterning of the different patterns of the liquid chamber pattern13and the liquid supplying port pattern14is performed, the etching progresses from both sides of the liquid chamber pattern13of the liquid chamber and the liquid supplying port pattern14of the liquid supplying port, and pierces the silicon substrate11. Consequently, the holes having the shape shown inFIGS. 4C and 4Gare made. The etching is performed by using TMAH-22, which is the product of Kanto Kagaku, as the etching solution, and the etching pierces though the silicon substrate11having the thickness of 625 μm. In the silicon substrate11produced by the above-described way, as shown inFIGS. 4C and 4G, the three liquid supplying ports16, which are communicated with the three liquid chambers15respectively, are formed, and the liquid chamber15and the liquid supplying port16are separately formed. Further, the liquid chamber15is etched to only the half degree compared with the prior art, so that the liquid chamber15and the liquid supplying port16can be provided at an arbitrary position and the stiffness of the silicon substrate11can be also increased.

After the thermal oxide films12aand12bof the silicon substrate11, in which the anisotropic etching is completed, are removed by the wet etching, as shown inFIGS. 4D and 4H, the silicon nitride film19is deposited to the both surfaces of the silicon substrate11and all faces of the liquid chamber15and the liquid supplying port16, which are formed by the etching, with the low pressure chemical vapor deposition method (LPCVD). As described above, various kinds of ink can be used by coating the surfaces of the silicon substrate11with the material having ink resistance.

In the same way as the above-described embodiment, the silicon substrate11having the three liquid chambers15and the three liquid supplying ports16, which are formed in the above-described way, is used as the top plate10and built in the three-color liquid discharge head, and then the liquid discharge head can be completed. That is, similarly to the liquid discharge head shown inFIG. 1, the silicon substrate11having the liquid chamber15divided into three chambers is used as the top plate10and bonded to the element substrate1, and the three-color liquid discharge head is completed by bonding the orifice plate8. When the printing is performed by using the liquid discharge head which is produced in the above-described way, the top plate is not peeled off, the crosstalk never occurs, misdirection or nonuniformity of the printing is not generated, the good printing is obtained, and stable ejecting characteristics can be achieved. Further, when the liquid discharge head is disassembled, the top plate10and the liquid channel wall5are completely bonded.

Still another embodiment of the liquid discharge head according to the invention will be described below referring toFIGS. 5A,5B,6A and6B.FIGS. 5A and 5Bshow the top plate used for the single color liquid discharge head in the embodiment, andFIG. 5Ais a sectional view taken on line5A—5A of FIG.5B.FIGS. 6A and 6Bshow the top plate used for the three-color liquid discharge head in the embodiment, andFIG. 6Bis a sectional view taken on line6B—6B of FIG.6A.

The top plate used for the liquid discharge head in the embodiment will be described referring toFIGS. 5A,5B,6A and6B. The same member as that used in the above-described embodiments is also indicated by the same reference numeral in the embodiment.

As shown inFIGS. 5A and 5BandFIGS. 6A and 6B, in the embodiment, an alignment mark30for electric connection of the element substrate and plural grooves31for improving the adhesive properties of the liquid supplying member supplying the liquid to the liquid chamber are formed on the liquid supplying port surface of the top plate10(silicon substrate11), and the alignment mark30and the plural grooves31are formed simultaneously during the formation of the liquid chamber15and the liquid supplying port16. That is, after the thermal oxide films are formed on the liquid chamber surface and the liquid supplying port surface of the silicon substrate11respectively, while the patterning of the liquid chamber pattern is performed on the liquid chamber surface by the photolithography, the patterning of the liquid supplying port pattern is performed on the liquid supplying port surface by the photolithography. At this point, the pattern of the alignment mark30for the electric connection and the pattern of the plural grooves31for improving the adhesive properties of the liquid supplying member are formed simultaneously. The pattern of the plural grooves31is arranged between the adjacent patterns of the liquid supplying port. The silicon substrate11in which the patterning has been performed is etched with the etching solution. The etching is started from the liquid chamber pattern13on the liquid chamber surface and the liquid supplying port pattern14on the liquid supplying port surface in a manner that anisotropically etches the patterned silicon substrate, the etching pierces through the silicon substrate11, and, as shown inFIGS. 5A and 5BandFIGS. 6A and 6B, the liquid chamber15and the liquid supplying port16communicated with the liquid chamber15are formed. At the same time, the alignment mark30for the electric connection and the plural grooves31are formed on the liquid supplying port surface of the silicon substrate11.

Then, after the thermal oxide film of the silicon substrate11, in which the anisotropic etching is finished, is removed by the wet etching, similarly to the above-described embodiments, the silicon nitride film19is deposited on the both surfaces of the silicon substrate11and all the faces of the liquid chamber15and the liquid supplying port16, which are formed by the etching.

As described above, in the embodiment, the liquid chamber15and the liquid supplying port16are formed simultaneously from each side of the substrate, so that the stiffness of the top plate10(silicon substrate11) can be highly maintained and the liquid supplying port pattern can be decreased on the liquid supplying port surface of the silicon substrate11, which allows the formation of the patterns of the alignment mark30and the plural grooves31. Accordingly, the plural grooves31for improving the adhesive properties of the liquid supplying member supplying the liquid to the liquid chamber and the alignment mark30for the electric connection can be easily formed between the plural liquid supplying ports16. In addition to the effects in the above-described embodiments, the liquid supplying member for supplying the liquid to the liquid chamber can be firmly bonded to the liquid supplying port16by involving the plural grooves31, the prevention of the color mixing can be improved, and the electric connection of the element substrate can be easily and precisely connected by using the alignment mark30in such a manner that the silicon substrate11is used as the top plate10and built in the liquid discharge head in the same way as the above-described embodiments.

Further, in the top plate in the liquid discharge head of the invention, since the stiffness can be improved, the warp never occurs in the top plate, the displacement can be prevented in the bonding to the element substrate, and the top plate can be applied to the liquid discharge head in the line shape. That is, since the top plate has the high stiffness and the warp never occurs even in the so-called full line head in which the plural liquid ejecting port are arranged over the recordable region of the recording medium, the displacement can be prevented in the bonding, the degradation of the ejecting performance can be prevented, the stable ejecting characteristics can be obtained without the crosstalk.