Patent ID: 8038891

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a nozzle plate comprising: a lyophobic film forming step of preparing a nozzle plate having a recess-shaped counterbore section and a nozzle opened in a bottom surface of the counterbore section, and forming a lyophobic film on a surface of the nozzle plate including the bottom surface of the counterbore section of the nozzle plate and at least a portion of an inner wall of the nozzle, said counterbore section having a shape in which a peripheral region of the nozzle is recessed in a surface of the liquid ejection side of the nozzle plate; an abutting step of preparing a protective plate having a projecting section, and abutting a top surface of the projecting section of the protective plate against the bottom surface of the counterbore section of the nozzle plate in such a manner that the top surface of the projecting section of the protective plate makes tight contact with an opening edge of the nozzle on a liquid ejection side of the nozzle plate; a lyophobic film removing step of removing the lyophobic film from the inner wall of the nozzle of the nozzle plate by etching the nozzle plate from a liquid supply side which is opposite to a side of the nozzle plate that is abutted against the protective plate; and a separating step of separating the protective plate from the nozzle plate, wherein after forming the lyophobic film, the projecting section of the protective plate is abutted against a bottom surface of a recessed part of the counterbore section, from the liquid ejection side of the nozzle, the nozzle plate is etched while the top surface of the projecting section of the protective plate makes tight contact with the bottom surface of the counterbore section, and after removing the lyphobic film from the inner wall of the nozzle by etching, the protective plate is separated from the nozzle plate.