Seiko Epson Corporation

Seiko Epson Corportion

Harunobu Koike

Masao Nakayama

Toshihiro Shimizu

Tatsuo Sawasaki

Koji Sumi

Yasushi Yamazaki

Chihiro Nishi

Koichi Morozumi

Takanori Aimono

Motoki Takabe

Yasuhiro Itayama

Osamu Tonomura

Shunsuke Yoshida

Kazuya Kitada

Tomohiro Sakai

Takashi Aoki

Toshiaki Takahashi

Noritaka Mochizuki

A vibration plate includes a first layer containing silicon as a constituent element, a second layer containing a metal element other than zirconium as a constituent element, and a third layer containing zirconium as a constituent element. When a region of the vibration plate that overlaps with the pressure chamber and overlaps with the first electrode, the piezoelectric body layer, and the second electrode is an active region, and a region of the vibration plate that overlaps with the pressure chamber and does not overlap with the first electrode, the piezoelectric body layer, and the second electrode is an inactive region, the vibration plate has the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer in the active region, and has the first layer and the second layer and does not have the third layer in at least part of the inactive region.

Liquid ejecting head, liquid ejecting apparatus, and piezoelectric device

A method for producing a piezoelectric actuator including forming a vibration plate, forming a first electrode on the vibration plate, forming a piezoelectric layer on the first electrode, and forming a second electrode on the piezoelectric layer, wherein the forming the vibration plate has a single layer forming step including forming a metal layer containing zirconium by a gas phase method, and forming a metal oxide layer by firing the metal layer, the single layer forming step is repeated, thereby forming the vibration plate in which the metal oxide layers are stacked, and the metal oxide layer has a thickness less than 200 nm.

Method for producing piezoelectric actuator

A liquid ejecting head includes a piezoelectric element and a vibrating plate configured to vibrate in response to actuation of the piezoelectric element, the vibrating plate including a first layer that contains SiOand a second layer that contains ZrOand that is stacked on the first layer. The second layer contains a first impurity element different from Zr, and the concentration of the first impurity element at an interface in contact with the first layer in the second layer is higher than the concentration of the first impurity element in an internal region that is included in the second layer and that is contiguous from the interface to the surface of the second layer.

Liquid ejecting head, liquid ejecting apparatus, and actuator

The diaphragm includes a first layer containing silicon as a constituent element, a third layer disposed between the first layer and the piezoelectric actuator and containing zirconium as a constituent element, and a second layer disposed between the first layer and the third layer and containing at least one selected from the group consisting of a metal other than iron, silicon, and zirconium, a metalloid, and a semiconductor, as a constituent element, in the second layer and the third layer, a position with a highest concentration of impurities other than the constituent elements of the second layer and the third layer is in the second layer, a position with a highest concentration of zirconium is in the third layer, and a position with a highest concentration of silicon is in the first layer.

Piezoelectric device, liquid ejecting head, liquid ejecting apparatus, and method of manufacturing piezoelectric device

A substrate, a diaphragm, and a piezoelectric actuator are laminated in this order in a first direction, the diaphragm includes a first layer containing silicon as a constituent element, a second layer disposed between the first layer and the piezoelectric actuator, and containing any one or both of at least one metal element selected from the group made of chromium, titanium, aluminum, tantalum, hafnium, and iridium, and silicon nitride, as a constituent element, and a third layer disposed between the second layer and the piezoelectric actuator and containing zirconium as a constituent element, and a fourth layer containing any one or both of at least one metal element selected from the group made of chromium, titanium, aluminum, tantalum, hafnium, and iridium, and silicon nitride, as a constituent element is provided on the third layer on a piezoelectric actuator side.

Piezoelectric device and liquid ejecting head

A liquid ejection head includes: a piezoelectric body; an vibration plate to be vibrated by a drive of the piezoelectric body; and a pressure chamber substrate including a pressure chamber which applies a pressure to a liquid by an vibration of the vibration plate; the pressure chamber substrate, the vibration plate, and the piezoelectric body are laminated in this order; and the vibration plate includes: a first layer containing silicon as a constituent element, a second layer which is disposed between the first layer and the piezoelectric body and which contains as a constituent element, a metal element selected from chromium, titanium, and aluminum, and a third layer which is disposed between the second layer and the piezoelectric body and which contains zirconium as a constituent element.

Liquid ejection head, liquid ejection apparatus, piezoelectric device, and method for manufacturing piezoelectric device

A liquid ejecting head including a flow path forming substrate in which a pressure chamber in communication with a nozzle is formed, a diaphragm formed on the flow path forming substrate, and a piezoelectric actuator including a first electrode, a piezoelectric layer, and a second electrode that are formed on the diaphragm. In the liquid ejecting head, a center portion of the diaphragm is not provided with an active portion, which is a portion where the piezoelectric layer is interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, a protective film that covers the diaphragm is formed in the center portion, and compressive stress of the protective film is larger than that of the diaphragm.

Liquid ejecting head and liquid ejecting apparatus

A piezoelectric device includes a substrate, a diaphragm; and a piezoelectric actuator, in which the substrate, the diaphragm, and the piezoelectric actuator are laminated in this order in a first direction, the diaphragm includes a first layer containing silicon as a constituent element, a third layer disposed between the first layer and the piezoelectric actuator and containing zirconium as a constituent element, and a second layer disposed between the first layer and the third layer and containing at least one impurity element selected from the group consisting of a metal, a metalloid, and a semiconductor other than silicon and zirconium, as a constituent element, and the impurity element diffuses into the third layer.

The interface region may include a region in which first intensity is higher than second intensity and in which the first intensity is higher than third intensity, where a degree of orientation of the (&#x2212;211) crystal face of the second layer is denoted as the first intensity, the degree of orientation of the (&#x2212;111) crystal face of the second layer is denoted as the second intensity, and the degree of orientation of the (002) crystal face of the second layer is denoted as the third intensity. The surface-layer region may include a region in which the first intensity is higher than the third intensity and in which the second intensity is higher than the third intensity.

A recording head includes a pressure chamber and a piezoelectric actuator configured to change a volume of the pressure chamber. The piezoelectric actuator includes a vibration plate forming one wall surface of the pressure chamber, a lower electrode formed on the vibration plate, a piezoelectric body formed on the lower electrode, and an upper electrode formed on the piezoelectric body and the vibration plate. When viewed from a &#xb1;Z direction orthogonal to the vibration plate, the lower electrode and the piezoelectric body do not overlap a central portion of the pressure chamber, when viewed from the &#xb1;Z direction, the lower electrode, the piezoelectric body, and the upper electrode overlap an end portion of the pressure chamber, and when viewed from the &#xb1;Z direction, the upper electrode overlaps the central portion of the pressure chamber.

Liquid discharge head

A liquid ejecting head including a flow path forming substrate in which a pressure chamber is formed, a diaphragm, and a piezoelectric actuator. The piezoelectric actuator includes an active portion in which a piezoelectric layer is interposed between a first electrode and a second electrode. The active portion, in plan view, overlaps at least a portion of the pressure chamber and is provided so as to extend to an outside of the pressure chamber. The pressure chamber is formed so that, the closer to the piezoelectric actuator in a layered direction of the flow path forming substrate and the diaphragm, a width of the pressure chamber in a direction intersecting the layered direction becomes smaller.

Provided is a piezoelectric element including a first electrode provided above a substrate, a piezoelectric layer including a plurality of crystal grains containing potassium, sodium, and niobium and provided above the first electrode, and a second electrode provided above the piezoelectric layer. An atom concentration N(atm %) of potassium contained in grain boundaries of the crystal grains and an atom concentration N(atm %) of potassium contained in the crystal grains satisfy a relationship of 1.0&#x3c;N/N&#x2264;2.4.

Piezoelectric element and liquid ejecting head

A liquid discharge head includes: a nozzle plate provided with a nozzle hole that discharges a liquid; a silicon substrate provided with a pressure chamber that is connected with the nozzle hole; a diaphragm provided on the silicon substrate; and a piezoelectric element that is provided on the diaphragm and that changes a volume of the pressure chamber, where: the diaphragm includes a zirconium oxide layer; the zirconium oxide layer has (&#x2212;111) preferred orientation; and in X-ray diffraction of the diaphragm, a difference between a position of (002) peak of the zirconium oxide layer and a position of (220) peak of the silicon substrate is 13.26&#xb0; or more and 13.30&#xb0; or less.

Growing community of inventors

Matsumoto, Japan

Harunobu Koike