Thermal head for printers.

摘要

The invention relates to a thermal head for ink-jet printers or thermal printers, which has an array of heat generating zones on a substrate having an insulating surface. Each heat generating zone is defined between two opposite electrodes which are formed by patterning a conductor film deposited on the insulating surface of the substrate. That is, in the heat generating zones the conductor film is absent. A patterned resistor film, which is an anodically oxidizable film such as tantalum film, covers the electrodes and the insulating surface in the heat generating zones, and a surface layer of the resistor film is anodically oxidized to provide a protective layer. In this thermal head the anodic oxidation of the resistor film can be performed under optimal conditions since the conductor film is entirely covered with the resistor film. Therefore the thermal head becomes very good in durability, and it is possible to greatly reduce the thickness of the unoxidized part of the resistor film to thereby enhance responsiveness and reduce power consumption. <IMAGE>