In a direct fuel injection engine in Which the fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber, fuel injection timing is set so that the fuel is injected in a period during the suction stroke and the compression stroke in Which the exhaust valve is closed to avoid discharging the unburned fuel. Consequently, time available for the evaporation of the fuel, i.e., time from fuel injection to ignition, is short. Therefore, the fuel must be injected through a fuel injector in small particles to promote the evaporation of the fuel and the mixing of the fuel With air. As is generally known, the