Ink jet fabrication method

• US 6,712,986 B2
• Filed: 05/14/2001
• Issued: 03/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Zamtec Limited (Memjet Limited)
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia, McAvoy, Greg
• Primary Examiner(s): ALANKO, ANITA KAREN
• Application Number:
  US09/854,714
• Publication Number:
  US 20020040887A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,051 Days
• Field of Search: 216/27, 216/57, 216/67, 216/79, 216/99
• US Class Current: 216/27
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14 Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1433 Structure of nozzle plates
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14427 Structure of ink jet print heads with thermal bend detached actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16 Production of nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1623 bonding and adhesion
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1628 dry etching
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1629 wet etching
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1631 photolithography
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1632 machining
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1635 dividing the wafer into individual chips
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1637 molding
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1639 sacrificial molding
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1642 thin film formation by CVD [chemical vapor deposition]
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1648 Production of print heads with thermal bend detached actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17596 Ink pumps, ink valves
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/041 Electromagnetic transducer
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14346 Ejection by pressure produced by thermal deformation of ink chamber, e.g. buckling
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14435 Moving nozzle made of thermal bend detached actuator
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14475 characterised by nozzle shapes or number of orifices per chamber
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2202/15 Moving nozzle or nozzle plate
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49128 : Assembling formed circuit to base
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4913 : Assembling to base an electrical component, e.g., capacitor, etc.
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49155 : Manufacturing circuit on or in base
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49156 : with selective destruction of conductive paths
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49401 : Fluid pattern dispersing device making, e.g., ink jet

Abstract

A nozzle arrangement for an ink jet printhead includes a wafer substrate having a nozzle chamber defined therein. The nozzle arrangement has a nozzle chamber wall that defines an ink ejection port and a rim about the ink ejection port. A series of radially positioned actuators are connected to the wafer substrate and extend radially inwardly towards the rim. Each actuator is configured so that a radially inner edge of each actuator is displaceable, with respect to the nozzle rim, into the chamber, upon actuation of the actuator and so that, upon such displacement, a pressure within the nozzle chamber is increased, resulting in the ejection of ink from the ejection port.

Claims

1. A method of fabricating an ink jet nozzle arrangement on a wafer, the method comprising the steps of:

depositing a resistive heating material and a thermal expansion material on the wafer and etching the heating and thermal expansion material to form a thermo-electrical actuator of a micro-electromechanical ink ejection mechanism on one side of the wafer;

anisotropically wet etching said wafer from said one side to form a nozzle chamber; and

etching said wafer from an opposed side to form an ink supply channel in communication with the nozzle chamber for supplying ink to the nozzle chamber.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the wet etching includes crystallographically etching the wafer along predetermined planes.

3. The method of claim 2 which includes crystallographically etching the wafer along <

111>

planes.

4. The method of claim 1 which includes plasma etching the wafer from said opposed side.

5. The method of claim 4 which includes using an anisotropic etcher for plasma etching the wafer.

6. The method of claim 1 in which the step of etching the wafer from said opposed side incorporates the step of dicing the wafer.