Inkjet printhead chip with densely packed nozzles

• US 6,921,150 B2
• Filed: 05/26/2004
• Issued: 07/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Zamtec Limited (Memjet Limited)
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia
• Primary Examiner(s): Gordon, Raquel Yvette
• Application Number:
  US10/853,227
• Publication Number:
  US 20040257400A1
• Time in Patent Office: 426 Days
• Field of Search: 347/40, 347/20, 347/5, 347/9, 347/1, 347/7, 347/47, 347/49, 347/50, 347/21, 347/84, 347/85, 347/86
• US Class Current: 347/40
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 2201/00 Polymeric substrate or laminate
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 3/08 by flames
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04528 aiming at warming up the head
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04541 Specific driving circuit
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04543 Block driving
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04553 detecting ambient temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04563 detecting head temperature; Ink temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04571 detecting viscosity
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04585 controlling heads based on thermal bent actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04588 using a specific waveform
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04591 Width of the driving signal being adjusted
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04596 Non-ejecting pulses
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14 Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14427 Structure of ink jet print heads with thermal bend detached actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1623 bonding and adhesion
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1626 etching
• 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 2/1639 : sacrificial molding
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1642 : thin film formation by CVD [chemical vapor deposition]
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1646 : thin film formation by sputtering
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1648 : Production of print heads with thermal bend detached actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14419 : Manifold
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14491 : Electrical connection
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49345 : Catalytic device making

Abstract

An inkjet printhead chip includes a substrate that incorporates drive circuitry. A plurality of nozzle arrangements is positioned on the substrate. Each nozzle arrangement includes a nozzle chamber wall and a roof wall positioned on the substrate to define a nozzle chamber, the roof wall defining an ink ejection port in fluid communication with the nozzle chamber. The nozzles are densely packed on the printhead substrate for greater resolution and print quality. The nozzles are arranged in rows with each row offset relative to its adjacent rows to reduce the effective nozzle pitch across the printhead. The printhead is high speed and energy efficient by ejecting relatively low mass drops at a high frequency.

Claims

1. An inkjet printhead including an ink supply device for providing ink of a certain color, comprising:

a printhead substrate; and

a plurality of ink drop generators fluidically coupled to the ink supply device and formed in the printhead substrate in a density of greater than approximately ten ink drop generators per square millimeter of the printhead substrate, the plurality of ink drop generators arranged in at least four staggered axis groups along axes that are approximately parallel and spaced transverse to each other.

2. The ink jet printhead of claim 1, wherein each one of the plurality of ink drop generators includes a firing resistor having a resistance of at least seventy ohms.

3. The ink jet printhead of claim 1, wherein each of the axis groups of ink drop generators is grouped into a plurality of primitives with each of the primitives commonly coupled to a single ground lead on the printhead substrate.

4. The ink jet printhead of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of ink drop generators includes a thin-film resistor structure having a resistance of at least seventy ohms.

5. The ink jet printhead of claim 1, wherein the plurality of ink drop generators arranged along the axes are staggered with respect to each of the axes to decrease an effective printhead pitch to approximately one-fourth that of a plurality of ink drop generators arranged along a single axis.

6. The ink jet printhead of claim 1, wherein each of the at least four axis groups of ink drop generators includes at least one-hundred ink drop generators.

7. The ink jet printhead of claim 1, wherein the plurality of ink drop generators operates at an ejection frequency of greater than approximately twelve kilohertz.

8. A fluid ejection device, comprising:

a printhead substrate;

at least three-hundred fifty ink drop generators disposed on the printhead substrate and disposed within a compact area of less than approximately thirty six square millimeters.

9. A fluid ejection device of claim 8, wherein the compact area has a length of less than approximately twelve millimeters and a width of less than approximately three millimeters.

10. A fluid ejection device of claim 8, wherein the ink drop generators are configured as:

a first plurality of ink drop generators arranged along a first axis to form a first axis group;

a second plurality of ink drop generators arranged along a second axis to form a second axis group and staggered with respect to the first axis group;

a third plurality of ink drop generators arranged along a third axis to form a third axis group and staggered with respect to the first and second axis groups;

wherein the first, second and third axes are mutually parallel and spaced apart transverse to one another.

11. A compact monochrome ink jet printhead, comprising:

a printhead substrate;

ink drop generators disposed on the printhead substrate and disposed within a compact area of less than approximately thirty six square millimeters, the ink drop generators further comprising;

a first plurality of ink drop generators arranged along a first axis to form a first axis group;

a second plurality of ink drop generators arranged along a second axis to form a second axis group and staggered with respect to the first axis group;

a third plurality of ink drop generators arranged along a third axis to form a third axis group and staggered with respect to the first and second axis groups; and

wherein the first, second and third axes are mutually parallel and spaced apart transverse to one another.

12. The ink jet printhead of claim 11, wherein the compact area has a length of less than approximately twelve millimeters and a width of less than approximately three millimeters.

13. The ink jet printhead of claim 11, comprising at least three-hundred fifty ink drop generators disposed within the compact area.

14. The ink jet printhead of claim 13, further comprising at least four hundred ink drop generators.

15. The ink jet printhead of claim 13, wherein each of the ink drop generators includes a thin-film resistor having a high resistance.

16. The ink jet printhead of claim 15, wherein the thin-film resistor is at least approximately seventy ohms.

17. The ink jet printhead of claim 11, wherein each of the ink drop generators includes a thin-film structure passivation layer.

18. The ink jet printhead of claim 17, wherein the thin-film structure passivation layer has a thickness of less than approximately five-thousand angstroms.

19. The ink jet printhead of claim 11, further comprising an ink supply device coupled to each of the ink drop generators.

20. An inkjet printhead for connection to an ink supply, the printhead comprising:

a printhead substrate; and

a plurality of ink ejection nozzles formed in the printhead substrate in at least four rows that are approximately parallel and spaced transverse to each other such that there are more than ten of the ink ejection nozzles per square millimeter of the printhead substrate.

21. An inkjet printhead according to claim 20, wherein each of the ink ejection nozzles has an actuator resistor with a resistance of at least seventy ohms.

22. An inkjet printhead according to claim 20, wherein each of the rows has a common ground lead on the printhead substrate.

23. An inkjet printhead according to claim 20, wherein each of the plurality of ink drop generators includes a thin-film resistor structure having a resistance more than seventy ohms.

24. An inkjet printhead according to claim 20, wherein the ink ejection nozzles along one of the rows are not in register with the ink ejection nozzles of adjacent rows such that the printhead has a nozzle pitch in a direction transverse to the printing direction, of approximately one-fourth that of the nozzle pitch within a row.

25. An inkjet printhead according to claim 20, wherein the ink ejection nozzles operate at an ejection frequency of more than approximately twelve kilohertz.