Lexmark International, Inc.

Funai Electric Company Ltd.

Christopher John Money

Girish Shivaji Patil

John William Krawczyk

Karthik Vaideeswaran

James M Mrvos

Andrew McNees

Jason Todd Vanderpool

Brian Christopher Hart

Richard Lee Warner

Jeanne M Saldanha Singh

Yimin Guan

David L Bernard

Gary Raymond Williams

Paul William Dryer

Cory Nathan Hammond

Mark Doerre

Eunki Hong

Jose Paul Sacoto Aguilar

Sean Terrence Weaver

Edwina Floyd Lowry

Bryan Thomas Fannin

David Bruce Rhine

Vinod Kumar Gopalakrishnan

An ink composition for used in an inkjet printer is provided. The ink composition includes a carrier medium, a colorant, and a silicon doping agent. The silicon doping agent may include silicic acid, silicon dioxide, or silicates. This silicon-doped ink reduces and prevents the etching of the silicon based components of the printhead. Silicon-doped inks protect the printhead from damage, thus improving printhead reliability and increasing printhead service life.

Formulation for silicon-doped ink used to prevent chip etching

A micro-fluid ejection head and methods for improving the fabrication and operation of the micro-fluid ejection head. The ejection head includes a photoimaged thick film layer attached to a substrate containing fluid ejection actuators. An orifice plate is laminated to the thick film layer. The orifice plate has a plurality of concentric orifices therein and is derived from a first photoresist material that is heated to a temperature sufficient to relieve film stresses in the photoresist material prior to exposing and developing the orifices in the orifice plate.

Micro-fluid ejection head and stress relieved orifice plate therefor

A method of etching a semiconductor substrate. The method includes the steps of applying a photoresist etch mask layer to a device surface of the substrate. A select first area of the photoresist etch mask is masked, imaged and developed. A select second area of the photoresist etch mask layer is irradiated to assist in post etch stripping of the etch mask layer from the select second area. The substrate is etched to form fluid supply slots through a thickness of the substrate. At least the select second area of the etch mask layer is removed from the substrate, whereby mask layer residue formed from the select second area of the etch mask layer is significantly reduced.

Method for making a micro-fluid ejection device

A micro-fluid ejection assembly and method therefor. The micro-fluid ejection assembly includes a silicon substrate having a fluid supply slot therein. The fluid supply slot is formed by an etch process conducted on a substrate using, a first etch mask circumscribing the fluid supply slot, and a second etch mask applied over a functional layer on the substrate.

Micro-fluid ejection assemblies

A process for etching semiconductor substrates using a deep reactive ion etching process to produce through holes or slots (hereinafter 'slots') in the substrates. The process includes applying a first layer to a back side of a substrate as a first etch stop material. The first layer is a relatively soft etch stop material. A second layer is applied to the first layer on the back side of the substrate to provide a composite etch stop layer. The second layer is a relatively hard etch stop material. The substrate is etched from a side opposite the back side of the substrate to provide a slot in the substrate.

Multiple layer etch stop and etching method

A method for improving fluidic flow for a microfluidic device having a through hole or slot therein. The method includes the steps of forming one or more openings through at least part of a thickness of a substrate from a first surface to an opposite second surface using a reactive ion etching process whereby an etch stop layer is applied to side wall surfaces in the one or more openings during alternating etching and passivating steps as the openings are etched through at least a portion of the substrate. Substantially all of the etch stop layer coating is removed from the side wall surfaces by treating the side wall surfaces using a method selected from chemical treatment and mechanical treatment, whereby a surface energy of the treated side wall surfaces is increased relative to a surface energy of the side wall surfaces containing the etch stop layer coating.

Methods for improving flow through fluidic channels

In a clean room cups (70) are applied to the standpipe (28) of an unfilled inkjet cartridge. A sealing cup (80) is applied to the ink outlet (46, 48, 50) of the cartridge. Inert gas is forced back and forth between the cups and expelled into the clean room through a filter. Such cleaning removes particles, which significantly improves reliability of the filled cartridge.

Contaminant cleaned inkjet cartridge manufacture

Growing community of inventors

Lexington, KY, United States of America

Christopher John Money