Hewlett-packard Company

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Colin C Davis

Naoto A Kawamura

Timothy L Weber

John Paul Harmon

Colby Van Vooren

David R Thomas

Richard W Seaver

Kenneth E Trueba

Qin Liu

David J Waller

Martha A Truninger

Ronald L Enck

Jeffery S Hess

Donald E Wenzel

Carl Lan Wu

James A Feinn

Daniel A Kearl

Roberto A Pugliese

S Dana Seccombe

Victor Joseph

Ronnie Yenchik

Ravi Ramaswami

Paul J McClellan

Chien-Hau Chen

Lawrence H White

Matthew David Giere

Chien-Hua Chen

Winthrop D Childers

Clayton L Holstun

Mohammed Saad Shaarawi

Eric Lee Nikkel

Jeremy Harlan Donaldson

Timothy E Beerling

Bradley D Chung

William R Knight

Joe E Stout

Alan T Davis

Various methods and apparatus relating to a multi-level layer are disclosed.

Multi-level layer

A thermal-type drop generator having a geometry that is configured so that the ejection of liquid from the chamber has the effect of separating the ejected volume into a number of small droplets. The relationship between the thickness of the liquid chamber and the area of the heat transducer used to eject the liquid is controlled to provide the separating aspect so that the resultant droplets have very small volumes, in the range of tens of femtoliters. Such small droplets are readily entrained in an aerosol and especially useful for pulmonary delivery of medicinal fluid.

Thermal generation of droplets for aerosol

Described herein is a monolithic printhead formed using integrated circuit techniques. Thin film layers, including ink ejection elements, are formed on a top surface of a silicon substrate. The various layers are etched to provide conductive leads to the ink ejection elements. At least one ink feed hole is formed through the thin film layers for each ink ejection chamber. A trench is etched in the bottom surface of the substrate so that ink can flow into the trench and into each ink ejection chamber through the ink feed holes formed in the thin film layers. An orifice layer is formed on the top surface of the thin film layers to define the nozzles and ink ejection chambers. A phosphosilicate glass (PSG) layer, providing an insulation layer beneath the resistive layers, is etched back from the ink feed holes and is protected by a passivation layer to prevent the ink from interacting with the PSG layer. Other layers may also be protected from the ink by being etched back.

Fully integrated thermal inkjet printhead having etched back PSG layer

A process for creating and an apparatus employing shaped orifices in a semiconductor substrate. A first layer of material is applied on the semiconductor substrate then a second layer of material is then applied upon the first layer of material. An orifice image is then transferred to the first layer of material and a fluid-well image is transferred to the second layer of material. That portion of the second layer of material where the orifice image is located is then developed along with that portion of the first layer of material where the fluid well is located to define an orifice in the substrate.

Direct imaging polymer fluid jet orifice

A process for fabricating a droplet plate for the printhead of an ink-jet printer, which process provides design flexibility, precise dimension control, as well as material robustness. Also provided is a droplet plate fabricated in accord with the process.

Droplet plate architecture

An inkjet printhead includes a substrate having an ink feed slot formed therein. The inkjet printhead includes drop generators and ink feed channels. Each drop generator has a nozzle and a vaporization chamber. At least one ink feed channel is fluidically coupled to each vaporization chamber and is fluidically coupled to the ink feed slot. A thin-film structure is supported by the substrate and defines a first portion of each ink feed channel. An orifice layer supported by the substrate defines the nozzles and the vaporization chambers in the drop generators. The orifice layer defines a second portion of each ink feed channel.

Inkjet printhead having ink feed channels defined by thin-film structure and orifice layer

An inkjet printer printhead utilizes a substrate, an orifice layer, and a directionally biased electrostrictive polymer ink actuator disposed between the orifice layer and the substrate to eject ink from the printhead. The electrostrictive polymer ink actuator has a passivation layer disposed on the substrate, a first compliant electrode disposed at least on a first portion of the passivation layer, an electrostrictive polymer membrane disposed on a first area of the first compliant electrode, a passivation constraint disposed on a second portion of the passivation layer and a second area of the first compliant electrode effectively surrounding, in contact with, but not covering the electrostrictive polymer membrane in the first area of the first compliant electrode, and a second compliant electrode disposed on the passivation constraint which is disposed on the second portion of the passivation layer and the electrostrictive polymer membrane which is disposed on the first area of the first compliant electrode.

Method of manufacturing an ink actuator

An inkjet printhead is provided with a high nozzle packing density. The printhead has ink feed holes for each firing chamber that are individually tuned such that the pressure drop from the reservoir to the firing chamber is held constant for all firing chambers on said printhead.

Printhead with high nozzle packing density

An inkjet printhead assembly includes a substrate having an ink feed slot formed therein including a first side and second side along a vertical length of the ink feed slot. A first column of drop generators is formed along the first side of the ink feed slot. A second column of drop generators is formed along the second side of the ink feed slot. Each drop generator includes a nozzle. A nozzle packing density for nozzles in the first and second columns of drop generators including the area of the ink feed slot is at least approximately 100 nozzles per square millimeter (mm ).

Inkjet printhead assembly having very high nozzle packing density

Droplet plate architecture in ink-jet printheads

An inkjet printhead and a method of fabricating an inkjet printhead is disclosed. The inkjet printhead includes a conducting material layer deposited on an insulative dielectric. The conducting material layer has a chamber formed between a first and a second section of the conducting material layer. A dielectric material is fabricated on the first and second sections of the conducting material layer and on the insulative dielectric in the chamber. The dielectric material has a planarized top surface. A first via is formed in the dielectric material, thereby exposing a portion of the first section of the conducting material layer. A second via is formed in the dielectric material, thereby exposing a portion of the second section of the conducting material layer. The first and second vias each having sidewalls sloped at an angle in the range of approximately 10-60 degrees. A resistive material layer is formed in the first and second vias and on the planarization dielectric between the first and second vias through a single photoresist mask and a single etch process. A passivation material layer is formed onto the planarization dielectric material and onto the resistive material layer.

Fluid ejection device and method of fabricating

Growing community of inventors

Corvallis, OR, United States of America

Colin C Davis