Hewlett-packard Company

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Ravi Ramaswami

Victor Joseph

Daniel A Kearl

Martha A Truninger

Colin C Davis

Roberto A Pugliese

Ronald L Enck

Ronnie Yenchik

Min Cao

Theodore I Kamins

John P Whitlock

Anil Prem

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

Droplet plate architecture in ink-jet printheads

A highly-efficient thermal inkjet printhead. The printhead includes a primary layer of polycrystalline silicon (preferably doped) having at least one portion thereof which functions as an ink expulsion resistor. Positioned over and above the primary layer is a secondary layer of material having at least one section produced from a selected metal silicide compound and at least another section fabricated from undoped polycrystalline silicon. The metal silicide-containing section functions as an interconnect structure and is operatively connected to the resistor in the primary layer (which is positioned beneath the secondary layer). The undoped polycrystalline silicon section is at least partially aligned over and above the resistor. As a result, the resistor is &ldquo;buried&rdquo; beneath the secondary layer and the various portions thereof. This system provides improved reliability, greater dimensional simplicity, optimized electrical/thermal properties, and superior versatility.

Thermal inkjet printhead and high-efficiency polycrystalline silicon resistor system for use therein

A highly-efficient thermal inkjet printhead. The printhead includes at least one doped polycrystalline silicon resistor which communicates with an external signal source using a unique interconnection system. Specifically, a primary layer of electrically conductive material (optimally a metal silicide) is connected to the resistor. An additional layer of electrically conductive material is attached to and above the primary layer. The additional layer terminates at a position which is spaced outwardly and apart from the resistor to form a gap therebetween. However, the underlying primary layer electrically links the additional layer to the resistor. Alternatively, a dielectric layer is attached to and above the primary layer, with the additional layer being secured to the dielectric layer. At least one electrically conductive contact member is provided within the dielectric layer to link the primary and additional layers. These systems provide improved reliability, greater dimensional simplicity, and optimized electrical/thermal properties.

High-efficiency polycrystalline silicon resistor system for use in a thermal inkjet printhead

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Vancouver, WA, United States of America

Ravi Ramaswami