Continuous ink jet apparatus with integrated drop action devices and control circuitry

Abstract

A continuous liquid drop emission apparatus is provided. The liquid drop emission apparatus is comprised of a liquid chamber containing a positively pressurized liquid in flow communication with at least one nozzle for emitting a continuous stream of liquid and a jet stimulation apparatus adapted to transfer pulses of energy to the liquid in flow communication with the at least one nozzle sufficient to cause the break-off of the at least one continuous stream of liquid into a stream of drops of predetermined volumes. The continuous liquid drop emission apparatus further comprises a semiconductor substrate including integrated circuitry formed therein for performing and controlling a plurality of actions on the drops of predetermined volumes. The plurality of actions may include drop charging, drop sensing, drop deflection and drop capturing. Drop action apparatus adapted to perform these functions and integrated circuitry to control the drop action apparatus are formed in the semiconductor substrate. Jet stimulation apparatus comprised of a plurality of transducers including resistive heaters, electromechanical vibrators or thermomechanical vibrators, together with integrated control circuitry, may also be integrated on the semiconductor substrate. Silicon is a preferred material for the semiconductor substrate and CMOS and NMOS designs and fabrication processes are preferred for the integrated circuitry.