Patent Grant
8029105
The present invention relates generally to printing systems and, in particular to cleaning or treating inkjet printer components or devices.
The operation of inkjet printing devices relies on stable surface properties of particular components, including nozzle plate surfaces, nozzle bore surfaces, and surfaces of drop catching mechanisms, such as gutters or drop catchers. For example, Coleman et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,198 discuss the need to have hydrophilic surfaces internal to the fluid injector of an ink jet device and hydrophobic properties on exterior surfaces such as the nozzle front face. Bowling in U.S. Pat. No. 6,926,394 describes the need for a hydrophobic surface on a drop catcher for continuous ink jet printers.
The surface properties of a component are affected by its surface chemical composition and degree of contamination from a variety of sources, such as hydrocarbon compounds in the room air, debris such as skin flakes and dust particles, and deposited particulate from inks. Consequently, cleaning and maintenance of inkjet print device components is critical to consistent printing performance.
One common technique to clean surfaces for inkjet printing devices includes washing in a cleaning solution, see, for example, Sharma et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,352; Fassler et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,304, and Andersen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,146. However, washing inkjet device components in cleaning solutions is not a practicable maintenance approach, as it requires providing a bath of cleaning solution and generally requires removal of the device from the printer. Hence, it is preferable to apply surface coatings to device components and to clean the device components by techniques that can be implemented in-situ.
Another common technique to prepare surfaces for inkjet printing devices includes applying hydrophobic or lyophobic coatings like those described in Coleman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,198 (diamond-like carbon with fluorinated hydrocarbon); Yang et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,490 (self assembled monolayers of hydrophobic alkyl thiols); Drews, U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,310 (alkyl polysiloxanes and variants thereof); Narang et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,381 (silicone doped epoxy resins); and Skinner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,357 (gold, coated with an organic sulfur compound). However, this approach has limitations. For example, coatings tend to foul with device usage.
Another common technique for surface cleaning includes wiping surfaces with “blades” of rubber or some other suitably soft material, see, for example, Dietl et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,187; and Mori et al. US Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0185016. However, this approach has limitations. For example, wiping can eventually degrade the non-wetting character of the device surface.
Given the limitations of current approaches to maintaining critical surface properties of inkjet printing device components, it would be advantageous to clean and prepare surfaces on components of fully assembled printing devices without having to remove them so that desirable surface conditions could be restored or maintained periodically or as needed. It would also be advantageous to use processes with reduced materials and energy consumption.
Plasma processes for coating and cleaning in general make more efficient use of materials than liquid-based processes. Furthermore, a wide variety of materials can be prepared and deposited using plasmas. For example, polymer materials can be formed by plasma polymerization by feeding monomer material into a plasma environment, as described in Plasma Polymerization, H. Yasuda, Academic 1985; by Kuhman et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,444,275 (depositing fluoropolymer films on thermal ink jet devices); and by DeFosse et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,666,449 (depositing fluoropolymer films on star wheel surfaces).
Kuhman et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,112 also describe the use of plasma processes to deposit diamond-like carbon, and further using plasma processing in fluorine bearing gases to fluorinate the diamond-like carbon film. Semiconductor (e.g., Si) oxides or nitrides and metal (e.g., Ta) oxides or nitrides can be deposited by feeding semiconductor or metal bearing precursor vapor and respective oxygen or nitrogen bearing gas into a plasma environment, as discussed by Martinu and Poitras (J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 18(6), 2619-2645 (2000)); Kaganowicz et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,631 (describing the use of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) to form silicon oxynitride passivation layers from a mixture of SiH4, NH3, and N2O precursors); Hess in U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,477 (describing the use of PECVD to deposit silicon nitride on tungsten conductive traces in fabrication of a thermal ink jet printhead); and Shaw et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,610,335 (describing the use of PECVD oxide to passivate trench sidewalls in fabrication of a micromechanical accelerometer).
Plasmas are also well known for etching and cleaning applications. Oxygen bearing plasmas in particular are well known for removal of organic and hydrocarbon residue, see, for example, Fletcher et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,926, Williamson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,936), and for removal (commonly referred to as ashing) of residual photoresist materials in semiconductor processing, see, for example, Christensen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,705,055, Mitzel, U.S. Pat. No. 3,875,068, Bersin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,597, and Muller et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,410.
In common plasma processing as described above, the cleaning, etching, or deposition process is carried out at reduced pressure (typically below 2 mBar, or 200 Pa, or roughly 1.5 Torr), thus requiring the treatment process to be carried out in a vacuum chamber. Because of the controlled environment that the vacuum enclosure affords, a wide variety of etching, cleaning, surface chemical modification, and deposition processes are readily practicable in these low-pressure plasma processes.
Atmospheric pressure plasmas are also known. In contrast to the low-pressure plasma processes, plasmas run in ambient air are generally limited to cleaning and surface chemical modification processes based on activated oxygen species. Typical atmospheric pressure plasmas used in industrial applications are corona discharges and dielectric barrier discharges. The dielectric barrier discharge, in particular, is well known in ozone generation for water purification and for polymer surface modification applications in coating, lamination, and metallization processes. In contrast to low-pressure plasmas, which operate at values of Pd (the product of pressure P and electrode gap d) below the minimum on the Paschen curve (i.e., the break down voltage Vas a function of Pd), these high-pressure plasmas operate at Pd values above the minimum in the curve and typically operate an order of magnitude higher in applied voltage. While the corona discharge has diffuse glow-like characteristics, it typically can support low power densities. The dielectric barrier discharge, typically driven at low radio frequency (i.e., approximately 10 kHz to 100 kHz) to mid radio frequency (i.e., approximately 100 kHz to 1 MHz) can support higher power densities, and electrical breakdown proceeds by avalanche effects and streamer formation. Local charging of the dielectric barrier sets up an opposing electric field that shuts down the streamers and prevents formation of arcs (high-current, low-voltage discharges where the gas is heated sufficiently to produce significant ionization). By alternating the high voltage applied to the discharge gap, streamers are formed in opposite directions each half cycle. The dielectric barrier discharge has proven useful in the printing industry as a means of modifying substrates surfaces to accept inks. The high voltage operation (10 kV or greater) and the filamentary nature of this discharge present serious limitations for extending this technology to other applications.
While atmospheric pressure plasmas, such as DBDs are often applied in surface modification of polymers and in treatment of gases for pollution abatement, atmospheric pressure plasmas have also been developed for plasma deposition processes. Examples include the DBD-based process described by Slootman et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,076 for coating SiOx in roll-to-roll format; APGD to deposit thin fluorocarbon layers on organic light emitting diode devices as described by Sieber et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 7,041,608; and hybrid hollow cathode microwave discharges to deposit diamond-like carbon described by Bardos and Barankova, in “Characterization of Hybrid Atmospheric Plasma in Air and Nitrogen”, Vacuum Technology & Coating 7(12) 44-47 (2006).
In large-area plasma modification processes, the high operating voltages and spatial non-uniformity of the dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) have often proven undesirable. Efforts to achieve the uniform glow-like character of low-pressure discharges at atmospheric pressure (atmospheric pressure glow discharge or APGD) have used a variety of techniques, including adding helium and other atomic gases to dielectric barrier discharges and/or carefully selecting driving frequency and impedance matching conditions under which a dielectric barrier discharge is run, see, for example, Uchiyama et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,124,173; Roth et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,324; and Romach et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,308. Other approaches not requiring a dielectric barrier include using helium and radiofrequency power (e.g., 13.56 MHz) in combination with appropriate electrode configuration, see, for example, Selwyn, U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,772 (describing an atmospheric pressure plasma jet), and scaling a plasma source to dimensions at which Pd values nearer the Paschen minimum can be achieved at higher pressures than typical low-pressure discharges, see, for example, Eden et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,695,664 and Cooper et al., US Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0144733 (describing microhollow cathode discharges).
In typical plasma cleaning and plasma treatment processes, the article to be treated or cleaned is either placed in a treatment chamber wherein plasma is generated (i.e. a process with stationary substrates), or it is conveyed through a plasma zone (i.e., a process with translating substrates). An example of the former mode of process is plasma ashing of photoresist in semiconductor manufacturing (see previously cited references). In these applications, the electrode system is generally independent of the article to be treated, and the surface of the article is generally at floating potential (i.e., the potential that an electrically insulated object naturally acquires when presented to the plasma, such that the object draws no net electrical current; generally this potential is approximately 10-20 volts below the plasma potential, the difference depending on the electron temperature in the plasma, see, for example, Principles of Plasma Discharges and Materials Processing, by M. A. Lieberman and A. J. Lichtenberg, Wiley, New York (1994). An example of the latter mode, wherein the article to be treated is conveyed through a plasma zone, is plasma treatment of polymer webs, see, for example, Grace et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,980; Tamaki et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,467; and Denes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,292.
In some web treatment techniques, the web is electrically floating whereas in other techniques, the web is placed in the cathode sheath, see, for example, Grace et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,603,121; and Grace et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,399,159, and experiences energetic bombardment from ions accelerated through the high-voltage sheath (as is typical in plasma etching processes used in fabrication of microelectronic circuits on silicon wafers). In these approaches, the entire substrate surface presented to the plasma is treated. Furthermore, neither of these approaches is compatible with treating inkjet printing device components without removing them from the inkjet printing system.
Regardless of pressure range of operation, typical plasma processing techniques employ macroscopic plasmas, and the process powers and areas tend to be high. For example, typical power supplies for etching semiconductor wafers are capable of delivering 1-5 kW and wafer areas are typically in the range 180 cm2 to 700 cm2. Power supplies for plasma web treatment devices generally are capable of delivering 1-10 kW for web widths of 1-2 m and treatment zones of order 0.3 m long. Consequently, adapting such large-scale approaches to processing only a small fraction of a device surface area would make inefficient use of energy and would possibly limit the process speed for lack of ability to provide required local energy densities, which would need to be applied over the large volumes or areas involved in such large-scale approaches. Additionally, plasma sensitive components in the device can be damaged by exposure of the device to large-scale plasmas.
Micro-scale plasmas (i.e., a plasma characterized by having sub-millimeter extent in at least one dimension) provide localized plasma processing and, as mentioned above, higher operating pressures by virtue of Pd scaling. An example of localized plasma processing using micro-scale plasmas is the use of patterned plasma electrodes to produce micro-scale plasma regions over a substrate to add material or remove material in a desired pattern, as described by Gianchandani et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,827,870. Etch process results are disclosed for applied power densities in the range 1-7 W/cm2 and gas pressures in the range 2-20 Torr. While these pressures are significantly higher than traditional low-pressure plasma processes (i.e., <1 Torr), they are considerably lower than atmospheric pressure (760 Torr) and, therefore, Gianchandani does not teach or disclose the design of the micro-scale discharge source to operate at near atmospheric pressures.
The micro-hollow-cathode source of Cooper et al. is aimed at providing intense ultraviolet light for water purification and is shown to operate at higher pressures (200-760 Torr) than disclosed by Gianchandani. The object of the more recently disclosed micro-hollow-cathode source of Mohamed et al., US Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0028145 is to produce a micro plasma jet at atmospheric pressure. In the former case, the ability to produce the requisite ultraviolet emission depends on the choice of discharge gas and operating conditions of the device. In the latter case, the microhollow cathode device also serves as a gas nozzle, and the jet characteristics depend on nozzle design and flow conditions as well as the plasma conditions.
Other examples of atmospheric pressure micro-scale plasma sources include the plasma needle described by Stoffels et al. (Superficial treatment of mammalian cells using plasma needle; Stoffels, E.; Kieft, I. E.; Sladek, R. E. J. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics (2003), 36(23), 2908-2913), the narrow plasma jet disclosed by Coulombe et al., US Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0029500; the microcavity array of Eden et al., US Patent Application Publication No. S 2003/0132693; the multilayer ceramic microdischarge device described by Vojak et al., US Patent Application Publication 2002/0113553; and the low-power plasma generator of Hopwood et al., US Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0164682. The plasma needle of Stoffels et al. is aimed at surface modification of living cells in mammalian tissue. The narrow plasma jet of Coulombe et al. is also directed toward biological applications, such as skin treatment, etching of cancer cells and deposition of organic films. The microcavity array of Eden et al. is aimed at light emitting devices, and the multilayer ceramic microdischarge device of Vojak et al is directed toward light emitting devices or microdischarge devices integrated with multilayer ceramic integrated circuits. The low power plasma generator of Hopwood et al., which employs a high-Q resonant ring with a discharge gap, is directed towards portable devices and applications such as bio-sterilization, small-scale processing, and microchemical analysis systems. In addition to the glow-like character of these discharges, they generally operate at or near atmospheric pressure, and they are spatially localized. Hence, plasma processing of selected localized areas at atmospheric pressure, with operating characteristics similar to low pressure plasmas is possible.
The micro-scale atmospheric pressure plasma sources mentioned above might produce useful localized plasma processing for cleaning or treatment of ink jet printing device components. In none of these cases is there mention of applying plasma treatment selectively to localized areas of a printer component or device, such as an ink jet print head, that contains sensitive electronics, such as CMOS logic and drivers, nor is their concern for rapid processing times that would require generation of significant localized fluxes of reactive species in specific regions of a component in order to process the component in with reasonable process time and minimal damage thereto. Furthermore, none of these cases teaches integration of the micro-scale discharge electrode system directly into a device designed for printing, wherein components of the printing device serve as part of the electrode system for generation of the plasma, nor do they teach the use of micro-scale discharges to clean, prepare, or otherwise maintain the surface properties of inkjet printing components.
While one of ordinary skill in the art of printing might be familiar with dielectric barrier discharges or variants thereof for surface treatment of printing substrates because printing processes run at atmospheric pressure, most plasma processes that run under vacuum conditions would be considered prohibitive from the standpoint of workflow and capital cost. The ability to run a plasma process at atmospheric pressure with characteristics similar to those of vacuum plasma processes and with the potential to introduce specific plasma chemistries tailored for cleaning, etching, or deposition is highly desirable and is not known in the printing art. It is further desirable to have the ability to carry out such processes effectively, using geometries compatible with inkjet printer components, without mechanical or electrical damage to critical components of the printing system. The integration of plasma technologies into the printing system for applications other than printing or substrate modification is highly desirable.
Thus, there is a need for a plasma treatment process integrated with an inkjet printing system and operable without causing damage to printing device components.
According to one aspect of the invention, a method of treating a printer component includes providing an electrode proximate to the printer component to be treated; introducing a plasma treatment gas in an area proximate to the printer component to be treated; and treating the printer component by applying power to the electrode thereby producing a micro-scale plasma at near atmospheric pressure, the micro-scale plasma acting on the printer component.
According to another aspect of the invention, a printhead includes a nozzle bore and a liquid chamber in liquid communication with the nozzle bore. A drop forming mechanism is associated with one of the nozzle bore and the liquid chamber. Electrical circuitry is in electrical communication with the drop forming mechanism. An electrical shield is integrated with the printhead to shield at least one of the drop forming mechanism and the electrical circuitry from an external source of power.
According to another aspect of the invention, a printer includes a printer component and at least one electrode integrated with the printer component. The at least one electrode is configured to produce a micro-scale plasma at near atmospheric pressure proximate to the printer component.
In the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention presented below, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
a and 10b show multiple electrodes embedded in a dielectric coating positioned over an inkjet printhead printer component;
a shows an inkjet printhead printer component with multiple single electrodes integrated in an inkjet printhead printer component;
b shows an alternate configuration of multiple electrodes integrated in an inkjet printhead printer component;
c illustrates an electrical connection scheme for driving integrated electrodes on an inkjet printhead printer component for producing micro scale plasmas at the surface of the nozzle plate;
a shows an inkjet printhead printer component with electrical device shielding integrated in the printhead printer component;
b shows an inkjet printhead printer component with electrical device shielding positioned above the printhead printer component;
a and 18b show an electrically driven assembly of multiple electrodes separated by insulating layers; the assembly is positioned over a gutter inkjet printer component; and
a through 19e show various examples of shaped electrodes.
The present description will be directed in particular to elements forming part of, or cooperating more directly with, apparatus in accordance with the present invention. It is to be understood that elements not specifically shown or described can take various forms well known to those skilled in the art.
An ink jet printer contains multiple printer components or devices. The term component(s), the term device(s), and the term printer component(s) are used interchangeably, and they refer to mechanical, optical, electro-optical, electromechanical, or electrical sub-assemblies in the inkjet printer. An inkjet printing device is an assembled collection of printer components or devices that, when properly interconnected, are capable of producing a printed image on a substrate. A printer component is any assembly or device in the inkjet printer that is employed at any time during inkjet printer function or operation, regardless of purpose. A printer component can also be comprised of several devices, components, or subassemblies. Printer components serve of a broad range of functions. For example, they can be dedicated to substrate transport, ink delivery to the substrate, or ink management. Ink or fluid management may include delivering ink to an intended destination within the printer, reclaiming and recycling unprinted ink as well as fluid filtration. Printer components or devices that are dedicated to the production of drops or droplets include the inkjet printhead.
Referring to
The fluid or ink travels from the manifold bore through the slot to the nozzle bore in the nozzle plate and is ejected in the form of drops or droplets. A drop forming mechanism can be associated with the nozzle bore and/or the liquid chamber. The drop forming mechanism can be an electrical, mechanical, electromechanical, thermal, or fluidic mechanism, and is familiar to those knowledgeable in the art of inkjet printing. For example, drop forming mechanisms can include single or multiple heating elements either near the nozzle bore or as an integral part of the nozzle bore. Additionally, piezoelectric transducers can be located at or near the nozzle bore.
The nozzle plate or orifice plate containing one or more nozzle bores can include electrical circuitry or complex microelectronic circuitry dedicated to various purposes such as producing drops or droplets and providing a means for electrical communication to the drop forming mechanism associated with at least one of the nozzle bores to provide a means for controlling the drop forming mechanism associated with at least one nozzle bore on the nozzle plate. The electrical circuitry can also perform other functions such as monitoring temperature or pressure. The nozzle plate or the manifold can include other assemblies for injecting energy into a jet of liquid or fluid emerging from the nozzle bore orifices on the nozzle plate for the purpose of producing drops.
The printhead 8 can be incorporated into either a drop on demand printer or a continuous printer. When incorporated into a continuous printer, ink and/or other fluids that pass through the nozzle plate and that are not printed on a substrate can be collected for reuse using printer devices or components familiar to those knowledgeable in the art of inkjet printing. These devices or components are called gutters and are dedicated to collecting unprinted drops or droplets so that the fluid can be reused. The gutter thus contains at least one surface for collecting fluid and a means for directing the collected drops and fluid to a fluid delivery system so that it can be reused.
Continuous printers include other devices or printer components in the printing device are dedicated to controlling the trajectory of drops and droplets or deflecting drops or droplets using any means of trajectory control known in the art. Such inkjet printer components are known as drop deflectors or droplet deflectors. In general, drop deflectors are positioned between an inkjet printhead that serves to produce the drops and a gutter that serves to collect fluid and ink for recycling or discarding to waste. Several means of controlling drop trajectory and introducing drop or droplet deflection by employing a drop deflector are known in the art and are familiar to those knowledgeable in the art of inkjet printing. For example, the trajectory of drops can be controlled by means of deflection of charged drops in an electric field, deflection of drops through the action of an air flow at either elevated or reduced pressure, deflection of drops by means of unbalanced thermal stimulation of a jet of liquid, or any other means familiar to those skilled in the art of inkjet printing.
Electrostatic deflection methods employ electrically conductive assemblies of wires, plates, or variously shaped conductive tunnels. These devices are called electrostatic deflection devices or electrostatic deflection inkjet printer components and include components such as charge plates and charge tunnels that are familiar to those knowledgeable in the art of inkjet printing.
In operation, drops or droplets are formed from a liquid jet emanating from a nozzle bore in the nozzle plate located on the manifold, and the drops are charged through the action of an electric field applied by the charging electrode 32. The charged drops can then be deflected by the deflection electrode 34 for the purpose of either directing the drops for collection on the collection surface of the gutter 36 or for the purpose of directing the drops to a substrate for the purpose of printing text or images through the selective imagewise deposition of drops or droplets on a substrate.
In air or gas deflection methods, the droplet deflector is configured to generate a gas flow interacting with the ink droplets, thereby separating ink droplets having one of a plurality of volumes from ink droplets having another of said plurality of volumes. The air drop deflector can also employ a pressure sensor positioned proximate to the output of the drop deflector component, where the pressure sensor is configured to generate a pressure indication signal. Additionally, a controller coupled to said pressure sensor and configured to output a compensation signal based on the indication signal can be employed to provide an adjustment mechanism operatively coupled to said droplet deflector to adjust the gas flow generated by said droplet deflector in response to the compensation signal.
In order to employ micro-scale plasmas to clean, treat, or otherwise process critical surfaces of the various inkjet printer components such as those described above, a micro-scale plasma is introduced either external to or in integrated fashion with the inkjet printer component.
A micro-scale plasma (also called micro-scale discharge) is generated by providing electrodes through which energy is coupled from an external supply to a region where the micro-scale plasma is generated. Micro-scale plasma refers to an electrical discharge in a gas where the discharge has at least one dimension less than 1 mm in extent, said extent being determined by the spatially localized luminous region, spatially localized ionized region, the region containing most of the active species of interest (for example, the full width at half the maximum concentration of a particular neutral active species such as atomic oxygen), or the spatial extent of the effect of the micro-scale plasma on the component being processed. The micro-scale plasma region is spatially localized and it is recognized that it is potentially advantageous to translate one or more micro-scale plasmas to effect treatment of one or more additional regions and surfaces on the inkjet printer component of interest for the purpose of introducing improved hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, or surface reactivity to larger surface areas on the inkjet printer component. It can also be beneficial to translate one or more micro-scale plasmas and optionally the associated electrode structures and power supplies to treat additional inkjet printer components as well.
A contact through which energy is coupled to the plasma is herein referred to as an electrode. A second electrode used to provide reference to a first electrode or otherwise assist in coupling energy to the plasma is herein referred to as a counter electrode. Either the electrode or the counter electrode can be positively or negatively biased and therefore can serve as either an anode or a cathode in a diode discharge. Other types of electrodes include radio frequency antennas and microwave waveguides or applicators. In the case of radio frequency inductively coupled plasmas, conductive traces or wires forming an antenna serve as an electrode. In the case of the split ring resonator of Hopwood et al, the portions of a split ring conductive trace on either side of a discharge gap (the split in the ring) serve as electrode and counter electrode, while the split ring and a ground plane in combination serve as a waveguide.
Referring again to
Although elevated voltages can be used to light micro-scale plasmas, it is not desirable to employ voltages above 1 kV to maintain a micro-scale plasma because of the increased possibility of physical damage to printer components. This physical damage is manifest as damage to insulating surfaces as burns or craters caused by dielectric breakdown as well as the liquification of low melting materials that can be used in the construction of the printer component. Damage from electrostatic charge buildup on electrostatically sensitive microelectronics components in printer components can also occur more frequently at elevated voltages. Thus, the use of conventional dielectric barrier discharges in air (sometimes called corona discharge web treatment) known in the art of web conversion, and typically utilizing sinusoidal voltage waveforms with peak-to-peak voltages greater than 5 kV, as a means of generating and sustaining micro-scale plasmas can be used but is not preferred.
Electrodes can be formed from conducting materials (e.g., metals, such as aluminum, tanatalum, silver, gold) or semiconducting materials (e.g., doped silicon, doped germanium, carbon, or transparent highly degenerate semiconductors, such as indium tin oxide, or aluminum-doped zinc oxide). In addition, conducting and doped semiconducting polymers, as well as conducting nanoparticulate dispersions can be useful in electrode construction. Furthermore, the electrodes can be passivated by dielectric coatings (for example, organic dielectrics such as epoxies or polyimide polymers, silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, silicon nitride, tanatalum pentoxide, aluminum oxide), or they can be embedded in a dielectric material. In addition, combination electrodes are permitted where a conducting material such as a metal or doped semiconductor is passivated or otherwise covered by or embedded in a semiconductor coating having different electrical characteristics where the semiconductor coating determines the electrical conductivity of the electrode.
For treating surfaces of printer device components, at least one electrode is located proximate to the component of interest. Proximate herein refers to distances within 1 cm from the component, including electrodes positioned within said proximate distance without contact to the component, brought into direct mechanical contact with the component, or formed directly on the component (integrated) by microfabrication, thin-film deposition, or lamination processes. In the case of electrodes formed directly on the component or otherwise incorporated into the component, the electrodes are integrated with the printer component. Integrated electrodes can be driven by external circuitry or incorporated into circuitry that is fabricated directly on the component, including active and passive circuit elements formed by techniques known in the art of microelectronics and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) manufacturing. Proximate electrodes can be driven by either external circuitry or by circuitry that is fabricated directly on the component, including active and passive circuit elements formed by techniques known in the art of microelectronics and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) manufacturing.
While at least one electrode is required to support a microplasma, one or more microplasmas can be generated by using both odd and even numbers of electrodes depending on the specific application. The electrodes can be single electrodes or an array of electrodes with a single counter electrode or counter electrode array. Furthermore electrodes and electrode arrays can be shaped to optimize the micro-scale plasma generation and treatment effect for a specific component to be treated.
Referring back to
While the micro-scale plasma treatment process is intended to run under ambient conditions, it can be advantageous to control the plasma treatment environment by establishing a gas flow of specific gases. The composition of flowing gases can be selected depending on the desired purpose of the micro-scale plasma. For example, compounds that can be activated to produce condensable species can be provided in the gas admitted to the plasma region in order to effect plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of a coating onto the component being treated. If the purpose is to deposit a hydrophobic layer, such as a fluorinated polymer, a suitable fluorine- and carbon-bearing gas can be selected in combination with a suitable carrier gas, capable of conveying the micro-scale-plasma-activated species to the appropriate location for deposition on the inkjet printer component. Other condensable materials well known in the plasma deposition and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition art can be similarly produced. For example, silanes, siloxanes, and other gases can be admitted to produce silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or silicone films. Other heteroatomic reactants such as ammonia can be added to the gas admitted to the plasma region in order to produce specific activated species, or gases from the ambient air can be entrained in plasma region to produce reactive species. Furthermore, if the purpose is to remove deposits from a surface of an inkjet printer component, gases known to produce volatile species upon plasma activation and contact with the deposit can be introduced proximate to the micro-scale plasma.
It will be appreciated that a suitable carrier gas is one that does not react substantially with the intended micro-scale-plasma-activated species over length scales and time scales such that useful amounts of said species are transported to the desired location. Some common carrier gases are inert or noble gases, such as helium, neon, and argon. In some instances, molecular gases, such as nitrogen (N2) can be useful carrier gases, depending on the desired purpose of the micro-scale plasma. Additionally, it is known in the art of atmospheric pressure plasmas that noble gases, such as helium, can be used to reduce the applied voltage necessary to ignite and maintain a plasma. Heavier noble gases such as krypton and particularly xenon can be added to the gas composition to alter the emission spectrum radiating from the micro-scale plasma region. The addition of xenon gas to the micro-scale plasma region is particularly useful in achieving enhanced ultraviolet emission from the micro-plasma during operation for such processes as elimination of biofouling debris (debris as a result of surface contamination from microorganisms) as well enhancing oxidative surface processes utilizing ozone or other oxidizing reactive neutral species produced by the micro-scale plasma. It should therefore be appreciated that the selection of the composition of the plasma treatment gas is based on the intended effect on the component, and the micro-scale plasma process can be tailored to clean, activate, or passivate the inkjet printer component surface as desired, and the gas composition can further be tailored to improve the operation and stability of the micro-scale plasma, as well as the efficiency of the micro-scale plasma process.
It is advantageous to operate the microscale plasma treatment process near atmospheric pressure regardless of the gas composition. As used herein, near atmospheric pressure includes pressures between 400 and 1100 Torr, and preferably pressures between 560 and 960 Torr. Process pressures in the higher portion of this range can be achieved by pressurizing a manifold dedicated to providing the treatment gas in the vicinity of the component to be treated or a manifold that might otherwise be used for providing air flow or ink flow in the normal printing process. Similarly, the manifold can be drawn to a reduced pressure in order to draw treatment gas (provided by ambient air or an external gas supply) into the plasma treatment region.
Turning again to the configuration shown in
Using micro-scale plasmas to clean and modify surfaces of portions of the gutter component thus enables control of critical surface conditions and thereby improves the reliability of printing system startup and shutdown sequences as well as overall operational reliability. It is recognized that elements of the inkjet printer gutter, for example, the inkjet printer gutter collection surface or the inkjet printer gutter fluid collection channel wall can be employed as electrodes in some configurations. It will be appreciated from the discussion above that the fluid collection channel 68 in the gutter assembly can be used as a means to provide flowing gas to the region proximate to the micro-scale plasma in order to provide the desired stability and chemical or physical effect of the micro-scale plasma.
Furthermore, the connector 77 need not be planar, and the cylinder 76 need not have a circular cross section. The conductive portions of the electrode 76 and connector 77, in combination with the ground plane, serve to guide electromagnetic waves to the gap 78 in the split electrode 76 at the resonant frequency of the split electrode 76 so that they are 180 degrees out of phase on either side of the gap 78. When the interior of the split cylinder resonator electrode is hollow then the interior portion of the electrode can also be used to deliver a flow of gas to the gap in the split cylinder electrode to produce micro-scale plasmas at atmospheric pressure in controlled atmospheres. The advantage of the split cylinder resonator electrode is the ability to create a micro-plasma that is elongated in one dimension, thereby allowing the treatment of multiple regions on the inkjet printer component simultaneously. The split cylinder resonator electrode has an operating frequency determined by the dimensions of the cylinder and can vary from kHz to GHz.
a shows an example of a plurality of single electrodes (or multiple single electrodes) 102, 104 where each single electrode is embedded in a dielectric material 101 and positioned over an inkjet printer component.
The purpose of embedding electrodes is to protect the electrodes from potentially corrosive micro-scale plasma generated species that could lead to the destruction of the electrode. The dielectric material 101 in which the electrodes are embedded has an electrical resistivity greater than 105 ohm-cm and the thickness of the dielectric material can be any thickness as is appropriate for the micro-scale plasma application and is determined by the operating voltage and dielectric breakdown characteristics of the dielectric material as well as method of electrode manufacture. The dielectric material 101 can be selected from any number of materials with electrical resistivity greater than 105 ohm-cm including: Teflon, epoxies, silicone resins, polyimides, or other low-reactivity thermally stable organic polymers; or carbon containing composite materials where the term composite material refers to a solid containing at least two regions of differing chemical composition. Examples of composite materials are, for example, fiberglass impregnated epoxy or glass fiber reinforced and glass filled Teflon polymer. It will be appreciated that other composite materials are possible and are envisioned to be within the scope of this invention. Some examples of other dielectric materials are: inorganic insulating materials like magnesium oxide and derivative magnesium containing oxides, boron oxide and derivative boron containing oxides, silicon oxide and derivative silicon containing oxides, aluminum oxide and derivative aluminum containing oxides, titanium oxide and derivative titantium containing oxides, tantalum oxide and derivative tantalum containing oxides, niobium oxide and derivative niobium containing oxides, hafnium oxide and derivative hafnium containing oxides, chromium and derivative chromium containing oxides, zirconium oxide and derivative zirconium containing oxides, (insulating binary metal oxides) as well as nitrides, oxynitrides, sulfides and more complex ternary and higher order oxides, nitrides, oxynitrides, and sulfides. The term derivative metal containing oxides means oxide based dielectric compounds containing at least 20 atomic percent of the specified metal. For example the compound zirconium oxide containing 20 percent cerium oxide is a derivative zirconium oxide. It is also a derivative oxide of cerium.
The dielectric material can be crystalline, vitreous, or amorphous. It will be appreciated that other dielectric materials are possible and will be familiar to those skilled in the art of dielectric materials and are envisioned within the scope of the present invention. The dielectric coating can also be textured with asperities or it can be smooth and asperity free. Various types of textured dielectric coatings are possible and are envisioned within the scope of the present invention. As discussed in
a, 13b, and 13c illustrate various configurations of electrodes and counter electrodes that are integrated into an inkjet printer component known as an inkjet printhead. The term integrated as employed here means to arrange and fabricate constituent parts to form an inseparable whole. In
Examples of electrical driving circuitry 138 for the purpose of producing micro-scale plasmas proximate to the inkjet printer component are also shown in
b illustrates a plurality of electrodes driven relative to an external reference. The electrodes can be RF antennae or microwave waveguides similar to those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,855 and US Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0164682 A1 by Hopwood et al. where the gap of the microwave guide electrode or the region of localized RF energy from the RF antennae electrode is located proximate to the nozzle bore 134. Alternatively, the electrodes can be electrically driven relative to a counter electrode, which in
c illustrates a plurality of electrodes and counter electrodes integrated into an inkjet printer component called an inkjet printhead. The total number of the integrated electrodes can be odd or even.
a and 15b show both integrated and non-integrated electrical shielding 150 proximate to a nozzle bore 152 on a nozzle plate 154 and manifold 156 of an inkjet printhead inkjet printer component. Electrical shielding is comprised of an electrically conducting layer that is interposed between a source of electrical noise, such as a micro-scale plasma, and the inkjet printer component where said electrical shield is present for the purpose of improving operational reliability of the inkjet printer component.
The electrical shielding can be fabricated out of any electrically conducting material with a resistivity less than 100 ohm-cm. Typical electrical shielding is fabricated out of metals such as copper, aluminum and aluminum alloys, steel, tantalum and tantalum alloys, gold and gold alloys, silver and silver alloys, niobium and niobium alloys, and titanium and titanium alloys. Transparent conducting materials, such as transparent conducting oxides, can also be used to fabricate electrical shielding. In addition, conductive polymers (for example, polythiophene-based materials) and conductive dispersions of carbon-based materials (for example carbon nanotubes) can be used to fabricate electrical shielding. Nanoparticulate dispersions of conductive materials can also be employed to fabricate electrical shielding.
The electrical shielding can be optionally integrated with the inkjet printer component to improve the inkjet printer component operational reliability. The production of micro-scale plasma can require voltages which exceed the normal operating voltages of the inkjet printer component, or it can produce localized currents that exceed normal operating currents, and an additional purpose of the optionally integrated electrical shielding is to protect the inkjet printer component from damage that could occur if the inkjet printer component was exposed to voltages or currents in excess of the normal operating conditions or in excess of damage thresholds. By interposing the electrical shield between the source of electrical noise, such as a micro-scale plasma, and substantially all potentially sensitive electrical circuitry, including CMOS circuits and other electrical and microelectronic circuitry known to those familiar with the electrical design of inkjet printer components, the inkjet printer component is effectively protected from the source of electrical noise.
The electrical shielding 150 can be connected by any method known to produce electrical continuity with a resistance of less than 10 ohms to a reference potential or a ground potential. Alternatively, there are situations in which it is desirable to allow the electrical shielding to remain unconnected to any reference potential source so that the electrical shield acquires the potential associated with the said source of electrical noise. This configuration is known in the art as electrically floating. For example, if sensitive circuitry can remain electrically floating instead of being grounded, then the circuitry will attain the floating potential, the potential at which a floating contact draws no net charge from the plasma, when exposed to a plasma. In such cases, grounding the shield would create potentially damaging potential between the circuitry and the shield itself and therefore the shield should be allowed to float electrically with the circuitry upon exposure to the source of electrical noise such as a micro-scale plasma. For electrically floating articles, the potential difference between plasma and the article can be significantly reduced relative to the case of a grounded article, and thus, the energies of ions impinging on the article can be significantly reduced. In particular, for capacitively coupled AC discharges, the plasma potential can rise substantially (hundreds of volts) during one half cycle of the applied voltage. By electrically floating a shield and the circuitry being shielded, the potential difference between the plasma and the shield or circuitry will be maintained at a value equal to the potential difference between plasma potential and the floating potential (this difference is typically on the order of 10 volts).
It can be desirable in some applications of micro-scale plasmas to allow the electrical shield interposed between the micro-scale plasma and the inkjet printer component to float and optionally to allow the inkjet printer component itself to float because the floating shield absorbs the ion energy impinging on the surfaces proximate to the micro-scale plasma. This ion energy not only comes in the form of translational kinetic energy but also comes in the form of the energy associated with the ionization potential of the ionized species, said energy from the ionization potential being imparted to the surface with which the ion collides. Although electrical shielding, optionally integrated into the inkjet printer component, is intended to improve operational reliability of the inkjet printer component, it is appreciated that in some electrical configurations employed to drive the electrodes for the purpose of producing a micro-scale plasma proximate to the inkjet printer component, the electrical shielding can perform the additional function of a counter electrode in addition to the primary function of protecting sensitive components on the inkjet printer component for the purpose of improving operational reliability.
As discussed in
The plurality of electrodes integrated onto the inkjet printer component can be coated with a variety of materials as discussed previously or uncoated, embedded or unembedded, elongated or otherwise extended in at least one dimension. It is also understood that gas flow can be applied to the integrated electrode assembly shown in
As shown in
a shows a composite electrode comprising alternating conductive 180 and dielectric 182 layers along a direction in a plane parallel to a surface of an inkjet printer component 184. In this example the inkjet printer component is an inkjet printer gutter. In
In
a through 19e show various example geometries for electrodes used to generate micro-scale plasmas. However, other electrode geometries contemplated for the purpose of producing micro-scale plasma can be integrated appropriately into an inkjet printer component as described in the discussion of
a shows a split ring 190 and connector or transmission line 191.
The electrodes and counter electrodes of
The electrodes can be fabricated in sheet form and, in particular, structures such as those shown in
An assembly of comb electrodes like those of
Other combinations of electrodes and counter electrodes, integrated or otherwise, for the purpose of producing micro-scale plasma proximate to an inkjet printer component are permitted. Typically, the choice of a particular electrode geometry is made in accordance with the geometry of the inkjet printer component and its associated features.
As can be appreciated from the prior art, there are a variety of means to produce micro-scale atmospheric pressure plasmas. Hence, in order to produce a micro-scale atmospheric pressure plasma or micro-scale atmospheric pressure discharge, one can choose from a variety of means to couple power to the discharge, a variety of electrode configurations, and a variety of treatment gas. The combination of power supply, impedance matching device, electrode and component configuration, and treatment gas should produce a micro-scale atmospheric pressure plasma in the normal or abnormal glow regime that is sufficiently stable that it does not become an arc. The glow-discharge plasma regime is characterized by distinct regions of uniform glow-like appearance, operating voltages below the break-down voltage, and having negligible slope (normal glow) or positive slope (abnormal glow) to the voltage-current characteristic (see for example Electrical Discharges in Gases, F. M. Penning, Gordon and Breach, New York, 1965, p. 41). The glow discharge regime has lower operating voltage and higher current density (therefore, higher plasma density) than the Townsend regime and is more stable and exhibits less electrical noise and associated interference than the arc regime, which is characterized by considerably higher current density and lower operating voltage.
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the scope of the invention.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3705055 | Christensen et al. | Dec 1972 | A |
| 3875068 | Mitzel | Apr 1975 | A |
| 3879597 | Bersin et al. | Apr 1975 | A |
| 4088926 | Fletcher et al. | May 1978 | A |
| 4472467 | Tamaki et al. | Sep 1984 | A |
| 4717631 | Kaganowicz | Jan 1988 | A |
| 4719477 | Hess | Jan 1988 | A |
| 4740410 | Muller et al. | Apr 1988 | A |
| 5124173 | Uchiyama et al. | Jun 1992 | A |
| 5136310 | Drews | Aug 1992 | A |
| 5202705 | Asano et al. | Apr 1993 | A |
| 5218381 | Narang et al. | Jun 1993 | A |
| 5414324 | Roth et al. | May 1995 | A |
| 5425980 | Grace et al. | Jun 1995 | A |
| 5514936 | Williamson et al. | May 1996 | A |
| 5576076 | Slootman et al. | Nov 1996 | A |
| 5610335 | Shaw et al. | Mar 1997 | A |
| 5714308 | Romach et al. | Feb 1998 | A |
| 5790146 | Anderson | Aug 1998 | A |
| 5942855 | Hopwood | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5961772 | Selwyn | Oct 1999 | A |
| 6082292 | Denes et al. | Jul 2000 | A |
| 6127198 | Coleman et al. | Oct 2000 | A |
| 6193352 | Sharma et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6243112 | Kuhman et al. | Jun 2001 | B1 |
| 6325490 | Yang et al. | Dec 2001 | B1 |
| 6399159 | Grace et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6444275 | Kuhman | Sep 2002 | B1 |
| 6488357 | Skinner et al. | Dec 2002 | B2 |
| 6517187 | Dietl | Feb 2003 | B1 |
| 6603121 | Grace et al. | Aug 2003 | B2 |
| 6666449 | DeFosse et al. | Dec 2003 | B2 |
| 6695664 | Eden et al. | Feb 2004 | B2 |
| 6726304 | Fassler et al. | Apr 2004 | B2 |
| 6827870 | Gianchandani et al. | Dec 2004 | B1 |
| 6926394 | Bowling | Aug 2005 | B2 |
| 7041608 | Sieber et al. | May 2006 | B2 |
| 7172267 | Furukawa | Feb 2007 | B2 |
| 7516549 | Asuke | Apr 2009 | B2 |
| 20020022139 | Kotera et al. | Feb 2002 | A1 |
| 20020113553 | Vojak et al. | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20030132693 | Eden et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20040144733 | Cooper et al. | Jul 2004 | A1 |
| 20040164682 | Hopwood et al. | Aug 2004 | A1 |
| 20050168527 | Miyakawa et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20050185016 | Mori et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20060028145 | Mohamed et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060132541 | Nishijima | Jun 2006 | A1 |
| 20060221144 | Nagashima | Oct 2006 | A1 |
| 20070029500 | Coulombe et al. | Feb 2007 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1 306 214 | Mar 2009 | EP |
| 60-204372 | Oct 1985 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20090102886 A1 | Apr 2009 | US |
