DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet pen.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an inkjet printhead.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the printhead taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.
FIGS. 4-8 are cross-sectional views illustrating the steps of a first embodiment of fabricating a printhead.
FIGS. 9-11 are cross-sectional views illustrating the steps of a second embodiment of fabricating a printhead.
FIGS. 12 and 13 are cross-sectional views illustrating the steps of a third embodiment of fabricating a printhead.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Representative embodiments of the present invention include a fluid ejection device in the form of a printhead used in inkjet printing. However, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to inkjet printheads and can be embodied in other fluid ejection devices used in a wide range of applications.
Referring to the drawings wherein identical reference numerals denote the same elements throughout the various views, FIG. 1 shows an illustrative inkjet pen 10 having a printhead 12. The pen 10 includes a body 14 that generally contains a printing fluid supply. As used herein, the term “printing fluid” refers to any fluid used in a printing process, including but not limited to inks, preconditioners, fixers, etc. The printing fluid supply can comprise a fluid reservoir wholly contained within the pen body 14 or, alternatively, can comprise a chamber inside the pen body 14 that is fluidly coupled to one or more off-axis fluid reservoirs (not shown). The printhead 12 is mounted on an outer surface of the pen body 14 in fluid communication with the printing fluid supply. The printhead 12 ejects drops of printing fluid through a plurality of nozzles 16 formed therein. Although only a relatively small number of nozzles 16 is shown in FIG. 1, the printhead 12 may have two or more columns with more than one hundred nozzles per column, as is common in the printhead art. Appropriate electrical connectors 18 (such as a tape automated bonding, “flex tape”) are provided for transmitting signals to and from the printhead 12.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the printhead 12 includes a substrate 20, a thin film stack 22 disposed on top of the substrate 20, and a fluidic layer assembly 24 disposed on top of the thin film stack 22. At least one ink feed hole 26 is formed in the substrate 20, and the nozzles 16 are arranged around the ink feed hole 26. The nozzles 16 are formed in the fluidic layer assembly 24 and comprise a group of low drop weight nozzles 16a and a group of high drop weight nozzles 16b. In the illustrated embodiment, the low drop weight nozzles 16a are arranged in a first column on a first side of the ink feed hole 26 (the left side in FIG. 3), and the high drop weight nozzles 16b are arranged in a second column on a second side of the ink feed hole 26 (the right side in FIG. 3).
Associated with each nozzle 16a, 16b is a firing chamber 28, a feed channel 30 establishing fluid communication between the ink feed hole 26 and the firing chamber 28, and a fluid ejector 32 which functions to eject drops of printing fluid through the nozzle 16a, 16b. In the illustrated embodiment, the fluid ejectors 32 are resistors or similar heating elements. It should be noted that while thermally active resistors are described here by way of example only, the present invention could include other types of fluid ejectors such as piezoelectric actuators. The nozzles 16a, 16b, the firing chambers 28, the feed channels 30 and the ink feed hole 26 are formed in the fluidic layer assembly 24, which is fabricated as multiple layers (as described below). The resistors 32 are contained within the thin film stack 22 that is disposed on top of the substrate 20. As is known in the art, the thin film stack 22 can generally include an oxide layer, an electrically conductive layer, a resistive layer, a passivation layer, and a cavitation layer or sub-combinations thereof. Although FIGS. 2 and 3 depict one common printhead configuration, namely, two rows of nozzles about a common ink feed hole, other configurations may also be formed in the practice of the present invention.
The fluidic layer assembly 24 has a first side 34 that faces the substrate 20 and a second side 36 that faces away from the substrate 20. In the illustrated embodiment, the second side 36 is non-planar or stepped. In this case, the fluidic layer assembly 24 includes a step or raised portion 38 formed on the second side 36, such that the fluidic layer assembly 24 comprises the raised portion 38, which is relatively thick, and a thinner base portion 40.
The low drop weight nozzles 16a are formed in the base portion 40, and the high drop weight nozzles 16b are formed in the raised portion 38. The high drop weight nozzles 16b have larger cross-sectional areas than the low drop weight nozzles 16a to provide larger drop weights. Furthermore, because the raised portion 38 is thicker than the base portion 40, the high drop weight nozzles 16b are longer or deeper than the low drop weight nozzles 16a. As shown in FIG. 3, the nozzles 16a, 16b have a substantially vertical bore profile. That is, the walls of the nozzle bores are substantially perpendicular to the first and second sides 34 and 36. The nozzles 16a, 16b can alternatively have a tapered bore profile. If the nozzles have tapered bore profile, this will preferably be in the form of a convergent taper in which the nozzle opening is larger on the first side 34 than the second side 36.
To eject a droplet from one of the nozzles 16a, 16b, printing fluid is introduced into the associated firing chamber 28 from the ink feed hole 26 (which is in fluid communication with the printing fluid supply (not shown)) via the associated channel 30. The associated resistor 32 is activated with a pulse of electrical current. The resulting heat from the resistor 32 is sufficient to form a vapor bubble in the firing chamber 28, thereby forcing a droplet through the nozzle 16a, 16b. The firing chamber 28 is refilled after each droplet ejection with printing fluid from the ink feed hole 26 via the feed channel 30.
By virtue of being longer and having a larger cross-sectional area, the high drop weight nozzles 16b are able to eject larger droplets without compromising refill speed or drop velocity. Similarly, the low drop weight nozzles 16a can eject smaller droplets without sacrificing refill speed or drop velocity because they are shorter and have a smaller cross-sectional area. Accordingly, the printhead 12 provides excellent dual drop weight range on a single printhead die.
Referring to FIGS. 4-8, one process for fabricating an inkjet printhead 12 is described. The process starts with a substrate 20, which is typically a single crystalline or polycrystalline silicon wafer. Other possible substrate materials include gallium arsenide, glass, silica, ceramics, or a semiconducting material. The substrate 20 has a first planar surface 42 and a second planar surface 44, opposite the first surface. The thin film stack 22 is formed or deposited on the first surface 42 of the substrate 20 in any suitable manner, many such techniques being well known in the art. As mentioned above, the thin film stack 22 contains the fluid ejectors 32 and typically includes some or all of an oxide layer, an electrically conductive layer, a resistive layer, a passivation layer, and a cavitation layer.
Next, the fluidic layer assembly 24, which will ultimately define the nozzles 16a, 16b, the firing chambers 28 and the feed channels 30, is formed on top of the thin film stack 22. In the embodiment of FIGS. 4-8, the fluidic layer assembly 24 is fabricated in three layers: a chamber layer, a first bore layer and a second bore layer. These three layers are formed of any suitable photoimagable materials. One such suitable material is a photopolymerizable epoxy resin known generally in the trade as SU8, which is available from several sources including MicroChem Corporation of Newton, Mass. SU8 is a negative photoresist material, meaning the material is normally soluble in developing solution but becomes insoluble in developing solutions after exposure to electromagnetic radiation, such as ultraviolet radiation. All three layers can be made from the same material, or one or more of the layers can be made of different photoimagable materials. By way of example, this embodiment is described with all three layers comprising a negative photoresist material. However, it should be noted that positive photoresists could alternatively be used. In this case, the mask patterns used in the photoimaging steps would be reversed.
Fabrication of the fluidic layer assembly 24 begins by applying a layer of a photoresist material to a desired depth over the thin film stack 22 to provide a chamber layer 46, as shown in FIG. 4. The chamber layer 46 is then imaged by exposing selected portions to electromagnetic radiation through a first mask 48, which masks the areas of the chamber layer 46 that are to be subsequently removed and does not mask the areas that are to remain. Because the chamber layer 46 is a negative photoresist material (by way of example), the portions subjected to radiation undergo polymeric cross-linking, which is depicted in the drawings with double hatching, and become insoluble. In the illustrated embodiment, the area of the chamber layer 46 that will be removed is an area in the center of the chamber layer 46 that corresponds to the firing chambers 28 and the feed channels 30.
After the light exposure, the chamber layer 46 is developed to remove the unexposed chamber layer material and leave the exposed, cross-linked material. This creates a developed area or void 50, as seen in FIG. 5. The void 50 resulting from the removed chamber layer material will eventually form the firing chambers 28 and the feed channels 30. The chamber layer 46 can be developed using any suitable developing technique which includes, for example, using an appropriate agent or developing solution such as propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PGMEA) or ethyl lactate.
Referring to FIG. 6, a sacrificial fill material 52 is applied so as to fill the void 50. The fill material 52 is then planarized, such as through a resist etch back (REB) process or a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. This planarization process removes any excess fill material to bring the fill material 52 in the void 50 flush with the upper surface of the chamber layer 46. Next, another layer of a photoresist material is applied to a desired depth on the upper surface of the chamber layer 46 to provide a first bore layer 54. The fill material 52 keeps first bore layer material out of the void 50. The first bore layer 54 is possibly, although not necessarily, made of the same material as the chamber layer 46.
The first bore layer 54 is then imaged by exposing selected portions to electromagnetic radiation through a second mask 56, which masks the areas of the first bore layer 54 that are to be subsequently removed and does not mask the areas that are to remain. The areas of the first bore layer 54 that are to be removed are a series of relatively small regions of unexposed, soluble material that will become the nozzles 16a, 16b. In the illustrated embodiment, this comprises a series of first regions 58a (only one shown in FIG. 6) that will become the low drop weight nozzles 16a and a series of second regions 58a (only one shown in FIG. 6) that will become a lower portion of the high drop weight nozzles 16b. The first and second regions 58a, 58b are aligned with corresponding fluid ejectors 32. The second mask 56 can be patterned such that the first regions 58a will be smaller in cross-sectional area than the second regions 58b, so that the high drop weight nozzles 16b will have larger cross-sectional areas than the low drop weight nozzles 16a. For example, the first regions 58a can be sized to be 13 microns in diameter, while the second regions 58b can be sized to be 20 microns in diameter.
The exposure is carried out at a predetermined focus offset (i.e., the difference between the nominal focal length of the photoimaging system and the relative positioning of the wafer) that provides a desired profile for the regions 58a, 58b and thus a desired bore profile for the nozzles 16a, 16b. In the illustrated example, exposure is performed at a relatively high focus offset (e.g., about 7-15 microns) to provide a convergent profile. The first bore layer 54 is typically not developed at this point in the process.
Turning to FIG. 7, another layer of photoresist material is applied to a desired depth on top of the first bore layer 54 to provide a second bore layer 60. The second bore layer 60 is possibly, although not necessarily, made of the same material as the chamber layer 46 and/or the first bore layer 54. The second bore layer 60 is then imaged by exposing selected portions to electromagnetic radiation through a third mask 62, which masks the areas of the second bore layer 60 that are to be removed and does not mask the areas that are to remain. The areas of the second bore layer 60 that are to be removed include a series of third regions of unexposed, soluble material 58c, wherein each third region 58c is aligned with, and located above, a corresponding one of the second regions 58b in the first bore layer 54. The third regions 58c are sized similarly to the second regions 58b and are formed with a similar convergent profile.
The second bore layer 60 includes a larger region 64 that surrounds the third regions 58c and is subjected to the electromagnetic radiation so as to undergo polymeric cross-linking and become insoluble in developing solutions. The region 64, which is not subsequently removed, becomes the raised portion 38 of the fluidic layer assembly 24. The region 64 typically extends the entire length of the second bore layer 60 and has a width that is substantially equal to the desired width of the raised portion, which could be 150 microns, for example, or could be as large as half the die or more. The portions of the second bore layer 60 lying outside of the region 64 are additional areas to be removed and are thus not exposed to electromagnetic radiation.
After the first and second bore layers 54 and 60 have been exposed, they are jointly developed (again using any suitable developing technique), to remove the unexposed, soluble bore layer material and leave the exposed, insoluble material, as shown in FIG. 8. This results in the fluidic layer assembly 24 collectively made up by the chamber layer 46, the first bore layer 54, and the second bore layer 60 wherein the remaining portion of the first bore layer 54 makes up the base portion 40 and the remaining portion of the second bore layer 60 defines the raised portion 38. The raised portion 38 is thus formed on the second side 36, with the low drop weight nozzles 16a being formed in the base portion 40 and the high drop weight nozzles 16b being formed in the raised portion 38. In addition, the fill material 52 filling the void 50 in the chamber layer 46 is also removed, leaving a substantially closed space defining the firing chambers 28 and the feed channels 30 that are in fluid communication with the nozzles 16a, 16b. The ink feed hole 26 is then formed in the substrate 20 using any suitable technique, including wet etching, dry etching, deep reactive ion etching (DRIE), laser machining, and the like.
Turning now to FIGS. 9-11, another process for fabricating an inkjet printhead 12 is described. The initial steps for preparing the substrate 20, the thin film stack 22, and the chamber layer 46 (including the void 50 and the fill material 52) are essentially the same as described above and, as such, are not repeated here. As in the first embodiment, the layers comprising the fluidic layer assembly 24 can be formed of any suitable photoimagable materials. By way of example, the layers in this embodiment will also be described as comprising a negative photoresist material, although positive photoresists could alternatively be used.
Once the chamber layer 46 has been applied and processed, a layer of photoresist material is applied to a desired depth on the upper surface of the chamber layer 46 to provide a first bore layer 54, as shown in FIG. 9. The fill material 52 again keeps first bore layer material out of the void 50 in the chamber layer 46. The first bore layer 54 is possibly, although not necessarily, made of the same material as the chamber layer 46.
The first bore layer 54 is then imaged by exposing selected portions to electromagnetic radiation through a fourth mask 66, which masks certain areas of the first bore layer 54 and does not mask the remaining areas. The areas that are not masked, and are thus exposed to radiation, undergo polymeric cross-linking and become insoluble in developing solutions. In this exposure, the entire left side (as seen in FIG. 9) of the first bore layer 54 is exposed except for a first series of relatively small regions of soluble material 58a (only one shown in FIG. 9) that will become the low drop weight nozzles 16a. In the illustrated embodiment, the first regions 58a are aligned with corresponding fluid ejectors 32 and are formed using a suitable focus offset to provide convergent profiles. The right side of the first bore layer 54 is not exposed at this time.
Referring to FIG. 10, the first bore layer 54 is further imaged by exposing selected portions to electromagnetic radiation through a fifth mask 68, which masks certain other areas of the first bore layer 54 and does not mask the remaining areas. In this exposure, the entire right side of the first bore layer 54 that was not previously exposed is exposed except for a second series of relatively small regions of soluble material 58b (only one shown in FIG. 10) that will become the high drop weight nozzles 16b. In the illustrated embodiment, the second regions 58b are aligned with corresponding fluid ejectors 32 and are formed with a low focus offset (e.g., about 4 microns or less) to create a divergent profile. This will prevent any mixing of the fill material 52 and the unexposed first bore layer material.
The fourth and fifth masks 66 and 68 can be patterned such that the first regions 58a will be smaller than the second regions 58b, so that the high drop weight nozzles 16b will have larger cross-sectional areas than the low drop weight nozzles 16a. For example, the first regions 58a can be sized to be 13 microns in diameter, while the second regions 58b can be sized to be 20 microns in diameter. The first bore layer 54 is typically not developed at this point in the process.
Referring to FIG. 11, another layer of photoresist material is applied to a desired depth on top of the first bore layer 54 to provide a second bore layer 60. The second bore layer 60 is possibly, although not necessarily, made of the same material as the chamber layer 46 and/or the first bore layer 54. The second bore layer 60 is then imaged by exposing selected portions to electromagnetic radiation through a sixth mask 70, which masks the areas of the second bore layer 60 that are to be removed and does not mask the areas that are to remain. Selected portions of the first bore layer 54 are also cross-linked by this exposure, thus reducing the amount of soluble material in the second regions 58b. The areas of the second bore layer 60 that are to be removed include a series of third regions of soluble material 58c, wherein each third region 58c is aligned over a corresponding one of the second regions 58b in the first bore layer 54. The third regions 58c are formed using a focus offset that provides a convergent profile.
The second bore layer 60 includes a larger region 64 that surrounds the third regions 58c and is subjected to the electromagnetic radiation so as to undergo polymeric cross-linking and become insoluble in developing solutions. The region 64, which is not subsequently removed, becomes the raised portion 38 of the fluidic layer assembly 24. The region 64 typically extends the entire length of the second bore layer 60 and has a width that is substantially equal to the desired width of the raised portion, which could be 150 microns for example. The portions of the second bore layer 60 lying outside of the region 64 are additional areas to be removed and are thus not exposed to electromagnetic radiation.
After the first and second bore layers 54 and 60 have been exposed, they are jointly developed (again using any suitable developing technique), to remove the unexposed, soluble bore layer material and leave the exposed, insoluble material. This results in the fluidic layer assembly 24 (collectively made up by the chamber layer 46, the first bore layer 54, and the second bore layer 60) having the raised portion 38 formed on the second side 36, with the low drop weight nozzles 16a formed in the base portion 40 and the high drop weight nozzles 16b formed in the raised portion 38. In addition, the fill material 52 filling the void 50 in the chamber layer 46 is also removed, leaving a substantially closed space defining the firing chambers 28 and the feed channels 30 that are in fluid communication with the nozzles 16a, 16b. The ink feed hole 26 is then formed in the substrate 20 using any suitable technique, including wet etching, dry etching, deep reactive ion etching (DRIE), laser machining, and the like.
Turning now to FIGS. 12 and 13, yet another process for fabricating an inkjet printhead 12 is described. Again, the initial steps for preparing the substrate 20, the thin film stack 22, and the chamber layer 46 (including the void 50 and the fill material 52) are essentially the same as described above and, as such, are not repeated here. As in the first two described embodiments, the layers comprising the fluidic layer assembly 24 can be formed of any suitable photoimagable materials. By way of example, the layers in this embodiment will also be described as comprising a negative photoresist material, although positive photoresists could alternatively be used.
Once the chamber layer 46 has been applied and processed, a layer of photoresist material is applied to a desired depth on the upper surface of the chamber layer 46 to provide a first bore layer 54, as shown in FIG. 12. The fill material 52 again keeps first bore layer material out of the void 50 in the chamber layer 46. The first bore layer 54 is possibly, although not necessarily, made of the same material as the chamber layer 46.
The first bore layer 54 is then imaged by exposing selected portions to electromagnetic radiation through a seventh mask 72, which masks certain areas of the first bore layer 54 and does not mask the remaining areas. The areas that are not masked, and are thus exposed to radiation, undergo polymeric cross-linking and become insoluble in developing solutions. In this exposure, the entire left side of the first bore layer 54 (as seen in FIG. 12) is exposed except for a first series of relatively small regions of soluble material 58a (only one shown in FIG. 12) that will become the low drop weight nozzles 16a. In the illustrated embodiment, the first regions 58a are aligned with corresponding fluid ejectors 32. The right side of the first bore layer 54 is not exposed at this time.
Referring to FIG. 13, another layer of photoresist material is applied to a desired depth on top of the first bore layer 54 (before developing the first bore layer 54) to provide a second bore layer 60. The second bore layer 60 is possibly, although not necessarily, made of the same material as the chamber layer 46 and/or the first bore layer 54. The second bore layer 60 is then imaged by exposing selected portions to electromagnetic radiation through an eighth mask 74, which masks the areas of the second bore layer 60 that are to be subsequently removed and does not mask the areas that are to remain. This exposure step also exposes certain areas in the portion on the right side of the first bore layer 54 that were not previously exposed. The areas of the first and second bore layers 54 and 60 that are to be removed include a second series of relatively small regions of soluble material 58b in the first bore layer 54 and a third series of relatively small regions of soluble material 58c in the second bore layer 60 (only one of each shown in FIG. 13) that will become the high drop weight nozzles 16b. Accordingly, between the two exposures, the entire first bore layer 54, except for the first and second regions 58a and 58b, is exposed to radiation. In the illustrated embodiment, the second and third regions 58b and 58c are aligned with each other and with corresponding fluid ejectors 32. The seventh and eighth masks 72 and 74 can be patterned such that the first regions 58a will be smaller than the second and third regions 58b and 58c, so that the high drop weight nozzles 16b will have larger cross-sectional areas than the low drop weight nozzles 16a. For example, the first regions 58a can be sized to be 13 microns in diameter, while the second and third regions 58b and 58c can be sized to be 20 microns in diameter.
The second bore layer 60 includes a larger region 64 that surrounds the second regions 58b and is subjected to the electromagnetic radiation so as to undergo polymeric cross-linking and become insoluble in developing solutions. The region 64, which is not subsequently removed, becomes the raised portion 38 of the fluidic layer assembly 24. The region 64 typically extends the entire length of the second bore layer 60 and has a width that is substantially equal to the desired width of the raised portion, which could be 150 microns for example. The region 64 is preferably large enough to overlap (as shown in FIG. 13) the portion of the first bore layer 54 that was exposed during the first exposure step. The remaining portions of the second bore layer 60 are additional areas to be removed and are thus not exposed to electromagnetic radiation.
After the first and second bore layers 54 and 60 have been exposed, they are jointly developed (again using any suitable developing technique), to remove the unexposed, soluble bore layer material and leave the exposed, insoluble material. This results in the fluidic layer assembly 24 (collectively made up by the chamber layer 46, the first bore layer 54, and the second bore layer 60) having the raised portion 38 formed on the second side 36, with the low drop weight nozzles 16a formed in the base portion 40 and the high drop weight nozzles 16b formed in the raised portion 38. In addition, the fill material 52 filling the void 50 in the chamber layer 46 is also removed, leaving a substantially closed space defining the firing chambers 28 and the feed channels 30 that are in fluid communication with the nozzles 16a, 16b. The ink feed hole 26 is then formed in the substrate 20 using any suitable technique, including wet etching, dry etching, deep reactive ion etching (DRIE), laser machining, and the like.
While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described, it should be noted that various modifications thereto could be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Patent Application
20080024574
