Effect of different ground hole size on stable meniscus in electrostatic integrated deposition inkjet head

There have been growing interests in direct patterning of metallic contents on the surface of the substrate without including complex steps of the micro fabrication lithography process. The direct fabrication process using ink-jet printing can be expected to be a powerful tool for both nanotechnology research and applications such as micro electronics. The electrostatic inkjet system has a huge number of applications in terms of cost and time effected manufacturing of printed electronics like RFID, electronic devices and flexible display, solar cell, sensors etc. Inkjet printers operate by propelling various size droplets of conductive ink onto the non conductive substrate. For experimental purpose, an integrated electrostatic inkjet nozzle head was fabricated. For the charging of ink meniscus, an electrode is inserted inside the nozzle head containing conductive ink. The difference between the charge meniscus and ground electrode is depended on the ink properties like surface tension, viscosity and number of metallic pigments. Therefore, for the extraction of droplets, a ring type ground terminal with internal diameter of 1.5 mm, 1 mm. 0.5 mm with a fixed distance of 500 um from the meniscus is employed. The paper is focused on the different meniscus shape and extractions in meniscus before dripping is evaluated through experiments. And optimal ground is proposed. This study will help to develop and analysis the integrated electrostatic nozzle head and aspects of the nozzle head.