Continuous Inkjet Drop Generators Fabricated From Plastic Substrates

Author

Vaeth, Kathleen M.

Author_Institution

Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester

Volume

16

Issue

5

fYear

2007

Firstpage

1080

Lastpage

1086

Abstract

Fabrication of a functional continuous inkjet drop generator from plastic substrates by exclusively using micro- electromechanical systems (MEMS) processing steps is reported. Polyimide and poly(ethylene naphthalate) sheets that are laminated to a silicon carrier wafer are investigated as the drop generator substrate, and the MEMS processing methods used and associated challenges are discussed in detail. Successful generation of drops in a 600-nozzles-per-inch array that are as small as 2.4 pL in volume (16.5 mum in diameter) at drop velocities of 15.5 m/s is realized with these devices.

Keywords

ink jet printers; micromechanical devices; nozzles; polymers; 600-nozzles-per-inch array; MEMS; functional continuous inkjet drop generator fabrication; micro-electromechanical systems; plastic substrates; polyimide sheets; silicon carrier wafer; size 16.5 mum; velocity 15.5 m/s; Automotive materials; Micromechanical devices; Moisture; Optical device fabrication; Optical materials; Plastics; Polyimides; Polymers; Sheet materials; Silicon compounds; Inkjet printing; micromachining; plastics;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1057-7157

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JMEMS.2007.900887

Filename

4337809