AU2004214604B2 - Encapsulated ink jet printhead assembly - Google Patents

Description

ENCAPSULATED INK JET PRINTHEAD ASSEMBLY v/ Technical Field 0 This invention relates to the moulding and application of protective caps to

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microelectronic semiconductor chips on a wafer scale as opposed to application on an individual chip basis. More particularly the invention relates to the moulding and ,Oapplication of protective caps to semiconductor chips incorporating Micro Electro SMechanical Systems (MEMS). However the invention is not limited to MEMS applications.

Background Art Semiconductor chips are normally packaged in a protective layer or layers to protect the chip and its wire bonds from atmospheric and mechanical damage. Existing packaging systems typically use epoxy moulding and thermal curing to create a solid protective layer around the chip. This is normally carried out on individually diced chips bonded to lead frames and so must be done many times for each wafer. Alternative methods of packaging include hermetically sealed metal or ceramic packages and array packages such as ball grid array (BGA) and pin grid array (PGA) packages. Recently wafer scale packaging (WSP) has started to be used. This is carried out at the wafer stage before the chips are separated.

The use of and curing techniques subjects the wafer to both mechanical and thermal stresses. In addition the protective cap so formed is a solid piece of material and so cannot be used for MEMS devices, since the MEMS device would be rendered inoperable by the polymer material. Existing packaging systems for MEMS devices include thematically sealed packages for individual devices, or use silicon or glass wafer scale packaging, both of which are relatively high cost operation.

Disclosure of the Invention According to the invention, there is provided a printhead assembly which includes: a substrate having an upper surface and a lower surface and defining a plurality of ink inlet channels extending through the substrate; a plurality of micro-electromechanical inkjet devices positioned on the substrate, such that each device is in fluid communication with a respective ink inlet channel; a first cover member positioned on the upper surface to cover the inkjet devices and WSM23-AU defining a plurality of apertures for the passage of ink from respective inkjet devices; and a second cover member positioned on the lower surface and defining ink supply VI openings for the supply of ink to the ink inlet channels.

oO 00 The substrate may be a-silicon wafer. Each cover member may be of a thermoplastic

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material and may be the product of a moulding process carried out on a sheet of the ,I thermoplastic material.

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The inkjet devices and their respective ink inlet channels may be arranged in rows, 0 with the second cover member defining a series of grooves, each groove in fluid O communication with at least one row of ink inlet channels and each ink supply opening in 0 10 fluid communication with a respective groove.

The printhead assembly may include electrical connections in the form of bond pads and wires positioned on the upper surface of the substrate.

In one broad form the invention provides a package including: a) a chip having a top surface and a bottom surface and having at least one micro fabricated device formed in or on the chip, and b) a first moulded hollow cap bonded to the top surface which, in plan view, overlays part or all of said at least one device, wherein the first cap has been bonded to the chip at the wafer stage prior to separation of the wafer into individual packages.

The bond pads are preferably formed on or in the top surface but may be formed on or in the bottom surface.

The package may further include a second cap bonded to the bottom surface of the chip. The second cap may, in plan view, overlay part or all of the at least one device.

The devices may each be an ink jet device, an accelerometer, a light emitting device, a laser, other MEMS or MOEMS devices or other micro electrical or electromechanical devices or other micro-fabricated devices.

The first cap may include a portion substantially transparent to electromagnetic radiation at one or more wavelengths.

The first cap may include one or more portions capable of refracting electromagnetic radiation passing therethrough.

The first cap may include one or more apertures in a central portion.

In another broad form the invention provides an ink jet print head package including: WSM23-AU a chip having a top surface and a bottom surface and having at least one ink ejection device located on or adjacent to the top surface; 1 a first hollow cap bonded to the top surface and which, in plan view, overlays part 00 or all of the at least one ink ejection device; and wherein the first cap has been bonded to the chip at the wafer stage prior to separation of the wafer into individual packages.

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The first cap of the ink jet print head package may have an aperture in a central portion for each ink ejection device or group of ink ejection devices and aligned to allow ink ejected by a respective ink ejection device to escape to the environment.

I 10 The inkjet print head package may further include one or more ink supply apertures extending through the chip to communicate the one or more ink ejection devices with the second surface.

The ink jet print head package may further include a second hollow cap bonded to the bottom surface of the chip at the wafer stage to define a second cavity. The second cap may, in plan view, overlay part or all of the one or more ink jet ejection devices. The second cap may have at least one aperture to communicate the second cavity with the outside environment.

Each second cap may have one or more walls extending from the central portion to bond with the chip to divide the second cavity into two or more channels. The second cap may have one or more apertures extending through the central portion to communicate a respective channel with the outside environment.

The chip may have one or more slots or apertures extending through the thickness of the chip to communicate the devices with the channels. There may be one slot for each channel or there may be multiple slots per channel.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows a prior art method of forming protective caps on semiconductor chips.

Figure 2 shows a cross section of a prior art packaging made according to the figure 1 method.

Figure 3 shows a cross section of a prior art packaging of a MEMS device.

Figure 4 shows a cross section through a MEMS device packaged according to the invention.

WSM23-AU -4- Figure 5 shows a possible device for forming moulded caps; Figure 6 shows method of applying caps formed using the device of figure 5a to a Ssilicon wafer; 00oO CI Figure 7 shows the wafer and caps of figure 6 bonded together Figure 8 symbolically shows a method for applying moulded caps to a silicon wafer according to the invention; Figure 9 shows the wafer and caps of figure 8 bonded together; Figure 10 shows an exploded cross sectional view of a device for forming the protective caps.

CI 10 Figure 11 shows an exploded perspective view of the device of figure Figure 12 shows a cross sectional view of the device of figure 10 at the commencement of moulding.

Figure 13 shows the device of figure 10 after has finished and just before one side of the mould is released from the other side.

Figure 13a shows an expanded view of part of figure 13.

Figure 14 shows a perspective view of the figure 10 device corresponding to figure 13.

Figure 15 shows a cross sectional side view of the device after one of the moulds has been partially removed.

Figure 16 shows a cross sectional side view of the device after one of the moulds has been fully removed.

Figure 17 shows a cross sectional side view of the device undergoing an etch.

Figure 18 shows a cross sectional side view of the device after undergoing an etch.

Figure 19 shows a cross sectional side view of the device at the commencement of application to a wafer and removal of the second mould.

Figure 20 shows a cross sectional side view of a wafer after application of the caps.

Figure 21 shows a cross sectional side view of a series of chips after singulation of the wafer.

Figure 22 shows a cross sectional side view of a wafer with caps applied to both sides, before singulation of the wafer.

Figure 23 shows an exploded perspective view of a device for forming protective caps for an ink jet device.

Figure 24 shows a perspective view of the device of figure 23 as assembled.

WSM23-AU Figure 25 shows the device of figure 23 at the commencement of moulding.

Figure 26 shows the device of figure 23 after moulding and prior to withdrawal of a Sfirst one of the moulds.

oO Figure 27 shows the device of figure 23 after withdrawal of the first mould.

Figure 28 shows the device of figure 23 after removal of the first mould.

Figure 29 shows a cross sectional side view of the device undergoing an etch.

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Figure 30 shows a cross sectional side view of the device after undergoing an etch.

~Figure 31 shows a cross sectional side view of the device at the commencement of application to a wafer of MEMS inkjet devices and removal of the second mould.

0 N 10 Figure 32 shows a cross sectional side view of a wafer after application of the caps.

Figure 33 shows a cross sectional side view of the wafer with upper and lower handle wafers attached.

Figure 34 shows a cross sectional side view of the wafer with the lower handle wafers removed.

Figure 35 shows a cross sectional side view of the wafer with a series of lower caps being applied.

Figure 36 shows a cross sectional side view of the wafer with the series of lower caps applied and the device removed.

Figure 37 shows a cross sectional side view of the wafer after removal of the upper handle wafer.

Figure 38 shows a cross sectional side view of one of the packaged MEMS chips of figures 26 to 32 in its final packaged state after singulation.

Figure 39 shows a perspective cross sectional view of one of packaged MEMS chips of figures 26 to 32 after singulation.

Best Mode of Carrying out the Invention Referring to figures 1 and 2 there is show a prior art method of forming protective caps on semiconductor wafers on a wafer scale. A semiconductor wafer 10 is clamped against a 12 having cavities 14 formed therein and a liquid polymer material 16 is injected into the cavities 14. The polymer material sets to form solid protective caps 18. The wafer is then singulated using a wafer saw. This technique is not applicable to wafers having MEMS devices formed thereon as the liquid polymer material will surround the MEMS devices and stop them from working.

WSM23-AU -6- O Figure 3 shows the present prior art technique for protecting MEMS devices. The MEMS chip 20 including the MEMS devices 24, shown symbolically, is bonded to a (1) C/ silicon wafer 26. This may be carried out at the individual chip stage or at the wafer stage.

oO C The wafer 26 is typically etched using a crystallographic anisotropic etch using an etchant such as KOH to form a series of recesses 28 which correspond to the locations of the MEMS devices. The wafers 26 are carefully aligned with the MEMS wafer 20 and bonded thereto. While this can be an effective means of packaging MEMS devices, it is expensive as it requires an extra silicon (or sometimes glass) wafer, which must be etched to form the Ccavities.

c 10 Figure 4 shows a MEMS wafer 30 having surface MEMS 32 formed thereon. A hollow protective cap 34 of thermoplastic material made and bonded to the wafer according to the invention is provided so as to form a mechanical and atmospheric protective barrier for the MEMS devices. The cap 34 forms a cavity 36 with the wafer to allow the MEMS device(s) to operate.

The use of thermoplastic hollow caps offers the possibility of providing inexpensive packaging. However, conventional techniques do not provide the required accuracy and thermal stability required for micro fabricated devices.

Figures 5 to 7 show a possible technique for packaging a semiconductor wafer having a number of groups 42 of micro fabricated devices 44, shown symbolically, formed on or in an upper surface 46.

An array of caps 48 is formed using conventional injection moulding methods and steel tools 50 52. The caps are supported on a sprule 54 at the same nominal spacing as the groups 42. Using this method will almost invariably lead to misalignment with resulting destruction of MEMS devices, as shown in figure 7. In figure 7 the cap 48a has been aligned correctly with its group of MEMS devices 42a. However the spacing between the caps is greater than the spacing of the groups so that cap 48b is not aligned correctly, but does not destroy any of the MEMS devices of its respective group 42b. However, the caps 44c d are sufficiently misaligned that the perimeter walls of the caps overlay one or more of the MEMS devices 44, destroying their functionality.

This misalignment can be the result of a number of actors, including differential thermal expansion of the sprule material compared to the silicon wafer, non rigidity of the components and the lack of machinery designed for accurate alignment and bonding of polymers to wafers using these techniques.

WSM23-AU 0 A solution is to use tools which have the same coefficient of thermal expansion as the wafer, such as silicon and figures 8 9 symbolically show a technique using a silicon (1) C/ tool 60 to hold an array of thermoplastics caps 62 as the caps 62 are bonded to the silicon 00 O,1 wafer 40. Since the tool 60 is formed of the same material as the wafer 40, changes in temperature will not result in changes in alignment; the spacing of the caps 60 will change by the same amount as the spacing of the groups 42 of MEMS devices 44. Thus, when

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bonded, all of the caps 60 will be correctly aligned, as shown in figure 9. Additionally there C is much experience in working silicon to the required accuracy.

Figures 10 to 16 schematically show a first system for creating and applying hollow C 10 protective caps to wafers, preferably semiconductor wafers.

Figure 10 shows a system 100 for forming the hollow protective caps shown in figure 4 which may be used with MEMS devices or any other micro fabricated device. The system 100 includes two silicon wafers 102 104. The upper wafer 102 has been processed using conventional lithography and deep silicon etching techniques to have a series of recesses 106 in its lower surface 108. The lower wafer 104 has been similarly processed so that its upper surface 110 has a series of grooves 112 which align with edges of the recesses 106. The recesses 106 and grooves 112 are sized for the chip size of the wafer to be processed and repeat at centres corresponding to the repeat spacing on the wafer. In the embodiment shown the protective caps are designed for a MEMS inkjet printhead and so are very long relative to their width in plan view. The recesses are rectangular, although the ends of the recesses are not shown. The ends of the grooves 112 are not shown but it is to be understood that the grooves 112 at each side of each recess are in fact one groove which has a rectangular shape in plan view.

The grooves 112 for adjacent caps define a portion 114 of material which has not been etched. Similarly adjacent recesses 106 define a portion 116 of material which has not been etched. These portions of material 114 116 align with each other and when the two wafers are pressed together, the two wafers contact each other at these portions 114 116.

The two surfaces have been etched so that the groove 112 for the perimeter of the cap is all in the lower wafer 104 and the recess 104 for the central portion is all in the upper wafer 102.

It is not essential that the wafers only contact on surfaces which have not been etched. Nor is it essential that the central portion is defined by a recess in only one or that the perimeter walls be defined by a groove or recess in only one mould. The effective split WSM23-AU -8line between the may be located at any position desired and need not be planar. However, planarity of the split line will typically simplify fabrication of the moulds.

The assembly 100 also includes an upper release or eject wafer 118 and a lower 00 I release or eject wafer 120. These upper and lower release wafers are silicon wafers which have been processed utilizing conventional lithography and deep silicon etching techniques to have a series of release pins 122 and 124 respectively. The upper and lower mould wafers 102 104 are formed with corresponding holes 126 128 respectively which CI receive the pins 122 124. The upper holes 126 are located generally toward the centre or axis of each recess 106 whilst the lower holes 128 are located in the grooves 112. However CI 10 the location of the holes 126 and 128 is not especially critical and they may be placed as required for ejection of the caps.

The release pins 122 124 have a length greater than the depth of the corresponding holes. When the free ends of the pins 122 align with the inner ends of the holes 126, there is a gap 130 between the upper wafer 102 and the upper release wafer 118.

In this embodiment the length of the lower pins 124 is the same as the thickness of the lower wafer 104. However the length of the pins 124 may be greater than the thickness of the wafer or it may be less. When the length of the pins 124 is less than the maximum thickness of the lower wafer 104 it needs to be greater than the depth of the holes 128, i.e.

at least the reduced thickness of the wafer 104 at the grooves 112. The lower wafers 104 and 120 are positioned with the pins 124 part way inserted in the holes 128 but not extending beyond the holes 128 into the grooves 112 and with a gap 132 between the two wafers. The pins 124 preferably extend to be flush with the ends of the holes so as to form a substantially planar base to the groove 112.

The thickness of the and release wafers is about 800 microns whilst the gaps 130 and 132 are of the order of 10 to 100 microns in thickness. However this is not critical.

The tools are preferably etched using cryogenic deep silicon etching rather than Bosch etching as to produce a smoother etch. Bosch etching produces scalloping of etched side walls, such as the side walls of the pin and cap recesses. The scalloping makes the release of the from the material more difficult. In comparison, using a cryogenic etch results in much smother etched walls, with easier release.

A sheet 134 of thermoplastic material of about 200 to 500 microns in thickness is placed between the two wafers 102 104 and the assembly is placed in a conventional WSM23-AU O wafer bonding machine, such as an EV 501, available from Electronic Visions Group of Sharding, Austria.

(1) C/ The assembly is mechanically pressed together in the machine but it will be oO 00 CI appreciated that the wafers may be urged toward each other to deform the thermoplastic sheet by applying an above ambient pressure to the gaps 130 132. Alternatively other I means may be used.

The sheet 134 may be heated by conduction but is preferably heated by radiation CI and preferably by using infrared radiation, as indicated by arrows 136 in figure 12. A combination of conductive and radiant heating may be used. The mould and release wafers CI 10 102 &104 and 118 120 respectively are formed of silicon, which is substantially transparent to infrared light of a wavelength in the range of about 1000 nm to about 5000 nm. The material 134 chosen either intrinsically absorbs light within this wavelength range or is doped so as to absorb light within this wavelength range. If the material 134 does not intrinsically absorb within this range, a suitable dopant is "carbon black" (amorphous carbon particles) which absorbs light at these wavelengths. Other suitable dopants may be used.

The sheet 134 is placed between the two wafers and exposed to infrared light at a suitable wavelength, as indicated by arrows 136. The infrared radiation is preferably supplied from both sides of the wafers and the sheet 134 to provide symmetrical heating, but this is not essential and the infrared radiation may be supplied from only one side.

Because the silicon wafers are transparent to the infrared radiation, the infrared radiation passes through the wafers and is absorbed by the sheet 134. After heating to a suitable temperature the wafers may then be urged together to deform the sheet 134. The wafers may be pressed together whilst the sheet 134 is being heated rather than waiting for the sheet 134 to be fully heated, particularly if conductive heating is being used. If a material other then silicon is used heating of the sheet 134 may be achieved using electromagnetic radiation at other wavelengths to which the material used is substantially transparent.

When processed in a wafer bonding machine the sheet 134 is moulded to the shape of the cavity defined by the recess 106 and the groove 112. The material is also substantially squeezed out of the gap between the two portions 114 116, as indicated by arrows 142 in figure 13a, to form a series of caps 138 As previously mentioned, the mould wafers 102 102 are formed using conventional lithography and deep silicon etching techniques. The accuracy of this process WSM23-AU is dependant on the lithography and the resist used. The etch selectivity of silicon versus resist is typically between about 40:1 and about 150:1, requiring a resist thickness for a 500 u rm thick etch of between about 15 gm and 4 gtm respectively. Using a contact or proximity 00 C mask, critical dimensions of around 2 gtm can be achieved. Using steppers, electron beam or X-ray lithography the critical dimensions can be reduced to less than a micron. Thus the material 134 may be squeezed out totally from between the portions 114 116, totally separating the adjacent caps 136. Alternatively a thin layer 140 up to about 2 microns thick N, may be left between the portions 114 116 between adjacent caps 136 due to the variation in position of the relative surfaces due to manufacturing tolerances.

i 10 It is not essential that the mould wafers or the release wafers be made of semiconductor materials or that they are processed using conventional lithography and deep silicon etching methods. Other materials and methods may be used if desired. However, the use of similar materials to the semiconductor wafers provides better accuracy since temperature changes have less effect. Also lithography and deep silicon etching methods are well understood and provide the degree of accuracy required. In addition, the one fabrication plant may be used for production of both the semiconductor devices and the apparatus.

It will be appreciated that the two mould wafers 102 104 will need to be shaped so that there is space for the material to move into as it is squeezed out from between the two wafers.

After forming of the protective caps 138 it is preferred to remove the lower mould and release wafers 104 120 whilst leaving the material 134 still attached to the upper mould wafer 102. A vacuum is applied to the gap 132 between the lower mould and release wafers. The release wafers 118 120 are mounted in the assembly so as to be immovable whilst the mould wafers 102 104 are movable perpendicular to the general plane of the wafers. Accordingly, the lower mould wafer 104 is drawn downwards to the release wafer 120. The pins 124 of the release wafer 120 firmly press against the material 134 and so retain the material 134 in position and prevent it moving downwards with the lower mould wafer 124. The configuration of the assembly 100 after this stage is shown in figure The lower release wafer 120 now only contacts the material 134 by pins 124 and so it is now relatively easy to remove the lower release wafer 120 from contact with the material 134 without dislodging the material from the upper mould wafer 102. This is done WSM23-AU -11- O and the assembly is then in the configuration shown in figure 16, with the material 134 exposed for further processing and attachment to a wafer.

Whilst still attached to the upper mould, the sheet 134 is then subject to an etch, 00oO CI preferably an oxygen plasma etch, from below, to remove the thin layer 140 of material, as shown in figure 17. The etch has little effect on the rest of the material due to the significant greater in thickness of the rest of the material. The etched assembly is shown in figure 18.

The assembly is then placed over a wafer 144 having a number of chips formed on the wafer. Each chip has a plurality of MEMS devices 146. The components are aligned and then placed in a conventional wafer bonding machine, such as an EV 501 to bond the C 10 caps 138 to the wafer. The array of chips is positioned so that each cap overlays part or all of a chip. The devices are shown symbolically and may be MEMS devices, MOEMS devices, other micro fabricated devices, passive electronic elements or conventional semiconductor devices.

The assembly is removed from the wafer bonding machine and a vacuum is then applied to the upper gap 130 so as to draw the upper mould wafer 102 up toward the upper release wafer 118. Similar to the release of the lower mould wafer, the caps 138 are held in place by the pins 122 of the upper release wafer. Thus the chance of accidental detachment of any of the caps from the wafer due to the act of removing the upper mould wafer is reduced, if not totally prevented.

The wafer 144 is now in a state where each chip is protected by a discrete cap 138.

The wafer can then be singulated into individual dies. If the chips are arranged in a regular array, the conventional methods of wafer singulation sawing or scribing may be used.

However, if the separation lines between chips are not regular or if the chips are too fragile for sawing or scribing, deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) may be used to singulate the wafers. Although DRIE is much more expensive than wafer sawing, this is moot if the wafer already required through wafer deep etching, as is the case with an increasing number of MEMS devices. If etching is used, the wafer 144 is next subject to a deep silicon etch in an etching system, such as an Alcatel 601 E or a Surface Technology Systems Advanced Silicon Etch machine, to separate the wafer 144 into individual packages. This etch is carried out at a rate of about 2 to 5 microns per minute and may be applied from either the cap side of the wafer or the bottom side of the wafer. The etch is highly anisotropic (directional) so there is relatively little etching of silicon sideways of the direction of the etch. If the etch is applied from the caps side, the caps 138 act as masks and only the silicon WSM23-AU -12material between the caps is etched. The etching continues until all the silicon material between individual chips is removed, thereby separating the chips 148 for subsequent processing. If the etch is applied from below, a separate mask will need to be applied to the 00 bottom surface of the wafer.

Any silicon exposed to the direction of the deep etch at the separation stage will be etched away. Thus if the etch is from the top (cap) side any exposed silicon which needs to be retained, such as electrical bond pads, on the upper surface of the chip should be protected, such as by a resist, which must be removed prior to wire bonding. An alternative is to apply a mask to the lower surface of the wafer and to deep silicon etch from the rear.

C 10 Alternatively second caps may be provided for the lower surface of the wafer, utilizing the same manufacturing methods as for the upper caps and using the lower caps as masks for the etch. By providing both upper and lower caps at the wafer stage, each chip is substantially completely packaged prior to singulation.

Figure 22 shows a technique for providing protective caps for both the upper and lower surfaces. The figure shows a wafer 150 upon which have been formed a series of MEMS device chips 153 on an upper surface 154. Each chip 153 includes one or more MEMS devices 152 and optionally other micro fabricated elements. A first set of protective caps 156 have been formed on the upper surface 154 as per the techniques of the invention previously described. The bond pads 158 of the individual chips 153 are on the upper surface 154 and are not covered by the protective caps 156. A second set of protective caps 160 have been formed on the lower surface 162 of the wafer as per the techniques of the invention previously described. The first and second sets of protective caps may be applied to the wafer sequentially or may be applied to the wafer simultaneously. The order of application is not important. The second set of caps 160 are located under each chip 153 but are larger than the first set 156 and extend under and beyond the bond pads 158.

The wafer 150 is then subject to a deep silicon etch from the lower surface of the wafer as indicated by arrows 164, rather than from the upper surface, to separate the individual chips. The lower caps 160 thus act as a mask to the bond pads 158 and because the etching process is very directional, only silicon between the lower caps 160 of the individual chips is etched away. The bond pads 158 and other exposed parts on the upper surface within the outline of the lower caps are substantially unaffected by the etch and so the chips 152 will not be damaged by the etch.

WSM23-AU -13- It will be appreciated that the provision of the second set of caps is only a necessity where a hollow space is required; if a second set of caps is unnecessary or undesirable, a (1) C/ resist may be coated onto the lower surface with a grid pattern to leave areas between the 00oO CI chips exposed for deep etching.

Figure 38 and 34 show a packaged MEMS ink jet print head 220. The print head 220 includes a MEMS ink jet wafer 242 having a series of MEMS ink jet devices 244 formed in or on the upper surface 246. The ink jet devices 244 extend both transversely and longitudinally along the wafer 242. In this embodiment there are four pairs of columns each of ink jet devices 244 extending across the chip and these may be used for different colours 10 of ink. Each pair of the columns of the ink jet devices 244 has an ink supply channel, aperture, pipe or tube 262 extending fully though the thickness of the wafer, through which ink is supplied. For each column pair, in the longitudinal direction, the ink jet devices 244 are arranged in two columns with adjacent inkjet devices located at half their in line spacing.

The upper surface 246 of the wafer has a protective cap 231 bonded thereto. The cap 231 is preferably formed using the techniques described with reference to figures 1 to 17. The preferred technique for packaging the wafer will be described with reference to figures 18 to 33. The cap 231 has an aperture 238 for each of the ink jet devices 244, to allow ink to be ejected onto a substrate, such as paper. Electrical connections to the chip are provided by bond pads 270 and wires 272, located on the upper surface 246.

The chip has a second cap 258 bonded to its lower surface 256. This cap is formed similarly to the upper cap but is formed so as to have a series of channels 260 extending longitudinally along the cap. The cap 258 is formed so that when bonded to the chip the channels 260 are isolated from each other but communicate with the ink supply apertures 262. The cap 258 is also formed with a number of apertures 224 which communicate with the channels 260. Preferably these apertures are staggered along the length of the cap 258.

This allows for connection of ink supply means (not shown) extending transversely to the cap 258. As mentioned above, there are four sets of ink jet devices and corresponding channels and, if desired, these may be supplied with different colour inks.

Production of the upper cap 231 commences by moulding a thermoplastic sheet as shown in figure 23 using the techniques described with reference to figures 1 to 17.

An MEMS inkjet printhead is normally a full pagewidth printhead and accordingly the printhead will have a small number of rows ofinkjet devices extending across the full WSM23-AU -14page width. The protective caps thus have a relatively small width and a large length. The caps are shown sectioned across the width with the length extending into and out of the sheet.

00 oO CI Referring to figure 23, the upper mould 202 is provided with a plurality of aperture forming column like rods 206. These rods 206 are arranged into four sets of two columns each and extend from the base 208 of a recess 210. This recess 210 is the length of the printhead. The free ends of the rods are in the same plane as the general lower surface 212 N, of the mould. The rods of each column have a regular spacing with the adjacent rods offset by half this spacing. This allows the two columns of each group to be spaced closer than CI 10 otherwise.

The upper mould 202 is provided with a series of release pin apertures 214 at regular intervals along its length and an upper release wafer 216 is provided with upper release pins 218 to be slidably inserted into these apertures 214. The apertures are preferably at the transverse edges of the recess 210.

The lower mould 204 is provided with two longitudinally extending slots 220, the transverse edges of which align with the transverse edges of the recesses 210. The lower mould 204 has a series of lower release pin apertures 224 at regular intervals along its length and a lower release wafer 226 is provided with lower release pins 228 to be slidably inserted into these apertures. The apertures 224 are preferably at the transverse edges of the slots 220.

For clarity the two columns of each group of rods are shown as a single column in figures 19 to 26.

A sheet 231 of thermoplastic material is pressed between the two moulds as per the technique described in general and heated by infrared radiation 239, as shown in figure 24, to form a series of caps 233. This leads to the configuration shown in figure 26. As seen in figure 26 the rods 206 align against the upper surface 234 of the lower mould and press the thermoplastic material out from the space between the rods 206 and the lower mould 204.

Due to manufacturing tolerances the thermoplastic material may not be removed fully, leaving a flashing 236.

The lower mould 204 is withdrawn from the thermoplastic material by application of a vacuum to the space 258 between the lower mould 204 and the release wafer 226. The lower release pins 228 have a length less than the thickness of the lower wafer 202 so the lower mould 202 remains attached to the side walls of the thermoplastic material, as shown WSM23-AU O in figure 27. The lower mould 202 and release wafer 246 are then withdrawn, as shown in figure 28.

Whilst still attached to the upper mould, the thermoplastic material 231 is then 00 subject to an etch, preferably an oxygen plasma etch, from below, to remove the flashing material 236, as shown in figure 24. This etch exposes the ends of the rods 206, as seen in figure 30 and ensures that all the apertures 238 formed by the rods 206 do in fact extend through the thickness of the thermoplastic material 231. The etch has little effect on the rest N, of the thermoplastic material due to the significant greater thickness of the rest of the thermoplastic material.

r, 10 The caps 233 are then bonded to a micro-fabricated device wafer 243 having inkjet devices 244 formed on or in the upper surface 246, as seen in figure 31. The bond pads 270 for each set of inkjet devices are located outside of the footprint of the respective cap 233.

Whilst only one cap 233 is shown it is understood that there will be many caps side by side.

The device wafer 243 has a handling wafer 248 bonded to its lower surface. A UV activated release coating 250 is used so that on application of UV light the coating will release the handling wafer 248 from the device wafer 243.

The caps 233 are bonded to the device wafer as previously described and the upper mould 202 is removed using the two stage vacuum removal technique previously described to leave the device wafer capped, as shown in figure 32. A handling wafer 252 is then bonded to the caps 233, as shown in figure 33. Again a UV activated release coating 254 is used so that on application of UV light the coating 254 will release the handling wafer 252 from the caps 233.

The lower handling wafer 248 is then removed after application of UV light, as shown in figure 34, leaving the lower surface 256 of the device wafer 243 exposed. A series of lower caps 258 formed using similar techniques to the first cap are then bonded to the lower surface 256 of the device, as seen in figure 35. The lower caps 258 have four longitudinally extending grooves 260 which align with slots 262 in the device wafer 260.

The lower caps 258 are bonded using the lower mould 264 and lower release wafer 266 used to form them and the mould is released in a similar manner to release of the upper cap to leave the assembly with the upper handling wafer 252 attached as seen in figure 36. This upper handling wafer 252 is then removed on application of UV light (see figure 37) to leave the wafer as seen in figure 37. The wafer is then singulated and the individual printhead chips mounted and connected to package connectors, as seen in figures 33 and WSM23-AU -16- 34.

The lower caps are also formed with ink supply apertures 268 in the slots 260 to Senable ink to be supplied to the four channels at one or more intermediate points along the 00 CI length of the cap. Alternatively ink may be supplied from one or both ends of the slots 260.

Throughout the specification, reference is made to semiconductors and more particularly silicon semiconductors. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to use on semiconductors or silicon based semiconductors and has application to non N, semiconductor devices and to non silicon based semiconductors, such as those based on gallium arsenide semiconductors.

cI 10 Whilst the invention has been described with particular reference to MEMS devices, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to MEMS or MOEMS devices and has application to any devices which are or may be bulk fabricated on a wafer.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many obvious modifications and variations may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

WSM23-AU

Claims (6)

1. A printhead assembly which includes: 00 a substrate having an upper surface and a lower surface and defining a plurality of ink inlet channels extending through the substrate; a plurality ofmicro-electromechanical inkjet devices positioned on the substrate, ,O such that each device is in fluid communication with a respective ink inlet channel; a first cover member positioned on the upper surface to cover the inkjet devices and defining a plurality of apertures for the passage of ink from respective inkjet devices; and Sa second cover member positioned on the lower surface and defining ink supply openings for the supply of ink to the ink inlet channels.

2. A printhead assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the substrate is a silicon wafer.

3. A printhead assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which each cover member is of a thermoplastic material and is the product of a moulding process carried out on a sheet of the thermoplastic material.

4. A printhead assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the inkjet devices and their respective ink inlet channels are arranged in rows, with the second cover member defining a series of grooves, each groove in fluid communication with at least one row of ink inlet channels and each ink supply opening in fluid communication with a respective groove.

A printhead assembly as claimed in claim 1, which includes electrical connections in the form of bond pads and wires positioned on the upper surface of the substrate.

6. A new printhead assembly, substantially as described herein, with reference to the accompanying drawings. WSM23-AU