EP1080907A2 - Manufacturing printheads - Google Patents
Manufacturing printheads Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP1080907A2 EP1080907A2 EP00307222A EP00307222A EP1080907A2 EP 1080907 A2 EP1080907 A2 EP 1080907A2 EP 00307222 A EP00307222 A EP 00307222A EP 00307222 A EP00307222 A EP 00307222A EP 1080907 A2 EP1080907 A2 EP 1080907A2
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- orifice plates
- mandrel
- electroforming
- allow
- dies
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 title claims description 19
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 41
- 238000005323 electroforming Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 23
- 239000010409 thin film Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 18
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 claims description 15
- 238000000465 moulding Methods 0.000 claims description 10
- 230000004888 barrier function Effects 0.000 claims description 3
- 239000000853 adhesive Substances 0.000 abstract description 2
- 230000001070 adhesive effect Effects 0.000 abstract description 2
- 235000012431 wafers Nutrition 0.000 description 30
- 239000010410 layer Substances 0.000 description 22
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 8
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 8
- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 5
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 5
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 5
- 239000010703 silicon Substances 0.000 description 5
- 239000004020 conductor Substances 0.000 description 3
- 229910000669 Chrome steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- VYZAMTAEIAYCRO-UHFFFAOYSA-N Chromium Chemical compound [Cr] VYZAMTAEIAYCRO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N Nickel Chemical compound [Ni] PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000005530 etching Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000013047 polymeric layer Substances 0.000 description 2
- HBMJWWWQQXIZIP-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon carbide Chemical compound [Si+]#[C-] HBMJWWWQQXIZIP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910010271 silicon carbide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000010935 stainless steel Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910001220 stainless steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910000990 Ni alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000009825 accumulation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000003989 dielectric material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000003292 glue Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000000873 masking effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052759 nickel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000012811 non-conductive material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229920002120 photoresistant polymer Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
- B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
- B41J2/1625—Manufacturing processes electroforming
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
- B41J2/1601—Production of bubble jet print heads
- B41J2/1603—Production of bubble jet print heads of the front shooter type
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
- B41J2/1607—Production of print heads with piezoelectric elements
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
- B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
- B41J2/1626—Manufacturing processes etching
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
- B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
- B41J2/1631—Manufacturing processes photolithography
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/135—Nozzles
- B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
- B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
- B41J2/1635—Manufacturing processes dividing the wafer into individual chips
Definitions
- This invention relates to a method for manufacturing printheads and in particular thin-film ink-jet printheads for use in pens for ink-jet printers. More particularly, this invention relates to a method for simultaneously attaching orifice plates to a wafer containing printhead dies.
- a prior-art method of manufacturing thin film ink-jet printheads requires orifice plates to be individually attached to printhead dies.
- the method includes a step of electroforming a single sheet of nickel containing a number of orifice plates using a mandrel.
- the mandrel has a substrate of glass, plastic or a polished silicon wafer.
- a thin-film layer of conductive material is deposited on this substrate.
- the conductive material is typically of chrome and stainless steel.
- a layer of dielectric is deposited on the conductive layer.
- This dielectric layer is of a nonconductive material such as silicon carbide. Patterns on the dielectric layer are lithographically formed using conventional masking, ultraviolet exposure and etching techniques to dimensionally define a mold for molding orifices in orifice plates.
- U.S. Patent 4,773,971 discloses a method of making such a mandrel.
- the orifice plates are formed using an electroforming process.
- the orifice plates thus formed are all on a single sheet. Breaking tabs which are also electroformed on the sheet defines the boundaries of each orifice plate.
- the sheet of orifice plates is attached to a mounting tape , for example, the Nitto Denko Elep Holder type V-8T available from Nitto Denko Corporation, Tokyo, Japan,.
- the orifice plates are next singulated into individual orifice plates by breaking the sheet along the breaking tabs.
- the mounting tape holds the singulated orifice plates for further processing.
- a machine next picks and places each orifice plate over a corresponding printhead die on a wafer containing many such dies.
- each printhead consisting of a die and an orifice plate is singulated using dice sawing.
- Each complete pair of orifice plate and printhead die is then ready for attaching to a pen body to complete the fabrication of an ink-jet pen.
- This pen body typically contains an ink reservoir which supplies ink to the printhead.
- the prior art method of manufacturing printheads has several disadvantages. Firstly, the step of attaching orifice plates to the dies on the wafer is a sequential process and is therefore very time consuming. The process of attaching orifice plates is carried out one orifice plate at a time. The total time taken to attach orifice plates on all dies on a single wafer is the total number of dies multiplied by the time taken to attach a single orifice plate to a die. Secondly, there are extraneous steps in such a manufacturing process. Such extraneous steps include the steps of manually separating the orifice plates from the mandrel, attaching the separated orifice plates to the mounting tape and the subsequent singulating of the orifice plates.
- the orifice plates be of a minimum thickness to withstand the rigors of separation from the mandrel and singulation of the orifice plates. This minimum thickness translates to an achievable minimum size of orifices, thus limiting the orifice count on each orifice plate.
- a thinner orifice plate will allow a larger numbers of orifices to be packed into a given area, since the orifices will be relatively smaller.
- a third disadvantage associated with this prior art method is the difficulty to correctly align a singulated orifice plate with a printhead die. A vision system is typically used to align the singlulated orifice plate with the die.
- the aligned orifice plate and the die is then put through a "stake and bake” process where heat and pressure is used to cure a thin layer of glue or adhesive on the die to secure the orifice plate to the die.
- the "stake and bake” process will nonetheless affect this alignment of the small singulated orifice plate with the printhead die.
- a preferred method of fabricating and attaching orifice plates to a wafer of printhead dies includes a step of electroforming individualized orifice plates. These orifice plates are formed in a predetermined pattern on a surface of a mandrel. This predetermined pattern corresponds to the arrangement of printhead dies on the wafer.
- the method also includes a step of aligning the mandrel with the wafer to allow the orifice plates to be aligned with their corresponding printhead dies concurrently.
- a polymeric layer on the printhead dies is then cured to allow the orifice plates to be adhered to their corresponding printhead dies.
- a preferred method of manufacturing thin-film ink-jet printheads includes the steps described above for the fabrication and attaching of orifice plates to a wafer of printhead dies. The preferred method further includes separating the mandrel from the attached orifice plates. After the mandrel is separated, the printhead dies are singulated.
- a thin-film ink-jet printhead has a printhead die including a polymeric barrier layer and an orifice plate.
- the orifice plate is separately electroformed and attached to the printhead die using the above-described method for manufacturing thin-film ink-jet printheads.
- a mandrel for electroforming individualized orifice plates includes a substrate and a metallic layer residing on the substrate.
- the mandrel further includes a dielectric layer.
- This dielectric layer is photolithographically patterned and etched to produce dielectric buttons and boundary strips on the metallic layer.
- the buttons are for defining orifices during the electroforming of the orifice plates.
- the boundary strips ensures that the orifice plates are individually formed.
- the metallic layer, buttons and boundary strips form the molding surfaces of the mandrel.
- Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a sequence of steps in a process of manufacturing thin-film ink-jet printheads according to the present invention.
- Figure 2 is an enlarged isometric view of an illustrative mandrel used in the process of Figure 1.
- Figure 3 is a further enlarged cross-sectional view of a mandrel of Figure 2 taken along a line A-A. This view is shown with orifice plates electroformed on the mandrel.
- Figure 4 is an enlarged and exploded isometric view of the mandrel of Figure 2 in alignment with a wafer of printhead dies for attaching orifice plates on the mandrel onto the printhead dies on the wafer.
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a typical sequence 2 of process steps for manufacturing thin-film ink-jet printheads according to the invention.
- the sequence 2 starts in a CREATE MANDREL step 4, where a mandrel is created for electroforming orifice plates.
- Figure 2 shows an illustrative mandrel 6 which is created in this CREATE MANDREL step 4.
- This mandrel in Figure 2 is shown to be able to form only four orifice plates. It is well known to those skilled in the art that given the size of each orifice plate and the surface area of a silicon wafer, many orifice plates can be formed on a single silicon wafer.
- the process of creating such a mandrel 6 is only briefly described here because such a process is well known to those skilled in the art.
- U.S. Patent 4,773,971 discloses such a process in detail. However, important design constraints will be emphasized.
- the steps of making such a mandrel 6 starts with a polished silicon wafer substrate 8.
- Other suitable materials with a smooth and non-conducting surface such as a glass substrate, an unpolished silicon wafer or a plastic wafer can also be used.
- a layer of conductive thin film 10 such as chrome and stainless steel is deposited on the surface of the substrate 8.
- Other conductive materials may also be used.
- the conductive layer 10 forms a mold for creating an orifice plate.
- a dielectric layer 12 is deposited over the conductive layer 10.
- the dielectric is of silicon carbide.
- Other dielectric materials are equally applicable to the present invention.
- This dielectric layer 12 is lithographically formed with known photoresist, making and etching processes in the art to define dielectric buttons 12 and boundary strips 13 on the conductive layer 10. Holes 14 are etched through the conductive layer 10 and the substrate 8 for subsequent aligning of the mandrel 6 with another wafer on which printhead dies are formed.
- Figure 3 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the mandrel 6 taken along a line A-A of Figure 2.
- the figure also shows a cross-section of two orifice plates 16 electroformed on the mandrel 6.
- the mandrel 6 is inserted into an electroforming bath to form a cathode.
- a metal source material which supplies the electroforming material is made an anode.
- the source material plate is composed of a non-ink-corrosive metal such as a nickel alloy.
- the metal is transferred from the anode metal plate to the cathode mandrel 6.
- the metal attaches to the conductive layer 10 of the cathode mandrel 6 and not the substrate 8, the buttons 12 or the boundary strips 13.
- This attraction of metal to the conductive layer 12 and away from the boundary strips 13 results in individualized orifice plates being formed.
- the attraction of metal away from the buttons 12 also result in the creation of orifices 18 in the orifice plates.
- the electroforming process is continued until a desired thickness of the electroformed orifice plates is achieved.
- Such an electroforming process is well known to those skilled in the art. Those skilled in the art are familiar with the profile of accumulation of metal on the mandrel 6. While the orifice plates are formed, a separate process is used to prepare thin-film printhead dies on a separate wafer.
- Figure 4 is an enlarged and exploded isometric view of a mandrel 6, electroformed orifice plates 16 in alignment with and a wafer 24 of printhead dies 26. It is well known that a barrier layer 28, made of a polymeric material is used to define ink channels and chambers in the printhead dies 26. Alignment markings 30 which correspond to those etched holes 14 on the mandrel 6 are made on the wafer 24.
- the sequence 2 of manufacturing printheads next proceeds to an ALIGN MANDREL WITH DIE WAFER step 32.
- the mandrel 6 with the electroformed orifice plates 16 are aligned with the wafer 24 of printhead dies 26 with the orifice plates 16 facing the dies 26.
- the two wafers are aligned with the aid of a vision system.
- the vision system locates the alignment markings 30 through the alignment holes 14 on the mandrel 6 to align the two to a typical tolerance of less than or equal to one micron. Other alignment methods can also be used.
- pressure is applied to the mandrel 6 to hold the mandrel 6 and wafer 24 together.
- the sequence 2 next proceeds to a BAKE MANDREL AND WAFER step 34, where the mandrel 6 and the wafer 24 are put in an oven which is heated to a temperature of approximately 200 degree Celsius. The mandrel 6 and wafer 24 are left in the oven for a period of approximately 15 minutes. The pressure and heat will cause the polymeric layer 28 to cure and adhere to the orifice plates.
- the sequence proceeds to a SEPARATE MANDREL step 36, where the mandrel 6 is separated from the wafer 24 to leave the orifice plates 16 attached to their respective printhead dies 26. Finally, the completed printheads of die and orifice plates are singulated using a dicing saw in a SINGULATE PRINTHEADS step 38. Each singulated printhead can then be attached to pen body to produce an ink-jet pen which is ready for use in an ink-jet printer. The separated mandrel 6 can be reused to make another set of orifice plates 16.
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- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- This invention relates to a method for manufacturing printheads and in particular thin-film ink-jet printheads for use in pens for ink-jet printers. More particularly, this invention relates to a method for simultaneously attaching orifice plates to a wafer containing printhead dies.
- A prior-art method of manufacturing thin film ink-jet printheads requires orifice plates to be individually attached to printhead dies. The method includes a step of electroforming a single sheet of nickel containing a number of orifice plates using a mandrel. The mandrel has a substrate of glass, plastic or a polished silicon wafer. A thin-film layer of conductive material is deposited on this substrate. The conductive material is typically of chrome and stainless steel. Next, a layer of dielectric is deposited on the conductive layer. This dielectric layer is of a nonconductive material such as silicon carbide. Patterns on the dielectric layer are lithographically formed using conventional masking, ultraviolet exposure and etching techniques to dimensionally define a mold for molding orifices in orifice plates. U.S. Patent 4,773,971 discloses a method of making such a mandrel.
- The orifice plates are formed using an electroforming process. The orifice plates thus formed are all on a single sheet. Breaking tabs which are also electroformed on the sheet defines the boundaries of each orifice plate. In the manufacturing of printheads, the sheet of orifice plates is attached to a mounting tape , for example, the Nitto Denko Elep Holder type V-8T available from Nitto Denko Corporation, Tokyo, Japan,. The orifice plates are next singulated into individual orifice plates by breaking the sheet along the breaking tabs. The mounting tape holds the singulated orifice plates for further processing. A machine next picks and places each orifice plate over a corresponding printhead die on a wafer containing many such dies. The wafer and attached orifice plates are put through a "stake and bake" process to cause the orifice plates to adhere to the dies. After the "stake and bake" process, each printhead consisting of a die and an orifice plate is singulated using dice sawing. Each complete pair of orifice plate and printhead die is then ready for attaching to a pen body to complete the fabrication of an ink-jet pen. This pen body typically contains an ink reservoir which supplies ink to the printhead.
- The prior art method of manufacturing printheads has several disadvantages. Firstly, the step of attaching orifice plates to the dies on the wafer is a sequential process and is therefore very time consuming. The process of attaching orifice plates is carried out one orifice plate at a time. The total time taken to attach orifice plates on all dies on a single wafer is the total number of dies multiplied by the time taken to attach a single orifice plate to a die. Secondly, there are extraneous steps in such a manufacturing process. Such extraneous steps include the steps of manually separating the orifice plates from the mandrel, attaching the separated orifice plates to the mounting tape and the subsequent singulating of the orifice plates. These extraneous step demand that the orifice plates be of a minimum thickness to withstand the rigors of separation from the mandrel and singulation of the orifice plates. This minimum thickness translates to an achievable minimum size of orifices, thus limiting the orifice count on each orifice plate. A thinner orifice plate will allow a larger numbers of orifices to be packed into a given area, since the orifices will be relatively smaller. A third disadvantage associated with this prior art method is the difficulty to correctly align a singulated orifice plate with a printhead die. A vision system is typically used to align the singlulated orifice plate with the die. The aligned orifice plate and the die is then put through a "stake and bake" process where heat and pressure is used to cure a thin layer of glue or adhesive on the die to secure the orifice plate to the die. The "stake and bake" process will nonetheless affect this alignment of the small singulated orifice plate with the printhead die.
- The problems associated with the foregoing process therefore create the need for a faster and more reliable method of manufacturing thin-film ink-jet printheads.
- In one aspect of the present invention, a preferred method of fabricating and attaching orifice plates to a wafer of printhead dies includes a step of electroforming individualized orifice plates. These orifice plates are formed in a predetermined pattern on a surface of a mandrel. This predetermined pattern corresponds to the arrangement of printhead dies on the wafer. The method also includes a step of aligning the mandrel with the wafer to allow the orifice plates to be aligned with their corresponding printhead dies concurrently. A polymeric layer on the printhead dies is then cured to allow the orifice plates to be adhered to their corresponding printhead dies.
- In another aspect of the present invention, a preferred method of manufacturing thin-film ink-jet printheads includes the steps described above for the fabrication and attaching of orifice plates to a wafer of printhead dies. The preferred method further includes separating the mandrel from the attached orifice plates. After the mandrel is separated, the printhead dies are singulated.
- In yet another aspect of the present invention, a thin-film ink-jet printhead has a printhead die including a polymeric barrier layer and an orifice plate. The orifice plate is separately electroformed and attached to the printhead die using the above-described method for manufacturing thin-film ink-jet printheads.
- In yet another aspect, a mandrel for electroforming individualized orifice plates includes a substrate and a metallic layer residing on the substrate. The mandrel further includes a dielectric layer. This dielectric layer is photolithographically patterned and etched to produce dielectric buttons and boundary strips on the metallic layer. The buttons are for defining orifices during the electroforming of the orifice plates. The boundary strips ensures that the orifice plates are individually formed. The metallic layer, buttons and boundary strips form the molding surfaces of the mandrel.
- The invention will be better understood with reference to the drawings, in which:
- Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a sequence of steps in a process of manufacturing thin-film ink-jet printheads according to the present invention.
- Figure 2 is an enlarged isometric view of an illustrative mandrel used in the process of Figure 1.
- Figure 3 is a further enlarged cross-sectional view of a mandrel of Figure 2 taken along a line A-A. This view is shown with orifice plates electroformed on the mandrel.
- Figure 4 is an enlarged and exploded isometric view of the mandrel of Figure 2 in alignment with a wafer of printhead dies for attaching orifice plates on the mandrel onto the printhead dies on the wafer.
- The method of manufacturing thin-film ink-jet printheads according to the present invention is described with the aid of Figure 1. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a
typical sequence 2 of process steps for manufacturing thin-film ink-jet printheads according to the invention. Thesequence 2 starts in aCREATE MANDREL step 4, where a mandrel is created for electroforming orifice plates. Figure 2 shows anillustrative mandrel 6 which is created in this CREATE MANDRELstep 4. This mandrel in Figure 2 is shown to be able to form only four orifice plates. It is well known to those skilled in the art that given the size of each orifice plate and the surface area of a silicon wafer, many orifice plates can be formed on a single silicon wafer. Once themandrel 6 is created, it is reusable. The process of creating such amandrel 6 is only briefly described here because such a process is well known to those skilled in the art. U.S. Patent 4,773,971 discloses such a process in detail. However, important design constraints will be emphasized. The steps of making such amandrel 6 starts with a polishedsilicon wafer substrate 8. Other suitable materials with a smooth and non-conducting surface such as a glass substrate, an unpolished silicon wafer or a plastic wafer can also be used. Next, a layer of conductivethin film 10 such as chrome and stainless steel is deposited on the surface of thesubstrate 8. Other conductive materials may also be used. Theconductive layer 10 forms a mold for creating an orifice plate. Next, adielectric layer 12 is deposited over theconductive layer 10. In this preferred embodiment, the dielectric is of silicon carbide. Other dielectric materials are equally applicable to the present invention. Thisdielectric layer 12 is lithographically formed with known photoresist, making and etching processes in the art to definedielectric buttons 12 and boundary strips 13 on theconductive layer 10.Holes 14 are etched through theconductive layer 10 and thesubstrate 8 for subsequent aligning of themandrel 6 with another wafer on which printhead dies are formed. - The sequence next proceeds to an ELECTROFORM ORIFICE PLATES step 14. Figure 3 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the
mandrel 6 taken along a line A-A of Figure 2. The figure also shows a cross-section of twoorifice plates 16 electroformed on themandrel 6. In electroforming the orifice plates, themandrel 6 is inserted into an electroforming bath to form a cathode. A metal source material which supplies the electroforming material is made an anode. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the source material plate is composed of a non-ink-corrosive metal such as a nickel alloy. During the electroforming process, the metal is transferred from the anode metal plate to thecathode mandrel 6. The metal attaches to theconductive layer 10 of thecathode mandrel 6 and not thesubstrate 8, thebuttons 12 or the boundary strips 13. This attraction of metal to theconductive layer 12 and away from the boundary strips 13 results in individualized orifice plates being formed. The attraction of metal away from thebuttons 12 also result in the creation oforifices 18 in the orifice plates. The electroforming process is continued until a desired thickness of the electroformed orifice plates is achieved. Such an electroforming process is well known to those skilled in the art. Those skilled in the art are familiar with the profile of accumulation of metal on themandrel 6. While the orifice plates are formed, a separate process is used to prepare thin-film printhead dies on a separate wafer. The process of making these printhead dies is well known to those skilled in the art and does not need to be described here. Any prior art process for making such printhead dies are equally applicable to the present invention. Figure 4 is an enlarged and exploded isometric view of amandrel 6,electroformed orifice plates 16 in alignment with and awafer 24 of printhead dies 26. It is well known that abarrier layer 28, made of a polymeric material is used to define ink channels and chambers in the printhead dies 26.Alignment markings 30 which correspond to those etchedholes 14 on themandrel 6 are made on thewafer 24. - The
sequence 2 of manufacturing printheads next proceeds to an ALIGN MANDREL WITHDIE WAFER step 32. In thisstep 32, themandrel 6 with theelectroformed orifice plates 16 are aligned with thewafer 24 of printhead dies 26 with theorifice plates 16 facing the dies 26. The two wafers are aligned with the aid of a vision system. The vision system locates thealignment markings 30 through the alignment holes 14 on themandrel 6 to align the two to a typical tolerance of less than or equal to one micron. Other alignment methods can also be used. After being aligned, pressure is applied to themandrel 6 to hold themandrel 6 andwafer 24 together. - The
sequence 2 next proceeds to a BAKE MANDREL ANDWAFER step 34, where themandrel 6 and thewafer 24 are put in an oven which is heated to a temperature of approximately 200 degree Celsius. Themandrel 6 andwafer 24 are left in the oven for a period of approximately 15 minutes. The pressure and heat will cause thepolymeric layer 28 to cure and adhere to the orifice plates. - After the BAKE MANDREL AND
WAFER step 34, the sequence proceeds to aSEPARATE MANDREL step 36, where themandrel 6 is separated from thewafer 24 to leave theorifice plates 16 attached to their respective printhead dies 26. Finally, the completed printheads of die and orifice plates are singulated using a dicing saw in aSINGULATE PRINTHEADS step 38. Each singulated printhead can then be attached to pen body to produce an ink-jet pen which is ready for use in an ink-jet printer. The separatedmandrel 6 can be reused to make another set oforifice plates 16. - It is clear from the description that the extraneous steps found in the prior art method are eliminated from the process according to the present invention. The process therefore results in a significant saving in time. Since the
orifice plates 16 are not required to be separated from themandrel 6 prior to being attached to the printhead dies 26, they can be electroformed to be thinner than those available in the prior art. These thinner orifice plates result in smaller orifices, and therefore a larger orifice count is achievable.
Claims (8)
- A method of fabricating and attaching orifice plates (16) to printhead dies (26) which are built in a first predetermined pattern on a wafer (24), the method comprising:electroforming individualized orifice plates (16) in a second predetermined pattern on a surface of a mandrel (6);aligning the mandrel (6) with the wafer (24) to allow the orifice plates (16) to be aligned with their corresponding printhead dies (26) concurrently; andcuring polymeric layers on the printheads dies to allow the orifice plates to be adhered to the corresponding printhead dies.
- A method according to Claim 1, further comprising:
fabricating a mandrel having:a substrate;a conductive layer on the substrate having a molding surface to allow the electroforming of orifice plates; anddielectric areas on the molding surface of the conductive layer to allow electroforming of individualized orifice plates and to define orifices on the orifice plates. - A method according to Claim 2, wherein each orifice plate is electroformed to have a substantially flat surface facing the molding surface of the mandrel.
- A method of fabricating thin-film ink-jet printheads given printhead dies which are arranged in a first predetermined pattern on a wafer, the method comprising:electroforming individualized orifice plates in a second predetermined pattern on a surface of a mandrel;aligning the mandrel with the wafer to allow the orifice plates to be aligned with their corresponding printhead dies concurrently;curing polymeric layers on the printheads dies to allow the orifice plates to be adhered to the corresponding printhead dies;separating the mandrel from the orifice plates; andsingulating the printhead dies to produce individual thin-film ink-jet printheads.
- A method according to Claim 4, further comprising:
fabricating a mandrel having:a substrate;a conductive layer on the substrate having a molding surface to allow the electroforming of orifice plates; anddielectric areas on the molding surface of the conductive layer to allow electroforming of individualized orifice plates and to define orifices on the orifice plates. - A method according to Claim 5, wherein each orifice plate is electroformed to have a substantially flat surface facing the molding surface of the mandrel.
- A thin-film ink-jet printhead comprising:a printhead die including a polymeric barrier layer; andan orifice plate which is separately electroformed and attached to the printhead die in a process comprising:electroforming individualized orifice plates in a predetermined pattern on a surface of a mandrel;aligning the mandrel with the wafer to allow the orifice plates to be aligned with their corresponding printhead dies concurrently;curing polymeric layers on the printheads dies to allow the orifice plates to adhere to the corresponding printhead dies;separating the mandrel from the orifice plates; andsingulating the printhead dies to produce individual thin-film ink-jet printheads.
- A mandrel for electroforming orifice plates comprising:a substrate;a metallic layer on the substrate having a molding surface for electroforming orifice plates; anda dielectric layer which is photolithographically patterned and etched to produce dielectric areas on the metallic layer for electroforming individualized orifice plates and for defining orifices in the individualized orifice plates;wherein the metallic layer and dielectric areas form the molding surfaces of the mandrel.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US38310999A | 1999-08-25 | 1999-08-25 | |
US383109 | 1999-08-25 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP1080907A2 true EP1080907A2 (en) | 2001-03-07 |
EP1080907A3 EP1080907A3 (en) | 2002-01-09 |
Family
ID=23511756
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP00307222A Withdrawn EP1080907A3 (en) | 1999-08-25 | 2000-08-22 | Manufacturing printheads |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
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EP (1) | EP1080907A3 (en) |
CN (1) | CN1286172A (en) |
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2014133590A1 (en) * | 2013-02-28 | 2014-09-04 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Molded printhead |
WO2015116025A1 (en) * | 2014-01-28 | 2015-08-06 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Flexible carrier |
WO2017074302A1 (en) * | 2015-10-26 | 2017-05-04 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Printheads and methods of fabricating a printhead |
US10029467B2 (en) | 2013-02-28 | 2018-07-24 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Molded printhead |
US10821729B2 (en) | 2013-02-28 | 2020-11-03 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Transfer molded fluid flow structure |
US11292257B2 (en) | 2013-03-20 | 2022-04-05 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Molded die slivers with exposed front and back surfaces |
US11426900B2 (en) | 2013-02-28 | 2022-08-30 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Molding a fluid flow structure |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7377618B2 (en) * | 2005-02-18 | 2008-05-27 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | High resolution inkjet printer |
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EP0273552A2 (en) * | 1986-10-30 | 1988-07-06 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Method of making mandrels for use in a deposition process |
EP0490061A2 (en) * | 1990-12-13 | 1992-06-17 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Process for continuously electroforming parts such as ink jet orifice plates for inkjet printers |
EP0784105A2 (en) * | 1995-12-22 | 1997-07-16 | SCITEX DIGITAL PRINTING, Inc. | Direct plating of an orifice plate onto a holder |
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2000
- 2000-03-15 CN CN 00104158 patent/CN1286172A/en active Pending
- 2000-08-22 EP EP00307222A patent/EP1080907A3/en not_active Withdrawn
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EP0273552A2 (en) * | 1986-10-30 | 1988-07-06 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Method of making mandrels for use in a deposition process |
EP0490061A2 (en) * | 1990-12-13 | 1992-06-17 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Process for continuously electroforming parts such as ink jet orifice plates for inkjet printers |
EP0784105A2 (en) * | 1995-12-22 | 1997-07-16 | SCITEX DIGITAL PRINTING, Inc. | Direct plating of an orifice plate onto a holder |
Cited By (14)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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US10994539B2 (en) | 2013-02-28 | 2021-05-04 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Fluid flow structure forming method |
WO2014133590A1 (en) * | 2013-02-28 | 2014-09-04 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Molded printhead |
US11541659B2 (en) | 2013-02-28 | 2023-01-03 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Molded printhead |
US10029467B2 (en) | 2013-02-28 | 2018-07-24 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Molded printhead |
US10821729B2 (en) | 2013-02-28 | 2020-11-03 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Transfer molded fluid flow structure |
US11426900B2 (en) | 2013-02-28 | 2022-08-30 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Molding a fluid flow structure |
US10836169B2 (en) | 2013-02-28 | 2020-11-17 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Molded printhead |
US11130339B2 (en) | 2013-02-28 | 2021-09-28 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Molded fluid flow structure |
US11292257B2 (en) | 2013-03-20 | 2022-04-05 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Molded die slivers with exposed front and back surfaces |
US10160209B2 (en) | 2014-01-28 | 2018-12-25 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Flexible carrier for fluid flow structure |
US10751997B2 (en) | 2014-01-28 | 2020-08-25 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Flexible carrier for fluid flow structure |
WO2015116025A1 (en) * | 2014-01-28 | 2015-08-06 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Flexible carrier |
US10661567B2 (en) | 2015-10-26 | 2020-05-26 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Printheads and methods of fabricating a printhead |
WO2017074302A1 (en) * | 2015-10-26 | 2017-05-04 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Printheads and methods of fabricating a printhead |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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CN1286172A (en) | 2001-03-07 |
EP1080907A3 (en) | 2002-01-09 |
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