200904647 九、發明說明 【發明所屬之技術領域】 本發明關於具有高噴嘴密度的列印頭積體電路，和使 用光成像裝置製造該等列印頭積體電。 【先前技術】 列印影像的品質絕大部分取決於印表機的解析度，因 此’不斷地努力改善印表機的列印解析度。列印解析度密 切地取決於液滴體積和印表機在媒介基材上可尋址（ addressable )位置的間隔。噴墨頭上各噴嘴之間的間隔不 須像媒介基材上各可尋址位置之間的間隔一樣地小。在一 個可尋址位置處列印一點的噴嘴和在鄰近可尋址位置處列 印一點的噴嘴’可間隔任何距離。不管列印頭上各噴嘴之 間的間隔’列印頭相對於媒介的運動、或媒介相對於列印 頭的運動、或上述兩種運動，會允許列印頭噴射液滴在每 一可尋址位置。載極端的狀況，由於列印頭和媒介之間適 當的相對運動，相同的噴嘴可以列印相鄰的液滴。 媒介相對於列印頭的過量運動，會降低列印速率。在 頁寬列印頭的情況，掃描列印頭對一整包媒介的多次通過 、或媒介多次通過列印頭，會減少每分鐘列印頁數的列印 速率。 此外，各噴嘴可沿著媒介饋給路徑或在掃描方向被隔 開，所以媒介上各可尋址位置小於相鄰噴嘴的物理間隔。 可瞭解的是在紙路徑或掃描方向的一大段內間隔地設至多 -4- 200904647 個噴嘴，違反了袖珍設計。再者，隨著步進機或掃描器需 要沿著晶圓只是以將每一步驟的光微影圖案曝光，也增加 了製造成本和時間。 【發明內容】 因此’本發明提供一種用於噴墨印表機的列印頭，該 列印頭包含： 配置在相鄰列中的一陣列噴嘴，每一噴嘴具有噴射孔 和用於將列印流體噴射經過該噴射孔的對應致動器，每一 致動器具有在該等列之橫方向彼此相隔開的電極；和 驅動電路，用於將電力傳輸至該等電極；其中 在相鄰列中之該等致動器的該等電極具有相反的極性 ，所以在相鄰列中之該等致動器具有相反的電流流動方向 〇 藉由使在相鄰列之電極的極性相反，可將CMOS之電 力平面內的穿孔保持在相鄰列的外側邊緣。此將各穿孔之 間的一排狹窄阻抗性橋部，移動至電流不流過橋部的位置 。此從致動器驅動電路消除橋部的阻抗。藉由減少遠離列 印頭積體電路之電力供給側的致動器的阻抗性損失’可使 整個陣列所有噴嘴的液滴噴射特徵呈一致。 較佳地，在每一列中之該等電極從其相鄰的致動器往 該列之橫方向偏移，所以每個第二致動器的該等電極共線 。在另一較佳的形式中，該偏移小於4 0微米。在特別佳 的形式中，該偏移小於3 0微米。較佳地’該陣列噴嘴被 -5- 200904647 製造在長形晶圓基板上’該晶圓基板平行於該陣列的該等 列而延伸，且該驅動電路是在該晶圓基板之一表面上的 CMOS層，沿著該晶圓基板的長邊緣供給電力和資料給該 等CMOS層。在另一較佳的形式中，該CMOS層具有形成 電力平面的頂部金屬層，其帶有正電壓，所以具有負電壓 的該等電極連接至形成在該電力平面內之孔中的導孔。在 又一較佳的形式中’該CMOS層具有供底部金屬層內每一 致動器用的驅動場效電晶體（FET )。較佳地’該CM0S 層具有厚度小於0.3微米的金屬層。 在一些實施例中，該等致動器是加熱器元件’用於在 該列印流體內產生蒸汽泡泡，使得從該噴射孔噴射出該列 印流體的液滴。較佳地’該等加熱器元件是懸架在其個別 電極之間的樑，所以該等加熱器元件是浸没在該列印流體 內。較佳地，該等噴射孔是橢圓形，且噴射孔的長軸平行 於該樑的縱軸。在另一較佳形式中’該等列其中一列內之 該等噴射孔的該等長軸和相鄰列內之該等噴射孔的該等長 軸共線，所以該等列其中一列內的每一噴嘴和該相鄰列內 其中一噴嘴對齊。較佳地，相鄰噴射孔的長軸相隔開小於 5 0微米。在另一較佳形式中’相鄰噴射孔的長軸相隔開小 於2 5微米。在特別佳的形式中，相鄰噴射孔的長軸相隔 開小於1 6微米。 在特別的實施例中，在媒介饋給方向的橫方向中’該 列印頭具有每吋多於1 600個噴嘴（npi )的噴嘴節距。在 較佳實施例中’該噴嘴節距是大於30〇〇 npi。在特別佳的 200904647 實施例中，該列印頭具有之每吋點數（dpi )的列印解析 度’等於該噴嘴節距。在特定實施例中，該列印頭是頁寬 列印頭，其被建構用於列印A4尺寸媒介。較佳地，該陣 列具有多於100000個噴嘴。 因此，本發明提供一種用於印表機的噴墨列印頭，其 會1以不同的列印解析度列印在基材上，該噴墨列印頭包含 一陣列的噴嘴，每一噴嘴具有噴射孔和用於將列印流 體噴射經過該噴射孔的對應致動器；和 一列印引擎控制器，用於將列印資料送至該陣列的噴 嘴；其中 在使用期間，藉由將列印資料分配給該陣列之至少二 噴嘴之間的單一噴嘴，該列印引擎控制器可選擇性地降低 該列印解析度。 本發明認知到一些列印工作不需要列印頭的最好解析 度較低的解析度完全適合於待列印文件的目的。此情況 在列印頭具有非常高解析度（例如大於1 200 dpi )時是特 別地真實。藉由選擇較低的解析度，列印引擎控制器（ PEC )可將具有較少噴嘴之列印頭中二或更多個橫向相鄰 (但不需接觸）的噴嘴當作單一虛擬噴嘴。然後該等相鄰 噴嘴共享列印資料…-虛擬噴嘴所要求的點（dots )被每一 實際的噴嘴輪流列印。此用於延長所有噴嘴的作業壽命。 較佳地，設置該二噴嘴在該陣列中的位置’使得該二 噴嘴在該列印頭相對於該基材之運動的橫方向中是最接近 -7- 200904647 的鄰居。較佳地，該列印引擎控制器平等地分享該列印資 料給該陣列中的該二噴嘴。在另一較佳形式中，該二噴嘴 中心相隔開小於20微米。在特別佳的形式中，該列印頭 是頁寬列印頭，且該二噴嘴中心在該媒介饋給方向的橫方 向中相隔開小於16微米。在特定的實施例中，該二噴嘴 中心在該媒介饋給方向的橫方向中相隔開小於8微米。在 特殊實施例中，該列印頭在該媒介饋給方向的橫方向中， 具有的噴嘴節距是每吋多於1 600個噴嘴（npi )。在較佳 實施例中，該噴嘴節距是大於3 000 npi。在特別佳的實施 例中，該列印頭具有之每吋點數（dpi )的列印解析度， 等於該噴嘴節距。在特定實施例中，該列印頭被建構用於 列印A4尺寸媒介，且該列印頭具有多於1 00000個噴嘴。 在一些實施例中當以較低的列印解析度列印時，該印 表機以較高的列印速率作業。較佳地，該較高的列印速率 是每分鐘多於60頁。在較佳的形式中，該列印引擎控制 器以高頻振動矩陣將該等相鄰噴嘴所列印的彩色平面半調 色（halftone )，該高頻振動矩陣被最佳化用於每一噴射 液滴的橫向移位。 因此，本發明提供一種噴墨列印頭，包含： 一陣列的噴嘴，配置在相鄰的列中；每一噴嘴具有噴 射孔、用於容置列印流體的腔室、和對應的致動器；該致 動器用於將該列印流體噴射經過該噴射孔；每一腔室具有 個別的入口以再塡注列印流體，該列印流體被該致動器噴 射；和 -8 - 200904647 列印流體供給通道’其平行該等相鄰列而延伸，以經 由該等個別入口供給列印流體至該陣列中每一噴嘴的致動 器；其中 建構在該等相鄰列其中一列內之該等噴嘴入口，使其 再塡注流率不同於經過該等相鄰列之另一列內之該等噴嘴 入口的再塡注流率。 本發明建構的噴嘴使得一側的墨水供給通道塡注數列 。因爲供給通道不只供給一側的一列噴嘴，所以上述建構 允許列印頭表面上的噴嘴密度較大。但是因爲每列之經過 入口的流率不同，所以離供給通道較遠的列不會有顯著較 長的再塡注時間。 較佳地’建構在該等相鄰列其中一列內之該等噴嘴入 口，使其再塡注流率不同於經過該等相鄰列之另一列內之 該等噴嘴入口的再塡注流率，所以陣列中所有噴嘴的腔室 再塡注時間大致均句。在另一較佳形式中，最靠近供給通 道之列的入口，比遠離供給通道之列更狹窄。在一些實施 例中’在供給通道兩側的任一側上，有二相鄰列的噴嘴。 較佳地’入口具有流動阻尼構造。在特別佳的形式中 ’流動阻尼構造是柱’設計該柱的位置，使其產生流動障 礙。在一列之入口內的柱和在其他列之入口內的柱，產生 不同程度的障礙。較佳地，柱在柱的側面和入口側壁之間 產生泡泡陷阱或捕捉器。較佳地，柱擴散傳播列印流體內 的壓力脈衝，以降低噴嘴之間串擾。 在一些實施例中’該等致動器是加熱器元件，用於在 -9- 200904647 該列印流體內產生蒸汽泡泡，使得從該噴射孔噴射出該列 印流體的液滴。較佳地，該等加熱器元件是懸架在其個別 電極之間的樑’所以該等加熱器元件是浸没在該列印流體 內。較佳地’該等噴射孔是橢圚形，且噴射孔的長軸平行 於該樑的縱軸。較佳地，相鄰噴射孔的長軸相隔開小於5 0 微米。在另一較佳形式中，相鄰噴射孔的長軸相隔開小於 2 5微米。在特別佳的形式中，相鄰噴射孔的長軸相隔開小 於16微米。 在特別的實施例中，在媒介饋給方向的橫方向中，該 列印頭具有每吋多於1 600個噴嘴（npi )的噴嘴節距。在 較佳實施例中，該噴嘴節距是大於3000 npi。在特別佳的 實施例中，該列印頭具有之每吋點數（dpi )的列印解析 度，等於該噴嘴節距。在特定實施例中，該列印頭是頁寬 列印頭，其被建構用於列印 A4尺寸媒介。較佳地，該陣 列具有多於100000個噴嘴。 因此，本發明提供一種噴墨列印頭，包含： 一陣列的噴嘴，配置在一系列的列中：每一噴嘴具有 噴射孔、用於保持列印流體的腔室、和加熱器元件；該加 熱器元件用於在腔室所容置的該列印流體內產生蒸汽泡泡 ，以將該列印流體的液滴噴射經過該噴射孔；其中 該噴嘴、該加熱器元件、和該腔室全部是長形構造， 該等長形構造具有長的尺寸，該長的尺寸分別超越各長形 構造的其他尺寸：和 該噴嘴、該加熱器、和該腔室之個別長的尺寸是平行 -10- 200904647 的，且垂直於該列方向而延伸。 爲了增加列的噴嘴密度，每一噴嘴組件-腔室、噴射 孔、和加熱器元件都被建構成長形構造，該等長形構造在 列方向的橫方向全部對齊。此提昇了列的噴嘴節距或每吋 的噴嘴數（npi ) ’同時允許保持足夠大之腔室容積和液 滴體積’以供合適的顏料密度之用。此亦避免在紙饋給方 向（在頁寬印表機的情況）或在掃描方向（在掃描列印頭 的情況）擴展大距離的需要。 較佳地’該陣列中的每一列相對於其相鄰列偏移，所 以一列中該等噴嘴的該等長的尺寸沒有一者，不和該相鄰 列中該等長的尺寸的任意者共線的。在另一較佳的形式中 ，該列印頭是頁寬列印頭，用於列印至在媒介饋給方向饋 給通過列印頭的媒介基材，所以該等噴嘴之該等長的尺寸 ，平行於該媒介饋給方向。 較佳地，每個第二噴嘴之長的尺寸是在登錄中。在特 別佳的形式中，所有該等噴嘴的該等噴射孔形成在平坦的 頂部層中，該頂部層局部界定該腔室；該頂部層具有外部 表面，該外部表面除了該等噴射孔以外’其餘是平坦的。 在特別佳的形式中’該陣歹[」的噴嘴形成在下面之基板上’ 該基板平行於該頂部層而延伸，且藉由在該頂部層和該基 板之間延伸的側壁局部界定該腔室’設計該側壁的形狀’ 使得該側壁的內部表面至少局部呈糖圓形。較佳地’除了 供列印流體用的入口開口以外’該側壁呈橢圓形。在特別 佳的形式中，在該等列其中之一列內之該等噴嘴的短軸和 -11 - 200904647 在該媒介饋給方向之該相鄰列中該等噴嘴的短軸局部重疊 。在另一較佳的形式中’該等噴射孔呈橢圓形。 較佳地，該等加熱器元件是懸架在其個別電極之間的 樑，所以在使用期間’該等加熱器元件是浸没在該列印流 體內。較佳地，該加熱器元件所產生之該蒸汽泡泡在平行 於該噴射孔的橫剖面呈橢圓形。 在一些實施例中，該列印頭更包含鄰接於該陣列的供 給通道，該陣列係平行該等列而延伸。在較佳的形式中’ 該陣列的噴嘴是第一陣列的噴嘴，且第二陣列的噴嘴形成 在該供給通道的其他側·，該第二陣列是該第一陣列的鏡射 影像，但相對於該第一陣列偏移，所以在該第一陣列中之 該等噴射孔的長軸沒有一者，不和該第二陣列之長軸其中 任意者共線的。較佳地，在該第一陣列中之該等噴射孔的 該等長軸，從該第二陣列中之該等噴射孔的該等長軸’往 該媒介饋給方向的橫方向偏移達小於2 0微米。在特別佳 的形式中，該偏移約爲8微米。在一些實施例中’該列印 頭在該媒介饋給方向的橫方向中，具有的噴嘴節距是每吋 多於1600個噴嘴（npi)。在特別佳的形式中，該基板在 媒介饋給方向的寬度小於3毫米。 因此，本發明提供一種噴墨列印頭，包含： 一陣列的噴嘴，用於當列印媒介在相對於該列印頭的 列印方向中運動時，將列印流體的液滴噴射至該列印媒介 上；其中 在該陣列中的該等噴嘴，在該列印方向的垂直方向中 -12 - 200904647 ，彼此相隔開達小於10微米。 由於噴嘴在該列印方向的垂直方向中相隔開小於10 微米，所以列印頭具有非常高的「真實」列印解析度…-亦 即藉由每吋的高噴嘴數達到每吋的高點數。 較佳地，在該列印方向的垂直方向中彼此相隔開達小 於10微米之該陣列中的該等噴嘴，在該列印方向中也彼 此相隔開達小於1 5 0微米。 在另一較佳形式中，該陣列每平方毫米具有超過700 個噴嘴。 較佳地，該陣列的噴嘴被支撐在複數單片晶圓基板上 ，每一單片晶圓基板支撐超過10000個該等噴嘴。在另一 較佳形式中’每一單片晶圓基板支提超過12000個該等噴 嘴。在特別佳的形式中，該複數單片晶圓基板被端對端地 安裝，以形成供安裝在印表機內的頁寬列印頭，建構該印 表機以在媒介饋給方向饋給媒介通過該列印頭；該列印頭 具有超過1 00000個該等噴嘴，且該列印頭在該媒介饋給 方向的橫方向中延伸200毫米至330毫米。在一些實施例 中，該陣列具有超過140000個該等噴嘴。 選擇性地，該列印頭更包含複數致動器分別供該等噴 嘴的每一者之用，該等致動器配置在相鄰列內，每一致動 器具有在該等列的橫方向彼此相隔開的電極，用於連接至 個別驅動電晶體和一電源供應器；其中 在相鄰列中之該等致動器的該等電極具有相反的極性 ，所以在相鄰列中之該等致動器具有相反的電流流動方向 -13- 200904647 。較佳地，在每一列中之該等電極從其相鄰的致動器往該 列之橫方向偏移’所以每個第二致動器的該等電極共線。 在特別佳的實施例中’該等小液滴噴射器被製造在一長形 晶圓基板上，該長形晶圓基板平行於該等致動器之該等列 而延伸，且沿著該晶圓基板的長邊緣供給電力和資料。 在一些實施例中，該列印頭具有一列印引擎控制器（ PEC )，用於將列印資料送至該陣列的噴嘴；其中 在使用期間，藉由將列印資料分配給該陣列之至少二 噴嘴之間的單一噴嘴’該列印引擎控制器可選擇性地降低 該列印解析度。較佳地’設置該二噴嘴在該陣列中的位置 ，使得該二噴嘴在該列印頭相對於列印媒介基材之運動的 橫方向中是最接近的鄰居。在特別佳的形式中，該列印引 擎控制器平等地分享該列印資料給該陣列中的該二噴嘴。 較佳地，該二噴嘴中心相隔開小於4 0微米。 在特別佳的形式中，該列印頭是頁寬列印頭，且該二 噴嘴中心在該媒介饋給方向的橫方向中相隔開小於1 6微 米。較佳地，該等相鄰噴嘴中心在該媒介饋給方向的橫方 向中相隔開小於8微米。較佳地，該列印頭在該媒介饋給 方向的橫方向中，具有的噴嘴節距是每吋多於 1600個噴 嘴（npi )。在另一較佳的形式中，該噴嘴節距大於30〇〇 npi ° 因此’本發明提供一種用於噴墨列印頭的列印頭積體 電路’該列印頭積體電路包含： 一單片晶圓基板，其支撐一陣列的小液滴噴射器，用 -14 - 200904647 於將列印流體的液滴噴射至列印媒介上，每一液滴噴射器 具有噴嘴和致動器’該致動器用於將列印流體的液滴噴射 經過該噴嘴；其中 該陣列具有超過10000個該等小液滴噴射器。 由於大數目的小液滴噴射器製造在單一晶圓上，所以 噴嘴陣列具有高的噴嘴節距，且該列印頭具有非常高的Γ 真實」列印解析度---亦即藉由每吋的高噴嘴數達到每吋的 局點數。 較佳地，該陣列具有超過1 2 0 0 〇個該等小液滴噴射器 。在另一較佳的形式中，該列印媒介在相對於該列印頭的 列印方向中運動；且在該陣列中的該等噴嘴，在該列印方 向的垂直方向中，彼此相隔開達小於1 〇微米。在特別佳 的形式中，在該列印方向的垂直方向中，彼此相隔開達小 於1 〇微米之該陣列中的該等噴嘴，在該列印方向中也彼 此相隔開達小於1 5 0微米。 在較佳的實施例中，該陣列每平方毫米具有超過700 個該等小液滴噴射器。在特別佳的形式中，該等致動器配 置在相鄰列內，每一致動器具有在該等列的橫方向彼此相 隔開的電極，用於連接至個別驅動電晶體和一電源供應器 ;在相鄰列中之該等致動器的該等電極具有相反的極性’ 所以在相鄰列中之該等致動器具有相反的電流流動方向。 在又一較佳的形式中，在每一列中之該等電極從其相鄰的 致動器往該列之橫方向偏移，所以每個第二致動器的該等 電極共線。 -15- 200904647 在特定的實施例中，該單片晶圓基板是長形的’且平 行於該等致動器之該等列而延伸，所以在使用時’沿著該 晶圓基板的長邊緣供給電力和資料。在一些形式中’該噴 墨列印頭包含複數列印頭積體電路’且另包含一列印引擎 控制器（P E C )，用於將列印資料送至該陣列的小液滴噴 射器；其中，在使用期間，藉由將列印資料分配給該陣列 之至少二小液滴噴射器之間的單一小液滴噴射器’該列印 引擎控制器可選擇性地降低該列印解析度。較佳地’設置 該二噴嘴在該陣列中的位置，使得該二噴嘴在該列印頭相 對於列印媒介基材之運動的橫方向中是最接近的鄰居。在 特別較佳的形式中，該列印引擎控制器平等地分享該列印 資料給該陣列中的該二噴嘴。選擇性地，該二噴嘴中心相 隔開小於4 0微米。在特別佳的實施例中’該列印頭是頁 寬列印頭，且該二噴嘴中心在該媒介饋給方向的橫方向中 相隔開小於1 6微米。在又一較佳的形式中’該等相鄰噴 嘴中心在該媒介饋給方向的橫方向中相隔開小於8微米。 在一些實施例中，該噴墨列印頭包含複數列印頭積體 電路，其被端對端地安裝’以形成供印表機用的頁寬列印 頭，建構該印表機以在媒介饋給方向饋給媒介通過該列印 頭；該列印頭具有超過1 0 0 0 0 0個該等噴嘴’且該列印頭 在該媒介饋給方向的橫方向中延伸200毫米至330毫米。 在另一較佳的形式中，該陣列具有超過140000個該等噴 嘴。 較佳地，該陣列的小液滴噴射器在該媒介饋給方向的 -16- 200904647 橫方向中，具有的噴嘴節距是每吋多於1 600個噴嘴（nPi )。較佳地，該噴嘴節距大於3 000 npi。 因此，本發明提供一種用於噴墨列印頭的列印頭積體 電路，該列印頭積體電路包含： 一平面陣列的小液滴噴射器，每一小液滴噴射器具有 資料分布電路、驅動電晶體、列印流體入口、致動器、腔 室和噴嘴；建構腔室用以將列印流體保持在鄰近該噴嘴， 所以在使用期間，該驅動電晶體驅動該致動器，以將該列 印流體的小液滴噴射經過該噴嘴；其中 該陣列每平方毫米具有超過700個該等小液滴噴射器 〇 由於製造在晶圓基板上高密度的小液滴噴射器，所以 該噴嘴陣列具有高的噴嘴節距，且該列印頭具有非常高的 「真實」列印解析度---亦即藉由每吋的高噴嘴數達到每吋 的高點數。 較佳地，當該列印媒介在相對於該列印頭的列印方向 中運動時，該陣列將列印流體的的液滴噴射至列印媒介上 ;和在該陣列中的該等噴嘴，在該列印方向的垂直方向中 ，彼此相隔開達小於1 0微米。在另一較佳的形式中，在 該列印方向的垂直方向中，彼此相隔開達小於1 0微米的 該等噴嘴，在該列印方向中也彼此相隔開達小於1 5 0微米 〇 在本發明的特定實施例中，噴墨列印頭內使用複數個 列印頭積體電路，每一列印頭積體電路具有超過10000個 -17- 200904647 該等小液滴噴射器’且較佳地’超過12000個該等噴嘴單 位晶胞。 在一些實施例中’列印頭積體電路是長形的’且被端 對端地安裝，所以該列印頭具有超過1 0 0 0 0 0個該等小液 滴噴射器，且該列印頭在該媒介饋給方向的橫方向中延伸 200毫米至330毫米。在另一較佳的形式中’該列印頭具 有超過140000個該等小液滴噴射器。 在一些較佳的形式中，該等致動器配置在相鄰列內， 每一致動器具有在該等列的橫方向彼此相隔開的電極’用 於連接至對應的驅動電晶體和一電源供應器；其中 在相鄰列中之該等致動器的該等電極具有相反的極性 ，所以在相鄰列中之該等致動器具有相反的電流流動方向 〇 較佳地，在這些實施例中，在每一列中之該等電極從 其相鄰的致動器往該列之橫方向偏移，所以每個第二致動 器的該等電極共線。在另一較佳的形式中，該長形晶圓基 板平行於該等致動器之該等列而延伸，且沿著該晶圓基板 的長邊緣供給電力和資料。 在特定的實施例中，列印頭包含列印引擎控制器（ PEC)，其用於將列印資料送至該陣列的噴嘴；其中 在使用期間，藉由將列印資料分配給該陣列之至少二 噴嘴之間的單一噴嘴，該列印引擎控制器可選擇性地降低 該列印解析度。 較佳地，設置該二噴嘴在該陣列中的位置，使得該二 -18- 200904647 噴嘴在該列印頭相對於列印媒介基材之運動的橫方向中是 最接近的鄰居。在另一較佳的形式中，該列印引擎控制器 平等地分享該列印資料給該陣列中的該二噴嘴。較佳地， 該一噴嘴中心相隔開小於40微米。在特別佳的形式中’ 該列印頭是頁寬列印頭，且該二噴嘴中心在該媒介饋給方 向的橫方向中相隔開小於1 6微米。在又一較佳的形式中 ，該等相鄰噴嘴中心在該媒介饋給方向的橫方向中相隔開 小於8微米。 在一些形式中，該列印頭在該媒介饋給方向的橫方向 中，具有的噴嘴節距是每吋多於1600個噴嘴（npi)。較 佳地，該噴嘴節距大於3000 npi。 因此，本發明提供一種頁寬噴墨列印頭，包含： 一陣列的小液滴噴射器，用於將列印流體的液滴噴射 至列印媒介上’該列印媒介被饋給通過在媒介饋給方向中 的該列印頭；每一液滴噴射器具有噴嘴、和用於將列印流 體的液滴噴射經過該噴嘴的致動器；其中 該陣列具有超過100000個該等小液滴噴射器，且該 陣列在該媒介饋給方向的橫方向中延伸200毫米至330毫 米。 具有在媒介寬度延伸之大數目噴嘴的頁寬列印頭，提 供高噴嘴節距和非常高「真實」列印解析度-一亦即藉由每 吋高數目的噴嘴獲得每吋高數目的點。 較佳地’該陣列具有超過1 4 0 0 0 0個該等小液滴噴射 器。在另一較佳形式中，該等噴嘴在該媒介饋給方向的垂 -19- 200904647 直方向中彼此相隔開達小於1 〇微米。在特別佳的形式中 ，在該媒介饋給方向的垂直方向中，彼此相隔開達小於1 〇 微米的該等噴嘴，在該媒介饋給方向中也彼此相隔開達小 於150微米。 在特定的實施例中，該陣列小液滴噴射器被支撐在複 數單片晶圓基板上，每一單片晶圓基板支撐超過1 0000個 小液滴噴射器，且較佳是超過12000個小液滴噴射器。在 這些實施例中，希望該陣列每平方毫米具有超過700個小 液滴噴射器。 選擇性地，該等致動器配置在相鄰列內，每一致動器 具有在該等列的橫方向彼此相隔開的電極，用於連接至個 別驅動電晶體和一電源供應器；其中 在相鄰列中之該等致動器的該等電極具有相反的極性 ，所以在相鄰列中之該等致動器具有相反的電流流動方向 。較佳地，在每一列中之該等電極從其相鄰的致動器往該 列之橫方向偏移，所以每個第二致動器的該等電極共線。 在特別佳的實施例中，該等小液滴噴射器被製造在一長形 晶圓基板上，該長形晶圓基板平行於該等致動器之該等列 而延伸，且沿著該晶圓基板的長邊緣供給電力和資料。 在一些實施例中’該列印頭具有一列印引擎控制器（ PEC )，用於將列印資料送至該陣列的噴嘴；其中 在使用期間，藉由將列印資料分配給該陣列之至少二 噴嘴之間的單一噴嘴，該列印引擎控制器可選擇性地降低 該列印解析度。較佳地，設置該二噴嘴在該陣列中的位置 -20- 200904647 ，使得該二噴嘴在該列印頭相對於列印媒介基材之運動的 橫方向中是最相鄰。在特別佳的形式中’該列印引擎控制 器平等地分享列印資料給該陣列中的該二噴嘴。較佳地， 該二噴嘴中心相間隔小於40微米。 在特別佳的形式中，該列印頭是頁寬列印頭，且該二 噴嘴中心在該媒介饋給方向的橫方向中相隔開小於1 6微 米。較佳地，該等相鄰噴嘴中心在該媒介饋給方向的橫方 向中相隔開小於8微米。較佳地，該列印頭在該媒介饋給 方向的橫方向中，具有的噴嘴節距是每吋多於1600個噴 嘴（npi )。在另一較佳形式中，該噴嘴節距大於3 000 npi 〇 因此，本發明提供一種用於噴墨印表機的列印頭積體 電路，該列印頭積體電路包含： 一單片晶圓基板，其支撐一陣列的小液滴噴射器，用 於將列印流體的液滴噴射至列印媒介上，每一液滴噴射器 具有噴嘴和致動器，該致動器用於將列印流體的液滴噴射 經過該噴嘴；藉由一連串的光微影蝕刻和沉積步驟，將該 陣列形成在該單片晶圓基板上；該等步驟涉及光成像裝置 ，其將曝光區域曝露於光，該光被聚焦以投射圖案至該單 片基板上；其中 該陣列具有超過1 0000個該等小液滴噴射器，建構該 等小液滴噴射器使其被該曝光區域所包圍。 本發明配置該噴嘴陣列，使得小液滴噴射器密度非常 高，且減少所需曝光步驟的數目。 -21 - 200904647 較佳地，該曝光區域小於9 0 0 m m 2。較佳地， 晶圓基板被該曝光區域所包圍。在另一較佳的形式 光成像裝置是步進機，其將整個罩幕同時曝光。選 ’該光成像裝置是掃描器，其將狹窄帶寬（band ) 描經過該曝光區域，以將罩幕曝光。 較佳地，該單片晶圓基板支撐超過1 2 0 0 0個小 射器。在這些實施例中，希望該陣列每平方毫米具 7 0 0個小液滴噴射器。 在一些實施例中，列印頭積體電路被組裝至具 類似列印頭積體電路的頁寬列印頭，用於將列印流 滴噴射至列印媒介上，該列印媒介被饋給通過在媒 方向中的該列印頭；其中 該陣列具有超過100000個該等小液滴噴射器 陣列在該媒介饋給方向的橫方向中延伸200毫米至 米。在另一較佳的形式中，該等噴嘴在該媒介饋給 垂直方向中彼此相隔開達小於1 0微米。較佳地， 頭具有超過140000個該等小液滴噴射器。在特別 式中，在該媒介饋給方向的垂直方向中彼此相隔開 1 〇微米的該等噴嘴，在該媒介饋給方向中也彼此相 小於1 5 0微米。 選擇性地，該等致動器配置在相鄰列內，每一 具有在該等列的橫方向彼此相隔開的電極，用於連 別驅動電晶體和一電源供應器；其中 在相鄰列中之該等致動器的該等電極具有相反 該單片 中，該 擇性地 的光掃 液滴噴 有超過 有其他 體的液 介饋給 ，且該 3 3 0毫 方向的 該列印 佳的形 達小於 隔開達 致動器 接至個 的極性 -22- 200904647 ，所以在相鄰列中之該等致動器具有相反的電流流動方向 。較佳地，在每一列中之該等電極從其相鄰的致動器往該 列之橫方向偏移，所以每個第二致動器的該等電極共線° 在特別佳的實施例中’該等小液滴噴射器被製造在一長形 晶圓基板上，該長形晶圓基板平行於該等致動器之該等歹1J 而延伸，且沿著該晶圓基板的長邊緣供給電力和資料。 在一些實施例中’該列印頭具有一列印引擎控制器（ PEC )，用於將列印資料送至該陣列的噴嘴；其中 在使用期間，藉由將列印資料分配給該陣列之至少二 噴嘴之間的單一噴嘴，該列印引擎控制器可選擇性地降低 該列印解析度。較佳地，設置該二噴嘴在該陣列中的位置 ，使得該二噴嘴在該列印頭相對於列印媒介基材之運動的 橫方向中是最接近的鄰居。在特別佳的形式中，該列印引 擎控制器平等地分享該列印資料給該陣列中的該二噴嘴。 較佳地，該二噴嘴中心相隔開小於40微米。 在特別佳的形式中，該列印頭是頁寬列印頭，且該二 噴嘴中心在該媒介饋給方向的橫方向中相隔開小於1 6微 米。較佳地，該等相鄰噴嘴中心在該媒介饋給方向的橫方 向中相隔開小於8微米。較佳地，該列印頭在該媒介饋給 方向的橫方向中，具有的噴嘴節距是每吋多於 1600個噴 嘴（npi)。在另一較佳形式中，該噴嘴節距大於3000 npi 【實施方式】 -23- 200904647 使用和2005年10月Π日申請之US SN 11/2 4 6687號 案（我們的檔案號MNN00 1US)所述相同的微影蝕刻和沉 積步驟，製造附圖所示的列印頭積體電路（1C )。茲將該 案的內容倂入做參考。一般的工作者會瞭解附圖所示的列 印頭積體電路具有腔室、噴嘴、和加熱器電極結構，其需 要使用和2005年10月11日申請之USSN 11 /246687號案 (我們的檔案號MNN00 1US)圖中所示者不同的曝光遮罩 。但是形成懸臂樑加熱器元件、腔室、和噴射孔的製程步 驟則維持相同。同樣地，以和2005年1 0月1 1日申請之 USSN 1 1 /246687號案（我們的檔案號MNN001US )所討 論者相同的方式形成互補式金氧半導體（CMOS )層’除 了驅動場效電晶體（FET )以外。因爲加熱器元件的較高 密度，所以驅動F E T需要比較小。 連結列印頭積體電路 申請人已發展出一些列印頭裝置，其使用一系列的列 印頭積體電路，該等列印頭積體電路連結在一起以形成頁 寬列印頭。依此方式，列印頭積體電路可組合成列印頭， 使用該等列印頭的應用範圍從寬格式列印至具有內建印表 機的相機和手機。各列印頭積體電路端對端地安裝在支撐 構件上，以形成頁寬列印頭。支撐構件將列印頭積體電路 安裝至印表機內，且將墨水分配至個別積體電路。USSN 1 1 / 2 9 3 8 2 0號案描述了此類型列印頭的例子，茲將該案的 說明倂入做交互參考。 -24- 200904647 應瞭解的是’本文所提及的用語「墨水」應解釋爲任 何的列印流體’除非內文清楚地表示其只是用於影像列印 媒介的著色劑。列印頭積體電路可同樣地噴射隱性（ invisible )墨水、黏劑、藥劑、或其他功能化的流體。 圖1A顯示頁寬列印頭100的示意圖，其具有安裝至 支撐構件94的系列印頭積體電路92。彎曲側96允許其中 一個列印頭積體電路92的噴嘴、和在紙饋給方向中相鄰 列印頭積體電路的噴嘴重疊。重疊每一列印頭積體電路92 的噴嘴，提供了橫越二個列印頭積體電路92之間接合處 的連續列印。此避免在列印結果中的「帶 （banding )」 。以此方式連結各列印頭積體電路，僅使用不同數目的列 印頭積體電路便可製作任何所欲長度的列印頭。 列印頭積體電路9 2之端對端的配置，需要供給電力 和資料至沿著每一列印頭積體電路9 2長側的結合墊。 2006年10月10日申請之11/544764號案（我們的檔案號 PUA0 0 1US )中詳細地描述此等連接、和具有列印引擎控 制器（PEC )之連結積體電路的控制。 3200 dpi列印頭槪要 圖1B顯示申請人最近硏發的3 200 dpi (點/吋）列印 頭上噴嘴陣列的剖面。列印頭具有「真實（true )」3 200 dpi解析度，因爲噴嘴節距是3200 dpi，而不是具有3200 dpi可尋址位置但是噴嘴節距小於2〇〇 dpi的印表機。圖 1 B所示的剖面顯示噴嘴陣列的八個單位晶胞’且移除頂 -25- 200904647 部層。爲了例示的目的，已顯示噴射孔2的輪廓。「單位 晶胞（unit cell)」是噴嘴陣列的最小重複單元，且具有 二個完整的液滴噴射器、和在該等完整噴射器兩側中任一 側上之四個「半液滴噴射器」。圖2顯示一個單位晶胞。 噴嘴列在媒介進給方向8的橫向延伸。中間四列的噴 嘴是一個顏料通道4。墨水供給供給通道6兩中的任一側 有二列延伸。來自晶圓相對側的墨水經由墨水饋給管1 4 流至墨水供給通道6。上和下墨水供給通道丨〇、丨2是分離 的顏料通道（雖然用於較大的顏料密度，但是其可列印相 同顏色的墨水---例如CCMMY列印頭）。 供給通道6上方的列20、22在媒介饋給方向8係橫 向地偏置。供給通道6下方的列24、26沿著媒介的方向 做類似地偏置。再者，列2 0、2 2和列2 4、2 6相對於彼此 係相互偏置。因此，列2 0至2 6在媒介饋給方向之橫向的 組合噴嘴節距，是任何個別列之噴嘴節距的四分之一。沿 著每一列的噴嘴節距約爲32微米（公稱31.75微米）， 因此一個顏料通道之全部列的組合噴嘴節距約爲8微米（ 公稱7.9375微米）。此等於3200 npi的噴嘴節距，因此 列印頭具有「真實（true )」3200 dpi的解析度。 單位晶胞（u n i t c e 11 ) 圖2是噴嘴陣列的一個單位晶胞。每一單位晶胞具有 相當於四個液滴噴射器（二個完整的液滴噴射器和在該等 完整噴射器兩側的四個「半液滴噴射器」）。液滴噴射器 -26- 200904647 是噴嘴、腔室、驅動FET、和用於單一微機電（MEM S ) 流體噴射裝置驅動電路。一般的工作者會瞭解：爲了方便 ，液滴噴射器通常單純地指噴嘴；但是從使用的內容可瞭 解，此用語是否僅指噴射孔或整個MEMS裝置。 由墨水饋給管1 4經由上墨水供給通道1 〇饋給上二噴 嘴列18。下噴嘴列16是不同顏料通道，其由供給通道6 饋給。每一噴嘴具有結合的腔室28和在電極34和36之 間延伸的加熱器元件3 0。各腔室呈橢圓形且彼此偏置，所 以其短軸（minor axes)在媒介饋給方向的橫向重疊。此 結構允許腔室容積、噴嘴面積、和加熱器尺寸實質地相同 於上述2005年10月11日申請之USSN 11 /2 46687號參考 案（我們的檔案MNN 001US )所示的1 600 dpi列印頭。 同樣地，腔室壁32維持4微米厚，且接點34、36的面積 仍然是1〇微米xlO微米。 圖3顯示組成噴嘴陣列的單位晶胞複製圖案。每一單 位晶胞3 8橫越晶圓平移達寬度X。相鄰列互呈鏡相且平移 達半個寬度：〇.5x = y。如上所述，此提供用於一顏料通道 (20、22、24、26)之列的組合噴嘴節距 0_25x。在所示 的實施例中，x = 31.75且y = 7.9375。此提供3200 dpi的解 析度，而不會減少加熱器、腔室、或噴嘴的尺寸。因此， 當在3200 dpi作業時，列印密度比2005年10月11日申 請之USSN 11 /2 46687號參考案（我們的檔案MNN 001US )之1 600 dpi列印頭還高；或者列印頭可在1 600 dpi作 業，以延長噴嘴具有良好列印密度的壽命。下文會進一步 -27- 200904647 討論列印頭的此項特徵。 加熱器接點配置 加熱器元件3 0和個別接點3 4、3 6的尺寸，相同於 2005年10月11日申請之USSN 11/246687號參考案（我 們的檔案MNN 001US)之1 600 dpi列印頭。然而，因爲 有二倍的接點數目，所以有二倍的FET接點（負接點）數 目，該等FET接點中斷「電力平面（帶正電壓的CMOS金 屬層）」。電力平面（power plane)中之孔的高密度，在-各孔之間的薄金屬片產生高阻抗。此阻抗有損列印頭的整 體效率，且會減少一些加熱器相對於其他加熱器的驅動脈 衝。 圖4是晶圓、CMOS驅動電路56、和加熱器的剖面示 意圖。每一列印頭積體電路的驅動電路56被製造在晶圓 基板48上呈數個金屬層40、42、44、45，介電材料41、 43、47將該等金屬層分離，導孔46穿過各層以建立所要 求的層間連接。驅動電路56具有供每一致動器30用的驅 動FET (場效電晶體）58，FET 58的源極54連接至電力 平面40 (連接至電源供應器之位置電壓（position voltage )的金屬層），且汲極52連接至接地平面42 (在0電壓 或接地的金屬層）。此外，電極34、36或各致動器30的 每一者連接至接地平面42和電力平面40。 電力平面40通常是最上面的金屬層，且接地平面42 是在電力平面下面的第一層（被介電層41分離）。致動 -28- 200904647 器30、墨水腔室28、噴嘴2被製造在電力平面金屬層40 的頂部。蝕刻穿過此層形成孔46，所以負電極3 4可連接 至接地平面，墨水流道1 4可從晶圓基板48的背部延伸至 墨水腔室28。因爲噴嘴密度增加，所以這些孔或穿過電力 平面之穿孔（punctuation)的密度也增加。因爲穿過電力 平面之穿孔的較大密度，所以穿孔之間的間隙變小了。穿 過這些間隙之金屬層薄橋，是相對高電阻的點。因爲電力 平面連接至沿著列印頭積體電路一側的供應器，所以流至 列印頭積體電路非供應器側上之致動器的電流，可能必須 通過一連串的這些阻抗間隙。至非供應器側致動器所增加 的寄生電阻，會影響其驅動電流和極度地影響這些噴嘴的 液滴噴射特性。 列印頭使用數種對策來解決此問題。首先，相鄰列的 致動器具有相反的電流流動方向，亦即，其中一列的電極 極性在相鄰列做改變。爲了列印頭此方面的目的，與供給 通道6相鄰的兩列噴嘴，應認爲是如圖5A所示單一列， 而不是如先前圖式所示地交錯。兩列A、B沿著列印頭積 體電路的長度縱向地延伸。全部的負電極34沿著二相鄰 列A、B的外側邊緣。從一側（稱爲邊緣62 )供給電力， 且電流在流經兩列中的加熱器元件3 0之前，電流只通過 一排薄的阻抗性金屬區段64。因此，在列A中的電流流 動方向和在列B中的電流流動方向相反。 對應的電路圖例示此組態的好處。因爲列A之各負電 極3 4間的薄區段的阻抗R a，所以電源供應器V +電壓下 -29- 200904647 降。然而，全部加熱器3 0的正電極3 6相對於接地 同的電壓（VA = VB)。電壓在橫越二列 A、Β的全 器30 (分別爲阻抗Rha、Rhb )時下降。列A、B 中刪除了列B之各負電極34間的薄橋部66的阻抗 圖5B顯示如果二相鄰列之電極極性不是相反 。在此情況中，列B的整排阻抗性區段66呈現在 。供應器電壓V +經過阻抗RA後下降至VA---列A 極3 6的電壓。從該處經過列A加熱器的阻抗Rha 壓下降至接地。然而，電壓VA經過列B負電極34 區段66的阻抗RB，在列B正電極36的電壓從' VB。因此，經過列B加熱器3 0的電壓下降是小於: 電壓下降。此會改變驅動脈衝，且因此改變液滴噴 〇 用於維持電力平面之整合性的第二個對策是將 的相鄰電極對（pair )相交錯。參考圖6，現在各 3 4相交錯’所以每一第二電極橫向地位移至列。相 加熱器接點3 4和3 6同樣地相錯開。此用於使貫穿 面4〇之各孔間的間隙64、66更寬。較寬的間隙具 的電阻抗’且遠離列印頭積體電路隻電源供應器側 器的電壓下降較小。圖7顯示電力平面40的較大 在交錯列41、44中的電極34對應於供給通道6所 顏料通道。交錯列42、43關於兩側中任一側上之 道的一半噴嘴一-由供給通道1 0所饋給的顏料和由 道1 2所饋給顏料通道。應瞭解的是五顏料通道列 係在相 部加熱 的電路 Rb。 的情況 電路中 之正電 後，電 之間薄 降至 利A的 射特性 每列中 負電極 鄰列的 電力平 有較少 的加熱 區段。 饋給之 顏料通 供給通 頭積 -30- 200904647 體電路具有九列負電極，其能誘發離電源供應器側最遠之 噴嘴中的加熱器的電阻。各負電極之間的間隙變寬，大幅 減少該等件系所產生的阻抗。此促進整個噴嘴陣列之液滴 噴射特性更均勻。 有效率的製造 上述的特性增加了晶圓上噴嘴的密度。每一個別積體 電路約22毫米長、小於3毫米寬、且能支撐超過1 000 0 個噴嘴。此代表了申請人之1 600 dpi列印頭積體電路（見 2005年10月11日申請之USSN 11/246687號案（我們的 檔案MNN 001US)的例子）中噴嘴的數目大幅地增加。 事實上，製造成如圖12所示尺寸之3200 dpi列印頭噴嘴 陣列，具有12800個噴嘴。 因爲整個噴嘴陣列都位在用於將罩幕（光罩）曝光之 微影步進機（stepper)或掃描器的曝光範圍內，所以适麼 多（多於10000個）噴嘴的微影製造有效率。圖14示意 地顯示光微影步進機。光源1 02發射特殊波長的平行射線 1〇4穿過罩幕106，該罩幕具有待傳輸至積體電路92的圖 案。圖案被聚焦穿過用於縮小特徵的透鏡108，並被投射 至承載積體電路（或所謂的「晶粒」）92的晶圓工作台 11 0上。被光1 04照射之晶圓工作台1 1 〇的區域稱爲曝光 區1 1 2。不幸的是曝光區1 1 2的尺寸受到限制’以維持投 射圖案的準確度-一整個晶圓盤不能同時被曝光。絕大部分 的微影步進機具有小於30毫米X 30毫米的曝光區。一 -31 - 200904647 個主要的製造者（荷蘭的AS ML )所製造的步進機具有22 毫米 X 22毫米的曝光區，其爲業界的典型。 步進機曝光一個晶粒或晶粒的一部分’然後步進至另 一個晶粒或同一晶粒的另一部分。在單一片基板上具有儘 可能多的噴嘴，有利於袖珍的列印頭設計，且有利於支撐 件上各積體電路的組合體以彼此精確的關係最小化。本發 明建構的噴嘴陣列，使超過10000噴嘴位在曝光區內。事 實上，整個積體電路可位在曝光區內，所以單一片基板可 設有超過1 4000個噴嘴，而不必就每一圖案步進和再對準 〇 一般的工作者會瞭解，上述技術可應用於以光微影掃 描器製造噴嘴陣列。圖15A至15C示意掃描器的作業。在 掃描器中，光源102發射光104的較狹窄射束，其寬度仍 足以照射罩幕106的整個寬度。狹窄射束1〇4被聚焦穿過 較小的透鏡108，且被投射至安裝再曝光區112內之積體 電路92的一部份。罩幕106和晶圓工作台110在相反方 向彼此相對運動，所以罩幕的圖案被掃描通過整個曝光區 112° 顯然地，此類型的光成像裝置也適於有效率地製造具 有大數目噴嘴的列印頭積體電路。 平坦外部噴嘴表面 如上所述，依據2005年10月11曰申請之USSN 1 1 /246687 (我們的檔案MNN 001US)號交互參考案所列 -32- 200904647 之步驟製造列印頭積體電路。只有改變曝光罩幕圖案，以 提供不同的腔室和加熱器組態。如2005年1 〇月u日申 請之USSN 11/246687 (我們的檔案MNN 001US)號案中 所描述者，頂部層和腔室壁是整合的構造---合適頂部和壁 材料的單一電漿提升化學蒸鍍沉積（PECVD )。合適的頂 部材料可爲氮化矽、氧化矽、氧氮化矽、氮化鋁等。頂部 和壁被沉積在犧牲光阻劑之台架（scaffold )層上，以在 CMOS之鈍化層上形成整合的構造。 圖8顯示蝕刻進入犧牲層72內的圖案。該圖案由腔 室壁32和柱狀構造68 (下文討論）組成，其全部具均勻 厚度。在所示的實施例中，壁和柱的厚度是4微米。這些 構造是相對地薄，所以當所沉積的頂部和壁材料冷卻時， 頂部層70的內表面中幾乎沒有凹陷（如果有的話）。蝕 刻圖案中的厚構造，將保持相對大體積的頂部/壁材料。 當材料冷卻和收縮時，外表面向內拉，以產生凹陷。 這些凹陷使得外表面不平坦，其不利於列印頭的維護 。如果擦拭或抹掉列印頭，紙塵和其他污物會留在凹陷內 。如圖9所示，頂部層72的外表面是平坦且無特徵的， 除了噴嘴2以外。藉由擦拭或抹掉，更容易移除灰塵和已 乾燥的墨水。 再塡注墨水流 參考圖1 0，除了在陣列的縱長向末端的入口供給較少 的噴嘴以外，每一墨水入口供給四個噴嘴。在起始的注給 -33- 200904647 期間和在氣泡阻塞的情況，隨機的噴嘴入口 14是 〇 如流動線74所示，至遠離入口 14之腔室28 注流比至緊鄰供給通道6之腔室2 8的再塡注流更 了均勻液滴噴射特徵，希望陣列中每一噴嘴有相同 再塡注時間。 如圖11所示，鄰近腔室的入口 76和遠離腔室 7 8設計成不同尺寸。同樣地，柱狀構造6 8的位置 對鄰近噴嘴入口 76和遙遠噴嘴入口 78提供不同水 動限制。入口的尺寸和柱的位置可調整流體阻力（ ，所以陣列中全部噴嘴的再塡注時間是均勻的。也 柱的位置，以阻尼腔室2 8內蒸汽泡泡所產生的壓 。運動經過入口的阻尼脈衝，防止各噴嘴之間的流 (cross talk)。再者，在柱68和入口 76、78之側 間隙8 0、8 2，可做爲墨水再塡注流中所含之較大氣 效氣泡陷阱或捕捉器（trap)。 延長的噴嘴壽命 圖1 2顯示噴嘴陣列中一顏料通道的剖面’ 3 200 dpi解析度所需的尺寸。應瞭解的是’ 「真實 dp i是非常高的解析度---比照相品質還好。此解析 許多列印工作。通常1 6 0 0 d p i解析度比較適當。有 ，藉由共享二相鄰噴嘴之間的列印資料，列印頭積 犧牲了解析度。以此方式，通常送至1600 dpi列印 有利的 的再瑱 長。爲 的墨水 的入口 設計成 準的流 drag ) 可設計 力脈衝 體串擾 面間的 泡的有 其具有 」3200 度超越 鑑於此 體電路 頭中一 -34- 200904647 個噴嘴的列印資料’被取代性地送至3 2 0 0 dp i列印頭中相 鄰的噴嘴。此模式的操作使噴嘴的壽命延長二倍以上’且 允i午印表機以非常高的列印速率作業。在3 2 0 0 dpi模式中 ’印表機以60 ppm (全彩A4)列印，且在1600 dpi模式 中，速率趨近120 ppm。 1 600 dpi模式的附加利益是：能使用具有列印引擎控 制器（PEC )和撓性印刷電路板之此列印頭積體電路，其 僅能建構於1 6 0 0 d p i解析度。 如圖12所示，噴嘴8 3和噴嘴8 4橫向地偏移只有 7.9375微米。兩噴嘴以絕對關係進一步隔開，但是在紙饋 給方向的位移可說明噴嘴啓動（firing )順序的時間點（ timing)。因爲相鄰噴嘴之間8微米的橫向移位是小的， 所以爲了呈現的目的，可以忽略該移位。但是，藉由使高 頻振動（dither )最佳化（如果希望的話），可解決該移 位。 氣泡、腔室、和噴嘴匹配 圖1 3是噴嘴陣列的放大視圖。噴射孔和腔室壁兩者 皆爲橢圓形。將長軸配置成平行於媒介饋給方向’可允許 在饋給方向之橫向中高的噴嘴節距，同時維持需要的腔室 容積。再者，配置腔室的短軸使該等短軸在橫方向重疊’ 此也改善了噴嘴包裝密度。 加熱器3 0是在其個別電極3 4和3 6之間延伸的懸臂 樑。長形樑加熱器元件產生氣泡’其大致呈橢圓形（在平 -35- 200904647 行於晶圓平面的剖面）。匹配氣泡9 0、腔室2 8、和噴射 孔2，可促進能量效率液滴噴射。對「自我冷卻」列印頭 而言，低能量液滴噴射是重要的。 結論 顯示在圖中的列印頭積體電路，提供「真實」3200 dpi解析度、和比1 600 dpi列印速率還高很多之列印速率 的選擇。分享較低解析度的列印資料延長噴嘴壽命，且提 供現存1 600 dpi列印引擎控制器和撓性印刷電路板的相容 性。均勻厚度的腔室壁圖案有平坦的外部噴嘴表面，其較 無阻塞的傾向。此外，致動器接觸組態和長形噴嘴構造’ 提供媒介饋給方向之橫方向上的高噴嘴節距，同時保持平 行於媒介饋給方向的薄噴嘴陣列。 所述的特定實施例在各方面只做例示用，且絕無限制 寬廣發明槪念之精神和範圍之意。 【圖式簡單說明】 圖1 A是連結列印頭積體電路構造的示意圖； 圖1 B本發明列印頭積體電路上噴嘴陣列的局部平面 視圖， 圖2是噴嘴陣列的單位晶胞； 圖3顯示組成噴嘴陣列之單位晶胞的複製圖案； 圖4是穿過噴嘴之CMOS層和加熱器元件的示意剖面 圖； -36- 200904647 圖5A示意地顯示在相鄰致動器列具有相反電極性之 電極配置； 圖5 B示意地顯示在相鄰致動器列具有典型電極性之 電極配置； 圖6顯示圖1之列印頭積體電路的電極組態； 圖7顯示CMOS層之電力平面的剖面； 圖8顯示蝕刻進入頂/側壁層之犧牲台架層的圖案； 圖9顯示在蝕刻噴嘴孔以後之頂部的外表面； 圖10顯示噴嘴的墨水供給流動； 圖11顯示不同列中至各腔室的不同入口； 圖1 2顯示用於一顏料通道的噴嘴間隔； 圖1 3顯示具有匹配橢圓形通道和噴射孔之噴嘴陣列 的放大視圖； 圖14是光微影步進機的不意圖；和 圖1 5 A至1 5 C示意地例示光微影步進機的的作業。 【主要元件符號說明】 2 :(噴射）孔（圖1B ) 2 :噴嘴（圖4 ) 6 :(墨水）供給通道 8 :媒介（紙）饋給方向 1 0 :上墨水供給通道 1 2 :下墨水供給通道 1 4 :墨水饋給管（圖1 B ) -37- 200904647 1 4 :墨水流道（圖4 ) 14:噴嘴入□(圖10) 1 6 :下噴嘴列 1 8 :上噴嘴列 20 :列 22 :列 24 :列 26 :列 28 :腔室 30:加熱器兀件（圖2) 3 0 :致動器（圖4 ) 32 :腔室壁 3 4:(負）電極（接點） 3 6:(正）電極（接點） 3 8 :單位封包 40:電力平面（金屬層） 41:介電層（材料）（圖4) 4 1 :歹 I](圖 7 ) 42:接地平面（金屬層）（圖4) 42 :歹I](圖 7 ) 43 :介電層（材料）（圖4) 43 :歹I](圖 7 ) 44 :金屬層（圖4 ) 44 :歹!J (圖 7 ) -38- 200904647 46 :(導）孔 47:介電層（材料） 4 8 :晶圓基板 5 2 :汲極 5 4 :源極 5 6 : ( C Μ Ο S )驅動電路 5 8 :場效電晶體 62 :邊緣 64 :阻抗性金屬區段 64 :間隙（圖6 ) 66:橋部（圖5Α) 66 :阻抗性區段（圖5Β ) 66 :間隙（圖6 ) 68 :柱（狀構造） 70 :頂部層 72 :犧牲層 74 :流動線 76 :入口 78 :入口 8 0 :間隙 82 :間隙 83 :噴嘴 84 :噴嘴 90 :氣泡 -39 200904647 9 2 :列印頭積體電路 9 4 :支撐構件 96 :彎曲側 98 :結合墊 1 〇 〇 :頁寬列印頭 102 :光源 104 :光（射線） 1 06 :罩幕 1 〇 8 :透鏡 1 1 〇 :晶圓工作台 1 1 2 :曝光區 -40BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print head integrated circuit having a high nozzle density, and the use of an optical imaging device for manufacturing the print head integrated body. [Prior Art] The quality of printed images depends largely on the resolution of the printer, so 'continuous efforts are being made to improve the print resolution of the printer. The print resolution is closely dependent on the droplet volume and the spacing of the printer's addressable locations on the media substrate. The spacing between the nozzles on the ink jet head need not be as small as the spacing between the addressable locations on the media substrate. A nozzle that prints a point at an addressable location and a nozzle that prints a dot at an addressable location can be separated by any distance. Regardless of the spacing between the nozzles on the printhead, the movement of the printhead relative to the media, or the movement of the media relative to the printhead, or both, allows the printhead to eject droplets at each addressable position. At the extremes of the load, the same nozzle can print adjacent droplets due to the proper relative motion between the print head and the media. Excessive movement of the media relative to the print head reduces the print rate. In the case of a page-width printhead, scanning the printhead for multiple passes of a single packet of media, or by passing the media multiple times through the printhead, reduces the print rate per minute of printed pages. In addition, each nozzle can be spaced along the media feed path or in the scan direction so that each addressable location on the media is less than the physical spacing of adjacent nozzles. It can be understood that at most -4-200904647 nozzles are spaced apart in a large section of the paper path or scanning direction, which violates the pocket design. Furthermore, as the stepper or scanner needs to be exposed along the wafer just to expose the photolithographic pattern of each step, manufacturing costs and time are also increased. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a printhead for an inkjet printer comprising: an array of nozzles disposed in adjacent columns, each nozzle having an orifice and for column Printing fluid is ejected through corresponding actuators of the ejection orifice, each actuator having electrodes spaced apart from each other in the lateral direction of the columns; and a drive circuit for transmitting electrical power to the electrodes; wherein adjacent columns are present The electrodes of the actuators have opposite polarities, so the actuators in adjacent columns have opposite current flow directions. By making the polarities of the electrodes in adjacent columns opposite, The perforations in the power plane of the CMOS remain at the outer edges of adjacent columns. This moves a row of narrow, resistive bridges between the perforations to a position where current does not flow through the bridge. This eliminates the impedance of the bridge from the actuator drive circuit. The droplet ejection characteristics of all the nozzles of the entire array can be made uniform by reducing the resistive loss of the actuator on the power supply side away from the print head integrated circuit. Preferably, the electrodes in each column are offset from the adjacent actuators in the lateral direction of the column so that the electrodes of each of the second actuators are collinear. In another preferred form, the offset is less than 40 microns. In a particularly preferred form, the offset is less than 30 microns. Preferably, the array nozzle is fabricated on an elongated wafer substrate by -5 to 200904647. The wafer substrate extends parallel to the columns of the array, and the driving circuit is on one surface of the wafer substrate. The CMOS layer supplies power and data to the CMOS layers along the long edges of the wafer substrate. In another preferred form, the CMOS layer has a top metal layer forming a power plane with a positive voltage so that the electrodes having a negative voltage are connected to via holes formed in the holes in the power plane. In yet another preferred form, the CMOS layer has a drive field effect transistor (FET) for each actuator in the bottom metal layer. Preferably, the CMOS layer has a thickness of less than 0. 3 micron metal layer. In some embodiments, the actuators are heater elements 'for generating a vapor bubble within the printing fluid such that droplets of the printing fluid are ejected from the ejection orifice. Preferably, the heater elements are beams suspended between their individual electrodes so that the heater elements are immersed in the printing fluid. Preferably, the injection holes are elliptical and the major axis of the injection holes is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the beam. In another preferred form, the major axes of the injection holes in one of the columns and the major axes of the injection holes in adjacent columns are collinear, such that in one of the columns Each nozzle is aligned with one of the nozzles in the adjacent column. Preferably, the major axes of adjacent injection holes are spaced apart by less than 50 microns. In another preferred form, the major axes of adjacent jets are spaced less than 25 microns apart. In a particularly preferred form, the major axes of adjacent orifices are separated by less than 16 microns. In a particular embodiment, the printhead has a nozzle pitch of more than 1 600 nozzles (npi) per turn in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. In the preferred embodiment the nozzle pitch is greater than 30 〇〇 npi. In a particularly preferred embodiment of 200904647, the print head has a print resolution of each dot (dpi) equal to the nozzle pitch. In a particular embodiment, the printhead is a pagewidth printhead that is configured to print an A4-size medium. Preferably, the array has more than 100,000 nozzles. Accordingly, the present invention provides an ink jet printhead for a printer that prints on a substrate at a different print resolution, the ink jet printhead comprising an array of nozzles, each nozzle Having a spray orifice and a corresponding actuator for ejecting the print fluid through the spray orifice; and a print engine controller for feeding the print material to the nozzle of the array; wherein during use, by The print material is assigned to a single nozzle between at least two nozzles of the array, and the print engine controller can selectively reduce the print resolution. The present invention recognizes that some of the best resolutions that do not require a print head for a print job are well suited to the purpose of the document to be printed. This situation is especially true when the print head has a very high resolution (for example, greater than 1 200 dpi). By selecting a lower resolution, the print engine controller (PEC) can treat two or more laterally adjacent (but not touching) nozzles in a printhead with fewer nozzles as a single virtual nozzle. The adjacent nozzles then share the printed data... - the dots required by the virtual nozzle are alternately printed by each actual nozzle. This is used to extend the working life of all nozzles. Preferably, the position of the two nozzles in the array is such that the two nozzles are the closest neighbors of -7-200904647 in the transverse direction of the movement of the printhead relative to the substrate. Preferably, the print engine controller shares the print data equally to the two nozzles in the array. In another preferred form, the two nozzle centers are separated by less than 20 microns. In a particularly preferred form, the printhead is a pagewidth printhead and the centers of the two nozzles are spaced less than 16 microns apart in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. In a particular embodiment, the two nozzle centers are spaced apart by less than 8 microns in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. In a particular embodiment, the printhead has a nozzle pitch of more than 1 600 nozzles per n (npi) in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. In the preferred embodiment, the nozzle pitch is greater than 3 000 npi. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the print head has a print resolution per dot (dpi) equal to the nozzle pitch. In a particular embodiment, the printhead is configured to print an A4 size media and the printhead has more than 100,000 nozzles. In some embodiments, when printing at a lower print resolution, the printer operates at a higher print rate. Preferably, the higher printing rate is more than 60 pages per minute. In a preferred form, the print engine controller halves the color planes printed by the adjacent nozzles in a high frequency vibration matrix, the high frequency vibration matrix being optimized for each The lateral displacement of the jetted droplets. Accordingly, the present invention provides an ink jet printhead comprising: an array of nozzles disposed in adjacent columns; each nozzle having an ejection orifice, a chamber for receiving a printing fluid, and a corresponding actuation The actuator is configured to spray the printing fluid through the injection hole; each chamber has an individual inlet to re-print the printing fluid, the printing fluid is ejected by the actuator; and -8 - 200904647 Printing fluid supply channels 'extending parallel to the adjacent columns to supply printing fluid to the actuators of each nozzle in the array via the respective inlets; wherein the columns are constructed in one of the adjacent columns The nozzle inlets have a reflow rate that is different from the refill rate of the nozzle inlets in the other column of the adjacent columns. The nozzle constructed in accordance with the present invention allows the ink supply channels on one side to be in a series. Since the supply passage is not only supplied to one row of nozzles on one side, the above construction allows the nozzle density on the surface of the print head to be large. However, because the flow rate through each inlet of the column is different, the columns that are further away from the supply channel do not have significantly longer re-injection times. Preferably, the nozzle inlets are constructed in one of the adjacent columns such that the reflow rate is different from the reflow rate of the nozzle inlets in the other column of the adjacent columns Therefore, the chambers of all the nozzles in the array are re-injected for approximately the same time. In another preferred form, the inlet closest to the column of supply channels is narrower than the column away from the supply channel. In some embodiments 'on either side of the supply channel, there are two adjacent columns of nozzles. Preferably the 'inlet has a flow damped configuration. In a particularly preferred form, the 'flow damped construction is the column' designed the position of the column to create a flow barrier. Columns in the inlet of one column and columns in the inlets of other columns create varying degrees of obstacles. Preferably, the column creates a bubble trap or trap between the side of the column and the inlet side wall. Preferably, the column diffuses to propagate pressure pulses within the print fluid to reduce crosstalk between the nozzles. In some embodiments, the actuators are heater elements for generating a vapor bubble within the printing fluid from -9 to 200904647 such that droplets of the printing fluid are ejected from the ejection orifice. Preferably, the heater elements are beams that are suspended between their individual electrodes so that the heater elements are submerged within the printing fluid. Preferably, the injection holes are elliptical and the long axis of the injection holes is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the beam. Preferably, the major axes of adjacent injection holes are spaced apart by less than 50 microns. In another preferred form, the major axes of adjacent orifices are separated by less than 25 microns. In a particularly preferred form, the major axes of adjacent orifices are separated by less than 16 microns. In a particular embodiment, the printhead has a nozzle pitch of more than 1 600 nozzles per n (npi) in the lateral direction of the media feed direction. In a preferred embodiment, the nozzle pitch is greater than 3000 npi. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the print head has a print resolution per dot (dpi) equal to the nozzle pitch. In a particular embodiment, the printhead is a pagewidth printhead that is configured to print an A4-size medium. Preferably, the array has more than 100,000 nozzles. Accordingly, the present invention provides an ink jet printhead comprising: an array of nozzles disposed in a series of columns: each nozzle having an ejection orifice, a chamber for holding a printing fluid, and a heater element; a heater element for generating a vapor bubble in the printing fluid contained in the chamber to eject a droplet of the printing fluid through the ejection orifice; wherein the nozzle, the heater element, and the chamber All are elongate configurations having a long dimension that exceeds the other dimensions of each elongate configuration: in parallel with the individual dimensions of the nozzle, the heater, and the chamber - 10-200904647 and extending perpendicular to the column direction. In order to increase the nozzle density of the columns, each of the nozzle assembly-chamber, the injection holes, and the heater element are constructed into an elongate configuration that is all aligned in the lateral direction of the column direction. This increases the nozzle pitch of the column or the number of nozzles per turn (npi)' while allowing a sufficiently large chamber volume and droplet volume to be maintained for proper pigment density. This also avoids the need to extend the large distance in the paper feed direction (in the case of a page width printer) or in the scanning direction (in the case of scanning a print head). Preferably, each column in the array is offset relative to its adjacent column, so that none of the equal lengths of the nozzles in a column does not match any of the same length dimensions in the adjacent column. Collinear. In another preferred form, the printhead is a pagewidth printhead for printing to a media substrate fed through the printhead in a media feed direction, such that the nozzles are of equal length Dimensions, parallel to the media feed direction. Preferably, the length of each second nozzle is in the login. In a particularly preferred form, the spray holes of all of the nozzles are formed in a flat top layer that partially defines the chamber; the top layer has an outer surface that is other than the spray holes The rest is flat. In a particularly preferred form, the nozzle of the array is formed on the underlying substrate. The substrate extends parallel to the top layer, and the cavity is partially defined by sidewalls extending between the top layer and the substrate. The chamber 'designs the shape of the side wall' such that the inner surface of the side wall is at least partially sugar-circular. Preferably, the side wall is elliptical except for the inlet opening for the printing fluid. In a particularly preferred form, the minor axes of the nozzles in one of the columns and -11 - 200904647 partially overlap the minor axes of the nozzles in the adjacent column of the media feed direction. In another preferred form, the ejection orifices are elliptical. Preferably, the heater elements are beams suspended between their individual electrodes so that the heater elements are submerged within the print stream during use. Preferably, the vapor bubble generated by the heater element is elliptical in cross section parallel to the injection hole. In some embodiments, the printhead further includes a supply channel adjacent the array, the array extending parallel to the columns. In a preferred form, the nozzles of the array are nozzles of the first array, and the nozzles of the second array are formed on the other side of the supply channel. The second array is a mirror image of the first array, but The first array is offset, so that none of the long axes of the ejection holes in the first array are collinear with any of the long axes of the second array. Preferably, the long axes of the ejection holes in the first array are offset from the longitudinal axes of the ejection holes in the second array to the lateral direction of the medium feeding direction. Less than 20 microns. In a particularly preferred form, the offset is about 8 microns. In some embodiments, the print head has a nozzle pitch of more than 1600 nozzles per n (npi) in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. In a particularly preferred form, the substrate has a width in the media feed direction of less than 3 mm. Accordingly, the present invention provides an ink jet printhead comprising: an array of nozzles for ejecting droplets of printing fluid to a printing medium as it moves in a printing direction relative to the printing head On the printing medium; wherein the nozzles in the array are spaced apart from each other by less than 10 microns in the vertical direction of the printing direction -12 - 200904647. Since the nozzles are spaced less than 10 microns apart in the vertical direction of the printing direction, the print head has a very high "true" print resolution... - that is, by the high number of nozzles per turn reaching the high point of each turn number. Preferably, the nozzles in the array spaced apart from each other by less than 10 microns in the vertical direction of the printing direction are also spaced apart from each other by less than 150 microns in the printing direction. In another preferred form, the array has more than 700 nozzles per square millimeter. Preferably, the array of nozzles is supported on a plurality of monolithic wafer substrates, each of which supports more than 10,000 of the nozzles. In another preferred form, each of the single wafer substrates supports more than 12,000 of the nozzles. In a particularly preferred form, the plurality of monolithic wafer substrates are mounted end to end to form a pagewidth printhead for mounting within the printer, the printer being constructed to feed in the media feed direction The medium passes through the print head; the print head has more than 100,000 of the nozzles, and the print head extends 200 mm to 330 mm in the lateral direction of the medium feed direction. In some embodiments, the array has more than 140,000 of the nozzles. Optionally, the printhead further includes a plurality of actuators for each of the nozzles, the actuators being disposed in adjacent columns, each actuator having a transverse direction of the columns Electrodes spaced apart from one another for connection to individual drive transistors and a power supply; wherein the electrodes of the actuators in adjacent columns have opposite polarities, so in adjacent columns The actuator has the opposite current flow direction -13 - 200904647. Preferably, the electrodes in each column are offset from their adjacent actuators in the lateral direction of the column so that the electrodes of each of the second actuators are collinear. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the droplet ejection injectors are fabricated on an elongate wafer substrate that extends parallel to the columns of the actuators and along the The long edge of the wafer substrate supplies power and data. In some embodiments, the printhead has a print engine controller (PEC) for feeding print data to the nozzles of the array; wherein during use, at least the print data is dispensed to the array A single nozzle between the two nozzles' print engine controller can selectively reduce the print resolution. Preferably, the position of the two nozzles in the array is set such that the two nozzles are the closest neighbors in the transverse direction of the movement of the print head relative to the printing medium substrate. In a particularly preferred form, the print engine controller shares the print data equally to the two nozzles in the array. Preferably, the two nozzle centers are separated by less than 40 microns. In a particularly preferred form, the printhead is a pagewidth printhead and the center of the two nozzles are spaced less than 16 microns apart in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. Preferably, the adjacent nozzle centers are spaced apart by less than 8 microns in the lateral direction of the media feed direction. Preferably, the print head has a nozzle pitch of more than 1600 nozzles per n (npi) in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. In another preferred form, the nozzle pitch is greater than 30 〇〇 npi °. Thus, the present invention provides a printhead integrated circuit for an ink jet print head. The print head integrated circuit includes: A monolithic wafer substrate supporting an array of small droplet ejectors for spraying droplets of printing fluid onto a print medium with each of the droplet ejectors - 14 - 200904647 The actuator is for ejecting droplets of printing fluid through the nozzle; wherein the array has more than 10,000 of the droplet ejection injectors. Since a large number of small droplet ejectors are fabricated on a single wafer, the nozzle array has a high nozzle pitch and the print head has a very high true "print resolution" - ie by each The number of high nozzles of 吋 reaches the number of points per 。. Preferably, the array has more than 1 20,000 such small droplet ejectors. In another preferred form, the printing medium moves in a printing direction relative to the printing head; and the nozzles in the array are spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction of the printing direction Up to less than 1 〇 micron. In a particularly preferred form, the nozzles in the array are spaced apart from each other by less than 1 〇 micrometer in the vertical direction of the printing direction, and are also spaced apart from each other by less than 150 μm in the printing direction. . In a preferred embodiment, the array has more than 700 such small droplet ejectors per square millimeter. In a particularly preferred form, the actuators are disposed in adjacent columns, each actuator having electrodes spaced apart from each other in the lateral direction of the columns for connection to an individual drive transistor and a power supply The electrodes of the actuators in adjacent columns have opposite polarities' so that the actuators in adjacent columns have opposite current flow directions. In yet another preferred form, the electrodes in each column are offset from their adjacent actuators in the lateral direction of the column so that the electrodes of each of the second actuators are collinear. -15- 200904647 In a particular embodiment, the monolithic wafer substrate is elongate and extends parallel to the columns of the actuators, so along the length of the wafer substrate when in use The edge supplies electricity and data. In some forms 'the inkjet printhead includes a plurality of printhead integrated circuits' and additionally includes a print engine controller (PEC) for feeding print data to the array of droplet dischargers; The print engine controller can selectively reduce the print resolution during use by assigning print data to a single droplet ejection device between at least two droplet ejection injectors of the array. Preferably, the position of the two nozzles in the array is set such that the two nozzles are the closest neighbors in the transverse direction of the movement of the print head relative to the print medium substrate. In a particularly preferred form, the print engine controller equally shares the print data to the two nozzles in the array. Optionally, the center of the two nozzles are spaced less than 40 microns apart. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the printhead is a pagewidth printhead and the centers of the two nozzles are spaced apart by less than 16 microns in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. In yet another preferred form, the adjacent nozzle centers are spaced apart by less than 8 microns in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. In some embodiments, the inkjet printhead includes a plurality of printhead integrated circuits that are mounted end-to-end to form a pagewidth printhead for a printer to construct the printer to The medium feed direction feeds the medium through the print head; the print head has more than 1 000 such nozzles ' and the print head extends 200 mm to 330 in the transverse direction of the medium feed direction Millimeter. In another preferred form, the array has more than 140,000 of the nozzles. Preferably, the array of droplet discharges has a nozzle pitch of more than 1 600 nozzles per n (nPi) in the transverse direction of -16-200904647 in the medium feed direction. Preferably, the nozzle pitch is greater than 3 000 npi. Accordingly, the present invention provides a printhead integrated circuit for an inkjet printhead, the printhead integrated circuit comprising: a planar array of small droplet ejector, each droplet ejector having a data distribution a circuit, a drive transistor, a print fluid inlet, an actuator, a chamber, and a nozzle; a chamber is constructed to hold the print fluid adjacent the nozzle, so the drive transistor drives the actuator during use, Spraying small droplets of the printing fluid through the nozzle; wherein the array has more than 700 such small droplet ejectors per square millimeter, due to the high density of small droplet ejectors fabricated on the wafer substrate, The nozzle array has a high nozzle pitch and the print head has a very high "true" print resolution - that is, the number of high dots per turn is achieved by the number of high nozzles per turn. Preferably, when the printing medium moves in a printing direction relative to the printing head, the array ejects droplets of the printing fluid onto the printing medium; and the nozzles in the array In the vertical direction of the printing direction, they are spaced apart from each other by less than 10 μm. In another preferred form, the nozzles spaced apart from each other by less than 10 μm in the vertical direction of the printing direction are also spaced apart from each other by less than 150 μm in the printing direction. In a particular embodiment of the invention, a plurality of printhead integrated circuits are used in the ink jet print head, each of the print head integrated circuits having more than 10,000 -17-200904647 such small droplet ejectors' and preferably More than 12,000 of these nozzle unit cells. In some embodiments the 'printing head integrated circuit is elongated' and mounted end to end, so the print head has more than 1 000 such small droplet ejectors, and the column The print head extends 200 mm to 330 mm in the transverse direction of the medium feed direction. In another preferred form, the printhead has more than 140,000 such small droplet ejectors. In some preferred forms, the actuators are disposed in adjacent columns, each actuator having electrodes 'separated from each other in the lateral direction of the columns for connecting to a corresponding drive transistor and a power source a supply; wherein the electrodes of the actuators in adjacent columns have opposite polarities, so the actuators in adjacent columns have opposite current flow directions, preferably in these implementations In the example, the electrodes in each column are offset from the adjacent actuators in the lateral direction of the column, so that the electrodes of each of the second actuators are collinear. In another preferred form, the elongate wafer substrate extends parallel to the columns of the actuators and supplies power and data along the long edges of the wafer substrate. In a particular embodiment, the printhead includes a print engine controller (PEC) for feeding print data to the nozzles of the array; wherein during printing, the print data is assigned to the array A single nozzle between at least two nozzles, the print engine controller selectively reducing the print resolution. Preferably, the position of the two nozzles in the array is set such that the two -18-200904647 nozzles are the closest neighbors in the transverse direction of the movement of the print head relative to the print media substrate. In another preferred form, the print engine controller equally shares the print data to the two nozzles in the array. Preferably, the center of the nozzle is spaced less than 40 microns apart. In a particularly preferred form, the printhead is a pagewidth printhead and the centers of the two nozzles are spaced apart by less than 16 microns in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. In still another preferred form, the centers of the adjacent nozzles are spaced apart by less than 8 microns in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. In some forms, the printhead has a nozzle pitch of more than 1600 nozzles per n (npi) in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. Preferably, the nozzle pitch is greater than 3000 npi. Accordingly, the present invention provides a pagewidth inkjet printhead comprising: an array of droplet ejection injectors for ejecting droplets of printing fluid onto a printing medium. The printing medium is fed through The print head in the medium feed direction; each drop ejector having a nozzle, and an actuator for ejecting droplets of the print fluid through the nozzle; wherein the array has more than 100,000 such liquids The ejector is dropped, and the array extends 200 mm to 330 mm in the lateral direction of the medium feeding direction. A page-width printhead with a large number of nozzles extending across the width of the media, providing a high nozzle pitch and a very high "true" print resolution - one for each high number of nozzles per high number of nozzles . Preferably, the array has more than 14,000 of such small droplet ejectors. In another preferred form, the nozzles are spaced apart from each other by less than 1 〇 micron in the direction of the media feed direction of the vertical -19-200904647. In a particularly preferred form, the nozzles spaced apart from each other by less than 1 微米 in the vertical direction of the media feed direction are also spaced apart from each other by less than 150 microns in the media feed direction. In a particular embodiment, the array droplet ejection device is supported on a plurality of monolithic wafer substrates, each monolithic wafer substrate supporting more than 100,000 droplet ejection injectors, and preferably more than 12,000 Small droplet ejector. In these embodiments, it is desirable for the array to have more than 700 droplet ejection devices per square millimeter. Optionally, the actuators are disposed in adjacent columns, each actuator having electrodes spaced apart from each other in the lateral direction of the columns for connection to an individual drive transistor and a power supply; The electrodes of the actuators in adjacent columns have opposite polarities, so the actuators in adjacent columns have opposite current flow directions. Preferably, the electrodes in each column are offset from their adjacent actuators in the lateral direction of the column so that the electrodes of each of the second actuators are collinear. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the droplet ejection injectors are fabricated on an elongate wafer substrate that extends parallel to the columns of the actuators and along the The long edge of the wafer substrate supplies power and data. In some embodiments, the printhead has a print engine controller (PEC) for feeding print data to the nozzles of the array; wherein during use, at least the print data is dispensed to the array A single nozzle between the two nozzles, the print engine controller selectively reducing the print resolution. Preferably, the position of the two nozzles in the array is set -20-200904647 such that the two nozzles are most adjacent in the transverse direction of the movement of the print head relative to the printing medium substrate. In a particularly preferred form, the print engine controller shares the printed material equally to the two nozzles in the array. Preferably, the two nozzles are spaced apart by less than 40 microns. In a particularly preferred form, the printhead is a pagewidth printhead and the center of the two nozzles are spaced less than 16 microns apart in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. Preferably, the adjacent nozzle centers are spaced apart by less than 8 microns in the lateral direction of the media feed direction. Preferably, the printhead has a nozzle pitch of more than 1600 nozzles per n (npi) in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. In another preferred form, the nozzle pitch is greater than 3 000 npi. Accordingly, the present invention provides a printhead integrated circuit for an ink jet printer comprising: a single piece a wafer substrate supporting an array of small droplet ejectors for ejecting droplets of printing fluid onto a print medium, each droplet ejector having a nozzle and an actuator for a droplet of the printing fluid is ejected through the nozzle; the array is formed on the monolithic wafer substrate by a series of photolithographic etching and deposition steps; the steps involve a photo imaging apparatus that exposes the exposed area to Light, the light is focused to project a pattern onto the monolithic substrate; wherein the array has more than 10,000 of such small droplet ejectors constructed to surround the exposed area. The present invention configures the nozzle array such that the droplet ejector density is very high and reduces the number of exposure steps required. Preferably, the exposed area is less than 9000 m 2 . Preferably, the wafer substrate is surrounded by the exposed area. In another preferred form, the optical imaging device is a stepper that simultaneously exposes the entire mask. The optical imaging device is a scanner that passes a narrow band through the exposed area to expose the mask. Preferably, the single wafer substrate supports more than 12,000 ejector. In these embodiments, it is desirable for the array to have 700 droplet ejection injectors per square millimeter. In some embodiments, the printhead integrated circuit is assembled to a pagewidth printhead having a similar printhead integrated circuit for ejecting a print drop onto a print medium, the print medium being fed Passing the printhead in the media direction; wherein the array has more than 100,000 such small droplet ejector arrays extending 200 mm to meters in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. In another preferred form, the nozzles are spaced apart from each other by less than 10 microns in the media feed vertical direction. Preferably, the head has more than 140,000 such small droplet ejectors. In the special mode, the nozzles spaced apart from each other by 1 〇 in the vertical direction of the medium feeding direction are also smaller than 150 μm in the medium feeding direction. Optionally, the actuators are disposed in adjacent columns, each having electrodes spaced apart from each other in the lateral direction of the columns for connecting the drive transistor and a power supply; wherein adjacent columns are present The electrodes of the actuators are opposite in the single piece, the selective light sweeping droplets are sprayed with a liquid medium that is more than the other body, and the printing of the 300 mm direction The preferred shape is less than the polarity -22-200904647 that is separated by the actuators, so the actuators in adjacent columns have opposite current flow directions. Preferably, the electrodes in each column are offset from their adjacent actuators in the lateral direction of the column, so that the electrodes of each of the second actuators are collinear. In a particularly preferred embodiment The 'small droplet ejector is fabricated on an elongate wafer substrate that extends parallel to the 歹1J of the actuators and along the length of the wafer substrate The edge supplies electricity and data. In some embodiments, the printhead has a print engine controller (PEC) for feeding print data to the nozzles of the array; wherein during use, at least the print data is dispensed to the array A single nozzle between the two nozzles, the print engine controller selectively reducing the print resolution. Preferably, the position of the two nozzles in the array is set such that the two nozzles are the closest neighbors in the transverse direction of the movement of the print head relative to the printing medium substrate. In a particularly preferred form, the print engine controller shares the print data equally to the two nozzles in the array. Preferably, the two nozzle centers are separated by less than 40 microns. In a particularly preferred form, the printhead is a pagewidth printhead and the center of the two nozzles are spaced less than 16 microns apart in the transverse direction of the media feed direction. Preferably, the adjacent nozzle centers are spaced apart by less than 8 microns in the lateral direction of the media feed direction. Preferably, the print head has a nozzle pitch of more than 1600 nozzles per n (npi) in the lateral direction of the media feed direction. In another preferred form, the nozzle pitch is greater than 3000 npi. [Embodiment] -23- 200904647 Use and US SN 11/2 4 6687 filed on October 30, 2005 (our file number MNN00 1US) The same lithography etching and deposition steps produce the print head integrated circuit (1C) shown in the drawing. I would like to refer to the contents of this case for reference. The general worker will understand that the print head integrated circuit shown in the drawing has a chamber, a nozzle, and a heater electrode structure, which requires the use of USSN 11 /246687 filed on October 11, 2005 (our File number MNN00 1US) The different exposure masks shown in the figure. However, the process steps for forming the cantilever heater element, the chamber, and the injection orifice remain the same. Similarly, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) layer is formed in the same manner as discussed in USSN 1 1 /246687 (our file number MNN001US) filed on October 1, 2005, except for driving field effect. Outside the transistor (FET). Because of the higher density of the heater elements, the drive F E T needs to be relatively small. Linking Printhead Integrated Circuits Applicants have developed a number of printhead assemblies that use a series of printhead integrated circuits that are joined together to form a pagewidth printhead. In this manner, the print head integrated circuits can be combined into a print head, and the application range of the print heads can be printed from a wide format to a camera and mobile phone having a built-in printer. Each of the print head integrated circuits is mounted end to end on the support member to form a page width print head. The support member mounts the print head assembly circuit into the printer and distributes the ink to the individual integrated circuits. An example of this type of printhead is described in USSN 1 1 / 2 9 3 8 2 0, and the description of the case is hereby incorporated by reference. -24- 200904647 It should be understood that the term "ink" as used herein shall be interpreted to mean any printing fluid 'unless the context clearly indicates that it is merely a coloring agent for image printing media. The print head integrated circuit can similarly inject ink, adhesive, medicament, or other functional fluid. 1A shows a schematic view of a pagewidth printhead 100 having a series of print head integrated circuits 92 mounted to a support member 94. The curved side 96 allows the nozzles of one of the print head integrated circuits 92 to overlap with the nozzles of adjacent print head integrated circuits in the paper feed direction. The nozzles of each of the print head integrated circuits 92 are overlapped to provide continuous printing across the joint between the two print head integrated circuits 92. This avoids "banding" in the printed results. In this manner, the individual print head circuits are connected, and only a different number of print head integrated circuits can be used to make any print head of any desired length. The end-to-end configuration of the print head integrated circuit 92 requires the supply of power and data to the bond pads along the long side of each of the print head integrated circuits 92. The control of these connections, and the connected integrated circuit with the print engine controller (PEC), is described in detail in the application No. 11/544764 (our file number PUA0 0 1US) of October 10, 2006. 3200 dpi print heads Figure 1B shows a section of the nozzle array on the 3 200 dpi (dot/吋) print head that the applicant has recently issued. The printhead has a true (true) 3 200 dpi resolution because the nozzle pitch is 3200 dpi instead of a printer with a 3200 dpi addressable position but a nozzle pitch of less than 2 〇〇 dpi. The cross section shown in Fig. 1B shows the eight unit cells of the nozzle array and removes the top layer -25-200904647. The outline of the injection hole 2 has been shown for the purpose of illustration. "Unit cell" is the smallest repeating unit of the nozzle array and has two complete droplet ejector, and four "half droplet jets" on either side of the complete ejector "". Figure 2 shows a unit cell. The nozzles extend in the transverse direction of the media feed direction 8. The nozzles in the middle four rows are a pigment channel 4. There are two columns extending on either side of the ink supply supply passage 6. The ink from the opposite side of the wafer flows to the ink supply path 6 via the ink feed tube 14. The upper and lower ink supply channels 丨〇, 丨 2 are separate pigment channels (although for larger pigment densities, they can print the same color of ink - for example, CCMMY print heads). The columns 20, 22 above the feed channel 6 are laterally offset in the media feed direction 8. The columns 24, 26 below the supply channel 6 are similarly biased in the direction of the media. Further, the columns 20, 2 2 and the columns 2 4, 26 are offset from each other with respect to each other. Thus, the combined nozzle pitch of the columns 20 to 26 in the transverse direction of the media feed direction is one quarter of the nozzle pitch of any individual column. The nozzle pitch along each column is approximately 32 microns (nominal 31. 75 micron), so the combined nozzle pitch of all columns of a pigment channel is about 8 microns (nominal 7. 9375 microns). This is equal to the nozzle pitch of 3200 npi, so the print head has a resolution of 3200 dpi. Unit cell (u n i t c e 11 ) Figure 2 is a unit cell of the nozzle array. Each unit cell has the equivalent of four droplet ejectors (two complete droplet ejectors and four "half droplet ejectors" on either side of the complete injectors). Droplet Ejectors -26- 200904647 are nozzles, chambers, drive FETs, and drive circuits for single microelectromechanical (MEM S ) fluid ejectors. The average worker will understand that for convenience, the droplet ejector is usually referred to simply as a nozzle; however, it is clear from the use of the content, whether the term refers only to the orifice or the entire MEMS device. The ink feed tube 14 is fed to the upper two nozzle rows 18 via the upper ink supply passage 1 . The lower nozzle row 16 is a different pigment channel that is fed by the feed channel 6. Each nozzle has a combined chamber 28 and a heater element 30 extending between the electrodes 34 and 36. The chambers are elliptical and offset from one another such that their minor axes overlap laterally in the direction of media feed. This configuration allows the chamber volume, nozzle area, and heater size to be substantially the same as the 1 600 dpi print shown in the above-referenced USSN 11 /2 46687 application filed on October 11, 2005 (our file MNN 001US). head. Similarly, chamber wall 32 is maintained 4 microns thick and the area of contacts 34, 36 is still 1 〇 microns x 10 microns. Figure 3 shows a unit cell replica pattern constituting a nozzle array. Each unit cell 38 translates across the wafer to a width X. Adjacent columns are mirrored and translated by half a width: 〇. 5x = y. As mentioned above, this provides a combined nozzle pitch of 0_25x for a pigment channel (20, 22, 24, 26). In the illustrated embodiment, x = 31. 75 and y = 7. 9375. This provides a resolution of 3200 dpi without reducing the size of the heater, chamber, or nozzle. Therefore, when operating at 3200 dpi, the print density is higher than the 1 600 dpi print head of the USSN 11 /2 46687 reference (Our file MNN 001US) filed on October 11, 2005; or the print head It can be operated at 1 600 dpi to extend the life of the nozzle with a good print density. This feature will be discussed further below in -27- 200904647. The heater contacts are arranged to have the dimensions of the heater element 30 and the individual contacts 3 4, 3 6 , which is the same as the 1 600 dpi of the USSN 11/246687 reference file (Our file MNN 001US) filed on October 11, 2005. Print the head. However, because there are twice the number of contacts, there are twice the number of FET contacts (negative contacts) that interrupt the "power plane (CMOS metal layer with positive voltage)". The high density of the holes in the power plane creates a high impedance in the thin metal sheet between the holes. This impedance detracts from the overall efficiency of the printhead and reduces the drive pulse of some heaters relative to other heaters. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a wafer, a CMOS drive circuit 56, and a heater. The drive circuit 56 of each of the print head integrated circuits is fabricated on the wafer substrate 48 in a plurality of metal layers 40, 42, 44, 45, and the dielectric materials 41, 43 and 47 separate the metal layers, and the vias 46 Pass through the layers to establish the required interlayer connections. The drive circuit 56 has a drive FET (field effect transistor) 58 for each actuator 30, and the source 54 of the FET 58 is connected to the power plane 40 (a metal layer connected to the position voltage of the power supply) And the drain 52 is connected to the ground plane 42 (metal layer at 0 voltage or ground). Additionally, each of the electrodes 34, 36 or each actuator 30 is coupled to a ground plane 42 and a power plane 40. The power plane 40 is typically the uppermost metal layer and the ground plane 42 is the first layer below the power plane (separated by the dielectric layer 41). Actuation -28- 200904647 The device 30, the ink chamber 28, and the nozzle 2 are fabricated on top of the power plane metal layer 40. Etching through this layer forms apertures 46 so that negative electrode 34 can be connected to the ground plane and ink flow path 14 can extend from the back of wafer substrate 48 to ink chamber 28. As the nozzle density increases, the density of these holes or punctuations through the power plane also increases. Because of the large density of perforations that pass through the power plane, the gap between the perforations becomes smaller. A thin metal bridge that passes through these gaps is a relatively high resistance point. Since the power plane is connected to the supply along the side of the printhead integrated circuit, the current flowing to the actuator on the non-supply side of the printhead integrated circuit may have to pass through a series of these impedance gaps. The parasitic resistance added to the non-supply side actuator affects its drive current and affects the droplet ejection characteristics of these nozzles. The printhead uses several countermeasures to solve this problem. First, the actuators of adjacent columns have opposite current flow directions, i.e., the polarity of the electrodes in one column changes in adjacent columns. For the purposes of this aspect of the printhead, the two rows of nozzles adjacent to the supply passage 6 are considered to be a single row as shown in Figure 5A, rather than being staggered as shown in the previous figures. The two columns A, B extend longitudinally along the length of the printhead integrated circuit. All of the negative electrodes 34 are along the outer edges of the adjacent columns A, B. Power is supplied from one side (referred to as edge 62), and current flows through only a row of thin resistive metal segments 64 before flowing through heater elements 30 in both columns. Therefore, the direction of current flow in column A and the direction of current flow in column B are opposite. The corresponding circuit diagram illustrates the benefits of this configuration. Because of the impedance R a of the thin section between the negative electrodes of column A, the power supply V + voltage drops -29-200904647. However, the positive electrode 36 of all the heaters 30 has the same voltage (VA = VB) with respect to ground. The voltage drops as it traverses the two columns A and 全 of the whole device 30 (resistances Rha, Rhb, respectively). The impedance of the thin bridge portion 66 between the negative electrodes 34 of the column B is deleted in the columns A and B. Fig. 5B shows that if the polarity of the electrodes of the two adjacent columns is not reversed. In this case, the entire row of resistive segments 66 of column B is presented. The supply voltage V + drops through the impedance RA to the voltage of VA--column A pole 36. From there, the impedance Rha of the column A heater drops to ground. However, the voltage VA passes through the impedance RB of the column B negative electrode 34 segment 66, and the voltage at the column B positive electrode 36 is from 'VB. Therefore, the voltage drop across the column B heater 30 is less than: the voltage drops. This changes the drive pulse, and thus changes the droplet squirt. The second strategy for maintaining the integrity of the power plane is to interlace the adjacent pairs of electrodes. Referring to Figure 6, each of the three phases is now interleaved' so that each of the second electrodes is laterally displaced to the column. The phase heater contacts 3 4 and 3 6 are also staggered. This serves to make the gaps 64, 66 between the holes of the through faces 4 wider. The wider gap has an electrical impedance ' and the voltage drop from the power supply side of the print head integrated circuit is small. Figure 7 shows that the larger of the power plane 40, the electrodes 34 in the staggered columns 41, 44 correspond to the pigment channels of the supply channel 6. The staggered columns 42, 43 are about half of the nozzles on either side of the two sides - the pigment fed by the supply channel 10 and the pigment channel fed by the channel 12. It should be understood that the five pigment channels are listed in the phase-heated circuit Rb. In the case of a positive charge in the circuit, the thinness between the electricity drops to the characteristic of A. The energy in the adjacent column of each column has less heating zone. Feeding Pigment Pass Supply Header -30- 200904647 The body circuit has nine columns of negative electrodes that induce the resistance of the heater in the nozzle furthest from the power supply side. The gap between the negative electrodes is widened, greatly reducing the impedance generated by the components. This promotes more uniform droplet ejection characteristics throughout the nozzle array. Efficient Manufacturing The above characteristics increase the density of the nozzles on the wafer. Each individual integrated circuit is approximately 22 mm long, less than 3 mm wide, and can support more than 1000 nozzles. This represents a significant increase in the number of nozzles in the applicant's 1 600 dpi print head integrated circuit (see the example of USSN 11/246687 (our file MNN 001US) filed on October 11, 2005). In fact, an array of 3200 dpi print head nozzles of the size shown in Figure 12 was fabricated with 12,800 nozzles. Since the entire nozzle array is located within the exposure range of the lithography stepper or scanner used to expose the mask (mask), there are many (more than 10,000) nozzle lithography fabrications. effectiveness. Fig. 14 schematically shows an optical lithography stepper. The light source 102 emits a parallel ray of a specific wavelength 1〇4 through the mask 106, which has a pattern to be transmitted to the integrated circuit 92. The pattern is focused through a lens 108 for reducing features and is projected onto a wafer stage 110 carrying an integrated circuit (or so-called "die") 92. The area of the wafer stage 1 1 照射 illuminated by the light 104 is referred to as the exposure area 1 1 2 . Unfortunately, the size of the exposed area 112 is limited to maintain the accuracy of the projected pattern - an entire wafer disc cannot be exposed at the same time. Most lithographic steppers have an exposure area of less than 30 mm x 30 mm. A -31 - 200904647 The main stepper (AS ML in the Netherlands) has a stepper with an exposure area of 22 mm X 22 mm, which is typical in the industry. The stepper exposes a portion of a die or grain' and then steps to another die or another portion of the same die. Having as many nozzles as possible on a single substrate facilitates the compact printhead design and facilitates the precise relationship of the assemblies of the integrated circuits on the support to each other. The nozzle array constructed in the present invention has more than 10,000 nozzles in the exposure zone. In fact, the entire integrated circuit can be located in the exposure area, so a single substrate can be equipped with more than 1 4000 nozzles, without having to step and realign each pattern, the average worker will understand that the above technology can be Applied to fabricating nozzle arrays with photolithographic scanners. 15A to 15C illustrate the operation of the scanner. In the scanner, light source 102 emits a narrower beam of light 104 that is still wide enough to illuminate the entire width of mask 106. The narrow beam 1〇4 is focused through the smaller lens 108 and is projected onto a portion of the integrated circuit 92 in which the re-exposed area 112 is mounted. The mask 106 and the wafer table 110 are moved relative to each other in opposite directions, so that the pattern of the mask is scanned through the entire exposure zone 112. Obviously, this type of light imaging device is also suitable for efficiently manufacturing a nozzle having a large number of nozzles. Print the head IC circuit. Flat External Nozzle Surfaces As described above, the print head integrated circuit is fabricated in accordance with the steps of -32-200904647 of USSN 1 1 /246687 (Our File MNN 001US), as of October 11, 2005. Only change the exposure mask pattern to provide different chamber and heater configurations. As described in USSN 11/246687 (our file MNN 001US) filed on January 1, 2005, the top layer and the chamber wall are integrated structures - a single plasma suitable for the top and wall materials. Improve chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Suitable top materials can be tantalum nitride, tantalum oxide, hafnium oxynitride, aluminum nitride, and the like. The top and walls are deposited on a scaffold layer of sacrificial photoresist to form an integrated construction on the passivation layer of the CMOS. FIG. 8 shows a pattern etched into the sacrificial layer 72. The pattern consists of a chamber wall 32 and a columnar structure 68 (discussed below), all of which have a uniform thickness. In the illustrated embodiment, the thickness of the walls and posts is 4 microns. These configurations are relatively thin so that there is little depression, if any, in the inner surface of the top layer 70 as the deposited top and wall materials cool. The thick construction in the etched pattern will maintain a relatively large volume of top/wall material. As the material cools and contracts, the outer surface pulls inward to create a depression. These depressions make the outer surface uneven, which is detrimental to the maintenance of the print head. If you wipe or erase the print head, paper dust and other contaminants will remain in the recess. As shown in Figure 9, the outer surface of the top layer 72 is flat and featureless except for the nozzle 2. It is easier to remove dust and dried ink by wiping or wiping off. Refilling the ink flow Referring to Figure 10, four nozzles are supplied for each ink inlet except that fewer nozzles are supplied to the entrance of the longitudinal end of the array. During the initial injection of -33-200904647 and in the case of bubble blockage, the random nozzle inlet 14 is shown, for example, as the flow line 74, to the chamber 28 remote from the inlet 14 to the chamber immediately adjacent to the supply channel 6. The re-injection of chamber 28 has a uniform droplet ejection characteristic, and it is desirable that each nozzle in the array has the same re-injection time. As shown in Figure 11, the inlet 76 adjacent the chamber and away from the chamber 768 are designed to be different sizes. Likewise, the position of the cylindrical configuration 68 provides different water restrictions for the adjacent nozzle inlet 76 and the remote nozzle inlet 78. The size of the inlet and the position of the column adjust the fluid resistance (so that the re-injection time of all the nozzles in the array is uniform. The position of the column is also used to dampen the pressure generated by the steam bubbles in the chamber 28. The movement passes through the inlet. The damping pulse prevents the cross talk between the nozzles. Further, the gaps 80, 8 2 on the side of the column 68 and the inlets 76, 78 can be used as the larger gas contained in the ink refilling flow. Effect bubble trap or trap. Extended nozzle life Figure 1 2 shows the size of a pigment channel profile in the nozzle array '3 200 dpi resolution. It should be understood that 'true dp i is very high Resolution - better than photographic quality. This resolves a lot of printing work. Usually the resolution of 1 60 0 dpi is more appropriate. Yes, by sharing the printing data between two adjacent nozzles, printing the head product sacrifice In this way, it is usually sent to 1600 dpi to print a favorable re-length. For the inlet of the ink, the flow is designed to be a standard drag.) The bubble between the cross-talk faces of the force pulse body can be designed to have "3200". Degree beyond this body circuit head A -34-200904647 nozzles print information 'manner to the substituted 3 2 0 0 dp i print head adjacent the nozzle. This mode of operation extends the life of the nozzle by more than two times and allows the printer to operate at very high print rates. In 3200 dpi mode, the printer prints at 60 ppm (full color A4), and in 1600 dpi mode, the rate approaches 120 ppm. An additional benefit of the 1 600 dpi mode is the ability to use this printhead integrated circuit with a print engine controller (PEC) and a flexible printed circuit board that can only be constructed at 1 60 0 p p resolution. As shown in Figure 12, the nozzle 83 and the nozzle 8 4 are laterally offset only 7. 9375 microns. The two nozzles are further spaced apart in absolute relationship, but the displacement in the paper feed direction may indicate the timing of the firing sequence. Since the lateral displacement of 8 microns between adjacent nozzles is small, this shift can be ignored for purposes of presentation. However, this shift can be resolved by optimizing the high frequency dither (if desired). Bubbles, Chambers, and Nozzle Matching Figure 13 is an enlarged view of the nozzle array. Both the injection hole and the chamber wall are elliptical. Configuring the long axis parallel to the media feed direction' allows for a high nozzle pitch in the lateral direction of the feed direction while maintaining the desired chamber volume. Furthermore, arranging the short axes of the chambers causes the short axes to overlap in the lateral direction' which also improves the nozzle packing density. Heater 30 is a cantilever beam that extends between its individual electrodes 34 and 36. The elongate beam heater element produces a bubble 'which is generally elliptical (a section on the plane of the wafer at -35-200904647). The matching bubble 90, the chamber 28, and the ejection orifice 2 promote energy efficient droplet ejection. Low energy droplet ejection is important for a "self-cooling" print head. Conclusion The printhead integrated circuit shown in the figure provides a choice of "real" 3200 dpi resolution and a much higher print rate than the 1 600 dpi print rate. Sharing lower resolution prints extends nozzle life and provides compatibility with existing 1 600 dpi print engine controllers and flexible printed circuit boards. The uniform thickness of the chamber wall pattern has a flat outer nozzle surface that is less prone to blockage. In addition, the actuator contact configuration and the elongated nozzle configuration' provide a high nozzle pitch in the lateral direction of the media feed direction while maintaining a thin nozzle array that is parallel to the media feed direction. The specific embodiments described above are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and illustrative BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A is a schematic view showing the construction of a joint print head integrated circuit; FIG. 1B is a partial plan view of the nozzle array on the print head integrated circuit of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a unit cell of the nozzle array; Figure 3 shows a replica pattern of a unit cell constituting a nozzle array; Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a CMOS layer and a heater element passing through a nozzle; -36- 200904647 Figure 5A schematically shows the opposite in adjacent actuator columns Electrode electrode configuration; FIG. 5B schematically shows an electrode configuration having a typical electrode polarity in an adjacent actuator column; FIG. 6 shows an electrode configuration of the ink head integrated circuit of FIG. 1; FIG. Figure 8 shows the pattern of the sacrificial gantry layer etched into the top/sidewall layer; Figure 9 shows the outer surface at the top after etching the nozzle holes; Figure 10 shows the ink supply flow of the nozzle; Figure 11 shows the different columns Different inlets to the chambers; Figure 1 2 shows the nozzle spacing for a pigment channel; Figure 13 shows an enlarged view of the nozzle array with matching elliptical channels and orifices; Figure 14 is a photolithography stepper of It is not intended; and Figures 15A to 15C schematically illustrate the operation of the photolithography stepper. [Main component symbol description] 2 : (spray) hole (Fig. 1B) 2: Nozzle (Fig. 4) 6: (ink) supply channel 8: medium (paper) feed direction 1 0: upper ink supply channel 1 2 : lower Ink supply channel 1 4 : Ink feed tube (Fig. 1 B ) -37- 200904647 1 4 : Ink flow path (Fig. 4) 14: Nozzle inlet □ (Fig. 10) 1 6 : Lower nozzle column 1 8 : Upper nozzle column 20: column 22: column 24: column 26: column 28: chamber 30: heater element (Fig. 2) 3 0: actuator (Fig. 4) 32: chamber wall 3 4: (negative) electrode (connected Point) 3 6: (positive) electrode (contact) 3 8 : unit package 40: power plane (metal layer) 41: dielectric layer (material) (Fig. 4) 4 1 : 歹I] (Fig. 7) 42: Ground plane (metal layer) (Fig. 4) 42: 歹I] (Fig. 7) 43: Dielectric layer (material) (Fig. 4) 43: 歹I] (Fig. 7) 44: Metal layer (Fig. 4) 44:歹!J (Fig. 7) -38- 200904647 46: (guide) hole 47: dielectric layer (material) 4 8 : wafer substrate 5 2 : drain 5 4 : source 5 6 : ( C Μ Ο S ) Drive circuit 5 8 : field effect transistor 62 : edge 64 : resistive metal segment 64 : gap ( FIG. 6 ) 66 : bridge ( FIG. 5 Α ) 66 : impedance section ( FIG. 5 Β ) 66: gap (Fig. 6) 68: column (structure) 70: top layer 72: sacrificial layer 74: flow line 76: inlet 78: inlet 80: gap 82: gap 83: nozzle 84: nozzle 90: bubble-39 200904647 9 2 : Print head integrated circuit 9 4 : Support member 96 : Bending side 98 : Bond pad 1 〇〇: Page width Print head 102 : Light source 104 : Light (ray) 1 06 : Mask 1 〇 8 : Lens 1 1 〇: Wafer table 1 1 2 : Exposure area -40