Printhead with re-entrant nozzles
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsChien-Hua Chen, Michael A. Pate
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Abstract
A method for manufacturing ink-jet printheads having nozzles with re-entrant profiles has the following steps. A source of electromagnetic energy is created which is then used with an optical system to produce a source of energy having a constant illumination angle on an process plane. A substrate is then exposed with the electromagnetic source to define the nozzles having the re-entrant profile. Also, apparatus for creating the constant illumination angle include an optical deflecting mask and an afocal optical system.
Claims33
A method for manufacturing nozzles having re-entrant profiles, the method comprising the steps of:
- creating a electromagnetic source from a source of illumination, said electromagnetic source having a constant illumination angle on an process plane;
- and
- exposing a substrate having a first surface at the process plane with said electromagnetic source to define the nozzles having the re-entrant profiles.
An afocal optical apparatus for creating re-entrant nozzles on a substrate comprising:
- a radiation source having a collimated output;
- a first mirror having a convex contour, said first mirror reflecting said collimated output thereby creating a first reflective electromagnetic source;
- and
- a second mirror having a concave contour, said second mirror reflecting said first reflective electromagnetic source thereby creating a full process plane having a constant illumination angle.
A redirecting optical mask for creating re-entrant nozzles, the redirecting optical mask comprising:
- a quartz substrate having a first surface;
- a optical deflector disposed on said first surface;
- a transparent spacer material disposed on said first surface over said optical deflector;
- and
- an opaque mask disposed on said spacer material, wherein said opaque mask defines the location and bore dimensions of the re-entrant nozzles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.