Ink feed channels and heater supports for thermal ink-jet printhead
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Company
InventorsTerry V. Nordstrom, Timothy R. Emery, Sadiq Bengali, Victorio A. Chavarria, Michael G. Monroe, George Radominski
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Abstract
An ink-jet printhead fabrication process and product that uses selectivity rate controlled etch techniques to produce trenches on the frontside of a silicon substrate to define ink feed channels and resistor support regions. Location and size of features is made independent of etch rate by providing a selective etch for the silicon trench etch steps that is greater than 10,000:1 for the silicon:oxide that defines ink feed channels and resistor support areas.
Claims9
An ink-jet printhead fabrication process using a silicon wafer, the process comprising:
- on a first surface of the wafer, forming an array of ink-jet drop generator location trenches interspersed with ink feed hole barrier trenches;
- filling said trenches with at least one material;
- forming drop generator heater elements superjacent said ink-jet drop generator location trenches, said drop generator heater elements being supported by said at least one material in said ink-jet drop generator location trenches;
- and
- forming ink feed holes leading from a second surface of the wafer to said first surface between said ink-jet drop generator location trenches and adjacent barrier trenches.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.