Method of fabricating inkjet nozzles having associated ink priming features

Abstract

A method of fabricating a plurality of inkjet nozzles on a substrate, each nozzle comprising a nozzle chamber having a roof spaced apart from said substrate and sidewalls extending from said roof to said substrate, said chamber having an entrance for receiving ink from at least one ink inlet defined in said substrate, said at least one ink inlet having at least one priming feature extending from a respective rim thereof, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a substrate having a plurality of trenches corresponding to said ink inlets; (b) depositing sacrificial material on said substrate so as fill said trenches and form a scaffold on said substrate; (c) defining openings in said sacrificial material, said openings being positioned to form said chamber sidewalls and said at least one priming feature when filled with roof material; (d) depositing roof material over said sacrificial material to form simultaneously said nozzle chambers and said at least one priming feature; (e) etching nozzle apertures through said roof material, each nozzle chamber having at least one nozzle aperture; and (f) removing said sacrificial material. By introducing a priming feature into the plane of the inlet aperture, the surface tension in the ink meniscus can be redirected to pull the ink along the intend flow path rather than push it back into the inlet.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.