EP1080907A2 - Herstellung von Druckköpfen - Google Patents

Herstellung von Druckköpfen Download PDF

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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Withdrawn
Application number
EP00307222A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1080907A3 (de
Inventor
Kee Cheong Tan
Sean Weai Chou
Bun Chay Te
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
HP Inc
Original Assignee
Hewlett Packard Co
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Hewlett Packard Co filed Critical Hewlett Packard Co
Publication of EP1080907A2 publication Critical patent/EP1080907A2/de
Publication of EP1080907A3 publication Critical patent/EP1080907A3/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • 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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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
EP00307222A 1999-08-25 2000-08-22 Herstellung von Druckköpfen Withdrawn EP1080907A3 (de)

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 (de) 2001-03-07
EP1080907A3 EP1080907A3 (de) 2002-01-09

Family

ID=23511756

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP00307222A Withdrawn EP1080907A3 (de) 1999-08-25 2000-08-22 Herstellung von Druckköpfen

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1080907A3 (de)
CN (1) CN1286172A (de)

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
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)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
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

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4773971A (en) * 1986-10-30 1988-09-27 Hewlett-Packard Company Thin film mandrel
US5236572A (en) * 1990-12-13 1993-08-17 Hewlett-Packard Company Process for continuously electroforming parts such as inkjet orifice plates for inkjet printers
DE69616008T2 (de) * 1995-12-22 2002-05-29 Scitex Digital Printing, Inc. Direkte Plattierung einer Düsenplatte auf einem Halter

Cited By (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US10994539B2 (en) 2013-02-28 2021-05-04 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Fluid flow structure forming method
US11130339B2 (en) 2013-02-28 2021-09-28 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Molded fluid flow structure
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
WO2014133590A1 (en) * 2013-02-28 2014-09-04 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Molded printhead
US10836169B2 (en) 2013-02-28 2020-11-17 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Molded printhead
US11426900B2 (en) 2013-02-28 2022-08-30 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Molding a 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
WO2015116025A1 (en) * 2014-01-28 2015-08-06 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Flexible carrier
US10751997B2 (en) 2014-01-28 2020-08-25 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Flexible carrier for fluid flow structure
US10160209B2 (en) 2014-01-28 2018-12-25 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Flexible carrier for fluid flow structure
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
EP1080907A3 (de) 2002-01-09
CN1286172A (zh) 2001-03-07

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