KR100240529B1 - Integrated nozzle member and tab circuit for ink jet print head - Google Patents

Abstract

In one preferred embodiment, the inkjet printhead comprises a nozzle member made of a polymeric material, the nozzle member being laser fluxed to form an inkjet orifice. The nozzle member is also provided with a conductive trace for supplying an electrical signal to the heating element on the substrate mounted on the surface of the nozzle member. In a preferred method the orifice is formed by excimer laser flux.

Description

Apparatus for use in an ink printer and a manufacturing method of an ink jet print head for a printer

1 is a perspective view of an inkjet print cartridge having a printhead according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the front of a Tape Automated Bonding (TAB) Printhead assembly (hereafter referred to as a "TAB head assembly"), separated from the print cartridge of FIG. Drawing of

3 is a perspective view of the back side of the TAB head assembly of FIG. 2, wherein the assembly is equipped with a silicon substrate and has a conductive lead attached thereto.

4 is a side cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3 showing a method of attaching a conductive lead to an electrode on a silicon substrate.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross sectional view along line B-B of FIG. 1 showing the ink flow path flowing around the edge of the substrate, and the seal between the TAB head assembly and the print cartridge.

6 is a top perspective view of a substrate structure including a heating resistor, an ink channel, and a vaporization chamber mounted on the back of the TA head assembly of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway top perspective view of a portion of a TAB head assembly showing the relationship of the orifice to the edge of the vaporization chamber, heating resistor, and substrate.

FIG. 8 is a cutaway side cross-sectional view of the line D-D of FIG. 7 showing the ink jetting chamber of FIG.

9 is a partially cutaway side cross-sectional view of the ink jetting chamber in which a heating element is disposed on the nozzle member.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 8 showing another embodiment of the nozzle member. FIG.

FIG. 11 is a rear perspective view showing an embodiment of a TAB head assembly in which the back of the tape has an ink channel and a vaporization chamber formed therein.

FIG. 12 illustrates one process used for the manufacture of a TAB head assembly described herein.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

10: inkjet print cartridge 12: ink storage container

14: printhead or TAB head assembly

16, 90, 92: nozzle member 17: orifice

18: tape 28: substrate

30: barrier layer 54, 56, 72, 98: vaporization chamber

58, 60, 70, 94: resistors 61, 68, 80, 99: ink channel

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to inkjet printers, and more particularly to nozzles, ie orifice members and other components of print cartridges used in inkjet printers.

The thermal inkjet print cartridge rapidly heats a small amount of ink to evaporate and then ejects through one orifice to impinge on a recording medium such as paper. In the case of arranging a plurality of orifices in a pattern, ejection of ink takes place in a proper order from each orifice as the printhead moves relative to the paper so that letters or other images are printed on the paper. The paper is typically displaced each time the printhead moves across the paper. Thermal inkjet printers are fast and quiet because they only collide with ink. The printer provides high quality printing and can be manufactured simultaneously in both small and portable.

One structure of a printhead includes: (1) an ink reservoir and ink channel for supplying ink to a vaporization point adjacent to an orifice, and (2) an orifice plate in which individual orifices are formed in a predetermined pattern; (3) It is provided with a series of thin film heaters formed on the base material which forms one wall of the said ink channel, and arrange | positioned one under each orifice. Each heater has a thin film resistor and a suitable conductive lead. In the case of printing a single dot of ink, a current supplied from an external power source passes through the selected heater. The heater then overheats the thin adjacent ink layer while resistively heating, causing explosive vaporization, with the result that ink droplets are sprayed onto the paper through the associated orifices.

One print cartridge according to the prior art is disclosed in US Pat. No. 4,500,895, entitled “Disposable Inkjet Head” by Buck et al., Issued February 19, 1985 and assigned to the applicant. have.

For such printers, the print quality depends on the structural features of the orifices in the printhead that are coupled onto the print cartridge. For example, the geometry of the orifice of the printhead affects the size of the ink droplets and the ejection trajectory and ejection speed of the ink droplets. In addition, the geometry of the orifice of the printhead may also affect the flow of ink to the vaporization chamber and, in some cases, the manner in which ink is ejected from adjacent orifices. The orifice plate of the inkjet printhead is made of nickel and manufactured by photolithography electroforming process. One suitable example of a photolithography electroforming process is disclosed in US Pat. No. 4,773,971 entitled "Thin Film Mandrel" to Lam et al. In September 1988. In such a process, the orifice of the orifice plate is formed by plating nickel around the insulating plate.

Such an electroforming process for forming an orifice plate for ink jet has a number of drawbacks. One drawback is that great care must be taken to balance variables such as stress, plating thickness, insulation plate thickness, insulation plate diameter and plating ratio. Another drawback is that the electroforming process limits the structural choice of nozzle shape and size.

When using the electroformed orifice plates and other components of the printhead for ink jet printers, corrosion due to ink is a problem. In general, the corrosion resistance of such orifice plates depends on up to two variables: the chemicals of the ink jet and whether or not a hydroxide layer is formed on the electroplated nickel surface of the orifice plate. If no hydride layer is formed, the ink may be corroded due to the presence of an aqueous ink that is usually used in ink, especially inkjet printers. Corrosion problems of orifice plates can be minimized by plating the plate with gold, but such plating is expensive.

Another drawback of electroformed orifice plates for inkjet printheads is their tendency to delamination in use. Layer separation is usually started by the formation of a small gap between the nozzle member and its substrate, and is often caused by the difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the nozzle member and the substrate. Delamination is exacerbated by the interaction between the ink and the printhead material. For example, prolonged exposure of the material of an inkjet printhead to aqueous ink causes the material to expand and cause a change in the shape of the printhead internal structure.

Even if the orifice plate is only partially layered, the printing (printing) is distorted. For example, partial delamination of the orifice plate usually results in a decrease in ink droplet ejection speed or significant irregularities. In addition, partial layer separation may cause bubble accumulation regions, which may interfere with the ejection of ink droplets.

[Overview of invention]

A nozzle member for an ink jet printer cartridge and a manufacturing method of the nozzle member are described. In a preferred embodiment, a nozzle, orifice, is formed in the flexible tape on which the conductive trace is formed. In a preferred embodiment, the orifice is formed by excimer laser ablation.

Instead of an excimer laser, a frequency multiplied YAG laser may also be used.

Next, the completed nozzle member having an orifice and conductive traces may be mounted thereon with a substrate containing a heating element associated with each orifice. Then, a conductive trace formed on the back side of the nozzle member is coupled to the electrode on the substrate and provides an excitation signal to the heating element.

The barrier layer, which may be a separate layer or formed on the nozzle member itself, has a vaporization chamber surrounding each orifice, and an ink flow channel communicating between the ink reservoir and the vaporization chamber. By exciting the heating element on the substrate, the ink in the associated vaporization chamber is evaporated, and the ink is then discharged through the orifice in the nozzle member.

By providing the orifice in the flexible circuit itself, it overcomes the disadvantages of conventional electroformed orifice plates. In addition, the orifice is formed in alignment with the conductive trace on the nozzle member such that the heating element and the orifice are also aligned when the electrode is aligned on the substrate to the end of the conductive trace.

The invention may be better understood with reference to the following description and attached drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments.

Further features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example the principles of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 collectively denotes an inkjet print cartridge having a printhead according to one embodiment of the present invention. The ink jet print cartridge 10 includes an ink storage container 12 and a print head 14 formed by using tape automated bonding (TAB). The printhead 14 (hereinafter referred to as "TAB head assembly 14") is a two-lined row of parallel holes arranged in flexible polymer tape 18, for example by laser ablation, or A nozzle member 16 including an orifice 17 is provided. Tape 18 may be purchased from Kapton ^™ tape, available from 3M Corporation. Upilex ^™ or the like may be used with other suitable tapes.

The back of the tape 18 is provided with a conductive trace 36 (shown in FIG. 3) formed thereon using conventional photolithographic etching and / or plating methods. This conductive trace ends in a large contact pad 20 designed to interconnect with the printer. The print cartridge 10 is designed to be installed in a printer, in which the contact pad 20 contacts the electrode of the printer on the front side of the tape 18 so that an externally generated excitation signal can be provided to the printhead. do.

In the various embodiments shown, the traces are formed on the back side of the tape 18 (the opposite side of the recording medium opposing face). In order to be able to access these traces from the front of the tape 18, holes (vias) must be formed in the front of the tape 18 to expose the ends of the traces. The exposed end of the trace is then plated with gold, for example, to form the contact pad 20 shown in front of the tape 18.

The windows 22, 24 extend through the tape 18 and are used to facilitate coupling between the other end of the conductive trace and the electrode of the silicon substrate containing the heating resistor. The windows 22, 24 are filled with filler to protect the underlying traces and substrate.

In the print cartridge 10 of FIG. 1, the tape 18 is bent over the "snout", which is the rear edge of the print cartridge, extending over almost half the length of the rear wall 25 of the nose. The flap portion of this tape 18 is required to arrange the conductive traces connected to the electrodes of the substrate via the end window 22.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the TAB head assembly 14 of FIG. 1 in a detached state from the print cartridge 10, before the windows 22, 25 of the TAB head assembly 14 are filled with filler.

Attached to the rear of the TAB head assembly 14 is a silicon substrate 28 (shown in FIG. 3) containing a plurality of individual heated thin film resistors. Each resistor is typically disposed behind a single orifice 17 and acts as an ohmic heater when selectively activated by one or more pulses applied sequentially or simultaneously to one or more contact pads 20.

The size, number and pattern of orifices 17 and conductive traces may be any, and are designed in various forms to simplify and clarify the features of the invention. The relative dimensions of the various features have been greatly adjusted for clarity.

The orifice pattern on the tape 18 shown in FIG. 2 may be formed by performing a masking process using a laser or other etching means in a step-and-repeat process. Step-and-repeat processing will be readily understood by those skilled in the art after reading this specification.

This method will be described in more detail in FIG.

3 shows a silicon die or silicon substrate 28 mounted on the back side of the tape 18 and one edge of the barrier layer 30 formed on the substrate 28 and having an ink channel and a vaporization chamber. The back of the TAB head assembly 14 of FIG. 2 is shown, shown in FIG. Details of this barrier layer 30 will be described later with reference to FIG. Along the magnetic field of the barrier layer 30 is shown the entrance of the ink channel 32 to receive ink from the ink reservoir 12 (FIG. 1).

Also shown in FIG. 3 is a conductive trace 36 formed on the back of the tape 18, which trace 36 terminates at the contact pads 20 (FIG. 2) disposed on both sides of the tape. do.

The windows 22, 24 allow access to the ends of the traces 36 and the substrate electrodes from the other side of the tape 18 to assist in bonding.

4 is a cross-sectional side view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 3 showing the connection state between the end of the conductive trace 36 and the electrode 40 formed on the substrate 28. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, a portion 42 of the barrier layer 30 is used to insulate the end of the conductive trace 36 from the substrate 28.

Also shown in FIG. 4 is a side view of the inlet of the tape 18, barrier layer 30, windows 22, 24 and various ink channels 32. Ink droplets 46 are ejected from the orifice holes associated with each ink channel 32.

The back of the TAB head assembly 14 of FIG. 3 is sealed to the ink hole of the ink reservoir 12 by an adhesive seal as shown in FIG. 5, and the adhesive seal surrounds the periphery of the substrate 28. It is wrapped to form an ink seal between the back of the tape 18 and the ink storage container 12.

5 shows a portion of the adhesive seal 50 surrounding the substrate 28 and shows a thin adhesive layer 52 disposed on the top surface of the barrier layer 30 having ink channels and vaporization chambers 54, 56. BB line side sectional drawing of FIG. 1 which shows the base material 28 adhering to the center part of the tape 18 by this. In addition, a part of the plastic body of the print cartridge 10 is also shown. In the vaporization chambers 54 and 56, the thin film resistors 58 and 60 are also shown.

5 also shows that ink 62 from the ink reservoir 12 flows through the center slot 64 formed in the print cartridge 10 and turns around the edge of the substrate 28 into the vaporization chambers 54 and 56. It is showing the flow. When resistors 58 and 60 are activated, they flow into vaporization chambers 54 and 56. When the resistors 58 and 60 are activated, some of the ink in the vaporization chambers 54 and 56 is ejected as raised into the ink droplets 66 and 68.

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of a silicon substrate 28 attached to the backside of the tape 18 of FIG. 2 to form the TAB head assembly 14.

On top of the silicon substrate 28 are two rows of polarized thin film resistors 70 (shown in FIG. 6) exposed through the vaporization chamber 72 formed in the barrier layer 30 using conventional photolithography. Formed.

In one embodiment, the substrate 28 has a length of approximately ½ inch and includes 300 heating resistors 70 and thus has a resolution of 600 dots per inch.

Moreover, on the base material 28, the electrode 74 for connecting to the conductive trace 36 (shown by the dotted line) formed on the back surface of the tape 18 of FIG. 2 is formed.

A demultiplexer 78, shown in phantom in FIG. 6, on the substrate 28 for demultiplexing the multiplexed signal supplied to the electrode 74 and distributing the signal to various thin film resistors 70. FIG. Is formed. Using the demultiplexer 78 may use a much smaller number of electrodes 74 than the thin film resistor 70. Demultiplexer 78 may be any decoder for decoding the encoded signal supplied to electrode 74.

In addition, a barrier layer 30 is formed on the surface of the substrate 28 using conventional photolithography. The barrier layer 30 is formed with a vaporization chamber 72 and an ink channel 80 therein. It may be a photoresist layer or another polymer layer.

A portion 42 of the barrier layer 30 insulates the conductive trace 36 from the underlying substrate 28 as described above in connection with FIG.

In order to attach the top surface of the barrier layer 30 to the back surface of the tape 18 shown in FIG. 3 with a gripping agent, a thin adhesive layer 84 such as an uncured layer of photoresist is applied to the top surface of the barrier layer 30. Apply. Alternatively, if the top surface of the barrier layer 30 can be made of adhesive, a separate adhesive layer may not be used. The fabricated substrate structure is then positioned relative to the back side of the tape 18 so that the resistor 70 aligns with the orifice in the tape 18. In this alignment step, the electrode 74 is also aligned with the end of the conductive trace 36. The trace 36 is then coupled with the electrode 74. This alignment and combining step will be described later with reference to FIG. The substrate structure is then firmly attached to the back side of the tape 18 by heating the aligned and bonded substrate / tape structure while applying pressure to the adhesive layer 84 to cure it.

FIG. 7 shows an enlargement of the single vaporization chamber 72, thin film resistor 70 and orifice 17 after the substrate structure of FIG. 6 is adhered to the backside of the tape 18 via a thin adhesive layer 84. The figure is shown. The side edge of the substrate 28 is indicated by reference numeral 86. In operation, ink flows out of the ink reservoir 12 of FIG. 1 and flows around the side edge 86 of the substrate 28 and then the ink channel 80 and associated vaporization chamber (as shown by arrow 88). 72) flows into me. When the thin film resistor 70 is active, the adjacent thin ink layer is overheated and exploded to vaporize, so that ink droplets are ejected through the orifice 17. The vaporization chamber 72 is then recharged by capillary action.

According to a preferred embodiment, the barrier layer 30 is about 1 mil thick, the substrate 28 is about 20 mils thick, and the tape 18 is about 2 mils thick.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional side view taken along line C-C of FIG. 1 showing one ink spray chamber of the TAB head assembly 14 according to one embodiment of the present invention. 8 shows a laser removed polymer nozzle member 90 laminated to barrier layer 30 (which may be similar to that shown in FIG. 6). When the thin film resistor 70 on the substrate 28 is activated, some of the ink in the vaporization chamber 72 is vaporized and the ink droplet 91 is discharged through the orifice 17.

9 is a side cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the ink jetting chamber using the laser-free polymeric nozzle member 92. As shown in FIG. In the above-described embodiment, the vaporization chamber 72 is defined by the nozzle member 92, the substrate 28, and the barrier layer 30. However, unlike the embodiment described above, the heating resistor 94 is attached to the lower surface of the nozzle member 92, not the upper surface of the substrate 28. According to this, the configuration of the printhead becomes simpler.

Conductive traces (eg, shown in FIG. 3) provided on the bottom surface of the nozzle member 92 provide an electrical signal to the resistor 94.

The various vaporization chambers described herein can be formed by laser ablation using a method similar to that used when forming the nozzle member. In particular, the vaporization chamber of the selected configuration may be formed by placing a photolithographic mask on a polymer layer, such as a polymer tape, and then laser removing a region of the polymer layer that is not protected by the photolithographic mask with laser light. In practice, the polymer layer having the vaporization chamber may be coupled to and adjacent to the nozzle member or may be a single part of the nozzle member alone.

10 is a cross sectional side view of a nozzle member 96 having an orifice, an ink channel and a vaporization chamber 98 laser processed within the same polymer layer. The operation of forming the vaporization chamber by laser removal as a single part of the nozzle member only, as shown in FIG. 10, is a concave having a substantially flat bottom surface when the light energy density of the incident laser beam is constant across the area to be removed. Significant help is provided by the laser ablation characteristics that can form the chamber. The depth of such chambers is determined by the number of laser firings and the energy density at each firing.

In the case where a resistor such as the resistor 70 of FIG. 10 is formed on the nozzle member 96 itself, the substrate 28 may be removed at all.

FIG. 11 shows the back of the nozzle member 96 in FIG. 10 in a state prior to attachment of the substrate. The vaporization chamber 98, the ink channel 99, and the ink manifold 100 are formed through some of the thicknesses of the nozzle member 96, but the nozzle member (or the orifice 17) shown in FIG. 96) is formed through the entire thickness. The ink discharged from the ink storage container flows around the side surface of a substrate (not shown) mounted on the back surface of the nozzle member 96, and passes through the ink channel 99 and the vaporization chamber through the ink manifold 100. 98). Also shown are windows 22 and 24 for use in the aforementioned combinations.

Also, a plurality of lithographic masks may be used to form the orifice and ink path patterns in the single nozzle member 96.

FIG. 12 illustrates one method for manufacturing a TAB head assembly formed using the TAB head assembly 14 of FIG. 3 or the nozzle member 96 of FIG.

The starting material is Kapton ^™ or Upilex ^™ polymer tape 104. However, the tape 104 may be a polymer film as long as it is suitable for use in the process described later. Such membranes may be Teflon, polyimide, polymethylmethacrylate, polycarbonate, polyester, polyamide, polyethylene-terephthalate or mixtures thereof.

This tape 104 is typically provided in a long strip on the reel 105. The sprocket hole 106 disposed along the side of the tape 104 is used to convey the tape 104 accurately and reliably. As a variant thereof, the sprocket hole 106 may be omitted and instead the tape may be conveyed using other types of fastening members.

In a preferred embodiment, the tape 104 already has a conductive copper trace 36 as shown in FIG. 3 formed using a conventional metal deposition / photographic slab process. The pattern type of the conductive trace depends on the manner in which the electrical signal is provided to the electrode formed on the silicon die to be mounted on the tape 104.

In a preferred method, the tape 104 is transferred to a laser processing chamber and then used one or more masks (using laser beams such as those generated by an excimer laser of type F ₂ , ArF, KrCl, KrF or XeCl). Laser is removed in the pattern defined in 108). The laser beam passing through the mask is indicated by arrow 114.

In a preferred embodiment, such masks 108 define all removal properties for the region of elongated tape 104, e.g. in the case of orifice pattern mask 108, surround a plurality of orifices, and the vaporization chamber pattern. The mask 108 surrounds a plurality of vaporization chambers. As another embodiment, patterns such as orifice patterns, vaporization chamber patterns, or other patterns may be placed side by side on a substrate of a common mask that is significantly larger than the laser beam. Thereafter, such patterns may be moved sequentially into the beam. The masking material used in such a mask is preferably a material that is highly reflective at the laser wavelength. For example, the multilayer structure may be made of metal such as an insulator or aluminum.

An orifice pattern defined by one or more masks 108 may be shown schematically in FIG. 2. Multiple masks 108 may be used to form the stepped orifice inclined portions as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10.

In one embodiment, a separate mask 108 may be used to define the pattern of the windows 22, 24 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, although a preferred embodiment may include the 12th tape 12. Prior to performing the laser ablation shown in the figure, the windows 22 and 24 are formed using conventional photolithography.

10 and 11, when the nozzle member is adapted to have a vaporization chamber, one or more masks 108 are used to form the orifice, and the thickness of the vaporization chamber, ink channel and tape 104 is reduced. Other masks 108 and laser energy levels (and / or number of laser shots) may be used to define the manifold formed through some.

Laser systems for performing this process generally include a processing chamber having a beam delivery optics, an ordered optics, a high precision and high speed mask shuttle system, and a mechanism for handling and positioning the tape 104. to be. In a preferred embodiment, the laser system projects the excimer laser light of a pattern image defined on the mask 108 by a block lens 115 interposed between the mask 108 and the tape 104 on the tape 104. Use a projection mask configuration that is intended.

The masked laser beam emitted from lens 115 is indicated by arrow 116.

Such a projection mask configuration is advantageous for high precision orifice dimensions because the mask can be structurally spaced from the nozzle member. The soot is inevitably formed and released during the laser removal process, and then travels about 1 cm from the nozzle member to be removed. If the mask is in contact with or in close proximity to the nozzle member, soot will accumulate on the mask, causing distortion in the removal characteristics and lowering their dimensional accuracy. In the preferred embodiment, since the convex lens is disposed at a point farther than 1 cm from the nozzle member, soot accumulation on the convex lens and the mask is prevented.

It is well known that removal results in tapered wall properties, i.e., the diameter of the orifice is large at the laser incident surface and small at the exit surface. The taper angle is highly dependent on the change in light energy density incident on the nozzle member for an energy density of less than about 2 Joules per cm 2. If the energy density is not controlled, the tape angle of the fabricated orifice will vary greatly, and therefore the diameter of the outlet orifice will vary greatly. Such a change may cause harmful changes in the ejected ink droplet volume and speed, which may reduce the quality of printing. In a preferred embodiment, the exit energy is further extended by precisely monitoring and controlling the light energy of the removal laser beam to form a consistent taper angle. Consistent taper properties have the advantage and other advantages over the operation of the orifice that, in addition to the benefit of print quality due to the constant orifice outlet diameter, the ejection of the ink is further increased with increasing ejection speed. The taper angle may be about 5 degrees to about 15 degrees with respect to the axis of the orifice. The process according to the preferred embodiment described herein enables fast and precise fabrication without shaking the laser beam with respect to the nozzle member. This provides an accurate outlet diameter even if the laser beam enters the inlet surface rather than the outlet surface of the nozzle member.

After the laser removal step, the polymer tape 104 is advanced and the process is repeated. This is called a step-and-repeat process. The total processing time required to form a single pattern on the tape 104 may be only a few seconds. As described above, since the single mask pattern surrounds the extended removal characteristic group, the processing time per nozzle member is shortened.

The laser ablation process has obvious advantages over other forms of laser drilling for forming precision orifices, vaporization chambers and ink channels. In laser ablation, short pulses of intense ultraviolet light are absorbed in the thin material surface layer below about 1 [mu] m. Preferred pulse energy is greater than about 100 millijoules per cm 2 and pulse duration is shorter than 1 microsecond. In this condition, intense ultraviolet light splits the chemical bonds of the material. Moreover, the absorbed ultraviolet energy is concentrated in such a small volume of material and rapidly heats the pieces to release them from the material surface. This process occurs so quickly that there is no time to propagate heat to the surrounding material. As a result, the peripheral area is not melted and thus not damaged, and the incident light beam shape of the periphery of the removal characteristic can be accurately replicated to a size of about 1 μm. In addition, laser ablation may form a chamber having a generally flat bottom surface that forms a concavely dug plane into the layer when the light energy density is constant across the ablation region. The depth of such a chamber is determined by the number of laser shots and the power density in each case.

In addition, the laser removal method has a number of advantages over the conventional lithographic electroforming method for forming nozzle members for ink jet printheads. For example, laser ablation is generally cheaper and simpler than conventional lithographic electroforming. In addition, the laser ablation method can produce a polymer nozzle member with a much larger size (that is, a larger surface area), and it is also possible to produce a nozzle structure that could not be performed by a conventional electroforming method. In particular, a unique nozzle shape can be formed by controlling the exposure intensity and reorienting the laser beam to form multiple exposed portions. Examples of various nozzle shapes include a process for photo-ablating at least one stepped opening extending throught and a method for photoremoving at least one step opening extending through a polymer material. A Polymer Material, and al Nozzle Plate Having Stepped Openings) are disclosed in US patent application Ser. No. 07 / 658,726. This patent application is incorporated herein by reference. In addition, a precise nozzle structure can be formed without performing process control as strictly as the electroforming method.

Another advantage of forming the nozzle member by laser removing the polymer material is that it is easier to manufacture a ratio of the length L to the diameter D of the orifice or nozzle than before. In a preferred embodiment, the L / D ratio is greater than one. The advantage of the extended length over the nozzle diameter is that the positioning of the orifices and resistors in the vaporization chamber is relatively easy.

In use, the laser nozzle-removed polymer nozzle member for ink jet printers has properties that are superior to conventional electroformed orifice plates. For example, laser removed polymer nozzle members have greater resistance to corrosion due to water-based printing inks and are generally hydrophobic. Moreover, the laser-removed polymer nozzle member has a relatively low modulus of elasticity, so that the stress accumulated between the noble member and the lower substrate, i.e., the barrier layer, reduces the tendency of layer separation of the nozzle member against the barrier layer. In addition, the laser removed polymer nozzle member can be easily fixed or formed on the polymer substrate.

Although an excimer laser is used in the preferred embodiment, other ultraviolet light sources with almost the same light wavelength and energy density may be used to achieve the removal process. In order to increase the absorbance of the tape to be removed, the wavelength of such an ultraviolet light source is preferably 150 nm to 400 nm. In addition, in order to rapidly release the molten material without substantially heating the surrounding material, the energy density must be greater than about 100 millijoules per cm 2 and the pulse length must be shorter than about 1 μs.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other various processes may be used to form the pattern on the tape 104. Examples of other such processes include chemical etching, stamping removal, reactive ion etching, ion beam milling, and molding or casting on photodefined patterns.

The next step in this process is a cleaning step performed with the laser removal of tape 104 under the cleaning station 117. In the cleaning station 117, debris formed due to laser removal is removed in accordance with standard industrial practice.

The tape 104 is then placed in a light alignment station 118 included in a conventional automatic TAB bonding device, such as an inner lead bonding device of Model IL-20, available from Shinkawa Corporation as the next station. Proceed to). The bonding device is programmed to make the alignment (target) pattern on the nozzle in the same manner and / or steps as used in the manufacture of the orifice, and to produce the target pattern on the substrate in the same manner and / or steps as the fabrication of the resistor. do. In a preferred embodiment, the nozzle member material is translucent so that the target pattern on the substrate can be observed through the nozzle member. The bonding device is then used to automatically position the silicon die relative to the nozzle member to align the two target patterns. Such an alignment exists in the TAB junction of Shinka and Corporation. Since the traces and orifices are aligned and the substrate's electrodes and heating resistors are aligned on the substrate, the automatic alignment of the nozzle member target pattern and the target pattern of the substrate ensures that the orifices and resistors are not only correctly aligned, but also the electrodes on the die 120. And the ends of the conductive traces formed on the tape 104 are also aligned. Therefore, if the two target patterns are aligned, all the patterns on the tape 104 and on the silicon die 120 will be aligned with respect to each other.

Thus, alignment of the silicon die 120 and the tape 104 can be performed automatically using only commercially available devices. Integrating the conductive trace and the nozzle member achieves such an alignment structure. Such integration not only reduces the assembly cost of the printhead but also helps to reduce the material cost of the printhead.

Next, using an automatic TAB bonding apparatus in a gang bonding method, the end of the conductive trace is placed on the associated substrate electrode and pressed downward through a window formed in the tape 104. The end of the trace is then welded to the associated electrode by applying heat to the bonding apparatus using a thermal compression bond or the like. A side view of one embodiment of the completed structure is shown in FIG. Other types of bonds that may be used include ultrasonic bonding, conductive epoxy, solder paste or other well known means.

The tape 104 then proceeds to a heating and pressing station 122. As described above with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, an adhesive layer 84 is present on the top surface of the barrier layer 30 formed on the silicon substrate. After the bonding step described above, the die 120 and the tape 104 are physically bonded by pressing the silicon die 120 downward on the tape 104 and applying heat to cure the adhesive layer 84.

Then, the tape 104 advances and, in some cases, is wound on the winding reel 124. The tape 104 may then be cut back to separate the individual TAB head assemblies from one another.

Then, the TAB head assembly is placed on the print cartridge 10, and the adhesive seal 50 of FIG. 5 described above is formed to firmly adhere the nozzle member to the print cartridge, thereby circumferentially surrounding the substrate between the nozzle member and the ink reservoir. To prevent ink flow into the trace by forming an ink flow prevention seal and enclosing the trace extending from the substrate.

Then, using a conventional melt-through bonding method, the periphery of the flexible TAB head assembly is fixed to the plastic print cartridge 10 so that the polymer tape 18 is printed cartridge 10 as shown in FIG. ) Should be held at approximately the same height as the surface.

The foregoing is a description of the principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the present invention. However, the invention is not limited to only the specific embodiments described above. For example, the above-described invention can be used not only for an ink jet printer employing a thermal type but also for an ink jet printer employing another method. Accordingly, the above-described embodiments should be regarded only as illustrative and not restrictive, and those skilled in the art can make modifications to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. Could be.

Claims (20)

An apparatus for use in an ink printer, comprising: a nozzle member formed of an insulating material and having a top surface facing a print recording medium, the nozzle member further comprising a plurality of ink orifices formed therein, and a conductive line; Device for use with printers. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lead is a conductive trace formed on the bottom of the nozzle member. 3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said conductive trace is formed on said bottom surface of said nozzle member using photolithography. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nozzle member is formed of a flexible polymer material. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising a barrier layer positioned adjacent a bottom of the nozzle member, the barrier layer having a plurality of vaporization chambers, the vaporization chambers being in fluid communication with the ink orifice. Device for. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the barrier layer is formed on a substrate having an electrode to supply an electrical signal to a heating element on the substrate, each heating element associated with one of the ink orifices, wherein the lead is connected to the electrode. Device for use in contact ink printers. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the barrier layer has the plurality of vaporization chambers formed therein using a laser. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a substrate having an electrode for supplying an electrical signal to a heating element on the substrate, wherein each heating element is located in an associated vaporization chamber of the barrier layer and the leads are in contact with the electrode. Device for use in an ink printer. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a substrate attached to the nozzle member, the substrate comprising a plurality of electrodes and a plurality of heating elements, wherein the leads are in contact with the electrodes. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of heating elements located on a bottom surface of the nozzle member. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising fluid communication means for fluid communication between the ink orifice and the ink reservoir. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising: an ink reservoir, a heating element each associated with the ink orifice, the heating element having an electrical signal supplied thereto via the conductor, the nozzle member, the fluid communication means, the ink reservoir, and the An apparatus for use in an ink printer further comprising a print cartridge containing a heating element. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said ink orifice is formed in said nozzle member using a laser. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nozzle member is formed on a polymer tape in a step-and-repeatlaser ablation process. A method of manufacturing an inkjet printhead for a printer, the method comprising the steps of: forming an ink orifice in an insulating flexible tape having conducting wires; providing a heating element in proximity to each of the orifices to form the printhead; ; And the flexible tape having the orifice formed therein is a nozzle member for the print head. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of forming the ink orifice comprises laser removing the flexible tape in the required orifice pattern. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the flexible tape comprises a polymeric material. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of forming the ink orifice comprises providing first masking means between the laser and the tape and having a pattern corresponding to the ink orifice, and through the first masking means. A method of manufacturing an inkjet printhead for a printer, comprising exposing the tape to laser radiation. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein a plurality of nozzle members to be sequentially mounted on respective associated print cartridges are formed on a single flexible tape using step-and-repeat processing. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein providing the heating element comprises attaching a substrate having a plurality of heating resistors to a bottom of the nozzle member, each heating resistor associated with one of the ink orifices. Method for manufacturing inkjet printheads for printers.