SGIA Journal Graphic November/December 2016 - 31

heads provide a total of 2,656 nozzles with
664 nozzles per color for the KJ4B-0150
head and 1,328 nozzles per color for the
KJ4B-300.
Conclusions

MEMS a nd NEMS fabric ation
techniques are playing a dominant role
in the way inkjet printheads are made.
These processes have produced printheads
with densely packed ink channels and
nozzles that jet smaller drop volumes with
greater uniformity. They can micro- and
nano-machine durable materials, such as
silicon, that resist chemical attack from
the range of currently available inks and
deposition fluids. Silicon is also hard and
abrasion resistant and as a nozzle plate
material can tolerate frequent wiping and
withstand most head strikes. MEMS
techniques can also fabricate metal nozzle
plates and other inkjet parts. MEMS
processing can signif icantly reduce
the cost of printhead manufacture. Its
lower costs have enabled HP to offer
disposable printheads that are part of
its ink cartridges, and Spectra-Fujifilm
Dimatix to offer disposable one-time use
heads for its DMP laboratory printers,
while maintaining MEMS printhead cost
competitiveness in spite of their improved
performance and refinement.
OE M ma nu fact u rers a nd t heir
foundries are using MEMS technology
for making all or some of their print
head parts. MEMS PIJ heads, including
the Fujifilm Dimatix Samba, Xaar 5601,
Epson PrecisionCore, and Konica Minolta
ME130H, MC160H and MC160L, are
configured as bend mode and can jet
a wide range of fluids. These drop-ondemand heads have advanced to generate
drops at frequencies as high as 100 kHz
for each independent ink channel-nozzle.
HP has led in using MEMS technology
for making TIJ head nozzle plates and
component parts. Memjet, Canon and
Funai also use MEMS to make their
TIJ heads. Kodak uses MEMS for its
Stream CIJ heads. The competition
among these companies with large R&D
budgets and R&D teams are continuing
to overcome technical printhead hurdles
that have limited inkjet application.
MEMS techniques has helped these teams
accomplish their goals. The limitations of
the past have provided opportunities for
future advances.
As a set of platform building techniques,
MEMS provides advantages over other
fabrication methods for overcoming inkjet
printhead limitations and realizing new
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application opportunities. These advantages
include the ability to precisely define,
locate and replicate jetting nozzles on their
plates, create tightly packed and integrated
printhead structures, and chemically inert
parts that can flow and deposit the range of
available jetting fluids, all while reducing
the cost of manufacture. MEMS and
NEMS technologies and the competition
among its practitioners are illuminating
the path to future printhead improvement.
*SGIA members in order of mention:
Canon, since 2006
Olivetti, since 2009
Fujifilm Dimatix, since 2004
Xaar, since 2007
Epson, since 2006
Ricoh, since 2014
Xante, since 2016
Afinia, since 2013
Xerox, since 2013
Panasonic, since 2007
Global Inkjet Systems, since 2014
References
* Elwenspoek and Jansen, Silicon
Micromachining, Cambridge
* Hoath, Stephen D. (editor),
Fundamentals of Inkjet Printing: The
Science of Inkjet and Droplets, Wiley
* Keller, Microfabricated High Aspect
Ratio Silicon Flexures, MEMS
Precision Instruments
* Kovacs, Micromachined Transducers
Sourcebook, McGraw-Hill
* Madou, Marc J., Fundamentals of
Microfabrication, CRC Press
* Madou, Marc J., Microfabrication
and Nanotechnology Volume 1,
Solid-State Physics, Fluidics, and
Analytical Techniques in Micro- and
Nanotechnology, CRC Press
* Maluf, An Introduction to
Microelectromechanical Systems
Engineering, Artech House
* Ristic, Sensor Technology and Devices,
Artec House
* Senturia, Microsystem Design, Kluwer
* Sze, Semiconductor Sensors, Wiley
http://www.memscentral.com/overview_
of_mems.htm Overview of MEMS by
MEMSCentral and Chang Liu
2
ht t p://w w w. si lve r s he e n .c om /p d f /
Introduction to Inkjet Technology.pdf
3
https://www.mems-exchange.org/MEMS/
fabrication.html
4
http://mems.isi.edu
5
For more detail on Miller conventions
& indicesfor silicon see: http://www.
cleanroom.byu.edu/EW_orientation.phtml
1

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