Abstract: An ink jet print head is formed of a silicon substrate that includes an integrated circuit formed therein for controlling operation of the print head. The silicon substrate has one or more ink channels formed therein along the longitudinal direction of the nozzle array. An insulating layer or layers overlie the silicon substrate and has a series or an array of nozzle openings or bores formed therein along the length of the substrate and each nozzle opening communicates with an ink channel. The area comprising the nozzle openings forms a generally planar surface to facilitate maintenance of the printhead. A heater element is associated with each nozzle opening or bore for asymmetrically heating ink as ink passes through the nozzle opening or bore.

Abstract: A continuous inkjet printer in which a continuous ink stream is deflected at the printhead nozzle bore without the need for charged deflection plates or tunnels. The printhead includes a primary ink delivery channel which delivers a primary flow of pressurized ink through an ink staging chamber to the nozzle bore to create an undeflected ink stream from the printhead. A secondary ink delivery channel adjacent to the primary channel is controlled by a thermally actuated valve to selectively create a lateral flow of pressurized ink into the primary flow thereby causing the emitted ink stream to deflect in a direction opposite to the direction from which the secondary ink stream impinges the primary ink stream in the ink staging chamber.

Abstract: An ink jet print head is formed of a silicon substrate that includes an integrated circuit formed therein for controlling operation of the print head. The silicon substrate has one or more ink channels formed therein along the longitudinal direction of the nozzle array. An insulating layer or layers overlie the silicon substrate and has a series or an array of nozzle openings or bores formed therein along the length of the substrate and each nozzle opening communicates with an ink channel. The area comprising the nozzle openings forms a generally planar surface to facilitate maintenance of the printhead. A heater element is associated with each nozzle opening or bore for asymmetrically heating ink as ink passes through the nozzle opening or bore.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a mechanical grating device, including the steps of: forming a spacer layer on a substrate; removing portions of the spacer layer to define an active region; forming a sacrificial layer in the active region; forming conductive reflective ribbon elements over the active region; annealing the mechanical grating device at an annealing temperature greater than 150° C.; and removing the sacrificial layer from the active region to release the conductive reflective ribbon elements.

Abstract: A continuous ink jet print head is formed of a silicon substrate that includes integrated circuits formed therein for controlling operation of the print head. An insulating layer or layers overlies the silicon substrate includes conductors at various levels to provide conductive paths for transmitting control signals for controlling the print head. The insulating layer or layers also has a series or an array of nozzle openings or bores formed therein along the length of the substrate to provide a substantially planar surface to facilitate cleaning of the printhead. Each nozzle opening is formed as an elongated bore that extends through the insulating layer or layers to the silicon substrate. A heater element is formed adjacent each nozzle opening and in proximity to the planar surface to provide asymmetric heating of the ink stream as it leaves the nozzle opening.

Abstract: A continuous ink jet printhead has a nozzle bore formed from a thin membrane that comprises an overhang from a relief portion of the substrate. The thin membrane of thickness t overhangs a relief portion of the substrate with a dimension OH. The nozzle bore has a respective diameter dimension D. The dimensions are characterized in that OH>=½ D; and wherein t<=0.33D.

Abstract: A laser emitting apparatus includes an incoherent light-emitting device having a light-emitting layer wherein an electric field is applied across the light-emitting layer to produce light which is transmitted out of the incoherent light-emitting device and a vertical laser cavity structure disposed to receive light transmitted from the incoherent light-emitting device and produce laser light.

Abstract: A continuous inkjet printer in which a continuous ink stream is deflected at the printhead nozzle bore without the need for charged deflection plates or tunnels. The printhead includes a primary ink delivery channel which delivers a primary flow of pressurized ink through an ink staging chamber to the nozzle bore to create an undeflected ink stream from the printhead. A secondary ink delivery channel adjacent to the primary channel is controlled by a thermally actuated valve to selectively create a lateral flow of pressurized ink into the primary flow thereby causing the emitted ink stream to deflect in a direction opposite to the direction from which the secondary ink stream impinges the primary ink stream in the ink staging chamber.

Abstract: An ink jet print head is formed of a silicon substrate that includes integrated circuits formed therein for controlling operation of the print head. The silicon substrate has a series of ink channels formed therein along the longitudinal direction of the nozzle array. An insulating layer or layers overlying the silicon substrate has a series or an array of nozzle openings or bores formed therein along the length of the substrate and each nozzle opening communicates with a respective ink channel. A series of rib structures is formed in the silicon substrate transverse to the longitudinal direction of the nozzle array for providing strength to the final silicon ship comprising the print head.

Abstract: A continuous ink jet print head is formed of a silicon substrate that includes integrated circuits formed therein for controlling operation of the print head. An insulating layer or layers overlies the silicon substrate and has a series or an array of nozzle openings or bores formed therein along the length of the substrate and each nozzle opening is formed in a recess in the insulating layer or layers by a material depletion process such as etching. The process of etching defines the nozzle openings at locations where heater elements are formed in the insulating layer or layers during a conventional CMOS processing of the integrated circuits. The print head structure thereby provides for minimal post processing of the print head after the completion of the CMOS processing.

Abstract: An apparatus for and method of operating a thermal actuator for a micromechanical device, especially a liquid drop emitter such as an ink jet printhead, is disclosed. The disclosed thermal actuator comprises a base element and a cantilevered element extending from the base element and normally residing at a first position before activation. The cantilevered element includes a barrier layer constructed of a low thermal conductivity material, bonded between a first deflector layer and a second deflector layer, both of which are constructed of electrically resistive materials having substantially equal coefficients of thermal expansion. The thermal actuator further comprises a first pair of electrodes connected to the first deflector layer and a second pair of electrodes is connected to the second deflector layer for applying electrical pulses to cause resistive heating of the first or second deflector layers, resulting in thermal expansion of the first or second deflector layer relative to the other.

Abstract: A liquid drop emitter, such as an ink jet device, for emitting a series of liquid drops at high frequency is disclosed. The drop emitter comprises a liquid-filled chamber having a nozzle, a thermo-mechanical actuator for applying pressure to liquid at the nozzle, means for heating the thermo-mechanical actuator in response to electrical pulses, and a controller for determining the parameters of the electrical pulses. The method of operating comprises determining a nominal electrical pulse having a nominal energy E0, a nominal pulse duration TP0, which causes the emission of at least one drop at a sustained period of repetition TC. The method of operating further determines a steady state electrical pulse having energy E0, a steady state pulse duration TPss, which, when applied to the electroresistive means does not cause the emission or weeping of the liquid from the nozzle.

Abstract: A continuous ink jet print head is formed of a silicon substrate that includes integrated circuits formed therein for controlling operation of the print head. An insulating layer or layers overlies the silicon substrate and has a series or an array of nozzle openings or bores formed therein along the length of the substrate and each nozzle opening is formed in a recess in the insulating layer or layers by a material depletion process such as etching. The process of etching defines the nozzle openings at locations where heater elements are formed in the insulating layer or layers during a conventional CMOS processing of the integrated circuits. The print head structure thereby provides for minimal post processing of the print head after the completion of the CMOS processing.

Abstract: A continuous ink jet print head is formed of a silicon substrate that includes integrated circuits formed therein for controlling operation of the print head. An insulating layer or layers overlies the silicon substrate includes conductors at various levels to provide conductive paths for transmitting control signals for controlling the print head. The insulating layer or layers also has a series or an array of nozzle openings or bores formed therein along the length of the substrate to provide a substantially planar surface to facilitate cleaning of the printhead. Each nozzle opening is formed as an elongated bore that extends through the insulating layer or layers to the silicon substrate. A heater element is formed adjacent each nozzle opening and in proximity to the planar surface to provide asymmetric heating of the ink stream as it leaves the nozzle opening.

Abstract: A continuous ink jet printhead has a nozzle bore formed from a thin membrane that comprises an overhang from a relief portion of the substrate. The thin membrane of thickness t overhangs a relief portion of the substrate with a dimension OH. The nozzle bore has a respective diameter dimension D. The dimensions are characterized in that OH>=½ D; and wherein t<=0.33 D.

Abstract: An ink jet print head is formed of a silicon substrate that includes an integrated circuit formed therein for controlling operation of the print head. The silicon substrate has one or more ink channels formed therein along the longitudinal direction of the nozzle array. An insulating layer or layers overlie the silicon substrate and has a series or an array of nozzle openings or bores formed therein along the length of the substrate and each nozzle opening communicates with an ink channel. The area comprising the nozzle openings forms a generally planar surface to facilitate maintenance of the print head. A heater element is associated with each nozzle opening or bore for asymmetrically heating ink as ink passes through the nozzle opening or bore.

Abstract: An apparatus and method of operating a liquid drop emitter, such as an ink jet device, for emitting a series of liquid drops using reduced energy, is disclosed. The method is applicable to a drop emitter comprising a liquid-filled chamber having a nozzle and an actuator, such as a thermal actuator, for applying pressure to liquid at the nozzle. The actuator has a movable portion and exhibits damped resonant oscillation having a fundamental period, TR, and a damping time constant, TD. Apparatus adapted to cause rapid displacement of the movable portion of the actuator in response to electrical pulses causes drop ejection and damped resonant oscillation of the thermal actuator. The method of operating comprises applying electrical pulses having a nominal energy if the actuator is quiescent or applying reduced energy pulses to the actuator if it is usefully oscillating due to a previous drop emission.

Abstract: A continuous ink jet print head is formed using a combination of traditional CMOS technology to form the various controlling electrical circuits on a silicon substrate having insulating layer(s) which provide electrical connections and a MEMS technology for forming nozzle openings. A blocking structure is formed in the insulating layer(s) between a first ink channel formed in the silicon substrate and a second ink channel formed in the insulating layer(s). The blocking structure causes ink to flow around the blocking structure and thereby develop lateral flow components to the liquid entering the second channel so that, for droplets selected for printing, as the stream of droplets emanates from the bore of the nozzle, there is provided a reduced amount of heat needed for operating a heating element adjacent each nozzle opening.

Abstract: A method for producing optically planar surfaces for micro-electromechanical system devices (MEMS), comprising the steps of: depositing a first layer over a substrate; forming a channel in the first layer wherein the channel has a depth defined by a thickness of the first layer and a width greater than 10 microns; depositing a second layer over the first layer wherein the second layer has a thickness greater than the depth of the channel and is composed of a different material than the first layer; removing the second layer from outside the channel leaving an overlap at the edge of the channel; and polishing the second layer that fills the channel to obtain an optically planar surface for the MEMS device.

Abstract: A thermal actuator is taught for a micro-electromechanical device. The thermal actuator includes a base element, a cantilevered element extending from the base element and normally residing in a first position. The cantilevered element includes a first layer constructed of a dielectric material having a low thermal coefficient of expansion and a second layer attached to the first layer, the second layer comprising intermetallic titanium aluminide. A pair of electrodes are connected to the second layer to allow an electrical current to be passed through the second layer to thereby cause the temperature of the second layer to rise, the cantilevered element deflecting to a second position as a result of the temperature rise of the second layer and returning to the first position when the electrical current through the second layer is ceased and the temperature thereof decreases. The thermal actuator has particular application in an inkjet device wherein a series of such inkjet devices form an inkjet printhead.