Patent ID: 6177238
Filing Date: 2001-01-23
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
An ink jet printhead which comprises:(i) an upper substrate, and(ii) a lower substrate in which one surface thereof has an array of heating elements and addressing electrodes formed thereon, said lower substrate having an insulative layer deposited on the surface thereof and over the heating elements and addressing electrodes and patterned to form recesses therethrough to expose the heating elements and terminal ends of the addressing electrodes, said upper and lower substrates being bonded together to form a thermal ink jet printhead having droplet emitting nozzles defined by the upper substrate, the insulative layer on the lower substrate, and the heating elements in the lower substrate, wherein at least one of said upper substrate and said insulative layer comprises a crosslinked or chain extended polymer formed by crosslinking or chain extending a precursor polymer having terminal end groups and monomer repeat units, said precursor polymer being of the formula ##STR361##wherein P is a substituent which enables crosslinking of the polymer, a, b, c, and d are each integers of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, provided that at least one of a, b, c, and d is equal to or greater than 1 in at least some of the monomer repeat units of the polymer, A is ##STR362##or a mixture of ##STR363##wherein R is a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aryl group, or mixtures thereof, B is ##STR364##wherein v is an integer of from 1 to about 20, ##STR365##wherein z is an integer of from 2 to about 20, ##STR366##wherein u is an integer of from 1 to about 20, ##STR367##wherein w is an integer of from 1 to about 20, ##STR368##wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 each, independently of the other, are hydrogen atoms, alkyl groups, or aryl groups, and p is an integer of 0 or 1, ##STR369##wherein p is an integer of 0 or 1,--(CH.sub.2 O).sub.t --wherein t is an integer of from 1 to about 20, ##STR370##wherein (1) Z is ##STR371##wherein p is 0 or 1; (2) Ar is ##STR372##(3) G is an alkyl group selected from alkyl or isoalkyl groups containing from about 2 to about 10 carbon atoms; (4) Ar' is ##STR373##wherein s is 0, 1, or 2, ##STR374##and (6) q is 0 or 1; or mixtures thereof, hydroxy-substituted, hydroxyalkyl-substituted, or hydroxyaryl-substituted derivatives thereof, or mixtures thereof, and n is an integer representing the number of repeating monomer units, said crosslinking or chain extension occurring through crosslinking substituents contained on at least some of the monomer repeat units of the precursor polymer.