Patent ID: 6546628
Filing Date: 2003-04-15
Classification: B41J,Y10T

Abstract:
A method of fabricating a printhead chip for an ink jet printhead the printhead chip including a plurality of nozzle assemblies positioned on a wafer substrate that incorporates a drive circuitry layer, each nozzle assembly having nozzle chamber walls and a roof that define a nozzle chamber and an ink ejection port and an actuator, connected to the drive circuitry layer, that is operatively positioned with respect to the nozzle chamber to act on ink within the nozzle chamber to eject the ink from the nozzle chamber, the method comprising the steps of:depositing a first sacrificial layer on the wafer substrate; etching the first sacrificial layer to form a deposit area for an actuator layer; depositing actuator material on the first sacrificial layer to form the actuator layer; etching the actuator layer to define the actuator and a first part of the nozzle chamber walls of each nozzle assembly; etching the first sacrificial layer to release each actuator and each first part of the nozzle chamber walls; and etching at least one of the wafer substrate and the first sacrificial layer to define a plurality of ink inlets, so that each ink inlet is in fluid communication with a respective nozzle chamber.