Patent ID: 6988788

Claim:
A printhead chip for an inkjet printhead, the printhead chip comprising a wafer substrate that incorporates drive circuitry, the wafer substrate defining a plurality of ink inlet channels; and a plurality of nozzle arrangements positioned on the wafer substrate, each nozzle arrangement comprising side walls and a roof wall positioned on the substrate to define a nozzle chamber such that one of the ink inlet channels opens into the nozzle chamber, the roof wall defining an ink ejection port; and a substantially planar, elongate actuator that is positioned in the nozzle chamber to overlie the respective ink inlet channel, the actuator incorporating a heater layer that comprises an electrical circuit that is connected to the drive circuitry layer at one end of the actuator and at least one expansion layer that is fast with the heater layer, the heater layer being positioned so that the expansion layer experiences thermal expansion when the heater layer receives an electrical signal from the drive circuitry layer and the actuator is displaced towards the ink ejection port to eject a drop of ink from the nozzle chamber.