Multicolor ink jet wafer structure

Abstract

A multicolor ink-jet wafer structure comprises a multicolor ink-jet wafer and an orifice sheet. The orifice sheet is disposed on the multicolor ink jet wafer. The multi-color ink jet wafer is provided with a plurality of ink supply holes, a plurality of control contacts and a plurality of ink droplet generators. The ink supply holes are used for supplying ink of various colors. The plurality of control contacts are arranged on the multicolor ink-jet wafer and used for receiving ink-jet signals from the outside. The ink droplet generators are connected with the ink supply holes and used for heating the ink. The ink droplet generators correspond to four colors, the number of the ink droplet generators of each color is larger than or equal to 600, and the total number of the ink droplet generators is larger than or equal to 2400. In addition, the ratio of the total area of the aperture of the plurality of orifices to the area of the orifice sheet ranges from 0.15% to 2%.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention proposes a multi-color inkjet chip structure, more specifically, a multi-color inkjet chip structure that integrates an appropriate number of colors into a single inkjet chip so that the heating resistors therein can meet the application requirements, and the color matching can reduce manufacturing and packaging costs. Background Technology

[0002] Inkjet printing, commonly known as "Inkjet Printing," is a widely used printing technology whose history dates back to the 1950s when it was invented by the British company Hewlett-Packard. Since then, inkjet printing technology has developed rapidly, making inkjet printers the mainstream technology for home and commercial printing. Inkjet printers have many advantages, including: low cost, especially economical for home and small business use; high print quality, providing high-resolution and high-quality images, particularly for photos or pictures; ease of use, as inkjet printers are easy to install, and most can print via computer or mobile devices. Combined with the increasingly popular all-in-one office machines (including fax, photocopying, and scanning), they can rapidly expand the flexibility of office paperwork.

[0003] The applications of existing inkjet printing technology are becoming increasingly diverse, ranging from inkjet printers used in schools and offices to 3D printing and industrial printing on various material surfaces (such as label printing), all with various inkjet chips optimized for different needs. For example, US Patent 9016836B2 discloses an inkjet chip structure, which... Figure 3 The diagram reveals that its architecture includes a stacked structure composed of components such as a protective layer, a resistive layer, a thermal resistive layer, and a silicon carbide layer. The ink flows from the lower layer of the inkjet chip through an ink channel, passes through the aforementioned stacked structure, and enters the ink supply chamber to supply the printing needs, enabling modern inkjet printing technology to achieve the goal of printing high-resolution and high-quality images.

[0004] However, existing inkjet chips still have some shortcomings. First, existing inkjet printers typically use a combination of monochrome and color ink cartridges (e.g., a black ink cartridge paired with a three-color ink cartridge, usually red, yellow, and blue). This means that two separate manufacturing processes are required to produce the monochrome and color ink cartridges, including their internal ink supply holes, barrier layers, protective layers, heating resistors, and other components. Therefore, two sets of photomasks are needed for manufacturing, and the related chip pins also need to be wire-bonded and packaged separately. The user terminal must install both ink cartridges for the inkjet printer to operate normally. In addition to increasing the process cost, this also causes inconvenience to the user terminal. Therefore, how to integrate existing ink cartridges to create a multi-color composite structure while maintaining the advantages of good print quality and ease of manufacturing has become the subject of this invention. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The main objective of this invention is to provide a multi-color inkjet chip structure. By integrating multiple colors onto a single multi-color inkjet chip structure, only one photomask is required during manufacturing. This eliminates the need to manufacture internal components such as ink supply holes, barrier layers, protective layers, and heating resistors separately, significantly reducing manufacturing costs. For end users, the well-integrated multi-color inkjet chip also increases ease of use, eliminating the need for two separate ink cartridges as mentioned earlier. Furthermore, the heating resistor specifications meet the requirements for resolution and large-area printing, further aligning with various office, commercial, and industrial applications, thus achieving the aforementioned objectives of this invention. For detailed technical solutions, please refer to the following description.

[0006] A broad embodiment of the present invention provides a multi-color inkjet chip structure, comprising: a multi-color inkjet chip and a nozzle plate, wherein the nozzle plate is attached to the multi-color inkjet chip and has a plurality of nozzles through which ink is ejected; wherein the multi-color inkjet chip further has a plurality of ink supply holes for supplying ink of various colors; a plurality of droplet generators connected to the ink supply holes for heating ink of corresponding colors; wherein there are n types of droplet generators, corresponding to different colors in the multi-color inkjet chip, and the number of droplet generators for each color is greater than or equal to 600, or if there are four colors, the number is greater than or equal to 2400, that is, the number of droplet generators for each color is 600 or more (including 600), and the total number is 2400 or more (including 2400); wherein the ratio of the total area of ​​the openings of the plurality of nozzles to the area of ​​the nozzle plate is between 0.15% and 2%.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the ink droplet generator includes a wafer substrate, a thermal barrier layer, a heating resistance layer, a conductive layer, a protective layer, and a barrier layer stacked in sequence to form a stacked structure, wherein an ink supply chamber is provided between the protective layer and the barrier layer, and an ink outlet is provided at the top of the ink supply chamber for connecting the nozzle plate to the ink outlet.

[0008] In the embodiments described above, the thermal barrier layer is made of an insulating material and is formed on a wafer substrate. The heating resistance layer is made of a resistive material and is formed on the thermal barrier layer. The conductive layer is made of a conductive material. A portion of the conductive layer is formed on the heating resistance layer. A portion of the protective layer is formed on the heating resistance layer, and the remaining portion of the protective layer is formed on the conductive layer. The barrier layer is a polymer material formed on the protective layer. Furthermore, the ink supply chamber and the ink outlet are integrally formed in the barrier layer, and the ink is supplied from the side of the ink supply chamber via an ink supply channel in a direction parallel to the plane of the stacked structure.

[0009] According to the present invention, the multi-color inkjet chip structure further includes a signal processing module for receiving and transmitting inkjet signals from an external signal terminal (such as an inkjet printer), and for converting the power required for the operation of the multi-color inkjet chip. The inkjet signals include clock signals or transmission signals for driving printing, temporary signals for accessing printed content, data signals for transmitting printed content, or address signals for identifying and matching the multi-color inkjet chip and the inkjet printer. Attached Figure Description

[0010] The following detailed description of the invention and the illustrated embodiments are intended to enable a fuller understanding of the invention; however, it should be understood that this is limited to providing a reference for understanding the application of the invention and not to limiting the invention to a particular embodiment.

[0011] Figure 1 This describes the structure of a multicolor inkjet chip.

[0012] Figure 2A The stacked structure of multicolor inkjet chips is illustrated from a side stereoscopic perspective.

[0013] Figure 2B The stacked structure of the multicolor inkjet chip is illustrated from a side view (the nozzle plate is omitted).

[0014] Figure 3 This shows the connection between the ink supply channel and the ink droplet generator.

[0015] Figure 4 This describes the signal processing architecture that explains how a multicolor inkjet chip receives inkjet signals.

[0016] Figure 5 This describes the range of nozzle opening diameters in a multicolor inkjet chip.

[0017] [Symbol Explanation]

[0018] 1: Multicolor inkjet chip structure

[0019] 10: Spray nozzle plate

[0020] 11: Spray nozzle

[0021] 20: Multicolor inkjet chip

[0022] 21: Ink supply channel

[0023] 22: Ink Droplet Generator

[0024] 221: Thermal barrier

[0025] 222: Heating resistance layer

[0026] 222a: Heating resistor

[0027] 223: Conductive layer

[0028] 224: Protective layer

[0029] 224A: First protective layer

[0030] 224B: Second protective layer

[0031] 224C: Third protective layer

[0032] 225: Barrier layer

[0033] 226: Ink Supply Chamber

[0034] 227: Ink outlet

[0035] 228: Wafer substrate

[0036] 23: Ink supply hole

[0037] 24: Control Contact

[0038] 25: Signal Processing Module

[0039] 400: External signal terminal

[0040] ink flow: direction of ink flow

[0041] R: Orifice Diameter Detailed Implementation

[0042] This invention will be described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments and viewpoints to enable the reader to fully understand how these embodiments are implemented. However, those skilled in the art will understand that this invention can also be implemented without these details. Furthermore, this invention can also be used and implemented through other specific embodiments, and the various details set forth in this specification can be applied based on different needs, and various modifications or changes can be made without departing from the spirit of this invention. Therefore, this invention will be described with reference to preferred embodiments and viewpoints. Such descriptions are for explaining the structure of the invention and are only for illustration and not for limiting the scope of the patent application of this invention. The terminology used in the following description will be interpreted in the broadest reasonable manner. Those skilled in the art can adjust the structure of this invention to meet the needs of actual industry according to manufacturing or application requirements, which is hereby stated in advance.

[0043] Please see Figure 1 , Figure 2A , Figure 2B , Figure 3 , Figure 4 ,as well as Figure 5To achieve the objectives of this invention, a multi-color inkjet chip structure 1 is proposed for use in the ink cartridge of an inkjet printer (not shown). The structure includes a multi-color inkjet chip 20 and a nozzle plate 10. The nozzle plate 10 has multiple nozzles 11, while the multi-color inkjet chip 20 further includes: multiple ink supply holes 23 for supplying various colors of ink; multiple control contacts 24 disposed on the multi-color inkjet chip 20 to receive inkjet signals from the outside; and multiple droplet generators 22 connected to the ink supply holes 23 for heating the corresponding color of ink. The droplet generators 22 are of n types. In a preferred embodiment of this invention, n = 4, meaning the multi-color inkjet chip 20 has four colors, and the droplet generators 22 correspond to different colors in the multi-color inkjet chip 20. For example, they can be black, yellow, blue, and red, and can be selected according to application requirements. The number of ink droplet generators 22 is adjusted to be greater than or equal to 600 for each color, or greater than or equal to 2400 for the four colors mentioned above. That is, the number of ink droplet generators 22 is 600 or more for each color (including 600), and the total number is 2400 or more (including 2400). The ratio of the total area of ​​the openings of the plurality of nozzles 11 to the area of ​​the nozzle plate 10 is between 0.15% and 2%, preferably 0.49%, thereby achieving the aforementioned printing detail and resolution to meet the needs of various office, commercial, and industrial applications (wherein the opening diameter R refers to the radius of the nozzle 11). According to one aspect of the present invention, the multi-color inkjet chip structure 1, by integrating multiple colors, can be fabricated using a single photomask to form the layers including the nozzle plate 10, the multi-color inkjet chip 20, and the ink droplet generator 22 contained therein. Furthermore, only one process is required between layers and during the final encapsulation and wire bonding process to produce an independently usable ink cartridge. This eliminates the need for two or more ink cartridges of different colors required in traditional inkjet printers, which necessitates the use of two or more photomasks in the inkjet chip fabrication process. Therefore, the overall cost of the inkjet chip can be significantly reduced, achieving the objective of the present invention. According to another aspect of the present invention, since the ink droplet generator 22 of the aforementioned multi-color inkjet chip structure 1 contains more than 600 droplets for each color, the resolution required for inkjet printing is significantly improved. This allows the multi-color inkjet chip structure 1 to achieve a resolution DPI (Dots Per Inch) range between 150 and 48,000 DPI, meeting the future market trend for applications requiring detailed patterns and rich colors.

[0044] Please see Figure 5According to one embodiment of the present invention, the opening diameter R of each nozzle 11 can be between 6 μm and 8 μm, preferably 7.5 μm. Furthermore, the total opening area of ​​the plurality of nozzles 11 located on the nozzle plate 10 is 423,900 μm. 2 The area of ​​the nozzle plate 10 is 86,980,000 μm. 2 This ensures optimal manufacturing yield during laser drilling or etching processes.

[0045] Please see Figure 2A ,as well as Figure 2B ,in Figure 2A This is a three-dimensional cross-sectional view of the multicolor inkjet chip structure 1, including the nozzle plate 10 and the multicolor inkjet chip 20. Figure 2B Then it is a general Figure 2A A side view diagram formed after slight rotation (omitting nozzle 10), wherein the multiple ink droplet generators 22 of the multicolor inkjet chip 20 further include a wafer substrate 228, a thermal barrier layer 221, a heating resistor layer 222, a conductive layer 223, a protective layer 224, and a barrier layer 225, and are stacked to form a stacked structure, with each nozzle 11 corresponding to an opposite ink droplet generator 22. Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the wafer substrate 228 can be fabricated using a 3- to 20-inch wafer semiconductor process. In the above embodiment of the present invention, the thermal barrier layer 221 is made of an insulating material and is formed on the wafer substrate 228. The heating resistor layer 222 is made of a resistive material and is formed on the thermal barrier layer 221. The heating resistor layer 222 includes a heating resistor 222a. The conductive layer 223 is made of a conductive material, partially formed on the heating resistor layer 222, and is offset from the heating resistor 222a. A protective layer 224 is partially formed on the heating resistor 222a of the heating resistor layer 222. An ink supply chamber 226 is located between the protective layer 224 and the barrier layer 225, with an ink outlet 227 at the top of the ink supply chamber 226 for connection to the nozzle 11. Other portions of the protective layer 224 are formed on the conductive layer 223. The barrier layer 225 is a polymer material and is formed on the protective layer 224. The ink supply chamber 226 and the ink outlet 227 are integrally formed within the barrier layer 225. Ink is supplied from the side of the ink supply chamber 226 via an ink supply channel 21, parallel to the plane of the stacked structure, to reduce the flow path of the ink and increase the ink supply speed. Figure 2A The ink flow shown is the embodiment described above, which is parallel to the plane of the stacked structure and supplied by the side of the ink chamber 226. For example... Figure 3As shown, each ink droplet generator 22 is supplied with ink from the side via the ink supply channel 21, so that the ink passes through the ink outlet 227 and is finally ejected from the nozzle 11 in the nozzle plate 10.

[0046] According to the present invention, the nozzle plate 10 is made of, for example but not limited to, polyimide (PI).

[0047] According to the present invention, the thermal barrier layer 221 is made of an insulating material and is formed on a wafer substrate 228. The wafer substrate 228 is made of a silicon wafer, and the insulating material can be selected from any combination of one or more of field oxide (FOX), silicon dioxide (SiO2), silicon nitride (Si3N4) and phosphosilicate glass (PSG).

[0048] According to the present invention, the heating resistance layer 222 is made of a resistive material and is formed on the thermal barrier layer 221. The resistive material may be any combination of one or more of polysilicon, tantalum aluminide (TaAl), tantalum (Ta), tantalum nitride (TaN), tantalum disilicide (Si2Ta), carbon (C), silicon carbide (SiC), indium tin oxide (ITO), zinc oxide (ZnO), cadmium sulfide (CdS), hafnium diboride (HfB2), titanium-tungsten alloy (TiW), and titanium nitride (TiN).

[0049] According to the present invention, the conductive layer 223 is made of a conductive material. The conductive material is any combination of one or more of aluminum (Al), aluminum-copper alloy (AlCu), aluminum-silicon alloy (AlSi), gold (Au), palladium (Pd), palladium-silver alloy (PdAg), platinum (Pt), aluminum-silicon-copper (AlSiCu), niobium (Nb), vanadium (V), hafnium (Hf), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), and yttrium (Y).

[0050] According to the present invention, a portion of the protective layer 224 is formed on the heating resistance layer 222, and the other portion of the protective layer 224 is formed on the conductive layer 223. The protective layer 224 is composed of a second protective layer 224B stacked on top of a first protective layer 224A, and a third protective layer 224C stacked on top of the second protective layer 224B (that is, the stacking order from bottom to top is the first protective layer 224A, the second protective layer 224B, and the third protective layer 224C). The first protective layer 224A is made of silicon nitride (Si3N4); the second protective layer 224B is made of a passivation material selected from one of silicon nitride (Si3N4), silicon dioxide (SiO2), titanium dioxide (TiO2), hafnium dioxide (HfO2), zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5), rhenium heptaoxide (Re2O7), niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5), uranium pentoxide (U2O5), tungsten trioxide (WO3), silicon oxynitride (Si4O5N3), and silicon carbide (SiC); and the third protective layer 224C is made of a metallic material, which is any combination of one or more of tantalum (Ta), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), and tungsten nitride (TiW). The number and materials of the aforementioned protective layers 224 can be appropriately adjusted and modified according to the degree of erosion of each material by the ink, the thermal stress on the multicolor inkjet chip structure 1 caused by temperature changes when the heating resistor 222a is operating, and the product life cycle required for the multicolor inkjet chip structure 1. Similarly, the first protective layer 224A, the second protective layer 224B, and the third protective layer 224C described in this invention are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

[0051] The barrier layer 225 is made of a polymer material and is formed on the protective layer 224. The polymer material is either polyimide or an organic plastic material. The ink supply chamber 226 and the ink outlet 227 are integrally formed in the barrier layer 225, and the bottom of the ink supply chamber 226 is connected to the protective layer 224, while the ink outlet 227 at the top of the ink supply chamber 226 is connected to the nozzle 11.

[0052] Please see Figure 4According to an embodiment of the present invention, the multicolor inkjet chip structure 1 further includes a signal processing module 25. The control contacts 24 of the multicolor inkjet chip 20 receive and transmit inkjet signals from the external signal terminal 400 through the signal processing module 25, and convert the power required for the operation of the multicolor inkjet chip 20 (e.g., the conversion of high and low voltage or high and low current when transmitted from the outside). The inkjet signals from the external signal terminal 400 may be external signals from an inkjet printer, or terminals such as smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, laptops, servers, smart glasses, and smartwatches. Depending on the application, the inkjet signals may include, but are not limited to, clock signals or transmission signals for driving printing, temporary signals for accessing printed content, or data signals for transmitting printed content, or address signals for identifying and matching the multicolor inkjet chip structure 1 and the inkjet printer, or any combination thereof, and may be modified or altered by those skilled in the art according to different applications.

[0053] In summary, the multi-color inkjet chip structure for inkjet printer cartridges proposed in this invention integrates multiple colors, making it convenient for end users as it eliminates the need for multiple cartridges during installation. Furthermore, the use of a single photomask-based process improves productivity and reduces costs, overcoming the problem of separate manufacturing of traditional single-color and three-color inkjet chips. This multi-color inkjet chip structure can be manufactured using semiconductor processes. The optimized specifications regarding the number of nozzles, the nozzle opening diameter, and the area ratio of the nozzles to the nozzle sheet further enhance the performance of high-resolution and high-quality images in inkjet printing technology, further meeting the cost requirements of various office, commercial, and industrial applications, and possessing significant industrial applicability. Those skilled in the art are welcome to make various modifications after reading this invention, but all such modifications will not depart from the scope of protection defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A multi-color inkjet chip structure, comprising: A multi-color inkjet chip, comprising: Multiple ink supply holes are used to supply ink; Multiple control contacts are located on the multi-color inkjet chip for receiving inkjet signals from external sources; and Multiple ink droplet generators are connected to the ink supply port for heating the ink; and A nozzle plate is disposed on the multicolor inkjet chip, and the nozzle plate has multiple nozzles; The multiple ink droplet generators have four color types, with each color type having more than or equal to 600, and the total number of the multiple ink droplet generators is more than or equal to 2400. The ratio of the total area of ​​the opening diameter of the multiple nozzles to the area of ​​the nozzle plate is between 0.15% and 2%.

2. The multicolor inkjet wafer structure as described in claim 1, wherein the aperture size of an opening of each of the plurality of nozzles ranges from 6 μm to 8 μm, specifically 7.5 μm, and the total area of ​​the apertures of the plurality of nozzles is 423,900 μm². 2 The area of ​​the nozzle plate is 86,980,000 μm. 2 .

3. The multicolor inkjet chip structure as described in claim 1, wherein the resolution range corresponding to the multicolor inkjet chip structure is between 150 and 48000 DPI.

4. The multi-color inkjet chip structure as described in claim 1 further includes a signal processing module, wherein the plurality of control contacts receive and transmit inkjet signals from an external signal terminal and the power required for conversion operation through the signal processing module.

5. The multicolor inkjet chip structure as described in claim 4, wherein the inkjet signal processed by the signal processing module can be a clock signal, a transmission signal, a temporary signal, a data signal or an address signal, or any combination thereof.

6. The multicolor inkjet wafer structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nozzle sheet has a plurality of nozzles, wherein the plurality of ink droplet generators further includes a wafer substrate, a thermal barrier layer, a heating resistor layer, a conductive layer, a protective layer, and a barrier layer, and are stacked to form a stacked structure, wherein a portion of the conductive layer is formed on the heating resistor layer, a portion of the protective layer is formed on the heating resistor layer, and other portions of the protective layer are formed on the conductive layer, an ink supply chamber and an ink outlet are integrally formed in the barrier layer, and the bottom of the ink supply chamber is connected to the protective layer, and the top of the ink outlet is connected to the plurality of nozzles.

7. The multicolor inkjet wafer structure as described in claim 6, wherein the thermal barrier layer is composed of an insulating material selected from field oxide (FOX), silicon dioxide (SiO2), silicon nitride (Si3N4), and phosphosilicate glass (PSG).

8. The multicolor inkjet wafer structure as described in claim 6, wherein the heating resistance layer is composed of a resistive material selected from polysilicon, tantalum aluminide (TaAl), tantalum (Ta), tantalum nitride (TaN), tantalum disilicide (Si2Ta), carbon (C), silicon carbide (SiC), indium tin oxide (ITO), zinc oxide (ZnO), cadmium sulfide (CdS), hafnium diboride (HfB2), titanium-tungsten alloy (TiW), and titanium nitride (TiN).

9. The multicolor inkjet wafer structure as described in claim 6, wherein the conductive layer is composed of a conductive material selected from aluminum (Al), aluminum-copper alloy (AlCu), aluminum-silicon alloy (AlSi), gold (Au), palladium (Pd), palladium-silver alloy (PdAg), platinum (Pt), aluminum-silicon-copper (AlSiCu), niobium (Nb), vanadium (V), hafnium (Hf), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), and yttrium (Y).

10. The multicolor inkjet wafer structure as described in claim 6, wherein the barrier layer is composed of a polymer material selected from polyimide and organic plastic materials.

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