A micromachined single-chip inkjet printhead

A new smart single-chip microsystem inkjet printhead, called the 'Backshooter', is presented in this paper. It combines micromechanics including heating actuators, temperature sensor, channels and nozzles with a smart CMOS circuit including signal processing along with bidirectional data transfer and 60 V power amplifiers in a single silicon chip. Prototypes with 50 nozzles and a system pitch down to 42 mu m (appropriate for 600 dpi print resolution) will be demonstrated. The Backshooter microsystem technology makes it possible to reduce the chip dimensions to 22 mm(2) (at 50 nozzles and 300 dpi), less than half of a standard layout. It enables a lower market price and a much better printhead functionality to be achieved.