Bubble growth and ink ejection process of a thermal ink jet printhead

The present study investigated bubble growth and the ink ejection process of a thermal ink jet (TIJ) printhead with a thin-film heater on the bottom-wall of the ink nozzle. Numerical predictions are presented for bubble volume, temperature, and pressure, and ink jet ejection length under various heating conditions. An inexpensive optical system was set up to visualize the transient ink ejection process. Experimental results to show the effect of the heating pulse conditions on the ejected droplet volume and ejected ink length are also presented. The experimental and numerical results agree well on both the ejected ink length for shorter time history (< 6 mu s) and the threshold operating voltage for the ink ejection. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.