Backshooter - A New Smart Micromachined Single-chip Inkjet Printhead

A new smart single-chip microsystem inkjet printhead, called "Backshooter", is presented in this paper. It combines micromechanics including heating actuators tem perature sensor, channels and nozzles with a smartcircuit including signal-processing along with bi- directional data transfer and 60 V power amplifiers in a single silicon chip. Prototypes with 50 nozzles and a system pitch down to 42/spl mu/m (appropriate for 600 dpi print resolution) will be demonstrated. The Backshooter microsystern technology makes it possible to reduce the chip dimensions to 22 mm/sup2/ (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.