Inkjet Coating Applications Using Non-Stick and Adhesion Technologies

Aculon’s non-stick and adhesion coatings can be used on a broad range of materials used in inkjet cartridges. The advantage of superior bonding at the nanoscale is important for inkjet architectures that demand miniaturized features with durable surface coatings.

Figure 1. (a) Thermal inkjet, (b) NMOS, and (c) merged technologies.

This architecture illustrates the diverse set of materials that can be selected to form the channels and nozzle.

Adhension Promotion

Interfacial treatments enable bonding of dissimilar materials used to construct microfluidic channels, and nozzles.

Aculon’s technology allows for greater bond strength and stability of SU8 (and other polymers used as ink barriers or orifice plates) to many different metal/metal oxides used in inkjet architectures, including SiO2, Ta, SiN, TaN, Al, Au, Cu, etc.

Through lithography SU-8 can be used to form patterned arrays of inkjet nozzles.

Ink-Phobicity

Aculon’s nanoscale technology creates ink-repellant surfaces.

SU-8 photosensitive epoxy is used to form microfluidic channels in inkjet nozzles. Aculon’s nanoscale technology covalently bonds to SU-8 to form ink-repellant surfaces that minimizing ink residue build up, and prevents unwanted trailing droplets.

Ink residue can build up and negatively affect inkjet nozzles.

Ink wetting properties of a broad range of materials can also be tuned with Aculon’s nanoscale coatings for a range of wetting or non-wetting specifications.

This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Aculon.

For more information on this source, please visit Aculon.