Method of forming a hydrophobic coating layer on a surface of a nozzle plate for an ink-jet printhead
View Patent ↗A method of forming a hydrophobic coating layer on a surface of a nozzle plate for an ink-jet printhead includes preparing a nozzle plate having a nozzle, forming a metal layer on a surface of the nozzle plate, forming a material layer covering the metal layer, selectively etching the material layer to expose a portion of the metal layer formed on an outer surface of the nozzle plate, and forming the hydrophobic coating layer of a sulfur compound on the exposed portion of the metal layer by dipping the nozzle plate in a sulfur compound-containing solution.
1. A method of forming a hydrophobic coating layer on a surface of a nozzle plate for an ink-jet printhead, the method comprising:
preparing a nozzle plate having a nozzle;
forming a metal layer on a surface of the nozzle plate;
forming a material layer covering the metal layer;
selectively etching the material layer to expose a portion of the metal layer formed on an outer surface of the nozzle plate; and
forming the hydrophobic coating layer of a sulfur compound on the exposed portion of the metal layer by dipping the nozzle plate in a sulfur-containing solution.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the nozzle plate is silicon wafer.
3. The method as claimed in claim 2 , further comprising forming an insulating layer on a surface of the nozzle plate and an inner surface of the nozzle, prior to forming the metal layer.
4. The method as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the insulating layer is a silicon oxide layer.
5. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the nozzle plate is selected from the group consisting of a glass substrate and a metal substrate.
6. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein forming the metal layer comprises performing one of sputtering and E-beam evaporation.
7. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the metal layer comprises at least a metal selected from the group consisting of gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), and indium (In).
8. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the metal layer comprises gold (Au).
9. The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising rotating the nozzle plate while forming the metal layer.
10. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein forming the material layer comprises performing plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD).
11. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the material layer is a silicon oxide layer.
12. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein etching the material layer comprises performing Reactive Ion Etching (RIE).
13. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the sulfur compound is a thiol compound.