Method of manufacturing inkjet printhead
A method of forming an inkjet printhead. The method includes the steps of: providing a metal alloy shim having a plurality of shim apertures; nitriding a surface of the shim; bonding the shim to a rigid elongate manifold having ink supply channels, such that each shim aperture is in fluid communication with a respective ink supply channel; and bonding printhead chips to the shim, thereby forming the inkjet printhead.
1. A method of forming an inkjet printhead, said method comprising the steps of:
providing a metal alloy shim having a plurality of shim apertures;
nitriding a surface of the shim;
bonding the shim to a rigid elongate manifold having one or more ink supply channels, such that each shim aperture is in fluid communication with a respective ink supply channel; and
bonding one or more printhead chips to the shim, thereby forming the inkjet printhead.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the shim is comprised of a metal alloy having a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of 5 ppm/° C. or less.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the shim is comprised of an alloy of iron and at least one other metal selected from the group consisting of: nickel, cobalt and chromium.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the shim is comprised of Invar 36.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the manifold is a one-piece structure.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the manifold is comprised of a same metal alloy as the shim.
7. The method of claim 6 comprising the further step of nitriding the manifold.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the shim has a thickness in the range of 100 to 1000 microns.