Barrier layer and orifice plate for thermal ink jet printhead assembly

摘要

This application discloses a thermal ink jet printhead and method of manufacture featuring an improved all-metal orifice plate and barrier layer assembly. This assembly includes constricted ink flow ports to reduce cavitation damage and smooth contoured convergent ink ejection orifices to prevent "gulping" of air during an ink ejection process. Both of these features extend the maximum operating frequency, fmax, of the printhead. The nickle barrier layer and the underlying thin film resistor substrate are gold plated and then soldered together to form a good strong solder bond at the substrate-barrier layer interface.