Fabrication of an integrated, planar silicon ink-jet structure

A new design and fabrication technique for ink-jet nozdes fabricated from silicon is described. The single, (llO)-oriented silicon chip contains the ink cavity, the nozzle, and the deformable membrane pump in an integrated planar structure requiring no mechanical machining or polishing. The devices are configured such that the ink stream is ejected out the edge of the chip rather than normal to the surface (as in conventional ink jet), and the nozzle exit face is perfectly flat since it is defined by the (111) crystal face exposed during an anisotropic etching step.