Atomistic Simulation of “Drop-on-Demand” Inkjet Dynamics

The atomistic simulation of the inkjet printing process starts with a burst of heat applied at the bottom of a cell of liquid. Bubbles develop, form jets, and fragment into droplets. All the observations at the atomistic level are understood in terms of classical physics, with parameters obtained by the calculations. The efficiency, critical for the deposition of fragile materials, ranges from 0.05 to 0.42%. The calculated quantities agree with those of real life devices.