The necessity of heater having a high resistance is rising for the better printing performance in the inkjet printer. The characteristics of thin film resister layer made of a tantalumaluminum-oxy-nitride (TaAlON) have been experimentally investigated in the stability and durability. It was able to control the electrical resistivity of TaAlON thin film by changing the gas flow ratio such as Ar, N2 and O2 within a certain range of working pressures in sputter. Totally, seven heaters whose resistance range was from 36 to 390 Ω/sq were prepared for selecting the reliable gas composition rate through the electrical and step stress tests. The open pool bubble tests were conducted to check the electrical strength of thin film layer. To see the feasibility as a heater, the ink ejection tests have been performed with a square and split heater. The shape and velocity of ink droplet were monitored during the lifetime tests.
Junwoo Suh, Kyongil Kim, kyusuk Lee, Sungjoon Park, Eunbong Han, Yong-Ung Ha, Changshin Park, "The Characteristics of Thin Film Heater Having a High Resistance" in Proc. IS&T Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies and Digital Fabrication (NIP24), 2008, pp 141 - 144, https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2008.24.1.art00036_1