Design and characterization of piezoelectric inkjet for micro patterning of printed electronics

A design verification system based on multiphysics modeling and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication has been established to develop piezoelectric inkjet printheads for micro-patterning on printed electronics. Piezoelectric printheads have been fabricated with silicon and silicon on insulator (SOI) wafers by MEMS fabrication and post-processing package. Transient displacements of a piezoelectric actuator according to voltage waveform are measured by Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV), and compared with numerical predictions by the three-dimensional piezoelectric-structure interaction modeling. Key issues in design and fabrication of piezoelectric inkjet printheads are investigated: printhead configuration, input voltage waveform, hydrodynamic and structural crosstalks, acoustic wave propagation (or effect of limited compressibility), and meniscus instability at high frequency. The present design verification system has shown its promising applicability to novel-concept designs of inkjet printheads for wide range of printed electronics and bio-applications.