Memjet Technology - Memjet

Memjet Technology

Memjet Technology
Memjet Services, Inc.
GENERAL

Q What is Memjet technology?
A Memjet technology is a new color page printing technology that enables high-quality, 60-pages-per-minute color printing at breakthrough prices for both print engines and consumables. The Memjet technology and related components (printheads, ink, driver chips and software) is very flexible, making it applicable to many printing markets.

Q What does the name ǃ?Memjetǃ? mean?
A The ǃ?MEMǃ? in Memjet refers to ǃ?MEMSǃ? or Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS). The ǃ?jetǃ? refers to a printing technology like ǃ?inkjetǃ? or ǃ?LaserJet.ǃ? MEMS is the technology of the very small, ranging in size from a micrometer (a millionth of a meter) to a millimeter (a thousandth of a meter). The Memjet printheads are fabricated using MEMS processes, modified semiconductor fabrication processes that enable the creation of the nozzles and drop-ejection system that is the basis of the Memjet technology.

Q What is MEMS and how does it relate to Memjet technology?
A The ǃ?MEMǃ? in Memjet refers to ǃ?MEMSǃ? or Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS). The Memjet printheads are fabricated using ǃ?MEMSǃ? processes.
We start by fabricating CMOS chips on a silicon wafer, much the same way you would for the kinds of chips found in most electronic products. This creates the CMOS layer, which contains all the digital electronic circuitry needed to control the firing of the nozzles for each line of ink drops as the paper goes past the printhead.
On top of this somewhat standard CMOS logic chip, we build up the heaters that instantaneously boil the ink to fire each ink drop, the firing chambers that contain the heater and the ink, and the nozzle structure at the exit of each firing chamber. This is done using MEMS processes. This forms the MEMS layer.
Then we etch the five ink supply channels into the back of the chips, and finally we etch ink feed holes from these ink supply channels, through the CMOS layer, into each firing chamber. These etching processes are also classified as MEMS processes.