Industry’s First Cartridge-based Ink Jet Printhead with 1 Picoliter Capability

FUJIFILM Dimatix, Inc. introduced its new Dimatix Materials Cartridge (DMC-11601), the first 1 pL cartridge-based ink jet printhead designed for commercial and industrial applications. The 16-jet printhead, based on proprietary MEMS technology, is capable of high-resolution non-contact printing of fluids for applications in displays, electronics and biotechnology. The printhead cartridges are key components of the Dimatix Materials Printer (DMP), which is used by developers of printable functional fluids and engineering groups to investigate unique new approaches to creating leading-edge technologies. The Dimatix Materials Cartridge DMC-11601 is available to order now.

"With the Dimatix Materials Printer we’re printing suspensions of silver nanoparticles to create source-drain electrodes for use in flexible displays," said Dr. Patrick Smith, project leader Inkjet Group, Eindhoven University of Technology Laboratory of Macromolecular Chemistry and Nanoscience (SMN). "The new cartridge is helping us create electrodes that are smaller than the eye can see. This is critical in the creation of flexible displays. The DMP also provides increased flexibility and speed because it allows us to scan in bitmaps rather than using plotter software. Because of these types of advances, ink jet technology is really taking off, and this is only the beginning."

Customers can utilize the new 1 pL cartridge to develop products requiring precise feature definitions as small as 20 µm, such as silicon-based solar cells and other photovoltaic devices, small-size RFID antennae, organic thin-film transistors (TFTs) and printed circuits. In biotechnology, the cartridge enables close packing of large numbers of array elements to increase the efficiency and accuracy of DNA array analyses. Drop-on-demand 1 pL printheads allow biomaterial features to be printed at twice the previously achievable density, opening up new territory in the production of specialized arrays in an R&D setting.

"We are committed to providing tools to enable efficient manufacturing processes based on ink jet technology, and to continually enhance our technology in response to customer needs," said Martin Schoeppler, vice president, marketing and sales, FUJIFILM Dimatix. "Our new cartridge has the smallest drop volume in the industry. It is one in a series of ink jet printheads specifically designed and manufactured to meet the needs of industries such as solar cell, flat panel display manufacturing and printed circuits."

FUJIFILM Dimatix also offers a 10 pL cartridge for applications requiring larger feature sizes. Customers can fill the single-use cartridges with their own fluids, and then quickly change cartridges for their next printing project. The unique cartridge design means cross contamination between samples is eliminated, and the cartridge’s small capacity helps conserve expensive fluids. With the DMP and the Dimatix Materials Cartridge, customers can easily test formulations and process conditions to evaluate the potential of ink jet printing in reducing manufacturing costs.

The Dimatix Materials Printer (DMP) is the world’s first complete, low-cost, easy-to-use system for high-precision jetting of all kinds of functional fluids on any type of surface, including plastic, glass, metal sheets, silicon, membranes, gels, thin films and paper. By directly printing on their own substrates, customers can rapidly develop prototypes and keep process technology in-house. The printer’s small size and low price make it convenient, easy to use and cost-effective to own.