Flight behavior of charged droplets in electrohydrodynamic inkjet printing

Abstract

Flight behaviors of charged droplets are presented for electrohydrodynamic (EHD) inkjet printing. Three different kinds of EHD spraying techniques, pulsed dc, ac, and single potential (SP) ac, have been investigated and both conductive and dielectric target surfaces were considered. Experimental results show that the flight paths of charged droplets may deviate from their regular straight route, i.e., directly from the nozzle to the substrate. Depending on the droplet charge and applied electric field, droplets may deflect, reflect, or retreat to the meniscus. We can solve these drawbacks by SP EHD printing.