Electrohydrodynamic drop-on-demand patterning in pulsed cone-jet mode at various frequencies

The patterning of a series of drops was investigated by the electrohydrodynamic printing method in the drop-on-demand fashion. A positive pulse voltage was applied to the capillary nozzle periodically to eject a pulsed liquid jet. The ejected jet was directed to the moving substrate, to which DC bias voltage was applied. High-speed imaging revealed that a Taylor cone was established at the nozzle tip during the ejection of the liquid jet, and that the jet directly struck the substrate to form a drop without the jet break-up. The frequency of drop generation can be controlled precisely, because the frequency of the pulsed voltage was almost same as the pulsating frequency of the liquid in pulsed cone-jet mode. The deposited patterns showed a series of uniformly sized drops with a regular spacing. At the pulse voltage frequency of 25 Hz, the diameter of the drops was approximately 95 mu m. Using this drop-on-demand method, it is feasible to produce a variety of patterns of dots and continuous/discontinuous lines. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.