Heater stack and method for making heater stack with heater element decoupled from substrate

摘要

A heater stack includes first strata configured to support and form a fluid heater element responsive to repetitive electrical activation and deactivation to produce cycles of fluid ejection and second strata overlying the first strata to protect the heater element. A decomposed sacrificial layer of a preselected polymer between the substrate and a heater substrata containing the heater element provides a decoupled relationship between them which, during a heat-up period of each cycle, results in the heater element buckling out of physical contact with substrate enabling the heater element to transfer heat energy for producing fluid ejection into the fluid without transferring any into the substrate whereas the decoupled relationship, during the next following cool-down period of each cycle, results in the heater element de-buckling back into physical contact with the substrate enabling the heater element transfer residual heat energy to the substrate.