In general, inkjet heads are designed to deposit small droplets of ink in a defined, repeatable pattern. A wide variety of inkjet technologies are currently used in the fabrication of electronics. For example, inkjet heads deposit a wide variety of materials (e.g., semiconductor materials, dielectrics, and metal inks) on a wide variety of substrate types to create “printed” electronics.
When printing materials on a substrate, ink ejected by an inkjet head can build up or accumulate outside of the substrate. For example, the inkjet head can spray a small amount of ink past an edge of a substrate. If the ink is non-flowing at room temperature, it can accumulate and form a buildup over time. Such a buildup of ink can cause contamination of the substrate and can also cause uneven distribution of the ink. Such contamination and uneven distribution can cause defects in the electronics and mechanical yield loss in electronics fabrication.
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