Inkjet Droplet Array — Print Head at 1/50,000 Second

Description

Inkjet print head photography requires either a specialised stroboscopic setup or an extremely fast electronic flash capable of illuminating at 1/50,000 second — the duration needed to freeze a 50-picoliter droplet moving at 5 metres per second. This image was made using a custom acoustic-triggered flash system that fires at the precise moment the print head nozzles eject their droplets, illuminating the droplets in flight between the nozzle plate and the substrate below. The image shows the full droplet train from a six-nozzle section of the print head: six primary droplets in flight, each approximately 50 microns in diameter, trailed by the characteristic satellite droplets formed by the breaking of the liquid filament during jetting. The nozzle plate is visible above, the paper surface below. A scanning electron micrograph level of detail is achieved through optical magnification alone.