Inkjet printhead with top plate bubble management

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Since bubbles tend to grow and expand into less constraining regions, the present invention provides grooves or depressions in a top plate that extend from the bubble collection area near the firing chambers toward the slot region.
The present invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art by providing an inkjet printhead with an orifice plate connected to the barrier layer, spaced apart from the substrate second major surface, enclosing the ink manifold, and defining a plurality of orifice apertures, each associated with a respective ink energizing element, such that the orifice plate has a planar plate defining the plurality of orifice apertures and a plurality of grooves.
At least two grooves each extend from an ink feed slot region of the inkjet printhead to a bubble collection area adjacent to an end firing chamber located beyond the ink feed slot region.
The grooves collect bubbles and guide the bubbles away from critical areas, thus avoiding formation of larger bubbles that may permanently block ink from reaching one or more firing elements.