In-Line, At-Speed Quality Assurance for Printed Electronics

Currently, print conductivity is typically measured at the end of production with physical probes, which is the most common quality control tool in printed electronics facilities today. These probes are broadly used to test both the printing process and the final devices but are slow and potentially damaging to the ink. Camera inspection systems are common in the graphic printing field, and work at the speed of the production line, but do not measure the functional properties of the ink. We will discuss the current needs and open problems in printed electronics quality control and present a solution in TRAQC. The TRAQC system is able to run at the speed of the production and is able to extract ink functionality (conductivity) and geometrical variation (spreading/stretching), the key parameters for electronics printing, in-line and at-speed.