IEC TR 62899-402-4:2021

IEC TR 62899-402-4 ®
Edition 1.0 2021-09
TECHNICAL
REPORT
colour
inside
Printed electronics –
Part 402-4: Printability – Measurement of qualities – Classification and
measurement methods for morphology
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IEC TR 62899-402-4 ®
Edition 1.0 2021-09
TECHNICAL
REPORT
colour
inside
Printed electronics –
Part 402-4: Printability – Measurement of qualities – Classification and

measurement methods for morphology

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 31.180 ISBN 978-2-8322-1024-7

– 2 – IEC TR 62899-402-4:2021  IEC 2021
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 6
4 Classification of surface forms for future standardization work . 7
5 ISO documents concerning surface roughness . 8
6 Examples of measurement . 9
6.1 Micro surface roughness of the printed pattern . 9
6.1.1 AFM approach . 9
6.1.2 Shape of the droplet on substrates using inkjet printing . 12
6.2 Thickness of the printed pattern (improved thickness) . 13
6.2.1 Measurement of trapezoid and semi ellipse . 13
6.2.2 Measurement of side horn . 14
6.3 Roughness for the printed conductive line . 14
7 Suggestions for future standardization on morphology . 16
Bibliography . 17

Figure 1 – Typical pattern profile. 6
Figure 2 – Classification of parameters and future standardization work in TC 119 . 7
Figure 3 – Flow of data processing and related standards . 8
Figure 4 – AFM image of NWCNT printed pattern . 9
Figure 5 – Three-dimensional AFM nanoscale surface images and parameters . 10
Figure 6 – Surface image of printed electrode and sensor and grain size distribution
histogram on working surface of SPCE, SPCE-Chi, and SPCE-Chi-GST at 1 μm x 1
μm AFM scan size . 11
Figure 7 – Example of "side horns" . 13
Figure 8 – Electrode formed by gravure offset printing . 14
Figure 9 – An example of roughness in the cross-section in the width direction of a
printed line . 15
Figure 10 – An example of average value of the cross section area . 16

Table 1 – The ISO standards related to the surface roughness . 8
Table 2 – Surface grain structure estimation on a working platform . 10
Table 3 – R-parameters exploration from AFM micrographs at 1 μm x1 μm scan size . 12

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
PRINTED ELECTRONICS –
Part 402-4: Printability – Measurement of qualities –
Classification and measurement methods for morphology

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote international
co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To this end and
in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications, Technical Reports,
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preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested in the subject dealt with
may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-governmental organizations liaising
with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely with the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
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3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
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8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of patent
rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
IEC TR 62899-402-4 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 119: Printed Electronics.
It is a Technical Report.
The text of this Technical Report is based on the following documents:
Draft Report on voting
119/300/DTR 119/357/RVDTR
Full information on the voting for its approval can be found in the report on voting indicated in
the above table.
The language used for the development of this Technical Report is English.

– 4 – IEC TR 62899-402-4:2021  IEC 2021
This document was drafted in accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, and developed in
accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 and ISO/IEC Directives, IEC Supplement, available
at www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs. The main document types developed by IEC are
described in greater detail at www.iec.ch/standardsdev/publications.
A list of all parts in the IEC 62899 series, published under the general title Printed electronics,
can be found on the IEC website.
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under webstore.iec.ch in the data related to the
specific document. At this date, the document will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
INTRODUCTION
The IEC 62899-402 series specifies basic measurement methods for printed patterns prepared
using printed electronics technology. An overview of the documents in the IEC 62899-402 series
is given in IEC 62899-401.
Since the surface morphologies of printed patterns strongly affect the electrical properties of
patterns as well as the printing process such as overlay printing onto the patterns, IEC TC 119
plans to prepare other documents to measure the vertical variance of printed patterns, such as
the future IEC 62899-402-5 which deals with “‘surface roughness”, the future IEC 62899-402-6
which deals with “thickness” and the future IEC 62899-402-7 which deals with ”surface profile”’.
These future documents were designed based on assumptions from classical technologies such
as photolithography. However, the cross section of patterns by photolithography has usually a
trapezoidal or rectangular shape, and the surface of the patterns is always flat and smooth. In
contrast, the actual surface of the printed pattern has various morphologies, because the
characteristic surface morphologies are formed by the various printing technologies used in
printed electronics, and factors that cannot be controlled perfectly are included in the process
of forming the surface. Reflecting those features, the range of variance to be measured in the
area of printed electronics becomes very broad, and various measurement methods are used
in those measurements. In order to prepare the subsequent documents, the current
measurement methods should be reviewed in a technical report. This review will clarify the
relation between the morphologies and the appropriate measurement methods.
According to the complicated surface morphologies, it is not easy to specify the measuring point
on the surface. This problem will also be reviewed in this document by organizing the definitions
of morphologies.
– 6 – IEC TR 62899-402-4:2021  IEC 2021
PRINTED ELECTRONICS –
Part 402-4: Printability – Measurement of qualities –
Classification and measurement methods for morphology

1 Scope
This part of IEC 62899-402, which is a Technical Report, is a preparatory work for the
documents dealing with the measurement method of the vertical direction (surface forms) of
printed patterns made by printed electronics technology.
The printed pattern of interest in this document is limited to straight lines on substrates with a
flat surface. This document focuses on the classification and measurement methods for surface
forms from the nanometer scale to the micrometer scale, and suggests the strategy for the
subsequent documents.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and def
...