IEC 62899-402-1:2025

IEC 62899-402-1 ®
Edition 2.0 2025-05
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Printed electronics –
Part 402-1: Printability – Measurement of qualities – Line pattern widths
ICS 31.180  ISBN 978-2-8327-0418-9

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CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 6
4 Atmospheric conditions for evaluation and conditioning . 7
5 Measurement methods and measuring instruments . 8
5.1 Measuring instrument . 8
5.2 Preparation of imaging (specimen) . 8
5.3 Measurement method for width of line pattern. 8
5.4 Obtaining width and related attributes . 9
5.5 Measurement method for space between line patterns . 10
5.6 Obtaining space and related attributes . 12
6 Report of results . 12
6.1 Measurement identification information . 12
6.2 Atmospheric conditions . 12
6.3 Instrument system and its specification . 12
6.4 Information of specimen . 12
6.5 Results . 12
Annex A (informative) Effect of inclination of width . 14
Bibliography . 16

Figure 1 – Relation between definitions related with line pattern width . 7
Figure 2 – Image of line patterns and ROI of width to be measured (dashed area),
where bright areas are patterns and dark areas are substrate . 8
Figure 3 – Generated profiles of two edges of pattern lines . 9
Figure 4 – Variation of width . 9
Figure 5 – Image of line patterns and ROI of space to be measured (dashed area),
where bright areas are patterns and dark areas are substrate . 10
Figure 6 – Generated profiles of two edges of adjacent patterns. 11
Figure 7 – Variation of space . 11
Figure A.1 – Relationship between measured width and actual width . 14
Figure A.2 – Width measurement at rotated coordinate . 14

Table 1 – Example of reporting items. 13
Table A.1 – Values of cosθ . 15

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
PRINTED ELECTRONICS –
Part 402-1: Printability – Measurement of qualities –
Line pattern width
FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
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8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
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9) IEC draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a)
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IEC 62899-402-1 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 119: Printed electronics. It is
an International Standard.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 2017. This edition
constitutes a technical revision.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous
edition:
a) The title is changed from 'Printability – Measurement of qualities – Pattern width' to
'Printability – Measurement of qualities – Line pattern width'
b) The term 'pattern width' is specified as 'line pattern width'.
c) The measurement method of line pattern space is included.

– 4 – IEC 62899-402-1:2025 © IEC 2025
d) The definition and measurement of inner/outer edge lines are removed.
The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
Draft Report on voting
119/539/FDIS 119/544/RVD
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 International Standard is English.
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/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, or
• revised.
INTRODUCTION
This document contains fundamental information on the measurement of line pattern width in
printed electronics. The line pattern width includes not only width of line pattern but also space
between line patterns. This document includes measurement procedures as well as definitions
of width and space of line pattern considering their non-uniform properties, which are quite
different from those in graphic art printing or the etching process. For example, in graphic art
printing, the dimension of pattern is generally more than several millimetres and its variation is
relatively small and negligible. However, in printed electronics, the printed line patterns, through
printing processes such as inkjet, gravure, flexography, etc., can have very narrow width of
under several tens of micrometres. Moreover, the variation of line pattern width can be relatively
large due to rough edges, which is hardly observed in the etching process. Therefore, it is
difficult to define the width of line pattern exactly. The space between patterns has the same
issues to those of line pattern width. The accurate information about line pattern width can be
very important for control and management of printability in the printing process. Moreover, the
dimension of line pattern width as well as variations can strongly affect the reliability and
performance of printed electronics devices made of several sets of patterns.
This document excludes the standardization of the measurement system. It specifies the
properties related to the width and space of the printed line patterns obtained from the
two-dimensional image.
– 6 – IEC 62899-402-1:2025 © IEC 2025
PRINTED ELECTRONICS –
Part 402-1: Printability – Measurement of qualities –
Line pattern width
1 Scope
This part of IEC 62899 specifies the measurement methods of the width of line pattern and
spaces between the line patterns in printed electronics. These printed line patterns are treated
as two-dimensional on a substrate. When the patterns are definitely affected by three-
dimensional configurations, these are specified in measurement methods for vertical variance
in printed electronics.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or
...