IEC 62899-101:2019

IEC 62899-101 ®
Edition 1.0 2019-10
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Printed electronics –
Part 101: Terminology – Vocabulary
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IEC 62899-101 ®
Edition 1.0 2019-10
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Printed electronics –
Part 101: Terminology – Vocabulary

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 01.040.31 ISBN 978-2-8322-7461-3

– 2 – IEC 62899-101:2019 © IEC 2019
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 6
Bibliography . 21

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
PRINTED ELECTRONICS –
Part 101: Terminology – Vocabulary

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
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International Standard IEC 62899-101 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 119:
Printed Electronics.
The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
119/279/FDIS 119/285/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this International Standard can be found in
the report on voting indicated in the above table.
This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
A list of all parts in the IEC 62899 series, published under the general title Printed electronics,
can be found on the IEC website.

– 4 – IEC 62899-101:2019 © IEC 2019
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://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• withdrawn,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.
A bilingual version of this publication may be issued at a later date.

INTRODUCTION
Due to the trend towards a globalized, technological and connected society, there is a rising
demand for a new breed of technologies enabling low-priced, flexible and new-concept
products. Some conventional technologies (including silicon-based microelectronics) have
reached their limits due to their high fabrication costs and environmental issues. Armed with
new printing technologies and innovative materials, printed electronics has recently emerged
as a promising environmentally friendly alternative route for producing electronic products at
low cost and with new possibilities of such creative technologies as flexible electronics.
Currently, this technology is beginning to be used in the manufacturing of products such as
sensors, photovoltaic devices, signage, RFID, batteries, lighting devices, and some parts of
display devices, where cost, flexibility and recycling are critical issues.
For successful industrialization of printed electronics, not only the reliability and repeatability
in equipment and processes should be provided under global standardization, but also the
harmonization of terminology and definitions is a key element for a successful transition of
printed electronics to the market.

– 6 – IEC 62899-101:2019 © IEC 2019
PRINTED ELECTRONICS –
Part 101: Terminology – Vocabulary

1 Scope
This part of IEC 62899 defines terms used in the field of printed electronics, addressing topics
including, but not limited to, materials, printing processes, and print characterization. It
focuses on terms that are of particular importance to printed devices. Therefore, terms that
are already defined in relation to conventional electronics materials, processes, devices,
components or systems that can be used in the field of printed electronics without alteration
are not included in this document. Similarly, established terms and definitions in relation to
printing technology that apply to the field of printed electronics are not included.
Definitions in this document are the primary reference for printed electronics terminology.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following
addresses:
• IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
• ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp
3.1
1-d qualification feature
feature that is qualified by single directional parameters
3.2
2-d qualification feature
feature that is qualified by area-based qualification parameters
3.3
4-probe measurement
method to measure the resistance of a material while eliminating lead and contact resistance
from the measurement result by employing separate pairs of current-carrying and voltage-
sensing electrodes
3.4
annealing
treatment that alters the microstructure of a metal, causing changes in properties
such as strength and hardness, in order to induce ductility and to relieve internal stresses

3.5
annealing
treatment that alters the microstructure of a polymer or plastics,
causing changes in properties in order to improve strength and hardness, to reduce internal
stresses related to the polymer or plastics structure
3.6
annealing
treatment that can be used to enhance the electrical
performance (i.e., to reduce the electrical resistance) of a printed functional material
3.7
arc plasma heating
arc heating utilizing disposable graphite electrodes which generate an arc plasma between
the material and electrode, thus transferring the energy to the material
Note 1 to entry: Arc plasma heating captures the arc plasma with a nozzle or gas flow. It can offer higher
orientation and higher temperature than does normal arc heating.
3.8
area gain
area of the actual feature that lies outside the nominal feature contour
3.9
area loss
non-printed area of the nominal feature
3.10
basic pattern
set of two-dimensional figures for inspecting the reproducibility of printed patterns, consisting
of the evaluation pattern and alignment marks used for accurate positioning of the substrate
with respect to the printing apparatus
3.11
bending radius
radius of the curved area in the sample
3.12
bending test
deformation test by application of external stress perpendicular to the plane of a printed
element
3.13
blade coating
use of a metal blade offset from the substrate to deposit a material onto the substrate
3.14
cell
basic functional unit, consisting of an assembly of electrodes, electrolyte, container, terminals
and usually separators, that is a source of electric energy obtained by direct conversion of
chemical energy
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-482:2004, 482-01-01, modified – Note omitted.]
3.15
chip
form of damage in which a small piece of glass has come off the glass
surface, for example as a result of impact from a hard object

– 8 – IEC 62899-101:2019 © IEC 2019
3.16
conductive film
substrate (sheet or roll) coated with a conductive layer
3.17
conductive ink
fluid in which chemical precursors, polymers, or particles are dissolved or dispersed
Note 1 to entry: Conductive ink becomes an electrically conductive layer after post treatment.
3.18
conductive layer
film-like electrically conductive body made of conductive ink which is printed or coated on a
substrate, followed as necessary by post treatment such as heating
3.19
conductive material
ingredient of a printing or coating material, which itself is electrically conductive or becomes
electrically conductive by post treatment such as heating
3.20
contact heating
heating process during which a hot object comes in direct contact with materials
3.21
contact printing
printing process that transfers an image from a suitable medium to base materials
3.22
corner rounding
deviation of an actual feature corner from its nominal shape
3.23
crack
line on the surface of a substrate (e.g. glass) along which it has split
without breaking apart
3.24
critical dimension
dimension of a geometrical feature (width of interconnect line, contacts, trenches, etc.) which
can be formed during electronic device/circuit manufacturing and can be of interest for further
qualification
3.25
cross direction
direction at right angles to the machine direction of a substrate
3.26
cross-sectional qualification feature
feature which can be qualified by cross-sectional qualification parameters
3.27
curing
process during which volatile components evaporate and/or materials undergo chemical
reactions to form a continuous bulk material

3.28
cylinder printing
image transfer process in which a substrate and silk screen are indexed across the surface of
a rotating cylinder
Note 1 to entry: When printing sheet substrates, the sheet is fixed to the surface of a cylindrical suction roller,
and the sheet is printed as the cylinder rotates. The screen mask is the same format as that used for flatbed
printing.
3.29
dielectric heating
microwave heating
HF heating
electric heating in which the heat is generated in dielectric and semiconducting loads, under
the action of high frequency electric field of a frequency range from 1 MHz to 300 MHz
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-841:2004, 841-28-01, modified – the two terms "microwave heating"
and "HF heating" have been added.]
3.30
dielectric strength
maximum electric field an electrically insulating material can sustain without experiencing
failure of its insulating properties
Note 1 to entry: Dielectric strength is determined by measuring the minimum applied voltage that results in
breakdown (breakdown voltage) and dividing it by the electrode separation distance at the moment of breakdown.
Due to possible changes in specimen thickness during the measurement of dielectric strength, alternatively the
breakdown voltage and the initial thickness may be specified.
3.31
dispersion
system consisting of two or more phases one of which is
continuous and at least one other is finely dispersed
[SOURCE: ISO 862:1984, 17]
3.32
double-flash mode
mode of inkjet drop analysis where LED or high-power light is quickly flashed twice per jetting
event, thereby capturing the same individual drop in two different locations within the camera
field of view
3.33
drop analysis
method of visualizing or quantifying the motion, trajectory or substrate impact
of droplets ejected from an inkjet print head
3.34
drop analysis system
imaging-based equipment that can visualize or quantify the motion of inkjet
droplets
3.35
drop delivery speed
total distance between the inkjet print-head nozzle plate and the substrate, divided by the
time interval between jet triggering and drop arrival

– 10 – IEC 62899-101:2019 © IEC 2019
3.36
drop repeatability
number specifying the repeatability of the drop dimensions of subsequent drops with the same
target volume, for example standard deviation of drop volume or drop diameter
3.37
drop speed
distance divided by the time it takes the drop to traverse the distance
3.38
drop trajectory
direction of travel of a drop, often characterized as an angle relative to the nozzle plate
3.39
drop visualization system
equipment that can be used to observe or visualize droplets at a specified
jetting frequency by means of a strobe flash light which is synchronized with the jetting
frequency
3.40
droplet volume
amount of jetted droplet from a nozzle per trigger pulse
3.41
edge squareness
angular difference between the machine direction reference edge of the plate master relative
to straight lines drawn between the ends of, and perpendicular to, the nominally orthogonal
reference edge
3.42
edge straightness
deviation of an edge relative to a straight line
3.43
edge waviness
degree to which a pattern edge conforms to a measurement plane
[SOURCE: ISO 12635:2008, 2.5, modified – The word "plate" in the original definition has
been replaced by "pattern".]
3.44
elastic region
interval of tensile or compressive strain within which a material deforms reversibly under
mechanical stress
3.45
electric photolithography
method of electrically modifying the surface energy of a target material to accept or repel
applied materials
3.46
electrical test
functional inspection process of printed electronics, especially for short and open circuits
3.47
electron beam curing
curing of material by exposure to an electron beam

3.48
equilibrium thermal processing
thermal processing in which little or no temperature gradient occurs in a material while it is
being heated
3.49
evaluation pattern
set of fundamental geometrical shapes and structures with systematically varied size and
orientation used to evaluate printability for printing machines in printed electronics
3.50
feature
region within a single continuous boundary that is distinct
...