Application Notes

Wiring Inspections for Flexible Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs)

PCB
Flexible Printed Circuit Boards

Background

The importance of microscopic inspection increases as package miniaturization and space-reduction technologies continue to enhance overall product performance in contemporary electronic devices. Clear observation of ruptured, polyimide-covered wiring is difficult, however, using conventional illumination methods.

Application

Mixing brightfield and darkfield illumination techniques provides inspectors with significantly-improved images for faster, more accurate results.

The Olympus solution

Mixed (brightfield and darkfield) illumination enables previously-unobservable sample views using conventional illumination methods. The Olympus BX53M industrial microscope allows users to conduct inspections using mixed illumination methodologies for clear visual confirmation of polyimide-covered PCB wiring. The observation method may be manually adjusted using a dial on the illuminator unit, allowing users to quickly switch between bright/darkfield, differential interference, and other frequently-used observation methods.

BF_FPC Brightfield illumination

DF_FPC

Darkfield illumination

MIX_FPC

MIX illumination
(Brightfield + Darkfield)

BX53M

Designed with modularity in mind, the BX3M series provide versatility for a wide variety of materials science and industrial applications.