Circuit board manufacturing requires remarkable levels of precision, accuracy and repeatability for consistent layer deposition, etching. The size of discrete devices is shrinking each day and the density of these types of devices is becoming a challenge for the circuit board manufacturer and assembler as more and more space on PCBs is being utilized. As a result, quality control and increased inspection demands have required increasingly sophisticated tools.  Vision-based instruments such as stereomicroscopes, often coupled with a camera system, have been widely accepted for inspection and quality control.

The most common inspection process conducted by circuit board manufacturers is board integrity.  Are the lines clear and unbroken? Is there contamination on the surface? Is there delamination?  This type of work is typically carried out under lower magnifications of 10x to 20x with a stereomicroscope where the inspector has the added advantage of a clear three-dimensional image.

Stereomicroscopes are also commonly used for circuit board inspection after the PCB has been populated.  As mentioned earlier, device density on circuit boards is steadily increasing, with thousands of components and tolerances to 1-mil. With increasingly complex circuit board designs, the risk for defects such as component misalignment and bad solder joints increases.  The Olympus SZ2 series and SZX series of stereomicroscopes with its wide field of view and three-dimensional image allows for accurate and comfortable inspection of the boards during and after production.

 With larger surface areas requiring closer inspection, two other instrument features become important: ergonomics and documentation.  The need for sustained, comfortable use becomes important as more rigorous inspections and longer periods of time to conduct them are required. In response to these emerging needs, Olympus has built comfort into every one of our inspection systems - features like intuitive control location for ease of use without visual distraction and integrated aperture/objective lens adjustments to minimize eye strain and fatigue as well as tilting ergonomic viewing tubes found in the SZX series of stereomicroscopes.

 Additionally, accurate, relevant, and easily-understood documentation are necessary to minimize production interruption and increase throughput. The emergence of digital imaging coupled with a stereomicroscope system, such as the Olympus SZ2 Series integrated with a Olympus DP series digital camera and our Discover Series image analysis software enables circuit board manufacturers to carry out precision inspections and analyze results in real time.  By combining digital imaging, documentation, and analysis with a stereoscope, images can be measured and shared across all facets of production and Q/A, enabling manufacturers to improve product design, manufacturing, and quality control to reduce costs, increase throughput, and improve profitability.

Typical applications are found in circuit assembly, connectors, contamination, electro-optical, fab/process, lithography, metrology, metallurgical, EOEM, quality control, quality assurance.