Search Results (2)

The main purpose of this study is to carry out the immediate micro-monitoring of the roll-to-roll (R2R) process of polarizing films. Therefore, a self-made flexible three-in-one (temperature, humidity, and flow) microsensor is developed. The temperature and flow sensing area are 585 μm × 450 μm, the humidity sensing area is 1065 μm × 1035 μm, and the minimum line width is 15 μm. The micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology was applied to integrate temperature, humidity, and flow sensors on a 50 µm thick polyimide substrate. A 100 Å thick chromium (Chrome, Cr) section form the adhesion layer. A 1000 Å thick gold section forms the sensing layer. A self-made flexible three-in-one microsensor set up in a laboratory oven for immediate micro-monitoring of the R2R process of the polarizing film. Since it is not advisable to set up signal lines in a clean room, the analog signals of the sensor should be transmitted via wireless means. Thus, a monitoring module should be connected to the back end of the self-made flexible three-in-one microsensor to receive the analog signals of the sensor, convert them into digital signals, send them out in the form of wireless signals, and store the data on the server-side. Through these measures, both the R2R process and yield can be improved. Therefore, the focus of this study is the environmental monitoring of drying process ovens. However, commercially available all-in-one sensors cannot handle the temperature of high-temperature factory ovens, and commercial flow sensors are rarely used in high-temperature applications. Some are also expensive and cannot be widely distributed, so this study intends to develop an integrated sensor to measure the internal environment of the drying oven. Full article

The Roll-to-Roll (R2R) process refers to a high-efficiency, low-cost, continuous production method. The roll material used for processing is a flexible plastic or metal film. In many R2R processes, polarizing films are high-precision products with a high output value. In the production of conventional polarizers, product inspection will only be carried out after the production of the polarizing film is completed. The principal raw material of a polarizer sheet is a hydrophilic polymer, the properties of which may be influenced by water vapor, which degrades its quality. Whether or not the product is impacted can be ascertained by means of a quality inspection, but it must be performed after the process is finished. However, it is already too late when a defective product is detected: the production cost is increased, the schedule is influenced and the delivery date is delayed. The focus of this research was on environmental monitoring of the production drying process oven, but the commercial all-in-one sensors currently on the market cannot tolerate the temperature of the factory’s high-temperature oven. In particular, a commercial flow sensor is rarely suited to high-temperature applications. Some are expensive and cannot be widely distributed. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an integrated sensor to measure the internal environment of the drying process oven for the real-time monitoring of a polarizer sheet in the Roll-to-Roll (R2R) process. This study used micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology to make a flexible three-in-one (temperature, humidity and flow) micro-sensor. We monitored the temperature, humidity and flow uniformity in a laboratory oven to simulate the environment of the actual factory oven, with the aim to provide data to confirm whether or not a polarizer sheet has dried. Our system can be monitored instantly by Arduino, or even Raspberry Pi 3, to realize the flexible micro-sensor layout and field verification, in order to optimize the R2R process and to enhance the yield and performance of the polarizer sheet process. Full article