Together with TOPTICA Photonics, a manufacturer of lasers for research and semiconductor manufacturing, Fraunhofer ITWM has developed an industrial solution for inline coating-thickness measurement for ultra-high speed applications. This system enables 1600 thickness measurements per second for the first time and is thus suitable for use on fast-moving samples during ongoing production.
Automatic coating inspection using ultrahigh-frequency electronics reliably provides consistency and effectiveness in industrial production. Recent advances in laser development and accelerated algorithms now provide new terahertz-based measurement systems for industrial applications.
The new terahertz system sets standards in terms of measurement speed. With the Fraunhofer ITWM software, the terahertz platform »TeraFlash smart« becomes a real-time capable instrument for industrial process control. The system can record up to 1600 waveforms per second and thus enables inline coating-thickness measurements even on thin, rapidly moving polymer samples in production plants.
The overall system developed at the Fraunhofer ITWM for the measurement of pipe-wall thicknesses and thin coatings can be used to determine the thickness of single- and multilayer samples. Due to its high flexibility, this measurement technique is compatible with a wide range of coating thicknesses and geometries; with application-specific adaptations, the system is also suitable for the detection of the thinnest coatings down to less than 10 micrometers.
Dr. Joachim Jonuscheit, deputy head of the »Materials Characterization and Testing« department, illustrates the potential of this technology: »Terahertz technology is a measurement technique that can be used in a variety of ways and is ready for industrial use, which is of great benefit to the plastics processing industry in particular. Due to the high measuring speed, new applications can be addressed up for which no suitable measuring technology was previously available.«
Higher Quality and Efficiency: Inline Inspection of Wall Thickness During Pipe Extrusion Enables Optimization of the Manufacturing Process..
Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM