The use of thinner films and the overall industry drive to improve film quality has led to an increased awareness of CD profile (variation of thickness in the CD direction) as an important process variable. The traditional method used to measure gauge profile offline has employed some type of mechanical caliper. Instrumentation is available to automate the process of off-line film inspection that has been designed specifically for polymer films. Does automating the film inspection process have any cost or quality benefits? Do automated off-line film inspection systems offer film producers using on-line gauging systems any benefits?A cost/benefit analysis of the off-line film inspection task is made. Two different film inspection methods are analyzed. One utilized a mechanical hand caliper for measurement and manual statistical calculation. The other used a modern high resolution capacitance gauge with automated statistical calculation and graphical display. A film sample is measured using both methods. The analysis compares the total task time and the confidence level of the resulting measurement statistics.A comparison is made between on-line and off-line thickness gauge characteristics and how these characteristics can affect measurement results.The automated method takes less time and yields data with a higher confidence level. Off-line film inspection with a modern automated gaging system has clear benefits over older traditional methods. Modern offline film inspection systems can aid film producerscurrently using on-line gauges in improving film quality.
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