Recent innovations in product design and development have led to the introduction of flexible, electronic products. These pro-ducts can adapt to the different needs and environments of users. There are products ranging from foldable smartphones to smart wearables or textiles and flexible packaging solutions. All products exhibit various possibilities of degradation, with requirements varying across a wide range. The applications span across various market sectors, all sharing a common characteristic – they are flexible. Appropriate equipment must be employed to test each product according to its specific requirements.

How to Identify the Test Requirements?

However, due to their unique charac-teristics, the successful market launch of flexible products relies heavily on thorough and specific testing. This article addresses the need for comprehensive testing procedures to ensure the quality, durability and usability of flexible products. Flexible electronics and their test requirements are on the road to standardization. All products exhibit various possibilities of degradation, with requirements varying across a wide range. The applications span across various market sectors, all sharing a common characteristic – they are flexible. Appropriate equipment must be employed to test each product according to its specific requirements.

Challenges of Product, Application and Conditions

The experience reveals a tendency towards multiple causes and the challenge of finding a solution or making the cause visible. Some frequently asked questions about quali-ty conditions or criteria include:

• How reproducible are the materials and production processes used?• Is the adhesion of all layers sufficient?
• How resilient are the processes?
• How does the wearable application (especially on the human body) manifest itself in the application requirements?
• How frequently will the product be used?
• How does the electrical performance change in the used cycles?
• What environmental conditions are required and which can be guaranteed?

To assess structural integrity and flexibility, the testing equipment should accomodate various motions such as bending, folding, stretching, rolling, sliding, pushing or twisting.

Requirements of the Testing Process

To define the testing requirements, it is crucial to specify the predominant load that will occur in the application. The test cycles must be scalable and adaptable to the spe-cific needs of the device, sample, prototype or a random sample from production. The test distance of the device needs to be adjusted to the test specimen and the electrical function. Connection is to be specified by the customer. Support is optionally available.

Flexdata, the software used by MSWtech to control the test equipment, automatically collects and displays the measured test data. A template is provided for both measurement and graphical representation.