Decomposition of pattern distortions by the Spread polynomial model in roll-to-sheet reverse offset printing

The repeatability of manufacturing process is one of the prerequisite aspects in printed electronics. Particularly, the requirement for the positioning accuracy becomes severe as the miniaturization of printed traces develops, patterning area enlarges, and potential applications widen. Therefore, a measure to quantify the effect of various processing parameters on the global registration error of printed patterns is highly important. In this study, the effect of typical processing parameters appeared in a roll-to-sheet, high-resolution printing (reverse offset printing) including synchronization mismatch, tilting of the roll, unevenness of substrate, were systematically investigated. A fitting model on the basis of Spread polynomials successfully decomposed complicated geometrical distortions into basic components such as scale, skew, rotation, trapezoid, and quadratic warping. The relationship between geometrical distortions and processing parameters was summarized.