System for Visualizing Surface Potential Distribution to Eliminate Electrostatic Charge

A mixture of positive and negative static charges exists in the same plane on an insulator surface, and this can cause production quality problems at manufacturing sites. This study developed a system with a vibration array sensor to rapidly measure the surface potential distribution of an object in a non-contact and non-destructive manner and with a high spatial resolution of 1 mm. The measurement accuracy differed greatly depending on the scanning speed of the array sensor, and an optimum scanning speed of 10 mm/s enabled rapid measurements (within <3 s) of the surface potential distribution of a charged insulator (area of 30 mm × 30 mm) with an accuracy of 15%. The relationship between charge and dust on the surface was clarified to easily visualize the uneven static charges present on it and thereby eliminate static electricity.