Guide to UV Measurement
Components of a UV Source
The four basic components of any UV source are:
Together, they work together to generate and deliver the photons that are absorbed by the photoinitiator to initiate the reaction. In a UV process, the photons must be considered as a reagent, as important as the chemistry. If they are too few or too many, if they are added too fast or too slow, or if they are in the wrong spectral region to be absorbed by the photoinitiator, the chemistry may not cure correctly. Thus, understanding the various source options is important when developing a robust UV process. This is also a fundamental reason why measurement of the UV energy is so critical to good process control.