Method for implementing non-destructive quality control of substrates and printed biological microarrays

A method for implementing non-destructive quality control of substrates for receiving microarray features of biological microarrays in an automated machine vision system, said method comprising the steps of:

• creating a layer of condensate droplets of a chemically inert water-soluble liquid on a surface of a substrate under inspection;
• said condensate droplets being densely spaced droplets having an average size substantially less than the microarray features;
• said layer of condensate droplets affecting both transmission and scattering of light on the surface;
• said layer of said condensate droplets of said chemically inert water-soluble liquid evaporating without any residue;
• illuminating said surface of said substrate under inspection;
• detecting an image of said illuminated surface of said substrate under inspection;
• and
• identifying a pattern of condensate droplets from said detected image of said surface of said substrate under inspection, said pattern characterized by spatial distribution, average size of the droplets and spacing between the droplets, reflecting variation in wetting properties of the substrate;
• and utilizing said identified pattern with the automated machine vision system for visually detecting an area indicating presence of undesirable variation of wettability and rejecting said substrate under inspection, responsive to detecting the area indicating presence of undesirable variation of wettability.