acceptable quality level (AQL)

The Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) is a quality rating for electronic components and printed circuit boards.

The AQL indicates the percentage of bad components or printed circuit boards in a delivery lot that do not meet the required quality standard. The AQL value can be expressed as a percentage or in partsper million( ppm). It can refer to all or specific electrical characteristics or mechanical dimensions that are not met by the products in the delivery lot.

Acceptance Quality Level (AQL) is defined under ISO 2589-1:1999 as a sampling method for component inspection. This can be applied to components, PCB materials and PCBs and is a key figure for evaluating quality optimization in PCB development.