What is metal etching?
Etching is a technique that uses chemical strong acid etching, mechanical polishing or electrochemical electrolysis to treat the surface of objects. Apart from enhancing the aesthetics, it also increases the added value of the object. From traditional metal processing to high-tech semiconductor manufacturing, etching technology is within the scope of application.
Metal etching is a technique for removing metallic materials through chemical reaction or physical shock. Metal etching techniques can be divided into wet etching and dry etching. Metal etching consists of a series of chemical processes. Different etchants have different corrosion properties and strengths on different metal materials.
Metal etching, also known as photochemical etching, refers to the removal of the protective film in the metal etching area after exposure, plate making, development, and contact with chemical solutions during the metal etching process to achieve dissolution corrosion, formation of bumps, or hollowing out. It was first used to manufacture printed embossed plates such as copper plates and zinc plates, and was widely used to reduce the weight of instrument panels, or to process thin workpieces such as nameplates. After the continuous improvement of technology and process equipment, etching technology has been applied to aviation, machinery, chemical industry, semiconductor manufacturing process, and the processing of precision metal etching products of electronic thin parts.
Types of Etching Techniques
Wet etching:
Wet etching is to immerse the wafer in a suitable chemical solution, or spray the chemical solution onto the wafer for quenching, and remove atoms on the surface of the film through the chemical reaction between the solution and the object to be etched, so as to achieve the purpose of etching. Carry out wet etching During etching, the reactants in the solution first diffuse through the stagnant boundary layer and then reach the surface of the wafer, where chemical reactions occur to produce various products. The products of the etching chemistry are liquid or gas phase products, which then diffuse through the boundary layer and dissolve into the main solution. Wet etching will not only etch in the vertical direction, but also have a horizontal etching effect.
Dry etching:
Dry etching is usually a type of plasma etching or chemical etching. Due to the different etching effects, the physical atoms of the ions in the plasma, the chemical reactions of reactive radicals, and the surface atoms of the device (wafer), or a combination of the two, include the following:
Physical etching: sputter etching, ion beam etching
Chemical Etching: Plasma Etching
Physicochemical Compound Etching: Reactive Ion Etching (RIE)
Dry etching is an anisotropic etching with good directionality but less selectivity than wet etching. In plasma etching, plasma is a partially dissociated gas, and gas molecules are dissociated into electrons, ions, and other species with high chemical activity. The biggest advantage of dry etching is “anisotropic etching”. However, (radical) dry etching is less selective than wet etching. This is because the etching mechanism of dry etching is physical interaction; therefore, the impact of ions can remove not only the etched film but also the photoresist mask.
Cheersonic is the leading developer and manufacturer of ultrasonic coating systems for applying precise, thin film coatings to protect, strengthen or smooth surfaces on parts and components for the microelectronics/electronics, alternative energy, medical and industrial markets, including specialized glass applications in construction and automotive.
