U.S. patent application number 13/611594 was filed with the patent office on 2013-01-10 for aluminum etchant.
This patent application is currently assigned to SECURITAG ASSEMBLY GROUP CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Tien-Huat Gan, Chun-Han Wu.
Application Number | 20130009090 13/611594 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47438076 |
Filed Date | 2013-01-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130009090 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wu; Chun-Han ; et
al. |
January 10, 2013 |
Aluminum Etchant
Abstract
An aluminum etchant includes 3-30 wt % of hydrochloric acid,
4-20 wt % of sulfuric acid, 1-5 wt % of oxidizing agent, 0.5-2 wt %
of surfactant, and water for the rest. The etchant can produce
circuits of 200-25 .mu.m wide on an aluminum foil or aluminum
plate. The circuit has good quality. Therefore, the invention is
suitable for miniaturized products that require higher
precision.
Inventors: |
Wu; Chun-Han; (Longtan
Township, TW) ; Gan; Tien-Huat; (Taipei City,
TW) |
Assignee: |
SECURITAG ASSEMBLY GROUP CO.,
LTD.
Taichung
TW
|
Family ID: |
47438076 |
Appl. No.: |
13/611594 |
Filed: |
September 12, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12942974 |
Nov 9, 2010 |
|
|
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13611594 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
252/79.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C23F 1/02 20130101; C23F
1/20 20130101; H05K 3/067 20130101; C09K 13/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
252/79.2 |
International
Class: |
C23F 1/20 20060101
C23F001/20 |
Claims
1. An etchant for aluminum with a thickness between 5 and 40 .mu.m,
comprising 3-20 wt % of hydrochloric acid, 4-20 wt % of sulfuric
acid, 1-5 wt % of oxidizing agent, 0.5-2 wt % of the surfactant,
and water for the rest, wherein the oxidizing agent enables the
aluminum to rapidly for an oxide layer, the etchant removes the
oxide layer, the surfactant functions to disallow hydrogen bubbles
generated due to the chemical reactions to adhere onto the aluminum
so that the etching path is not blocked by hydrogen bubbles, and
the etching rate reaches 10-30 .mu.m per minute while the etched
lines have a line width within 200-25 .mu.m wide.
2. An etchant for aluminum with a thickness between 5 and 40 .mu.m,
comprising 1-20 wt % of hydrochloric acid, 10-50 wt % of phosphoric
acid, 1-5 wt % of oxidizing agent, 0.5-2 wt % of the surfactant,
and water for the rest, wherein the oxidizing agent enables the
aluminum to rapidly for an oxide layer, the etchant removes the
oxide layer, the surfactant functions to disallow hydrogen bubbles
generated due to the chemical reactions to adhere onto the aluminum
so that the etching path is not blocked by hydrogen bubbles, and
the etching rate reaches 10-30 .mu.m per minute while the etched
lines have a line width within 200-25 .mu.m wide.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a Continuation-In-Part application of
Ser. No. 12/942, 974 filed on Nov. 09, 2010 and entitled "Aluminum
Etchant", now pending
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of Invention
[0003] The invention relates to an aluminum etchant and, in
particular, to an etchant for aluminum foils or plates to render
thin wires with high precision.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] Generally speaking, there are many ways to make RFID
antennas. One method is etching. The required circuit pattern is
produced by etching a copper foil or aluminum foil attached on a
substrate such as PET or PI.
[0006] Currently, RFID manufacturers include Novatron, Savcor, and
Shanghai Inlay. Their respective products are shown in FIGS. 3A and
3B, FIGS. 4A and 4B, and FIGS. 5A and 5B. Both sides of the wire in
their products apparently are irregular and even rough. According
to the scale in the figures, the wire width is about a few hundred
.mu.m, which is not suitable for compact devices.
[0007] FIGS. 6A and 6B show the results of using hydrochloric acid
as the etchant. The wires are obviously rough and wide. FIGS. 7A
and 7B and FIGS. 8A and 8B show the results of using copper
chloride and sulfuric acid as the etchants, respectively. In
generally, even though using these etchants for etching can produce
thinner wires, sometimes there are still some breaks, as shown in
FIGS. 6A and 7A. Or there is the problem of huge variation in width
or high roughness, which is more apparent in FIGS. 6B and 7B. When
the wire is too narrow, it may break and affects the signal
quality. If the wire is too wide, then it is likely to touch
adjacent circuits, also affecting the signal quality. Therefore,
even if it is possible to etch thin wires, the quality is not good
enough to avoid breaking or open circuits. It is still difficult to
apply the existing techniques to most products.
[0008] Besides, aluminum etching is usually done by printing. The
printing techniques include screen printing, intaglio printing, and
flexographic printing. An anti-etching layer formed by photoresist
ink directly prints a pattern on the surface of an aluminum foil.
The thickness of the printing layer can be 5-25 .mu.m. However,
various printing processes have different effects on the printed
pattern profile due to different printing qualities. Therefore,
there may be such problems as breaking, open circuit, wire width
stability, and edge roughness. After the printing is finished,
places not covered by the anti-etching layer are processed using
chemical wet etching. The etching chemical agent then continuously
diffuses and reacts with aluminum.
[0009] In addition to printing, one can also make use of the
optical lithography to define the pattern. This technique covers
the anti-etching layer on an aluminum foil by coating a wet film or
attaching a dry film, followed by the image transfer through
exposure. This image transfer can render better graphic resolution
and quality than printing. After the exposure defines the pattern,
unprotected parts are removed by development. The developer can be
Na.sub.2CO.sub.3, NaOH or K.sub.2CO.sub.3 0.2-5.0%. The chemical
wet etching procedure follows the removal, and the stripping
procedure goes afterwards. The production is finished after the
anti-etching layer is removed.
[0010] Currently, there are many obstacles in aluminum etching. It
is extremely difficult to achieve the same quality and
specification as copper wires. Although good quality can be
obtained using dry gas etching in semiconductor manufacturing
processes, the procedure and equipment are very expensive.
Moreover, line widths in the range of 200-25 .mu.m cannot be
achieved through other methods.
[0011] Since aluminum is an amphoteric element in group 3A, it
reacts in both acidic and alkaline conditions. It can be easily
oxidized because of a low oxidation potential. The produced
aluminum oxide is chemically stable for protecting aluminum.
Nonetheless, this causes a difficulty in etching aluminum. Under a
strong acidic or alkaline condition, the nonuniform rate of
oxidation on the aluminum surface and the produced oxides result in
cavitation in aluminum while etching. Moreover, the etching process
also produces a large amount of hydrogen bubbles. These are reasons
why one often obtains saw-like edges in aluminum etching. The
etching effect is usually bad when the line width is smaller than
200 .mu.m, so that the aluminum line edge is often irregular, thus
affecting the circuit quality. Adding an active agent, on the other
hand, usually produce black edges or abnormal shapes. When using
hydrochloric acid as the base to make various kinds of etchants,
there is the problem of sticking photoresist ink as the pH value
gets too low, reducing circuit quality. Using etchants based on
NaOH, one often encounters over-etching or floating films. These
are the problems commonly seen in aluminum etching.
[0012] In the trend of compactifying modern electronics, the
above-mentioned etching method for manufacturing RFID antennas has
encountered some problems. That is, for smaller and high precision
antenna designs, the current etching techniques are insufficient.
It is therefore highly desirable to improve the method in order to
make even smaller RFID antennas.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] An objective of the invention is to solve the
above-mentioned problems by providing an aluminum etchant, in order
to perform high precision (200-25 .mu.m line width) etching on
aluminum. The circuit thus obtained has better quality. Using the
invention, the RFID antenna can have a smaller size that is
suitable for compact devices.
[0014] To achieve the above-mentioned objective, the disclosed
etchant is used on aluminum with a thickness between 5 and 40
.mu.m, while maintaining a line width between 200 and 25 .mu.m. It
comprises 3-20 wt % of hydrochloric acid, 4-20 wt % of sulfuric
acid, 1-5 wt % of oxidizing agent, 0.5-2 wt % of the surfactant,
and water for the rest. The function of the surfactant is such that
the hydrogen bubbles produced by the etchant due to chemical
reactions do not adhere to the aluminum. The etching path is not
blocked by hydrogen bubbles. The etching rate can reach 10-30 um
per minute. The etched lines have a line width between 200 and 25
.mu.m.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] These and other features, aspects and advantages of the
invention will become apparent by reference to the following
description and accompanying drawings which are given by way of
illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the invention,
and wherein:
[0016] FIG. 1A is a photo of using the disclosed etchant in one
composition to etch aluminum;
[0017] FIG. 1B is a magnified view of FIG. 1A;
[0018] FIG. 2A is a photo of using the disclosed etchant in another
composition to etch aluminum;
[0019] FIG. 2B is a magnified view of FIG. 2A;
[0020] FIG. 2C is a schematic view of forming aluminum oxide on the
aluminum surface by etching;
[0021] FIG. 2D is a schematic view of the etching path being
blocked by a hydrogen bubble;
[0022] FIG. 3A is a view of a Novatron's RFID product under a
microscope;
[0023] FIG. 3B is another view of a Novatron's RFID product under a
microscope;
[0024] FIG. 4A is a view of a Savcor's RFID product under a
microscope;
[0025] FIG. 4B is another view of a Savcor's RFID product under a
microscope;
[0026] FIG. 5A is a view of a Shanghai Inlay's RFID product under a
microscope;
[0027] FIG. 5B is another view of a Shanghai Inlay's RFID product
under a microscope;
[0028] FIG. 6A is a photo of using hydrochloric acid to etch
aluminum in the prior art;
[0029] FIG. 6B is another photo of using hydrochloric acid to etch
aluminum in the prior art;
[0030] FIG. 7A is a photo of using copper chloride to etch aluminum
in the prior art;
[0031] FIG. 7B is another photo of using copper chloride to etch
aluminum in the prior art;
[0032] FIG. 8A is a photo of using sulfuric acid to etch aluminum
in the prior art;
[0033] and
[0034] FIG. 8B is another photo of using sulfuric acid to etch
aluminum in the prior art.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0035] The present invention will be apparent from the following
detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the
accompanying drawings, wherein the same references relate to the
same elements.
[0036] Please refer to FIGS. 1A to 2B for embodiments of the
invention. The following describes the first composition of the
disclosed aluminum etchant. The aluminum etched by the disclosed
etchant may be an aluminum foil or plate, of a thickness between 5
and 40 .mu.m. The line width of the etched lines is maintained
between 200 and 25 .mu.m. This produces the desired RFID antenna,
i.e. the antenna with the RF technology. The etchant comprises 3-20
wt % hydrochloric acid (HCl), 4-20 wt % of sulfuric acid
(H.sub.2SO.sub.4), 1-5 wt % of oxidizing agent, 0.5-2 wt% of
surfactant, and water for the rest.
[0037] Besides, the invention adopts the printed circuit board
(PCB) method (i.e., steps of photoresist coating, exposure,
development, etching, and photoresist removal) to etch an RFID
antenna circuit. In other words, a pattern for the RFID antenna is
first defined on photoresist through exposure and development,
followed by etching with the disclosed etchant. The following lists
steps before and after etching according to the invention.
[0038] Photoresist coating: [0039] 1. Use positive or negative, UV
sensitive liquid photoresist designed particularly for the
horizontal type roller coater. It is suitable for PCB etching, and
has superior resolution and adhesion for preparing high precision
PCB's. [0040] 2. Chemical composition: photosensitive acrylic
resins. [0041] 3. Diluting agent: Propylene Glycol Methyl Ether
Acetate (PMA). [0042] 4. Coating viscosity: 2,000.+-.300 cps
(25.degree. C., B-type viscosity meter, probe no. 3). [0043] 5.
Solid content: 39.+-.2%. [0044] 6. Manufacturing conditions: speed
3.5 m/min. [0045] (1) Upper pressure 1.2 kg/cm.sup.2, lower
pressure 1.0 kg/cm.sup.2. [0046] (2) Upper pressure 1.2
kg/cm.sup.2, lower pressure 1.5 kg/cm.sup.2.
[0047] Exposure: [0048] 1. High-pressure mercury lamp 5 KW/7 KW.
[0049] 2. Parallel light source or random light source. Different
optical energies affect the exposure time and pattern
resolution.
[0050] Development: [0051] 1. Developer: Na2CO3/NaOH/K2CO3
0.2.about.5.0%. [0052] 2. Temperature: 26.about.50.degree. C.
[0053] 3. Pressure: 0.6.about.2.5 Kg/cm.sup.2. [0054] 4. Developing
time: 25.about.60 sec.
[0055] Etching:
[0056] Use hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, oxidizing agent and
surfactant for etching. One can control the characteristics and
proportion of the oxidizing agent and surfactant so that lines with
a line width between 200 and 25 .mu.m can still have good quality
and performance. The etching rate can reach 10-30 .mu.m per
minute.
[0057] Photoresist removal: [0058] 1. Remove photoresist ink after
etching. [0059] 2. Stripping solution: NaOH 1.about.6%. [0060] 3.
Temperature 35.about.50.degree. C. . [0061] 4. Stripping time
20.about.60 sec.
[0062] Furthermore, based on the above-mentioned process,
experiments are done using three different sets of numbers, as
given in Table 1.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 HCl/H.sub.2SO.sub.4/oxidizing agent/ No.
surfactant (wt %) 1 6/19.2/2/1 2 12/12.5/3/1.5 3 20/5.5/1.5/0.5
Water for the rest to make up 100 wt %
[0063] The use of the oxidizing agent mainly enables aluminum A to
rapidly form aluminum oxide O on the surface. When the portion P of
the aluminum A uncoated with photoresist is etched, the etchant can
remove layer by layer the aluminum oxide O formed during the
etching process on aluminum A (as shown in FIG. 2C). This increases
the etching rate. After etching is done, the oxidizing agent
further enables the aluminum A to rapidly generate aluminum oxide O
to protect the surface of the aluminum A. Besides, the portion P of
the aluminum A uncoated with photoresist is etched, the etched part
has hydrogen bubbles B adhered thereon due to the chemical
reactions of the etchant (FIG. 2D). The original etching path R is
blocked, so that the etchant etches into the sides of the original
etching path R. Therefore, the line width cannot be maintained
between 200 and 25 .mu.m. Consequently, the surfactant is added
into the composition of the etchant, so that the hydrogen bubbles B
do not adhere onto the aluminum A. Thus, the etching path is not
blocked by the hydrogen bubbles B. The etching rate can reach 10-30
um per minute, while maintaining the line width at 200-25
.mu.m.
[0064] Using these proportions, one can generally obtain lines
shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, where the line width is about a few tens
of .mu.m. It is observed that both sides of the lines are smoother.
The variation in line width is not large. And there is no break in
the lines.
[0065] A second composition of the disclosed etchant comprises 1-20
wt % hydrochloric acid (HCl), 10-50 wt % phosphoric acid
(H.sub.3PO.sub.4), 1-5 wt % of oxidizing agent, 0.5-2 wt % of
surfactant, and water for the rest.
[0066] As shown in Table 2, four different sets of numbers are used
in experiments.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 HCl/H.sub.3PO.sub.4/oxidizing agent/ No.
surfactant (wt %) 1 4/49/5/1 2 11/40/2/1.5 3 18.7/32/1/1 4
15.1/45/3/1.5 Water for the rest to make up 100 wt %
[0067] Likewise, the composition of the second etchant also
contains the oxidizing agent and surfactant to achieve the same
effects as the first etchant. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the
second etchant can also produce good lines of width a few tens of
.mu.m from etching. Again, both sides of the lines are smoother.
The variation in line width is not large. And there is no break in
the lines.
[0068] In summary, the new etchant disclosed herein can produce
smaller line widths (e.g., 200-25 .mu.m) on aluminum foils or
aluminum plates. Moreover, the line quality thus obtained is much
better than the prior art. There is no break or over-roughness. The
width of line is generally uniform. Therefore, the disclosed
etchant can be used to manufacture smaller, high precision RFID
antennas for compact electronic devices.
[0069] The above-mentioned method of making aluminum circuit
patterns can be applied to coiling soft circuits, electrodes, or
other aluminum conductors. Utilizing the metal properties of
aluminum, the aluminum foil can be attached to various soft
substrates, such as PET and PI. Taking the aluminum foil as an
example, its thickness ranges from 5 .mu.m to 40 .mu.m. The
substrate thickness can go from 18 .mu.m to 125 .mu.m. The
manufacturing process includes the roll-to-roll process, and uses
the lithography or printing technique to define the required
pattern.
[0070] Although the invention has been described with reference to
specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed
in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed
embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments, will be apparent
to people skilled in the art. Therefore, it is contemplated that
the appended claims will cover all modifications that fall within
the true scope of the invention.
* * * * *