A Novel Nitric Acid Etchant and Its Application in Manufacturing Fine Lines for PCBs

We have developed a new etching solution for the printed circuit board industry. The primary oxidant of the solution is nitric acid, which reacts with copper coating on the substrate. The other components of the solution are sulfuric acid and additive, which are used to control etching reaction rate and solution´s characteristics. The optimum parameters for the concentrations of nitric acid, sulfuric acid, additive, and the operating temperature were obtained through orthogonal experiment with stagnant etching method. The parameters were then verified by the spray etching experiment in the industrial production line. Then, there are a series of tests, carried out by metallographic slicing tester and scanning electron microscopy to evaluate the quality of copper conductive lines in stagnant and spray etching experiments. compared with conventional cupric chloride etchant, the testing results showed that the nitric acid etchant can manufacture fine lines with lower undercut, better wall sides, with higher etching rate, as well as being more friendly to the environment How the addition of H₂SO₄ influences etching rate and etching mechanism of nitric acid etchant is also discussed.