Photo Etching

Often a term used interchangeably with chemical milling or chemical etching. However photo etching has its origins in Optical lithography. This is a process used in microfabrication to selectively remove parts of a thin film or the bulk of a substrate. It uses UV light to transfer a geometric pattern from a photo mask to a light-sensitive chemical photo resist, or simply “resist,” on the substrate.

A series of chemical treatments then engraves the exposure pattern into the material underneath the photo resist. For this process to be successful one requires extremely clean operating conditions, otherwise the bond between the metal sheet and the photo resist will be very weak. Full details of the photo etching process can be viewed on our Process Tour.

Optical lithography shares some fundamental principles with photography in that, the pattern in the etching resist is created by exposing it to light, either using a projected image or an optical mask. This procedure is comparable to a high precision version of the method used to make printed circuit boards. Subsequent stages in the process have more in common with etching than to lithographic printing. It is used because it provides exact control over the shape and size of the objects it creates, and because it can create patterns over an entire surface simultaneously.

There are many advantages to the photo etching process, these benefits range from high accuracy and burr free components to low cost tooling and fast turnarounds. For more please see the Benefits page.

There is a phrase often associated with Photofabrication and photo etching, “If you can draw it, we can make it”. This is usually the case, however before drawing your requirement it would be worth reading our page on Photo Etching – Design Guidelines first.

If you think this process can benefit you, please contact us or telephone 01480 226699.