Aluminum etchants are proprietary ratios of high purity nitric acid, phosphoric acid, acetic acid and water. Nitric acid works to oxidize the aluminum surface, phosphoric acid dissolves the aluminum oxides and acetic acid acts as an acidic wetting agent. Surfactants are also used in Aluminum Etchants to help with wetting the substrate.
Aluminum Etchant Production
Aluminum etch blends are manufactured under highly controlled and monitored conditions at Columbus Chemical Industries (CCI) for supply to the semiconductor market. Our controlled manufacturing environments and packaging cells allow us to maintain the quality of the high purity acid and surfactant components throughout the process, ensuring consistency and solid performance across all lots of the same formula.
CCI produces high purity deionized water (DI Water) in both our Phoenix, AZ and Columbus, WI facilities for use in our aluminum etchant blending. Both facilities regularly test to >17.5 megohm in conductivity, contributing to maintaining the purity of the raw materials used through to packaging of the aluminum etchant.
CCI specializes in both common and customized aluminum etchant specifications. Each lot of raw material used, and each batch of chemical etchant produced is tested per its set specification. SPC tracking options are also available for highly sensitive applications.
As specifications require, CCI also provides product filtering with particle count testing to ensure particles are below required thresholds.
Premixed Aluminum Etchant Benefits
There are many benefits in having aluminum etchants premixed:
- Consistency across all lots of aluminum etchant
- Higher reproducibility
- Batch testing cost reduction
- Impurity levels guaranteed below set specifications
- Convenience of having a ready to use aluminum etchant
- Minimize handling of hazardous highly concentrated acids
- Minimize storing hazardous raw materials onsite
- Elimination of need for mixing vessels/equipment
- Limiting shipments of hazmat materials from multiple vendors
CCI also provides warehousing and inventory management options for chemical etchants. This allows the economic benefits of large scale batch sizing, while providing the convenience of delivery volumes based on your storage and usage requirements, ready to ship when needed from WI or AZ.
Contact CCI to discuss your etchant needs today
