Laser‐Controlled Wet Chemical Etching for Corrective Trimming of Thin Films: Application to Aluminum

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Abstract
The localized enhancement of wet chemical etching by focused laser beams for corrective trimming of thin films, and its application to the selective etching of aluminum, are discussed. Since wet etching can proceed rapidly even without irradiation, it is as important to consider methods for reducing background etching as to consider those for enhancing localized etching. The process developed for aluminum etching is based upon moderate local heating to activate a reaction that is normally suppressed by a corrosion inhibitor. Another approach to the reduction of background etching is solution cooling: for the activation energies for typical wet etching, it should be possible to obtain acceptable contrast ratios between laser‐enhanced and background rates over the temperature range within which many concentrated etching solutions are liquid.

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