Investigation on chemical etching process of FPCB with 18 μm line pitch

Abstract

Flexible printed circuit boards (FPCB) are widely used in smart devices with high wiring density and light weight. In this paper, the chemical etching process of FPCB with 18 μm line pitch is investigated. A geometric model of the FPCB circuit with the shape of ``T'' is established and simulated by the finite element method. The time evolution of the etching cavity, concentration field and velocity field of CuCl2 solution are studied, as well as the effects of initial concentrations and inlet velocities on the etching cavity profile. Finally, the FPCB sample with 18 μm line pitch is successfully fabricated by employing process parameters from the etching simulation. The results show that as the increase in the etching cavity, recirculating eddies form at the bottom of the photoresist in the corners of the etching cavity, resulting in more etching on the top sides of sidewalls over time. Higher initial concentration of the etching solution will result in a larger etching cavity profile, but the inlet velocity cannot affect the etching cavity profile significantly. Finally, the effectiveness of the simulation model is verified by comparing the etching cavity profiles with four experiments.