Bulk etching rate of polycarbonate.

Abstract

The bulk etching rate of polycarbonate during chemical and electrochemical etching was measured for two kinds of polycarbonate foils, Makrofol and Iupilon, at various etching temperatures from 20 to 40C. The etching rate of polycarbonate could be determined by weight measurements with sufficient accuracy since no water was absorbed in polycarbonate. The chemical bulk etching rates obtained for Makrofol and Iupilon at 20C were 1.78 and 1.69gm/h, respectively. The corresponding electrochemical bulk etching rates were 1.86 and 1.89um/h, respectively. Fairly small difference in the bulk etching rates was found between chemical and electrochemical etching as well as between Makrofol and Iupilon. The activation energy evaluated from the present experiments was 0.55eV for polycarbonate, which was lower than that for allyl diglycol car-bonate (CR-39).