Plastic micromachining assisted by ultraviolet illumination

A novel ultra-violet assisted micro-machining technique is presented in which the etching of Poly-Ethylene-Terephthalate substrates is anisotropic in the direction of light illumination in a Di-Methyl-Formamide solution. The effects of solution temperature and light intensity have been studied. An average etch rate of 10 /spl mu/m/hr is achieved with insignificant mask undercut.