The Effect of FC38 and FC34 as Etching Solutions on Multilayer PCB

Etching is one of the processes in manufacturing a multilayer PCB. It is a crucial process in which certain metal parts on the multilayer PCB are removed by using particular chemicals. However, this process can cause over-etching or loss of certain multilayer PCB lines, which is definitely unexpected in the manufacturing process of PCB. Based on this problem, this research aims to study the concentrations of the etching solutions applied in the etching process of the multilayer PCB lines. Specifically, the authors conduct a study on the use of Ferric Chloride 38 wt% (FC38) and Ferric Chloride 34 wt% (FC34) as chemical solutions applied. Results show that the highest error value percentage of FC38 at 6 minutes is on line 0.2 mm and the highest error value percentage of FC38 at 14 minutes is on line 0.5 mm. Meanwhile, the highest error value percentage of FC34 at 6 minutes is on line 0.2 mm and the the highest error value percentage of FC34 at 14 minutes is on line 0.1 mm. Furthermore, clearance values of all PCB lines due to the use of FC38 and FC34 are not sufficient to meet the Altium software recommendation.