Methods of continuously wet etching a patterned substrate

摘要

Metalized web substrate is wet etched in a reaction vessel by contacting with oxidizing and metal complexing agent to remove metal from unpatterned region. Following etching, substrate is rinsed, and rinse is at least partly recycled. Concentrations of oxidizing and metal complexing agents in the etchant bath are maintained by delivering replenishment feeds of each. Concentration of metal in the etchant bath is maintained by discharging some of the etchant bath. Replenishment rates of oxidizing and metal complexing agents and etchant removal rate are determined based at least in part on rate that metal etched from the substrate enters the etchant bath.

主权项

1. A method of patterning a substrate comprising:
providing a substrate comprising a continuous web having a metalized surface having an etch resist patterned region and an unpatterned region; passing the substrate web through a reaction vessel, wherein the reaction vessel comprisesan etchant bath comprising an oxidizing agent and a metal complexing agent; wet etching the substrate web within the reaction vessel by contacting the metalized surface with the oxidizing and metal complexing agents to remove metal from the unpatterned region; after wet etching the substrate: (i) rinsing the wet etched substrate with a first rinse of water; (ii) collecting the rinse; (iii) recycling at least a portion of the collected rinse to the etchant bath; maintaining the concentrations of the oxidizing and metal complexing agents in the etchant bath by delivering a replenishment feed of each of the oxidizing and metal complexing agents to the etchant bath at a first replenishment feed rate and a second replenishment feed rate, respectively; and maintaining the concentration of the metal in the etchant bath by discharging an amount of the etchant bath from the reaction vessel at an etchant bath removal rate; wherein the first and second replenishment feed rates and the etchant bath removal rate are determined based at least in part on a rate that metal etched from the substrate enters the etchant bath.