Chemical Etching Formula
Ni200 pure nickel
with FeCl₃+HCl
Formula Summary
The table below summarizes every parameter that defines this etching formula. Values listed as ranges scale with sheet thickness across the supported band.
Why FeCl₃+HCl for Ni200 pure nickel?
On Ni200 pure nickel, the ferric chloride system attacks the alloy's oxide layer continuously while ferric ions drive dissolution. It is regenerable, compatible with standard photolithography, and produces clean burr-free edges — which is why nearly every Ni200 pure nickel etch line runs a variant of this formula.
Process Window & Bath Control
Hold the bath at 50°C with concentration 44 °Bé (specific gravity 1.410). Across the 0.01 mm thickness range, conveyor speed runs from 68.04 m/min — thinner sheets move faster, thicker sheets slower, in roughly inverse proportion to thickness. A typical mid-range setpoint is 68.04 m/min for 0.01 mm stock. Use redundant PID temperature control to hold the bath within ±1.5°C, and titrate at least once per shift.
Design Rules & Tolerances
Design rules for this recipe: hole diameter 8 μm, line width 100 μm, single-side undercut 1 μm — all as a function of thickness across 0.01 mm. The higher the etch factor (this formula holds about 2.78), the tighter the achievable tolerance. Below the minimum feature sizes, yield falls off steeply, so treat those numbers as hard floors rather than targets.
• Minimum hole diameter range: 8 μm
• Minimum line width range: 100 μm
• Single-side undercut range: 1 μm
• Typical etch factor (EF): 2.78
Yield & Production Economics
Typical mass-production yield for Ni200 pure nickel in the FeCl₃+HCl system is 97.0%, within an observed range of 97%. The dominant yield-loss modes are photoresist pinhole defects and rinse-water contamination. Improving incoming sheet quality and photoresist coating consistency gives the highest yield-improvement leverage for this formula.
Typical Applications
Typical applications for Ni200 pure nickel processed with FeCl₃+HCl include battery tab interconnects, fuel-cell components, and corrosion-resistant masks. The formula's tolerance band and yield make it well suited to medium-to-high-volume precision flat parts.
Process Equipment & Material Reference
This Ni200 pure nickel formula is part of the standard process library running on our wet chemical etching machine. The same chemistry can be ported to any horizontal spray-etching line of comparable nozzle layout and bath-titration discipline.
Related to this formula, the Nickel chemical etching guide page documents the full process envelope for the same alloy family, including pre-treatment chemistry and post-etch inspection criteria.
Production Use Cases for This Formula
Across the markets we serve, the FeCl₃+HCl formula on this page is most often deployed for high-precision etched lead frames, mobile-phone earpiece mesh, and custom thin-film heating elements. These applications share thin-feature geometries that benefit from the predictable etch factor near 2.78 and the low single-side undercut documented above.
Designs that sit slightly outside this thickness or feature-size envelope are usually addressable by a sister formula in the same etchant family. The bath chemistry stays the same; the tuning shifts to conveyor speed and resist choice.
More Pure Nickel Formulas
Other formulas in the same material family.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & References
- ASTM E407: Standard Practice for Microetching Metals and Alloys
- ASTM B912: Standard Specification for Passivation of Stainless Steels
- Photo Chemical Machining Institute — process capability guidelines
- NIST Engineering Statistics Handbook — process tolerance and capability
Standards are referenced for context. Always confirm parameters against the current published edition and your own process validation.
Need a Quote for This Process?
WET Etched runs production wet chemical etching lines using the FeCl₃+HCl chemistry. Send us your part drawing and quantity for a full process quote.