Influence of Electrolyte Flow Direction on Etching Results in Through-Mask Electrochemical Micromachining

In this contribution, we investigated the impact of the electrolyte flow direction and velocity on etching results, namely homogeneity and anisotropy, in through-mask electrochemical micromachining (TMEMM). The results indicate a strong influence of both, velocity and direction of the electrolyte flow. Whereas the anisotropy is improved by applying an impinging electrolyte flow, homogeneity is worse compared to shearing electrolyte flow. Further improvements of the setup are required to provide more reproducible and homogeneous etching conditions.