Hi Albert,

I don't have a complete answer for you but in my normal keep-it-simple
methodology, could you not take your copper surfaced control board, mask
areas or patterns (stripes or checkerboard for example) on the surface, then
etch.  When you de-mask,   you will have adjacent hi/low surfaces that can
be compared.

Just a thought.

Ralph Vaughan
Boeing-Atlanta

> ----------
> From:         Albert Mok[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Reply To:     TechNet E-Mail Forum.;Albert Mok
> Sent:         Thursday, April 22, 1999 4:40 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      [TN] Microetch depth measurement
>
> Dear technetters, good morning,
>
> Many board shops required microetch process, which is normal the
> pretreatment/pre-cleaning of copper surface prior to subsequent chemical
> processes. We have to control the etch depth, either from the spray
> system,
> or the batch wise bath from autoplating line.  The desired etch depth
> varies from process for process but ranging from 20-50 microinch.
>
> We are using one sq. ft. bare board for the etch testing so that the etch
> depth is calculated when we based on the fact that 1 microinch is 0.02g of
> copper for one side.
>
> We hope to collect ideas or  to gain your experience for getting this
> results more wisely.  We tried of weighing the board, etch, clean and
> weigh
> it again.  We are thinking to make some tools for this test so as to make
> the control more easily. We hope to plate copper at a control thickness of
> 30 microinch and use this as a specimen for the control test or to find a
> way telling the etch depth by co-relation.  We cannot consider the etch
> chemicals condition since the batch wise and spray application are two
> extremes.
>
> Please kindly offer your ideas and chat.
>
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