Chemical Etching

Hermetic Solutions Group uses a chemical etching process, in the production of hermetic packaging lid components where it is necessary to ensure that tight dimensional tolerances are maintained. The chemical milling technique used for etching results in a profile, ideal for seam sealing, and provides a part free from burs and residual stress.

The process, which has been used to manufacture commercial parts for decades, involves submersing the areas to be cut on a work-piece in a corrosive chemical known as an etchant, which reacts with the material in the area to be cut and causes the solid material to be dissolved; inert substances known as maskants are used to protect specific areas of the material. Common etchants for aluminum include sodium hydroxide and Keller’s reagent. Steels typically require solutions like hydrochloric or nitric acids while ferric chloride is used to etch stainless steel.

We chemically etch Kovar, cold rolled steel and stainless steel to form stepped hermetic package lids which will ultimately be seam sealed to a hermetic package.

Our etched lids are often then plated in-house and may also have of our getter solutions attached to help maintain the atmosphere purity once the hermetic package is sealed.