Manufacturing of Tungsten Micro-tools by Electrochemical Etching: Study of the Electrical Parameters

Abstract

Introduction: This paper aims to fabricate the high aspect ratio tungsten micro-tools with diameters up to 80µm by electrochemical etching. This process is simple and easy to develop, but it requires a deep study to achieve the fabrication of micro-tools with a diameter of 5 µm. Methods: This paper aims to fabricate the high aspect ratio tungsten micro-tools with diameters up to 80μm by electrochemical etching. This process is simple and easy to develop, but it requires a deep study to achieve the fabrication of micro-tools with a diameter of 5 μm Results: The experiments show that VON = 0.5 V leads to satisfactory results (validation of the reproducibility, homogeneous etching, and fabrication of micro-tools with a diameter of 80 μm with an initial tungsten wire diameter of 250 μm) by applying an etching charge of 13 C. Voltages VON = 0.1 V and VON = 1 V does not ensure homogeneous etching. A rest phase TOFF = 3 s allows obtaining micro- tools with a diameter of 80 μm in 7 min. For a rest phase of TOFF = 9 s, the etching takes 20 min and the micro-tool diameter is almost the same. Conclusion: The results of this study will be used in the manufacture of cylindrical micro-tools with a high aspect ratio Fc > 100.