A one-step process for mask-free wet etching of hard and flexible Indium Tin Oxide substrates at the micron scale has been developed by scientists in France. The process is quick and provides an inexpensive way to create patterns with micrometre-size insulating areas without altering the electrical and optical properties of the entire substrate the team say.
The method developed by Julienne Charlier and co-workers uses the probe of a scanning electrochemical microscope to generate a micrometric source of oxidizing agents in an aqueous acid solution. This electrochemical wet-lithographic process preserves the electrical and optical properties of the un-etched part of the remaining ITO film.
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