About Union Etchants International
Prior to the mid-1940s,
computers and other electronic products used transistors and vacuum tubes to
conduct electricity. The electronics industry then began incorporating
circuitry into smaller and smaller components, such as wafer chips. To
manufacture these chips, chemical etchants are used to create, or etch,
ultra-precise circuitry patterns on ceramic or aluminum substrates. Gold is one
of the metals used on the substrate for circuit chips because it conducts
electricity better than other metals. The quality and uniformity of the etchant
used in the process is critical to ensure minimal waste of materials and
production time.
Union Etchants
International (UEI) manufactures specialty chemicals used in the process of
photo-etching thin film microcircuits and semiconductor applications, chemical
milling micro-components, and other electronic applications. UEI's
sophisticated formulations address the major problems that arise in thin film
processing. UEI's consistent focus on high quality and innovative products has
contributed to their steady growth of 17% to 20% each year.
Robert Union,
president and founder of UEI, has worked in the chemical and electroplating
industry for more than 25 years and knows every aspect of etching, including
automatic spray and manual etching. He was a principal of a custom chemical
facility that manufactured etchants to circuit manufacturers, and in 1979,
bought the company and formed Union Etchants International, Inc.
(UEI).
"Many of our
regular customers were making their own etchants, but once they tried our
product, they realized that it was more cost-efficient to purchase quality
materials from Union Etchants," said Union. "Using our products saved them the
costs associated with mixing small batches of the etchant themselves. They
didn't have to develop this expertise in-house, because using our materials
takes the guesswork out of this complicated and exact process." UEI's customer
list includes some of the leading semiconductor and electronics firms in the
world
Union Etchants
International Products
UEI manufactures high-quality stock iodine-based
gold etching solutions at a competitive cost. Their ready-to-use stock products
include:
- GOLDOUT™ (powder
form) - recovers 99.4% gold from spent etchant.
- AU1 Gold Conductor
Etchant (liquid/powder)-cyanide-free, retains more gold in
solution.
- CR1A Chrome Etchant
(liquid) - etches 35Å in 1 second.
- GaP1 Gallium Phosphide
Etchant(liquid) - increases LED light yield by up to 100% over other
formulations.
- UnionCleaner™ -
biodegradable, environmetally friendly, easy-to-use.
- GoldEX KIT™ -
includes 3 gold-plated metal coupons and sufficient quantities of AU1 Gold
Conductor Etchant and GOLDOUT™ to demonstrate the etching and recovery of
gold.
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Product Line
AU1
Gold
Conductor Etchant
GOLDOUT™
CR1A Chrome
Etchant
GaP1
Gallium Phosphide Etchant
UEI's GoldEX
KitT™
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