Wet Etching of Glass and Protective Coatings Used in the Process

Surface etching technique is commonly used for industrial decoration of glasses. Hydrofluoric acid (HF) solutions or pastes, pure or mixed with other chemicals, are employed as strong corrosive agents to engrave chemically the glass surface. In the wet etching method protective layers as masks are required extensively to prevent the flow of corrosive liquids to undesired regions. Here, in this study, the corrosive etching technique on different surfaces, and the corresponding processes with their required tools are introduced. In continuation, the mask property requirements are discussed. They include topics such as; interfacial adhesion, and chemical resistances properties to acid and corrosive paste, relevant glass masking techniques, uniformity of the mask film and mask removal or the dissolution by appropriate solvents. Lastly, conventional protective coatings in wet etching of glass are introduced.