What is Roll-to-roll (R2R) etching

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ZYH etching company's Roll-to-roll (R2R) etching (also reel-to-reel) is a continuous, high-throughput chemical etching process for flexible rolled substrates (metal foils, polymer films, flexible circuits) — it unrolls raw stock, runs it through a full inline photochemical etch line, and rewinds finished parts, no batch handling.

Core Definition & Principle

It’s continuous chemical milling on a web:

  • Substrate: Thin, flexible rolls (Cu, stainless steel, Al, nickel alloys, PI film; 0.02–2 mm typical)

  • Process: Unwind → clean → coat photoresist → expose/develop → etch → rinse → strip resist → dry → rewind

  • Etch mode: Usually wet chemical spray/immersion (isotropic) for metals; can also do R2R plasma etching for polymers/oxides

Full Process Flow (Inline)

  1. Unwind & web handling: Tension-controlled feeding of the coil

  2. Cleaning: Degrease, oxide removal (acid/alkaline baths)

  3. Photoresist coating: Roll-to-roll lamination or spray of dry/wet film resist

  4. Exposure & development: UV exposure (contact/laser) + developer to open etch windows

  5. Etching: Spray/immersion in etchant (e.g., FeCl₃ for steel, HNO₃ for Cu)

  6. Rinsing & neutralization: Stop etch, remove residual chemicals

  7. Resist stripping: Remove remaining maskant

  8. Drying & inspection: Inline quality check

  9. Rewind: Collect finished patterned web


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