I hate make harsh comments on any public forum,
but I think that heating ferric chloride in a microwave
oven is sheer insanity.
The outgassing of fumes will attack and destroy all
metallic circuit components in or near the oven, including circuit boards
copper (and aluminum, and steel) wiring, etc.
I don't think I've ever, in my 40plus years in the
electronics biz, every heard of anything as bazaar as
"cooking" an etchant in
a microwave oven.
Sorry for the rant, but I just can't let this one
go by without moaning and groaning.
Roland F. Harriston
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Adam Seychell wrote:
>
> Jan Kok wrote:
> >
> > Weird, I had the exact opposite experience. I put a 16 oz bottle of
> > fairly fresh FeCl3 in a microwave (with no turntable). Within a couple
> > seconds of turning on the microwave, the etchant was boiling around
> > the meniscus, and started to melt the plastic bottle. Fortunately I
> > stopped the microwave before the bottle had a chance to spring a leak.
>
> I too use the full strength FeCl3, but I don't think that will make it
> less conductive. My oven has a turntable, so maybe that makes all the
> difference. It could also be you have a fair more powerful oven, as mine
> is a fairly old 700W. I've never seen a domestic microwave oven without
> a turntable. The etchant does get hotter at the meniscus , but I've
> never witnessed boiling. I usually do it in 30 second bursts followed by
> a quick stir just to make sure I don't run into those troubles.
>
>