Etching (microfabrication)

Etching is like coloring a picture with a special pen that takes away parts of the paper instead of adding color to it.

But instead of a pen and paper, we use a special machine and a really tiny material such as a tiny piece of silicon, plastic, or metal.

The machine has a special liquid inside it that we call a "chemical". This "chemical" is like magical juice that can make the tiny material disappear when we dip it inside.

When we dip the tiny material inside the machine with the magical juice, only the parts that we want to be removed will disappear while the parts we want to keep will stay.

By doing this process over and over again, we can create very tiny and precise shapes on the tiny material. We call these shapes "microstructures" or "micro-devices".

Micro-devices can be used for many different things like making computer chips that are very powerful, sensors that can detect tiny things, or even tiny machines that can move on their own.

But remember, always ask an adult to help you if you want to try this at home. It can be dangerous if not done correctly.