US Patent 7312152 Lactate-containing corrosion inhibitor

The corrosion of aluminum-based metal films may be minimized by applying a lactate-containing solution to the aluminum-based metal films before the aluminum-based metal films are etched. The lactate-containing solution is applied to the aluminum-based metal film before the film is etched with a corrosive etchant. Minimizing the corrosion of the aluminum-based film may increase the yield and performance of the highly reflective pixel arrays that are formed from the aluminum-based metal for use in liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) microprocessors for digital televisions.