Patent ID: 7473380

Claim:
An etching liquid for etching a gold or gold alloy layer formed on a surface of a substrate for a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal device and having plural gold or gold alloy columns on said layer, comprising: a solvent, a solute containing at least iodine, at least one iodine compound and alcohol, and a surfactant, wherein said surfactant is specified by the following general formula (1): R-A-B-R′ (1); in which: R represents a hydrocarbon group which may have at least one substituent; A represents one of a carbonyl group, a hydrocarbon group which may have at least one substituent, and an oxygen atom; B represents NR″ wherein R″ represents one of a hydrocarbon group which has at least one hydroxyl group, NH, and an oxygen atom; R′ represents a hydrocarbon group which has at least one hydroxyl group; and R″ is same as or different from R′.