Microlithography & Mask Making - Development of

Summary : There are two essential applications for semiconductor lithography equipment. They are lumped together here under the name 'microlithography and mask making'. The two segments consist of mask-making equipment and wafer patterning equipment. Both have a common origin in the early step-and-repeat cameras which were used to manufacture masks which were, in turn, used to selectively expose photoresist coatings deposited on the surface of a semiconductor wafer.

Click here to view full screen

Annexure :

Microlithography equipment has historically been characterized as being the queen of the clean room. Wafer exposure equipment has, by far, the most stringent precision requirements of all-generally needing to resolve lines and spaces below one micron in width. These must often be overlaid thorough twelve or more layers-requiring alignment accuracies of better than 0.15 microns across a six or an eight inch wafer. This is about the equivalent of getting a hole-in-one from an eighteen mile drive. Such requirements for precision have stimulated a high degree of automation in microlithography equipment.

You may like this also:

Images in Semiconductor ...

16 Jun 2008

Key events drawn from archived documents in VLSI's library. These documents have been carefully selected for their historical significance. ... See more

Moore's Law: Original D ...

19 Apr 1965

The Future of Integrated Electronics draft, written by Dr. Gordon E. Moore for Electronics Magazine while he worked at Fairchild Semiconductor. This seminal paper would prove to be one of the most important pap ... See more

The Transistor and the ...

30 Jun 1955

The Invention of the Transistor and the Birth of the Information Age. Michael Riordan, co-author of Crystal Fire, discusses how it came to be. ... See more

Tencor at 20 Years

Tencor (later evolved to be KLA - Tencor) is in the bedrock of the semiconductor equipment industry. It developed many products that were essential to chip manufacturing. Some are still made today. ... See more

International Standards ...

15 Jun 1990

A conversation with Robert N. Noyce and Karel Urbanek ... See more

40 Years Of Moore's Law

06 Jun 2005

Historical perspective on Moore’s Law and its affects on everyday life and economic growth for the world as a whole from the fruits brought by semiconductor technology through a 2005 lens. ... See more

Semiconductor Diffusion ...

There are three market segments of the diffusion/oxidation equipment industry. They are diffusion, high pressure oxidation and rapid thermal processing, as depicted in Figure 4.4.0-1. ... See more

Moore's Law: Its Death ...

01 Oct 2003

Its Death Has Been Greatly Over-Exaggerated - ISSM 2003 Keynote Presentation ... See more

Semiconductor Bonding & ...

Bonding and inspection has historically been overlooked by upper management in semiconductor companies. Their attention has been drawn by the enormous capital requirements of wafer fabrication. However, this ... See more

Equipment Suppliers - 1 ...

This section examines the vendors who supply semiconductor manufacturing equipment. There are approximately 534 of them. The top five are shown below in Figure 2.0.0-1. In 1989, these five companies held a 26 ... See more

Access to and use of this Website is subject to TechInsights' Terms of Use (including Copyright Policy & Claims) and Privacy Policy. By accessing or using this Website you agree to TechInsights' Terms of Use (including Copyright Policy & Claims) and Privacy Policy.

Copyright © 2026 TechInsights Inc. All rights reserved.