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

Semiconductor Depositio ...

Lithography has long been regarded as the queen of wafer fabrication in the drive towards submicron geometries. But, in recent years problems with depth-of-focus and materials have limited lithography's ability ... See more

SRC 25th Anniversary

01 Jun 2007

The history and accomplishments of the Semiconductor Research Corporation ... See more

Moore's Law: Its Death ...

01 Oct 2003

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

Ion Implantation - Deve ...

Ion implanters directly inject dopant atoms into semiconductor wafers. A gas containing atoms or molecules of the desired dopant 'species' is first ionized in an ion source. The ions are then extracted from the ... 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

Explore Images of Histo ...

Key images drawn from donated and archived documents in VLSI's library. These images have been carefully selected for their historical significance as they show history in the making. ... See more

Process Diagnostics - D ...

Process Diagnostics - D ...

Process diagnostic equipment is critical to semiconductor manufacture. Though this equipment is not used to directly manufacture devices, it serves to verify consistent and in-control manufacturing processes. ... 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.