Large-area high-resolution lithography and photoablation systems for microelectronics and optoelectronics fabrication

An important requirement in the production of numerous microelectronic, optoelectronic, and microsystem devices is lithographic patterning on a large area with high image resolution and precise layer-to-layer alignment. Whereas for production of semiconductor devices advances have been steadily made in steppers and other conventional lithography systems, the lithography requirements for the fabrication of large-format products, such as displays, multilayer circuits, and flexible electronics, are distinctly different, rendering various conventional lithography tools inadequate. These requirements and distinctions of large-area lithography are discussed. In the last several years, we have developed a new class of projection lithography systems that provide both high-resolution imaging and very large exposure area capability with high-precision alignment. The systems, using excimer laser sources, function as dual-mode, high-throughput production tools, capable of patterning in photoresists as well as photoablation in polymers, making them attractive for production of numerous large-format products, with feature sizes ranging from 15 μm to below 1 μm and substrate sizes ranging from 150 × 150 mm to 610 × 915 mm. We review the new lithography system technology, several completed systems, and demonstrated results.