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| Photolithography | |
|---|---|
| Name | Photolithography |
| Type | Microfabrication technique |
| Invented | 1950s |
| Inventor | Gordon Teal; developments by E. F. Moore at Fairchild Semiconductor |
| Used for | Integrated circuits, MEMS, microfluidics |
Photolithography is a microfabrication technique central to semiconductor manufacturing and microelectromechanical systems. It transfers patterned features from a photomask onto a substrate using light, photosensitive materials, and etching, enabling mass production of micro- and nanoscale devices. Major corporations, research laboratories, and academic institutions worldwide coordinate to advance photolithography, influencing industries such as consumer electronics, aerospace, and healthcare.
Photolithography connects innovations at Bell Labs, IBM Research, and Hewlett-Packard with manufacturing at fabs like Intel, TSMC, and Samsung Electronics. The method uses photomasks produced by companies such as ASML Holding and Photronics, Inc. and relies on equipment from suppliers including Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA Corporation. Standards and roadmaps from organizations like SEMI and advisory reports by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (historical) and IRDS shape development. Government laboratories such as Sandia National Laboratories and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory support fundamental studies alongside university groups at MIT, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Cambridge.
Early roots trace to optical patterning techniques used at Bell Labs and in wartime optics research linked to Massachusetts Institute of Technology instrumentation during World War II. Commercial semiconductor scale-up occurred at Texas Instruments and Fairchild Semiconductor in the 1950s and 1960s, with contributions from researchers like Gordon Teal and entrepreneurial figures at National Semiconductor. Advances in photoresists and stepper technology were driven by collaborations among PerkinElmer, GCA Corporation, and later ASML Holding. Breakthroughs in immersion lithography involved teams at Nikon Corporation and Canon Inc. and were influenced by work at Mitsubishi Electric and Hitachi. Research milestones were reported at conferences organized by SPIE and published by journals affiliated with societies such as IEEE and Nature Publishing Group.
Photolithography integrates optics developed by institutions like Optical Society (OSA) and component suppliers such as Coherent, Inc. and Hamamatsu Photonics. Typical steps—coating, soft bake, exposure, post-exposure bake, development, etch, and strip—are executed in cleanrooms maintained to standards from ISO and managed by fabs like GlobalFoundries. Exposure tools include steppers and scanners designed by ASML Holding, Nikon Corporation, and Canon Inc., employing illumination sources ranging from mercury lamps used historically to deep ultraviolet lasers researched at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and excimer lasers developed by Coherent, Inc. and Lambda Physik. Photoresists formulated by companies such as Dow Chemical Company, Rohm and Haas (now part of DowDuPont), and JSR Corporation respond to exposure chemistry informed by groups at University of California, Santa Barbara and ETH Zurich. Etch processes use plasma systems from Applied Materials and Lam Research, and metrology tools come from KLA Corporation and Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation.
Materials include positive and negative resists from suppliers like TOKYO OHKA KOGYO Co., Ltd. and Sumitomo Chemical, antireflective coatings from BASF affiliates, and substrates such as single-crystal silicon provided by companies like Siltronic AG and MEMC Electronic Materials (now Wacker Chemie). Photomasks are fabricated by firms such as Photronics, Inc. and Toppan Printing Co., Ltd., and pellicles from Nihon Pall Ltd. protect masks in production. Critical equipment vendors include ASML Holding, Nikon Corporation, Canon Inc., Applied Materials, Lam Research, KLA Corporation, and inspection firms such as Onto Innovation. Research groups at Cornell University and California Institute of Technology explore novel resist chemistries and materials like chemically amplified resists and extreme ultraviolet-compatible compounds developed in collaboration with national labs including Argonne National Laboratory.
Resolution physics involve diffraction limits studied in classical optics by figures associated with Royal Society traditions and modeled using techniques from groups at University of Rochester and Imperial College London. Scaling toward nodes below 10 nm required the transition to immersion lithography, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography developed by ASML Holding with partners including Intel, TSMC, and Samsung Electronics, and research on directed self-assembly pursued at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Challenges include stochastic defects investigated by teams at NIST, line-edge roughness addressed by collaborations with MIT, and overlay control improved through metrology from KLA Corporation and algorithmic work at Carnegie Mellon University. Mask three-dimensional effects were studied by optics groups at Columbia University and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; pellicle innovations involved companies like Nitto Denko Corporation.
Photolithography enables integrated circuits produced by Intel, TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and GlobalFoundries; microelectromechanical systems sold by companies such as Analog Devices and STMicroelectronics; and microfluidic devices developed by startups incubated at Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It underpins image sensors made by Sony Corporation and OmniVision Technologies, displays engineered by LG Display and Samsung Display, and photonic integrated circuits researched at IBM Research and Ciena Corporation. Biotech applications include lab-on-a-chip platforms from collaborations between Harvard University and Wyss Institute; MEMS resonators supply markets served by Bosch Sensortec and Sensata Technologies.
Environmental and safety aspects intersect with chemical management policies at companies like DuPont, waste treatment systems from Veolia Environnement partners, and regulations influenced by agencies such as EPA and OSHA. Cost structures reflect capital equipment purchases from ASML Holding, Applied Materials, and KLA Corporation and the fab investments of firms like Intel and TSMC. Workforce and training initiatives are conducted at universities including IIT Madras and Nanyang Technological University and through industry consortia such as SEMI. Ongoing sustainability research involves recycling programs by Veolia Environnement partners and energy-efficiency projects with utilities and labs including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Category:Microfabrication