Methods
Photolithography
Also Known As Optical Lithography
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Photolithography transfers a geometric pattern onto a light-sensitive chemical coating, called a photoresist, on a substrate, usually a silicon wafer, by exposing it to light through a patterned mask. The exposed or unexposed resist is then chemically developed away, leaving a patterned mask that guides subsequent etching, doping or deposition steps. Repeated many times with different masks, it is the core patterning method behind modern integrated circuit fabrication.
Facts
Disputed
Origin YearBell Telephone Laboratories applied photolithographic patterning to semiconductor manufacture in the mid-to-late 1950s; the exact priority between early adopters at Bell Labs and, later, Fairchild Semiconductor is not settled at the level of a single event, though the period is well attested. Core PrincipleExposing a photoresist-coated substrate to light through a patterned mask, then chemically developing the resist to leave a precise pattern that guides etching or deposition. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Photolithography and doping are paired steps repeated many times in integrated circuit fabrication.
Photolithographic patterning is the core method that makes modern integrated circuit fabrication possible.
In Field
Sources
1. Photolithography (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIntroduction section, exposure and developmentQuote, Introduction section, exposure and development
A photomask that contains the desired pattern is then placed over the photoresist. Light is shone through the photomask, exposing the photoresist in certain areas. The exposed areas undergo a chemical change, making them either soluble or insoluble in a developer solution. After development, the pattern is transferred onto the sample through etching.
1. Photolithography (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundationlead sentenceQuote, lead sentence
Photolithography (also known as optical lithography) is a process that involves using light to transfer a pattern onto a photoresist.
2. A History of Technology
Charles Singer, E. J. Holmyard, A. R. Hall and Trevor I. Williams, editors, Oxford University Press, 1954
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