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A SÜSS MicroTec MA6 mask aligner. An aligner, or mask aligner, is a system that produces integrated circuits (IC) using the photolithography process. It holds the photomask over the silicon wafer while a bright light is shone through the mask and onto the photoresist. The "alignment" refers to the ability to place the mask over precisely the ...
The next problem was how to align the mask, as the system focussed only UV light. This was solved by adding a dielectric coating that reflected the UV but not visible light. A separate lamp was used during the alignment process, with the light passing through the optics to the microscope that the operator used to align the mask. [17]
In 2006, the successfully used equipment division was spun off into Suss Microtec Reman. In 2007, the Device Bonder product line was sold, [5] and two years later the Prober line. [6] This was followed by the opening of offices in Singapore and Korea. [3] The 2010s were characterized by fluctuations in the semiconductor equipment technology market.
The addition of auto-alignment systems reduced the setup time needed to image multiple ICs, and by the late 1980s, the stepper had almost entirely replaced the aligner in the high-end market. The stepper was itself replaced by the step-and-scan systems (scanners) which offered an additional order of magnitude resolution advance.
In semiconductor electronics fabrication technology, a self-aligned gate is a transistor manufacturing approach whereby the gate electrode of a MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor) is used as a mask for the doping of the source and drain regions.
The smaller field of electron beam writing makes for very slow pattern generation compared with photolithography (the current standard) because more exposure fields must be scanned to form the final pattern area (≤mm 2 for electron beam vs. ≥40 mm 2 for an optical mask projection scanner). The stage moves in between field scans.
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Contact lithography is still commonly practiced today, mainly in applications requiring thick photoresist and/or double-sided alignment and exposure. Advanced 3D packaging, optical devices, and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) applications fall into this category. In addition, the contact platform is the same as used in imprint processes.