Laser writers

Channels were milled on a PMMA disk by a CNC (computer numerically controlled) machine using end mills (of size 127-762 pm) [226,638]. Channels were milled in PC wafers using a milling machine or direct laser writer [227]. 

The mask-making process consists of generating the pattern of the circuit on a chrome-covered quartz plate coated with a resist film. There are four types of equipment used in writing mask optical pattern generators, electron-beam writers, focused-ion-beam writers, and laser writers. Lithographic exposure of the resist-coated, chrome-covered quartz plate involves the repeated exposure of the circuit pattern with a stepper or a scanner. In earlier times, lithographic... 

In laser writers from Micronic Laser Systems AB, patterning is done with the aid of micromirror arrays. The radiation is produced from KrF excimer lasers. After conditioning by the illuminator optics, the light is reflected from a beam splitter onto a spatial light modulator (SLM), which is an array of 10 mirrors, each of which is 16 p,m x 16 p,m in size. The mirrors are deflected to produce the desired pattern on the reticle substrate in a manner that is programmable. ... 

In general, laser writers offer some unique advantages. With multiple laser beams (up to 32 in some systems), these systems are capable of high throughput and are therefore considerably faster than their electron-beam-writer counterparts. They are also more accurate than electron-beam writers because they are more stable, a consequence of the facts that electrons are very sensitive to magnetic fields and also tend to scatter. The very small effective address unit is useful for fine adjustment of line widths on the mask, which makes it easier to implement optical proximity correction schemes in these masks than in masks produced from other mask writers. Furthermore, laser writers operating at 364-nm and... 

Typical optical and laser writer mask-making resists include 895i from ARCH (formerly OCG and now Fuji Films) and iP3500 from TOK for 364-nm exposure systems. Typical resists for electron-beam writers include poly(butene-l-sulfone) (PBS) developed at Bell Laboratories, EBR-900 Ml (novolac-based resist) from Toray Industries, ZEP 7000 from Nippon Zeon, and KRS-XE from IBM. ... 

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of directed-beam laser writer.

PROJECTOS uses hypermedia and is being developed in SuperCard system. It is a standalone system, runs in Apple Macintosh Hex, and requires an AppleColor High-Resolution RGB Monitor (screen size 640 by 480) and an Image Writer or a Laser Writer. 

Fig. 1 Photolithographic process [7]. (a) A feature is designed and transferred to a mask (b), often using a direct laser writer. The mask is typically a glass plate that has chrome, which is opaque to UV light, (c) The substrate is spin coated with photoresist (d). The pattern is transferred from the mask to the substrate using UV light, which is blocked where the chrome defines the feature (e). The photoresist is submerged into the developer solution and the feature is revealed (f). The photoresist can be used as a masking layer for further etching steps, in which material is removed, or in deposition steps, in which material is added...

Lasers have become increasingly important in various applications. They can be found in laser printers, CD/DVD writers and players, scanners, laser pointers, control instruments, and scientific equipment. Furthermore, various kinds of... 

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