Stone lithography

Lithography is a method of printing an image by applying patterned layers of color to paper with a series of etched metal or stone plates. This is the process used to print many newspapers and multi-colored lithographs. It is also the general name for the techniques used to fabricate integrated circuits (ICs). 

Senefelder s method was perfected over time. Metal plates were soon used in place of stone slabs. Several chemical solutions that repelled water and adhered to ink better than grease could were experimented with. Lithography was used with several different color inks to create color pictures, called lithographs, which were made famous by Currier and Ives. 

Aqua fortis, or nitric acid, muriatic acid, vinegar, tartaric acid, malic acid, and oxalic acid are typical acids used in stone plate lithography to etch away nonimage, nonwritten areas of the stone, i.e., areas that are not properly covered with grease. 

According to Senefelder, My whole process was therefore, as follows To wash the polished stone with soap water, to dry it well, to write or draw upon it with the composition of ink of soap and wax, then to etch it with aqua fortis and lastly, to prepare it for printing with an infusion of gum water. I had hoped to have been able to dispense with the gum water, but was soon convinced that it really enters into chemical affinity with the stone, and stops its pores still more effectually against the fat, and opens them to the water. In less than three days after my first idea, I produced as perfect and clear impressions, as any that has since been obtained . [A. Senefelder, A Complete Course of Lithography, pp. 31 32, Da Capo Press, New York (1997).]... 

The first steam lithographic press was invented in France in 1850 and introduced into the United States by R. Hoe around 1868. Lithographic stones were used for the image and a blanket-covered cylinder received the image from the plate and transferred it to the substrate in the steam lithographic press. Direct rotary presses for lithography using zinc and aluminum metal plates were... 

Still another aspect of the evolution of lithography relates to the speed with which it is carried out. While Senefelder s stone plate lithography took hours, if not an entire day to complete just one print, today, an IC device layer on a silicon wafer substrate containing hundreds of devices, each of which may have nearly one hillion transistors, can he patterned in just under one minute. 

M. Brain, How stone lithography works, Feb. 20, 2007, HowStuffWorks.com, http //entertain ment.howstuffworks.com/stone lithography.htm. 

The fundamental principle that underlies this technique is the affinity of oil for oil and the repulsion of oil and water. In the following section, we describe in more detail the process steps that are involved in printing images with the aid of stone lithography. Figure 10.1 shows picmres of these process steps. 

Hanabata, Y. Uetani, and A. Furuta, Novolak design for high resolution positive photoresists. II. stone wall model for positive photoresist development, Proc. SPIE 920, 349 482 (1990). C.G. Willson, R. Miller, D. McKean, N. Clecak, T. Tompkins, D. Hofer, J. Michl, and J. Downing, Design of a positive resist for projection lithography in the mid UV, Polym. Sci. Eng. 23, 1004 (1983) M.K. Templeton, C.R. Szamanda, and A. Zampini, Dissolution kinetics of positive photo resists the secondary structure model, Proc. SPIE 771, 136 (1987). 

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