Specifications

The objective lenses of the LW405C. The red illumination inside the machine enclosure prevents the premature exposure of photoresist.

The LW405C is a high-performance solution for planar patterning directly on a mask or final substrate.  The machine is ideal for rapid  prototype fabrication and low-volume production.  The laser writer is designed for fully automatic operation, requiring only limited user operation, or it be operated in manual mode for writing and metrology.  Patterns can be easily aligned to pre-existing features.

The unit is incredibly flexible and is suited for any size substrate or mask up to 150 x 150 mm (or larger with limited travel), with a writable area of 100 x 100 mm.  Mounting chuck stops allow for consistent alignment of 2, 3, and 4-inch wafers, with the ability to add custom stops or templates for substrates of any size or shape.  Substrates as small as 4 x 4 mm can be used with the current vacuum chuck; smaller substrates can be patterned but cannot be vacuum anchored with the current chuck.

If you have an idea and would like to discuss feasibility and possibly try it out, please contact us.

  • Exposure Lasers
    • 405 nm GaN laser diode, variable 60-100 mW
      • Used for patterning positive photoresists such as AZ and Shipley S1800 resists
      • Can be used to pattern thin (< 10 µm) negative photoresist, such as SU8
    • 375 nm GaN laser diode, 50 mW
      • Used for optimal patterning of SU8
  • Multiple Patterning Styles
    • Binary patterns for traditional lithography
    • Multilevel patterning (256 level) for 3D structure fabrication (grayscale lithography)
  • Four Write Modes
    • Beam raster scan (any geometry, binary or multilevel)
    • Stage raster scan (large multilevel patterns at high resolution)
    • Vector (straight lines written with beam spot size)
    • Contour (lines and arcs written with beam spot size)
  • Write field
    • 100 x 100 mm writeable area on substrates up to 150 x 150 mm
    • XYZ interferometric stages with 10 nm resolution
  • Focusing
    • Interference ring optical autofocus
    • Plane and sphere focus surfaces
  • Optics and Imaging
    • Automatic lens change system
    • Four standard lenses and a special UV lens for 375 nm laser.
      • Lens 2: ~6.4 µm beam, 0.8-4 µm positioning, 120-450 mm²/min
      • Lens 3: ~3.2 µm beam, 0.4-2 µm positioning, 30-120 mm²/min
      • Lens 4: ~1.6 µm beam, 0.2-0.8 µm positioning, 8-30 mm²/min
      • Lens 5: ~0.8 µm beam, 0.1-4 µm positioning, 2-8 mm²/min
      • Lens 6: ~5.0 µm beam, 0.6-3 µm positioning, 70-270 mm²/min (375 nm laser only)
    • B&W digital video camera
      • Red light (640 nm) illumination
      • 0.2 µm optical resolution
      • 100 µm, 200 µm, 400 µm, and 800 µm fields of view
  • Alignment
    • Automated substrate centering
    • Align patterns with existing features on the front or back side of the substrate
    • Frontside alignment tolerance: < 1 µm
    • Backside alignment tolerance: ± 2 µm
    • Seven alignment modes, including direction only for matching wafer crystal directions
  • Other features
    • Write time calculator
    • Multiple, customizable vacuum chucks
    • Full dose control in mJ/cm²