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17 Jun 2002
Micronic Laser Systems, the Swedish manufacturer of extremely accurate laser writers for the production of photomasks, will work with the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems of Germany to develop a new breed of pattern generators for future semiconductor products.
The two organizations will collaborate on developing spatial light modulator (SLM) technology, which gives increased writing speed by exposing a million pixels or more in parallel. The SLM system consists of a semiconductor chip with an array of micromirrors, a pulsed excimer laser and a scanning stage. The micromirrors, which work for wavelengths as short as 157 nanometres or less, can be made to reflect or not reflect individually by applying an electric field.
The SLM chip takes the place of the mask and each pixel is imaged as a 0.1 x 0.1 micrometre image element. Each exposure flash prints a projected image of the SLM in the photoresist on the mask blank. Before the next flash, the stage moves to a new position and a new part of the pattern is loaded onto the device. The complete pattern is built up at a rate of 1000 flashes per second.
The micromirror chip will be manufactured in the Fraunhofer silicon laboratory in Dresden, while the rest of the system will be developed by Micronic.
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