Specific Process Knowledge/Lithography/Resist/UVresist/exposureDoseMasklessAligners
Exposure dose for maskless aligners
The exposure doses listed below are for generic good exposure results, and can be a compromise between getting good lines, as well as good dots, in both clear field and dark field exposures. The optimal dose and achievable resolution for any given specific project, could be different from the listed values.
All doses are for standard silicon wafers, unless otherwise stated. Development is done using 2.38% TMAH (AZ 726 MIF).
Aligner: Maskless 01
The Aligner: Maskless 01 has a 365 nm laser light source with a FWHM of ~1 nm. The test exposures on this tool were made using the pneumatic autofocus system.
Quality control
Please note that the values listed in the table are not routinely tested as part of quality control, except for the resist AZ 5214E.
| Date | Operator | Film thickness | Exposure mode | Dose | Defoc | Resolution | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AZ MIR 701 | 2025-10-16 | jehem | 1.5 µm | Fast | 325 mJ/cm2 | -1 | 1.5 µm | Not under regular quality control Post exposure bake: 60 s @ 110°C Development: 60 s puddle Tested using dehydration reducing measures |
| AZ 5214E | 2025-08-15 | taran | 1.5 µm | Fast | 110 mJ/cm2 | -1 | 1.75 µm | See QC data for latest values Development: 60 s puddle |
| AZ 5214E Image reversal |
2023-04-05 | jehem | 2.2 µm | Fast | 20 mJ/cm2 possibly incorrect data |
-2 possibly incorrect data |
2.0 µm | Not under regular quality control Reversal bake: 60 s @ 110°C Flood exposure: 500 mJ/cm2 Development: 60 s puddle |
| AZ nLOF 2020 | 2023-07-06 | jehem | 2.0 µm | Fast | 180 mJ/cm2 | 0 | 1.5 µm | Not under regular quality control Post exposure bake: 60 s @ 110°C Development: 60 s puddle |
| AZ 4562 | 2023-04-05 | jehem | 10 µm | Fast | 1050 mJ/cm2 possibly incorrect data |
-1 possibly incorrect data |
≤5 µm | Not under regular quality control Priming: HMDS Rehydration after SB: none Exposure: Single exposure Degassing after exposure: none Development: 5 x 60 s multi puddle |
New resists version in 2023
As of 2023-03-21 we no longer have any of the old versions of the resists: AZ 5214E, AZ 4562, AZ MiR 701. This table contains only information about the new resist versions.
Dehydration reducing measures used for testing AZ MiR 701:
The CDA used for the pneumatic autofocus will dehydrate the resist. To reduce this effect, the writehead is parked far away from the write area while setting up the job for at least a few minutes, before starting the exposure.
Aligner: Maskless 02
The Aligner: Maskless 02 has a 375 nm laser light source with a FWHM of ~1 nm. The test exposures on this tool were made using the optical autofocus system, unless otherwise specified.
Quality control
Please note that the values listed in the table are not routinely tested as part of quality control, except for the resist AZ 5214E.
| Date | Operator | Film thickness | Exposure mode | Dose | Defoc | Resolution | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AZ MIR 701 | 2023-08-21 | taran | 1.5 µm | Quality | 325 mJ/cm2 | 1 | 1 µm | Not under regular quality control Post exposure bake: 60 s @ 110°C Development: 60 s puddle Tested using dehydration reducing measures |
| AZ 5214E | 2024-12-09 | taran | 1.5 µm | Quality | 100 mJ/cm2 | 2 | 1.5 µm | See QC data for latest values Development: 60 s puddle |
| AZ 5214E Image reversal |
2023-04-17 | jehem | 2.2 µm | Quality | 35 mJ/cm2 | 0 | 1.5 µm | Not under regular quality control Reversal bake: 60 s @ 110°C Flood exposure: 500 mJ/cm2 Development: 60 s puddle |
| AZ nLOF 2020 | 2023-08-21 | taran | 2.0 µm | Quality | 450 mJ/cm2 | 0 | 1.5 µm | Not under regular quality control Post exposure bake: 60 s @ 110°C Development: 60 s puddle |
| AZ 4562 | 2023-04-19 | jehem | 10 µm | Quality | 1150 mJ/cm2 | 0 | ≤5 µm | Not under regular quality control Priming: HMDS Rehydration after SB: none Exposure: Single exposure Degassing after exposure: none Development: 5 x 60 s multi puddle |
New writehead
As of 2023-03-21 the MLA2 has a new writehead installed, converting it from a write mode 1 tool to a write mode 2 tool. This makes all previous dose/defocus settings obsolete. This table contains only the dose/defocus values for the new writehead.
New resists version in 2023
As of 2023-03-21 we no longer have any of the old versions of the resists: AZ 5214E, AZ 4562, AZ MiR 701. This table contains only information about the new resist versions.
Dehydration reducing measures used for testing AZ MiR 701:
The CDA used for the pneumatic autofocus will dehydrate the resist. To reduce this effect, the writehead is parked far away from the write area while setting up the job for at least a few minutes, before starting the exposure.
Aligner: Maskless 03
The Aligner: Maskless 03 has a 405 nm laser light source with a FWHM of ~1 nm. The test exposures on this tool were made using the pneumatic autofocus system.
Quality control
Please note that the values listed in the table are not routinely tested as part of quality control, except for the resist AZ 5214E.
| Date | Operator | Film thickness | Exposure mode | Dose | Defoc | Resolution | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AZ MIR 701 | 2025-10-20 | jehem | 1.5 µm | Quality | 175 mJ/cm2 | -1 | 1 µm | Not under regular quality control Post exposure bake: 60 s @ 110°C Development: 60 s puddle Tested using dehydration reducing measures |
| AZ 5214E | 2025-09-02 | taran | 1.5 µm | Quality | 75 mJ/cm2 | 1 | 1 µm | See QC data for latest values Development: 60 s puddle |
| AZ 5214E Image reversal |
2023-06-30 | jehem | 2.2 µm | Quality | 50 mJ/cm2 | 0 | 1 µm | Not under regular quality control Reversal bake: 60 s @ 110°C Flood exposure: 500 mJ/cm2 Development: 60 s puddle |
| AZ nLOF 2020 | 2023-06-30 | jehem | 2 µm | Quality | 9000 mJ/cm2 | 2 | 1 µm | Not under regular quality control Post exposure bake: 60 s @ 110°C Development: 60 s puddle Due to the high dose required on this tool, it is recommended to process nLOF on tools with a more appropriate exposure light source |
| AZ 4562 | 2023-06-30 | jehem | 10 µm | Quality | 550 mJ/cm2 | 3 | ≤5 µm | Not under regular quality control Priming: HMDS Rehydration after SB: none Exposure: Single exposure Degassing after exposure: none Development: 5 x 60 s multi puddle |
New resists version in 2023
As of 2023-03-21 we no longer have any of the old versions of the resists: AZ 5214E, AZ 4562, AZ MiR 701. This table contains only information about the new resist versions.
Dehydration reducing measures used for testing AZ MiR 701:
The CDA used for the pneumatic autofocus will dehydrate the resist. To reduce this effect, the writehead is parked far away from the write area while setting up the job for at least a few minutes, before starting the exposure.