photolithography or more precise alternative
photolithography or more precise alternative
(OP)
how can I print a pattern on a film or transparency with one micron resolution, and can I acid etch (as in printed circuit boards) to that resolution.





RE: photolithography or more precise alternative
RE: photolithography or more precise alternative
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: photolithography or more precise alternative
http://www.drc.com/metrigraphics/metrigraphics.htm
RE: photolithography or more precise alternative
The copper is SUBSTANTIALLY thicker than the comparable metallization on a 1 micron design rule IC. Since the sideways etching is roughly comparable to the downward etching, with 1 oz copper being about 36 microns thick, the starting linewidth to achieve 1 micron lines would be about 73 microns.
AND, there's no guarantee that the resist won't lift altogether and break your line.
TTFN
RE: photolithography or more precise alternative
So, surely, _someone_ can do it, but they might be reluctant to share their secrets because of their commercial value. Which, in turn, means that you can probably just _buy_ what you want.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: photolithography or more precise alternative
The difference is like climbing a tree or falling out of a tree.. One is real easy.
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: photolithography or more precise alternative
PCBs could be etched with higher accuracy, but you'd need about $5 million worth IC processing equipment to do it:
10x or 5x photolithography stepper
PMMA photoresist system and developer
Reactive ion/sputter etcher.
The main limit is the thickness of the copper. A 1 micron thick layer would be easier to etch.
TTFN
RE: photolithography or more precise alternative
You will not get 1 micron out of "Photolithography" in the
standard sense. The old stuff (glass masks) were ALMOST
that good.
Temperature control, LOTS and LOTS of trial and error.
Film, no way. Edge effects of the "grain" will blow your
requirements out of the weeds. I've used some "good"
kodalith, mighty fine lenses and some really good photo
enlargers and I still get grain limits.
There are tricks that you can play with multiline, out of
phase limiting marks/lines that will allow better resolution
that the raw marks.
Also, reference against a resolution error table based
upon calibration with a laser interferometer can be used.
Still, there is a reason that this sort of accuracy costs
so much.
As an aside, you might look into a Fabry-Perot Interferometer
as an alternative.
That's pretty good at a relative displacement thing around
a couple of hundred nanometers.
Hummmm, I wonder what the track to track spacing of a
typical CD or DVD is? Look at the galvenometer reading
of a DVD player solid state laser assembly......
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Rich S.