Lithography
About the instruments
The Yale Cleanroom contains all the essential tools for contact photolithography. HMDS primer ovens are available for improved resist adhesion. Spinners are available for positive, negative, and e-beam resists; a mask writer is capable of creating features down to 0.5 microns; and a contact aligner is capable of soft contact, hard contact, and flood exposure.
Most CAD software can be used to design masks, but the cleanroom staff recommend using LayoutEditor, which is available free to cleanroom users.
For designs with features smaller than 0.5 microns e-beam lithography resources are available at the Yale Institute for Nanoscience and Quantum Engineering.
Available to Yale researchers & external researchers
Yong Sun
DirectorEquipment
Heidelberg DWL-66 Laser Mask Writer
The Heidelberg DWL66fs laser writer uses a 405 nm laser source to pattern masks for contact lithography, and direct writes on wafers for small-batch applications. Its self-contained environment ensures repeatable results over multiple runs. It can obtain a minimum feature size of 0.5 microns. Mask patterns can be generated using LayoutEditor, a software package freely available to Yale researchers. For more information on LayoutEditor, contact a staff member.
- Tool manager: Yong Sun
- Internal rate: $275 - $400 per mask (varies with complexity)
Heidelberg MLA150 Maskless Aligner
The Maskless Aligner MLA 150 is a state-of-the-art maskless lithography tool. Depending on the application, the MLA 150 patterns high-resolution, high aspect ratio, and even simple grayscale structures. Due to the maskless approach, any design modifications can be quickly implemented by simply changing the CAD layout. The system also features fast automated front- and backside alignment procedures and outstanding speed: Exposing an area of 100 x 100 mm² with structures as small as 1 µm takes less than 10 minutes.
- Tool manager: Yong Sun
- Internal rate: included with cleanroom access
Laurell Spinners
The Laurell Spinners are benchtop spin coaters designed for application of photoresists and other spin-on materials. The wafer or sample is held in place with a vacuum then the system uses programmable recipes to spin at precise speeds for controlled periods of time. Currently there are designated spinners available for positive resist, negative resist, and e-beam resist. Check with a staff member to see which spinner your process requires.
- Tool manager: Yong Sun
- Rate: included with cleanroom access
Suss MJB4 Contact Aligner
The MJB4 contact aligner can be used for topside alignment and backside infrared alignment on substrate sizes ranging from 5mm square to 100 mm in diameter. It is capable of printing 0.7 um lines and spaces with a 365 - 436 nm light source. This contact aligner has 5 exposure modes: Soft Contact, Hard Contact, Vacuum Contact, Soft Vacuum Contact and Gap Exposure. Alignment travel range for X and Y is +/- 5 mm and 5 degrees for theta.
- Tool manager: Yong Sun
- Maximum wafer size: 6”
- Available exposure wavelengths: 365 – 465 nm
- Rate: included with cleanroom access
YES HDMS Prime Ovens
The YES HMDS Prime Oven uses high temperatures and low pressures to dehydrate substrates, then prepares surfaces with HMDS. HMDS is used to improve uniformity and adhesion of photoresist to wafer surfaces. Unlike other HMDS application processes, the Prime Oven generates little waste and provides superior performance.
- Tool manager: Yong Sun
- Rate: included with cleanroom access