The Fastest Maskless Aligner For R&D, Rapid Prototyping And Small Production Volumes, Designed For Binary Lithography
The Maskless Aligner MLA 150 is a state-of-the-art maskless lithography tool. Areas of application include nanofabrication of quantum devices (2D materials, semiconductor materials, nanowires, etc.) MEMS, micro-optical elements, sensors, actuators, MOEMS and other devices for materials and life sciences. Depending on the application, the MLA 150 patterns high-resolution, high aspect ratio, and even simple grayscale structures.
Our Maskless Aligner series, first introduced in 2015, is now firmly established as an alternative to the traditional mask aligner, fully eliminating the need for masks. The maskless approach leads to significantly reduced cycle times. 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 µ takes less than 10 minutes.
Product Highlights :
Perfect for Multi-user Facilities
Less than 1 h training to fully qualify as a user
Fast and Accurate Alignment
250 nm front alignment, backside alignment, alignment error compensation
Flexible
Two lasers can be installed simultaneously on the same system to expose the whole range of photoresist
Low Operation Costs and Easy Maintenance
10-20 years of laser lifetime
Direct-write Lithography
No mask-related costs, effort, or security risks
Grayscale Mode
For simple 2.5D structures
Exposure Quality
Edge roughness 60 nm; CD uniformity 100 nm; 40 nm address grid; autofocus compensation for warped/corrugated substrates
User-friendly
Specifically designed software and workflow make the tool operation fast and easy
Exposure Speed
150 mm wafer in <16 min with 405 nm laser
Available Modules :
Exposure Wavelength
Diode laser sources at 375 nm and/or 405 nm can be mounted together and used interchangeably to expose different photoresists
Exchangeable Chucks
Custom vacuum layouts
Draw Mode
Import and overlay of BMP files on top of the real-time microscope image – as in a virtual mask aligner; simple lines and shapes can be drawn into the real-time camera image for immediate exposure
Autofocus
Air-gauge or optical autofocus for perfect exposure of small samples (less than 10 mm)
Variable Substrate Sizes
Between 3-6”; up to 8” upon request
Advanced Field Alignment
Automatic field-by-field alignment on individual dies on the wafer for superior alignment accuracy
Technical Data
| Write Mode I * | Write Mode II * | |
| Writing performance | ||
| Minimum feature size [μm] | 0.6 | 1 |
| Minimum Lines and Spaces [μm] | 0.8 | 1.2 |
| Global 2nd layer alignment [nm] | 500 | 500 |
| Local 2nd layer alignment [nm] | 250 | 250 |
| Backside alignment [nm] | 1000 | 1000 |
| Exposure time 405 nm laser for 4″ wafer [min] | 35 | 9 |
| Exposure time 375 nm laser for 4″ wafer [min] | 35 | 20 |
| Max. write speed 405 nm laser [mm²/min] | 285 | 1100 |
| Max. write speed 375 nm laser [mm²/min] | 285 | 500 |
| System features | |
| Light source | Diode lasers: 8 W at 405 nm, 2.8 W at 375 nm, or both |
| Substrate sizes | Variable: 3 x 3 mm² to 6″ x 6″ | Optional: 8″ x 8″ Customizable on request |
| Substrate thickness | 0 - 12 mm |
| Maximum exposure area | 150 x 150 mm² | Optional: 200 x 200 mm² |
| Temperature controlled flow box | Temperature stability ± 0.1 °C |
| Real-time autofocus | Air-gauge or optical |
| Autofocus compensation range | 180 μm |
| Grayscale | 128 gray levels |
| Software features | Exposure wizard, resist database, automatic labeling and serialization, Draw Mode for CADless exposures, substrate tracking / history |
| Optional Automatic Loading System | Can handle masks up to 7" and wafers up to 8". A second cassette station, and a prealigner and wafer scanner are available as options. |
| System dimensions (lithography unit) | |
| Height × width × depth | 1950 mm × 1300 mm × 1300 mm |
| Weight | 1100 kg |
| Installation requirements | |
| Electrical | 230 VAC ± 5%, 50/60 Hz, 16 A |
| Compressed air | 6 - 10 bar |
| Economical considerations | |
| Saves on the cost of photomasks | |
| Low running costs for maintenance, energy consumption, spare parts | |
| Solid state laser light sources with lifetime of several years | |
| * Only one write mode can be installed on the system | |