Lithography (microfabrication)

thumb|Silicon wafer that has undergone photolithography Photolithography (also known as optical lithography) is a process that involves using light to transfer a pattern onto a photoresist layer deposited on a sample, typically a silicon wafer. It is used in the manufacturing of integrated circuits.

A photoresist (also known simply as a resist) is a light-sensitive material used in several processes, such as photolithography and photoengraving, to form a patterned coating on a surface. This process is crucial in the electronics industry.

lithographic technique that uses a scanning beam of electrons

a next-generation lithography technology using an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelength, currently expected to be 13.5 nm.

Nanolithography (NL) is a growing field of techniques within nanotechnology dealing with the engineering (patterning e.g. etching, depositing, writing, printing etc) of nanometer-scale structures on various materials.

thumb|A photomask. This photomask has 20 copies, also called layers, of the same circuit pattern or design. right|thumb|A schematic illustration of a photomask (top) and an IC layer printed using it (bottom) A photomask (also simply called a mask) is an opaque plate with transparent areas that allow light to shine through in a defined pattern. Photomasks are commonly used in photolithography for the production of integrated circuits (ICs or "chips") to produce a pattern on a thin wafer of material (usually silicon). In semiconductor manufacturing, a mask is sometimes called a reticle.

method of fabricating nanometer scale patterns

photolithography technique for manufacturing integrated circuits

lithographic technique that uses X-rays instead of light

technique used to increase the number of structures that may be contained on a microchip

thumb|250px|An Mercury-vapor lamp#Emission line spectrum|i-line stepper at [[Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility. (Photo taken under inactinic light.)]]

right|thumb|The X-ray LIGA process was originally developed at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany, to produce nozzles for Enriched uranium#Aerodynamic processes|uranium enrichment. thumb|SEM picture of a polymer LIGA structure made by molding. Smallest polymer width is 6 μm; polymer height is 120 μm, the aspect ratio is, therefore, 20. thumb|SEM picture of a polymer LIGA structure made by x-ray lithography. Step length is 3 μm, step height is 0.7 μm. The pattern extends downwards towards the substrate for 150 μm leading to an aspect ratio of the contour of 200. L

form of soft lithography

techniques that create structures using stamps

scanning probe lithography technique

Aligns a photomask with features on a wafer