The MicroWriter ML®3 products are a range of photolithography machines designed for rapid prototyping and small volume manufacturing in R&D laboratories and clean rooms. Conventional approaches to photolithography are usually based on exposing through a chromium-glass mask manufactured by specialist vendors. In R&D environments it is often necessary to change the mask design frequently. Direct-write lithography tools overcome this problem by holding the mask in software. Rather than projecting light through a physical mask, direct-write lithography uses computer-controlled optics to project the exposure pattern directly onto the photoresist.
The MicroWriter ML®3 family comprises three compact, high-performance, direct-write optical lithography machines which are designed to offer unprecedented value in a small laboratory footprint.
Why choose the MicroWriter ML®3 family?
- All models are very competitively priced.
- All models offer fast writing speed.
- All models have a low cost of ownership (e.g., the light sources have a lifetime of 20,000 hours and are guaranteed for 2 years).
- The MicroWriter ML®3 Baby Plus and MicroWriter ML®3 have an impressive array of advanced features usually only found in high-end machines.
- All machines are designed for use by PhD students and post-docs in a research environment and so have an attractive, intuitive and simple Windows® user interface while still offering a flexibility and high level of access to machine operation for those who want to develop new techniques.
- All machines share a common technology platform, allowing users to upgrade from the MicroWriter ML®3 Baby to MicroWriter ML®3 Baby Plus and then to the MicroWriter ML®3 at a later date.
MicroWriter ML ® 3 Baby
The MicroWriter ML®3 Baby is an entry level, low cost direct-write optical lithography machine. It operates at a single resolution of 1μm with a wavelength of 405nm and is designed to sit on a standard laboratory bench. A high quality optical microscope with a 10x Olympus objective allows exposures to be aligned to existing structures or to the edges of the substrate. Despite its low cost, it has a writing speed of 20mm2/minute, allowing a 50mm x 50mm area to be exposed in approximately 2 hours.
Key features and specifications:
- 149mm x 149mm maximum writing area.
- 155mm x 155mm x 7mm maximum wafer size.
- 1μm resolution across full writing area.
- 405nm long-life semiconductor LED light source (385nm or 365nm available as option).
- Fast writing speed: up to 20mm2/minute writing speed (1μm resolution), allowing a 50mm x 50mm area to be exposed in approximately 2 hours.
- Autofocus system using yellow light – no minimum wafer size.
- High quality optical microscope camera with Olympus infinite conjugate 10x plan objective lens and yellow light illumination for alignment to lithographic markers on the wafer (±1μm 3σ alignment accuracy). Additional 4x digital zoom can be selected in software.
- Gray scale exposure mode for 3-dimensional patterning (255 gray levels).
- Software API for external interfacing and control.
- 0.2μm minimum addressable grid; 0.1μm minimum sample stage step size.
- Acceptable file formats: CIF, BMP, TIFF.
- External dimensions: 700mm (w) x 700mm (d) x 700mm (h), excluding laptop computer.
- Light-excluding enclosure with safety interlock.
- Designed for desktop use – no optical table required.
- Easy to use, Windows® based control software supplied.
- Supplied with pre-configured 64-bit Windows® 10 laptop computer for ‘plug and play’ installation.
- Extremely competitively priced for University and industrial R&D budgets.
- Can be upgraded to MicroWriter ML®3 Baby Plus or to MicroWriter ML®3 for higher performance.
MicroWriter ML ® 3 Baby Plus
The MicroWriter ML®3 Baby Plus is DMO’s top selling machine and adds a number of features to the Baby which are usually only found in high-end machines. Two different resolutions (1μm and 5μm) can be selected automatically via software and without the user needing to exchange any lens manually. This allows non-critical parts of the exposure to be performed rapidly at 5μm resolution while retaining high resolution writing for critical parts. Locating alignment markers or edges of substrates is faster thanks to an automatic lens changer on the optical microscope allowing the user to switch between 3x and 10x objectives via software. The MicroWriter ML®3 Baby Plus also features an optical surface profilometer tool and an automated wafer inspection tool for examining fabricated structures. As with all of our machines, writing speeds are some of the fastest on the market: up to 20mm2/minute at 1μm resolution and up to 120mm2/minute at 5μm resolution, allowing a typical 50mm x 50mm area combining critical and non-critical areas to be exposed in under 30 minutes.
Key features and specifications:
- 149mm x 149mm maximum writing area.
- 155mm x 155mm x 7mm maximum wafer size.
- 1μm and 5μm resolutions across full writing area.
- Automatic selection of resolution via software – no manual changing of lens required.
- 405nm long-life semiconductor LED light source (385nm or 365nm available as option).
- Fast writing speed: up to 20mm2/minute (1μm resolution) and 120mm2/minute (5μm resolution), allowing a typical 50mm x 50mm area combining critical and non-critical areas to be exposed in under 30 minutes.
- Autofocus system using yellow light – no minimum wafer size.
- High quality infinite conjugate optical microscope camera with 3x aspheric objective lens and 10x and 20x Olympus plan objective lens and yellow light illumination for alignment to lithographic markers on the wafer (±1μm 3σ alignment accuracy).
- Automatic changing between microscope magnifications via software – no manual changing of lens required. Additional 4x digital zoom can be selected in software.
- Gray scale exposure mode for 3-dimensional patterning (255 gray levels).
- Software API for external interfacing and control.
- 0.2μm minimum addressable grid; 0.1μm minimum sample stage step size.
- Acceptable file formats: CIF, BMP, TIFF.
- Built-in 2-dimensional optical surface profiler (200nm thickness resolution) for examining exposed resists, deposited layers, etching and other MEMS process steps.
- Automatic wafer inspection tool allowing each die on a wafer to be imaged.
- External dimensions: 700mm (w) x 700mm (d) x 700mm (h), excluding laptop computer.
- Light-excluding enclosure with safety interlock.
- Designed for desktop use – no optical table required.
- Easy to use, Windows® based control software supplied.
- Supplied with pre-configured 64-bit Windows® 10 laptop computer for ‘plug and play’ installation.
- Extremely competitively priced for University and industrial R&D budgets.
- Can be later upgraded to MicroWriter ML®3 for higher performance.
MicroWriter ML ® 3
The MicroWriter ML®3 is DMO’s flagship machine and offers no-compromise sub-micron lithography on up to 9″ wafers. It is designed for highly demanding individual research groups or for central clean room facilities. Four different resolutions (0.6μm, 1μm, 2μm and 5μm) can be selected automatically via software and without the user needing to exchange any lens manually. The optical microscope contains a full set of high performance bright and sharp infinite conjugate objectives (3x, 5x, 10x and 20x) with a software-controlled automatic lens changer, allowing large substrate areas to be searched rapidly and individual sub-micron objects such as nanowires and crystal flakes to be accurately located. Top writing speeds are very fast: 25mm2/minute at 0.6μm resolution, 50mm2/minute at 1μm resolution, 100mm2/minute at 2μm resolution and 180mm2/minute at 5μm resolution, allowing a 100mm x 100mm area to be fully exposed at 2μm resolution in under 2 hours. In addition to the optical surface profilometer tool and automated wafer inspection tool present in the Baby Plus, there is also a Virtual Mask Aligner mode in which the pattern to be exposed is displayed on top of the real-time microscope image, allowing the machine to be used like a traditional mask aligner.
Key features and specifications:
- 195mm x 195mm maximum writing area.
- 230mm x 230mm x 15mm maximum wafer size.
- 0.6μm, 1μm, 2μm and 5μm resolutions across full writing area.
- Automatic selection of resolution via software – no manual changing of lens required.
- 385nm long-life semiconductor LED light source, suitable for broadband, g-, h- and i-line positive and negative photoresists, including SU-8.
- Dual wavelength light source (adds 405nm or 365nm) available as option.
- Extremely fast writing speed: up to: 25mm2/minute (0.6μm resolution), 50mm2/minute (1μm resolution), 100mm2/minute (2μm resolution) and 180mm2/minute (5μm resolution). These allow a typical 50mm x 50mm area combining critical and non-critical areas to be exposed in under 30 minutes or a 100mm x 100mm area to be fully exposed at 2μm resolution in under 2 hours.
- Autofocus system using yellow light which automatically tracks surface height variation during exposure, compensating for bowed or inclined substrates and surfaces with highly irregular topography. No minimum wafer size.
- High quality infinite conjugate optical microscope camera with 3x aspheric objective lens and 5x, 10x and 20x Olympus plan achromatic objective lens and yellow light illumination for alignment to lithographic markers on the wafer (±0.5μm 3σ alignment accuracy).
- Automatic changing between microscope magnifications via software – no manual changing of lens required. Additional 4x digital zoom can be selected in software.
- Grey scale exposure mode for 3-dimensional patterning (255 grey levels).
- Software API for external interfacing and control.
- 100nm minimum addressable grid; 50nm minimum sample stage step size.
- Acceptable file formats: CIF, BMP, TIFF and (via Clewin 5) GDSII.
- Built-in 2-dimensional optical surface profiler (100nm thickness resolution) for examining exposed resists, deposited layers, etching and other MEMS process steps.
- Automatic wafer inspection tool allowing each die on a wafer to be imaged.
- Virtual mask aligner mode in which the pattern to be exposed is displayed on top of the real-time microscope image, allowing the machine to be used like a traditional mask aligner.
- Includes passive vibration-isolation optical table.
- Light-excluding enclosure with safety interlock.
- Temperature stabilization to ±0.5⁰C.
- Easy to use, Windows® based control software supplied.
- Supplied with Clewin 5 mask design software.
- Supplied with pre-configured 64-bit Windows® 10 PC with monitor, keyboard and mouse.
- Includes on-site installation by trained service technician.
- Extremely competitively priced for university and industrial R&D budgets.
- 90-260 VAC, 50-60Hz, 4A single phase power requirement.
- Footprint 90cm (w) x 75cm (d); 153cm (h) (including optical table).
- CE-marked and compliant with EN-61010.
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