Assignment text
This regards a MLA 100 maskless aligner from Heidelberg Instruments Mikrotechnik GmbH, which is being used for photolithography. Traditionally, a pat-tern in micro and nanofabrication, has been produced by shining UV light through a chromium mask with a chromium pattern, thereby creating a ‘shado image’ on a silicon wafer with a thin photosensitive film (photoresist). Contrary to this method, maskless aligners are writing the pattern directly on the wafer by means of a guided laser beam, thus eliminating the need for a shadow mask. This technique is especially advantageous in research and development projects, where frequent design changes often necessitate many new masks.