Originally Published IVD Technology June 2002
Processing Technologies
Glossary of Terms
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Contact/Proximity Printing: A common method of photolithography that employs a photomask to transfer a master image to a substrate. Typical processes require that the mask be held very close to the substrate being exposed (proximity printing) or that the photomask actually come in contact with the substrate during exposure (contact printing).
Exposure: In a photolithography process, the step at which an image is projected onto a substrate coated with photoresist.
Features: The patterns generated during a photolithography process. Typically, these are made from photoresist.
Mask (or Photomask): A glass plate that is selectively patterned with chrome or another opaque material. The mask is used to transfer a master image to a silicon wafer or other substrate.
Maskless Exposure System: An exposure system that does not require a photomask for performing exposures during a photolithography process.
Microfluidic Device: A microscopic component designed to handle liquid flow as part of its normal operation.
Minimum Feature Size: The smallest line or space (typically measured in microns) that can be resolved by an exposure system as part of a photolithography process.
Monochromatic Stepper: A system used for the exposure step in a photolithography process. Such systems employ a single exposure wavelength to provide small-feature resolution and are often fully automated for high throughput and ease of use.
Nonstandard Substrate: Any substrate used for microscopic component fabrication that is not a silicon wafer.
Photolithography: In MEMS fabrication, the process used to transfer an image to a semiconductor wafer or other substrate. Typical steps include photoresist coating, exposure, photoresist development, and baking.
Photoresist: Typically, a liquid polymeric material that is patterned during a photolithographic process. The material is then imaged using a series of exposure, developing, and baking steps.
Photosensitivity: The characteristic of a material that causes it to change properties when exposed to light.
Resolution: The smallest size that an exposure system can pattern as part of a photolithography process.
Substrate: The base material that is processed to manufacture an electronic or other micro device. Critical properties include size, shape, and bulk material.
Time of Exposure: The amount of time that light energy is projected onto a substrate during the exposure step of a photolithography process.
Wafer: The type of substrate often used in semiconductor chip fabrication. Wafers are typically made of silicon and are round.
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