Primelite offers several solutions for UV-LED exposure in mask aligner systems.

Back-end lithography applications in the semiconductor, MEMS, LED, power devices, and microfluidics industry use a large variety of mask alignment systems. A growing number of advanced packaging technologies like Wafer-Level Chip-Scale Packaging (WLCSP), Fan-Out Wafer-Level Packaging (FOWLP), Flip-Chip Packaging, 3D-IC/Through-Silicon Via (TSV), Bumping, and 2.5D Interposer facilitates the fabrication of increasingly integrated microstructures.

Manual, semi- and fully automated mask aligner systems meet the requirements for any production environment: from low volume R&D setups to high-volume mass production. Primelite’s UV-LED lithography products (ALE/1 and ALE/1C) have been successfully integrated into a broad range of mask alignment systems, replacing 200 W, 350 W, 500 W, and 1 kW mercury arc lamps.

Mask aligners using our UV-LED light engines have proven to produce superior results in contact (soft/hard/vacuum) as well as proximity exposure applications. We have seen exceptional uniformity, excellent collimation properties (<2°) and high resolution down to 0.7 µm on 4-inch,  6-inch, and 8-inch substrates. Due to long service life, enhanced output stability, and no need to warm-up or cool-down, our UV-LED solution comes with minimal cost of ownership and provides superior throughput performance.


Broadband for Full Power

Many photolithography applications rely on broadband exposure encompassing i-, h-, and g-line (365/405/435 nm) radiation. We designed our ALE/1 UV-LED light sources to provide a very similar spectral output. This way, an upgrade of your existing photolithography process to UV-LED exposure requires as little adaptation as possible. Apart from our broadband UV-LED exposure units, configurations with single (365 nm) or dual peak wavelengths (365/405 nm and 405/435 nm) are also available.


Primelite Advanced UV-LED Light Engine ONE C Spectrum
Primelite Advanced UV-LED Light Engine ONE C: Spectrum


Exposure Intensity on the Wafer

Broadband (365/405/435nm) and i-line only (365 nm)
 

The ALE/1C can provide intensities of up to 100 mW/cm² on 150 mm and 60 mW/cm² on 200 mm wafers.

 
Wafer 150 mm / 6” 200 mm / 8”
Exposure area 230 cm² 380 cm²
Spectrum Broadband I-line Broadband I-line

Radiation on surface in mW/cm²		  
ALE/1C* 100 45 60 27

Mercury Arc Lamp
350 W type 30 15 18 10
500 W type 45 22 27 13
1000 W type 90 44 55 27
* Standard version without external cooling


Integration of ALE/1 and ALE/1C in Mask Aligner Setups

Our UV-LED exposure solution replaces conventional lamp houses based on mercury discharge lamp technology. There are two different designs to choose from:

  • Our fiber-coupled system ALE/1, featuring flexible liquid light guides to be coupled into the integration optics of the mask aligner.
  • Our built-in solution ALE/1C, which follows a distributed design approach with a Control Subsystem (CSS) separated from the Exposure Subsystems (ESS).

Both systems may be customized to perfectly fit into your mask aligner. Also retrofitting – replacing a conventional lamp house in an existing system – is possible.


Primelite Advanced UV-LED Light Engines for Mask Aligner Applications
Primelite Advanced UV-LED Light Engines for Mask Aligner Applications


Highlights – Why ALE/1 and ALE/1C for Mask Aligners

  • Single spot UV-LED light source for easy integration
  • Stable, precise, consistent, high-intensity radiation output
  • Flexible, polychromatic coverage of i-, h-, and g-line (350-450 nm), no need for optical filters
  • Long lifetime and TCO benefits of UV-LED technology
  • Improved operating safety unlike discharge lamps
  • No extensive cooling needed (e.g., no nitrogen or CDA)
  • No mechanical shutter needed (fast switching times below 1 millisecond)