Ultrafast high resolution contact lithography using excimer lasers

A new technique for fine-line, high-speed photolithography using ultraviolet excimer lasers is proposed and demonstrated. Absence of speckle and resolution down to 1000 line-pairs/mm are experimentally demonstrated. Using a XeCl laser at 308 nm and a KrF laser at 249 nm, excellent quality images are obtained by contact printing in two positive photoresists. These images are comparable to state-of-the-art lithography done with conventional lamps, the major difference being that the excimer laser technique is -2 orders of magnitude faster. Preliminary results on reciprocity behavior in several resists are also presented. © 1982 SPIE.