What are photomasks used for?

Photomasks are used extensively to produce devices for consumer products, computers and peripherals, military products, automotive products and medical and biomedical products. Countless universities throughout the world use photomasks for research and development as well as developing new technologies.

What is the difference between a reticle and a photomask?

The term Photomask (sometimes abbreviated to Mask) is used to mean any type of glass plate with a pattern etched into an opaque surface. A Reticle is a special type of photomask where the data for only part of the final exposed area is present.

Who invented photolithography?

Alphonse Louis PoitevinPhotolithography / InventorAlphonse Louis Poitevin was a French chemist, photographer and civil engineer who discovered the light–sensitive properties of bichromated gelatin and invented both the photolithography and collotype processes.
He has been described as “one of the great unheralded figures in photography”. Wikipedia

How are Photomasks created?

Photomasks are made by applying photoresist to a quartz substrate with chrome plating on one side and exposing it using a laser or an electron beam in a process called maskless lithography.

What does a photomask look like?

A photomask is a fused silica (quartz) plate, typically 6 inches (~152mm) square, covered with a pattern of opaque, transparent, and phase-shifting areas that are projected onto wafers in the lithography process to define the layout of one layer of an integrated circuit.

What is silicon reticle?

In semiconductor manufacturing, a “reticle” is a “photomask.” At one time, the term “photomask” was used to describe a “master template” used with a 1X stepper or lithography system. The term “reticle” was used to described a “master template” used in a 2X, 4X or 5X reduction stepper.

What is wafer reticle?

WAFER-STEPPER RETICLES The patterns on a wafer-stepper reticle are stepped (projected) onto the substrate many times placing the patterns next to one another. The patterns on the reticle are sometimes scaled at 1X, but oftentimes the reticles are scaled larger at 2X, 4X, 5X or 10X.

What is OPC in semiconductor?

Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) OPC is a technique used to compensate for image distortions that occur during sub-wavelength lithography: printing structures smaller than the wavelength of light being used.

What is dark field mask?

A mask is negative (or dark field) when the artwork to be developed is clear. Thus, for an etching process, a dark field mask can be used with a negative photoresist, or a clear field mask can be used with a positive photoresist.

Who are ASML competitors?

ASML competitors include Lam Research, ASM International, Ultratech, MKS Instruments and Cadence Design Systems.