Successful Localization of 400nm-Class Ultra-Fine Laser Semiconductor Processing Equipment

Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials Research Team Led by Lee Jae-jong and Lim Hyung-jong Develops Next-Generation Lithography Equipment

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Domestic researchers have succeeded in the localization of laser semiconductor processing equipment capable of ultra-fine processing at the 400nm (nanometer scale) level.

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials announced on the 12th that Researcher Jaejong Lee and Principal Researcher Hyungjun Lim of the Nano Process Equipment Research Laboratory have developed the country's first 400nm-level laser direct lithography equipment. This laser lithography equipment can process resist coated on a substrate by moving a fine 400nm-level laser focus at a speed of 40mm per second. When the laser beam is focused on the resist on the stage, the resist reacts to the light and hardens, creating a very small pattern.

The research team succeeded in creating an extremely fine 400nm laser focus using a 405nm wavelength blue-violet laser diode among various lasers and used it to process substrates. Using the equipment developed by the team, the laser focus moves over a 200mm-sized substrate at 40mm per second, processing it as if drawing with a fine pen on paper. Additionally, to shorten the extended processing time caused by applying the small focus over a wide area, they devised a technology that can increase the process linewidth up to 50 times and have filed a patent for it.

Nano-level lithography technology is gaining attention as one of the next-generation semiconductor lithography technologies. Currently, commercialized lithography technologies are led by Germany, the Netherlands, and others. This is the first time in Korea that precise patterns at the 400nm level have been implemented on both planar and non-planar substrates. Applying this newly developed technology can realize 3D nano-micro composite structures, which are difficult to achieve with existing lithography technologies, and can also implement nanostructures on arbitrarily shaped surfaces. It is expected to be utilized in biosensors, medical devices, micro-optical devices, and microfluidic channel fabrication. It can also replace expensive foreign-made equipment.

Principal Researcher Lim said, “Laser direct lithography is a representative technology that integrates various fields such as mechanical engineering, optics, materials science, and electronic engineering,” adding, “It can dramatically improve the economic efficiency of production processes and is expected to secure a leading position in the global market in the future.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.