Lithographic exposure system and method for exposure and curing a solder resist
AssigneeLIMATA GmbH
InventorMatthias Nagel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lithographic exposure system and method for exposing and structuring a substrate coated with a solder resist is provided. The lithographic exposure system having at least one light beam, formed preferably by two or more laser beams of different UV wavelengths, which is deflected relative to the substrate by a variable deflection device, in order to generate structures on the substrate. In particular, the light beam is superimposed, spatially in the image plane and temporally in the exposure, by a spatially limited, high-energy, preferably externally mounted heat source, wherein preferably infrared laser diodes having linear optics are used.
Claims13
A lithographic exposure system for direct maskless exposure and curing of a desired structure in a solder resist, the direct exposure system comprising:
- at least one exposure device which comprises at least one ultraviolet (UV) laser light source for generating a UV laser light beam, and
- a laser deflection device which is configured to deflect the UV laser light beam to an exposure plane in order to expose the desired structure in the solder resist which is arranged in the exposure plane,
- wherein the lithographic exposure system further comprises a heat source device includes homogenization optical element for generating a homogeneous heat irradiation (IR) area on the solder resist, wherein the heat source device is configured such that an area in the exposure plane is exposed, in a way overlapping in terms of homogeneous space and time, to the deflected UV laser light beam and to the IR emitted by the heat source device, and
- the deflection device deflects the UV laser light beam in the two dimensions, wherein deflection operation variable in terms of time is carried out with two identical oscillation frequencies.
A method operatively associated with a lithographic exposure system for maskless exposure and curing of a desired structure in a solder resist, the method comprising the steps:
- providing an exposure device includes a heater source, a laser deflecting device,
- generating an ultraviolet (UV) laser light beam with the exposure device,
- deflecting the UV laser light beam by the laser deflecting device onto an exposure plane in which the solder resist is located in order to expose the desired structure in the solder resist,
- wherein the deflecting the UV laser light beam further comprises:
- emitting heat radiation of the heat source device onto the solder resist, wherein the heat source device comprises at least one homogenization optical element in order to generate a homogeneous IR area irradiation on the solder resist, wherein the emitted heat radiation overlaps in terms of homogeneous space and time with the UV laser light beam deflected onto the exposure plane, whereby the deflected UV laser light beam hits an area of the solder resist that has been heated by the emitted heat radiation, and
- the deflection device deflects the UV laser light beam in two dimensions, wherein the deflection operation variable in terms of time is carried out with two identical oscillation frequencies.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.