ION PROJECTION LITHOGRAPHY FOR VACUUM MICROELECTRONICS

Ion projection lithography has the advantage of demagnifying ion-optic al mask-to-wafer pattern transfer with sub-0.1 mum resolution and larg e depth of focus (> 10 mum). There is the possibility of electronic al ignment (''pattern lock'') of the projected ion image on-line during c hip exposure with nanometer precision. Potential application areas of ion projection lithography include high volume silicon and GaAs chip f abrication and, implementing exposure field stitching and electrostati c step exposure techniques, the manufacture of flat panel devices base d on vacuum microelectronics.