Maskless Lithography (MLL)

• Subject Area: Electrical Engineering and Information Technology
• Term: Funded in 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 568740814

The maskless lithography system (MLL) is used to structure light-sensitive polymer layers (photoresists), a ubiquitous production method in semiconductor technology. The device works with a so-called maskless technology and exposes photosensitive films using a digital mask. The device design allows components to be quickly designed from digitally generated layout files and prototyped in coordinated manufacturing steps. The device thus eliminates the need for lengthy structuring processes using chromium masks. The system enables structure sizes close to the optical resolution limit of 0.6 micrometers on 6-inch substrates. Typical applications are the very fast and precise exposure of photosensitive films for structuring components, e.g., for superconducting electronics, micromechanical structures, electrodes, or memristors, the prototypical generation of conductive contacts to nanoscale devices produced by electron beam and ion beam lithography, and patterning of 3D fluidic structures using SU8 resists and other thick film polymers. The system is embedded in the Central Electronics and Information Technology Laboratory (ZEITlab) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The ZEITlab is an organizational unit of the School of Computation, Information and Technology (SoCIT). Since 2022, it has been housed in the new TUM Electrical Engineering and Information Technology building on the Garching campus. The center consists of a clean room with an area of 950 m² and associated characterization laboratories. Its vision is to establish a "makerspace for microelectronics prototypes" that supports a wide range of research areas as a broad-based technology center of SoCIT. In the ZEITlab, proof-of-concept demonstrators in the field of electronics and sensor technology are realized on the basis of modern materials and components and made available for various fields of application. This type of "rapid prototyping" uses innovative processing and characterization technologies and is systematically supplemented by circuit design and modelling. ZEITlab provides a central and shared access to micro- and nanofabrication for a large number of research groups working on topics such as quantum and sensor technologies, micro-, opto-, and neuroelectronics, as well as hybrid nanosystems. The bundled infrastructure, therefore, enables an efficient transfer of technologies from basic research to engineering issues and applications.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Maskless Lithography
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität München (TUM)
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Markus Becherer