System for rapidly producing either integrated circuits on a substrate, Interconnections on a printed circuit board or rapidly performing lithography

• US 5,558,884 A
• Filed: 03/29/1995
• Issued: 09/24/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Melles Griot, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Omnichrome Corporation
• Inventors: Reid, Ray D., Hug, William F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chiesa, Richard L.
• Application Number:
  US08/412,608
• Time in Patent Office: 545 Days
• Field of Search: 425/174.4, 264/308, 264/272.17, 264/401, 264/494, 346/77 R, 353/99, 365/111, 365/119, 365/108, 365/126
• US Class Current: 425/174.4
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/135 the energy source being concentrated, e.g. scanning lasers or focused light sources
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 30/00 Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor

Abstract

A system for rapidly producing an integrated circuit on a substrate using a curable liquid capable of solidification to form a photo-resist pattern corresponding to an artwork representation of interconnections when subjected to ultra-violet light energy operates with a processor and computer aided design software. The system includes an x-y table, an electronically erasable mask, a drawing device and a projecting system. The substrate is disposed on the x-y table. The curable liquid lies in a solidification plane on the substrate. The electronically erasable mask is an ultra-violet wavelength isolating image buffer and is electrically coupled to the processor. The drawing device may be a back lighted liquid crystal display or a high resolution cathode ray tube or an infrared diode laser raster scanner and electronically draws an image of the artwork representation for the interconnections onto the electronically erasable mask. The projecting system projects ultra-violet light energy onto the electronically erasable mask so that the electronically erasable mask transfers a single frame exposure of the image in order to reflect the ultra-violet light energy onto the curable liquid in the solidification plane thereby forming the photo-resist pattern on the substrate.

Claims

1. A system for rapidly producing an integrated circuit on a substrate using a curable liquid capable of solidification to form a photo-resist pattern corresponding to an artwork representation of interconnections when subjected to ultraviolet light energy in combination with a processor and computer aided design software, said system comprising:

a. an x-y table on which the substrate is positioned, the curable liquid which lies in a solidification plane on the substrate;

b. an electronically erasable mask which is an ultraviolet wavelength isolating image buffer and which is electrically coupled to the processor;

c. optical drawing means for optically drawing an image of the artwork representation for the interconnection onto said electronically erasable mask using light of a wavelength range having wavelengths longer than ultraviolet light, said drawing means being electrically coupled to the processor; and

d. projecting means for projecting ultra-violet light energy onto said electronically erasable mask so that said electronically erasable mask transfers a single frame exposure of said image in order to reflect said ultraviolet light energy onto the curable liquid in said solidification plane thereby forming the photo-resist pattern on the substrate.

2. A system for rapidly producing an integrated circuit on a substrate according to claim 1 wherein said drawing means comprises an infrared diode laser raster scanner.

3. A system for rapidly producing an integrated circuit on a substrate according to claim 1 wherein said drawing means comprises a high resolution cathode ray tube.

4. A system for rapidly producing an integrated circuit on a substrate according to claim 1 wherein said drawing means comprises a back-lighted liquid crystal display.

5. A system for rapidly producing an integrated circuit on a substrate according to claim 1 wherein said drawing means comprises a helium-neon laser with an acousto-optic modulator.

6. A system for rapidly producing interconnections on a printed circuit board using a curable liquid capable of solidification to form photoresist pattern corresponding to an artwork representation of interconnections when subjected to ultraviolet light energy in combination with a processor and computer aided design software, said system comprising:

a. an x-y table on which the printed circuit board is positioned, the curable liquid which lies in a solidification plane on the printed circuit board;

b. an electronically erasable mask which is an ultraviolet wavelength isolating image buffer and which is electrically coupled to the processor;

c. optical drawing means for optically drawing an image of the artwork representation for the interconnection onto said electronically erasable mask using light of a wavelength range having wavelengths longer than ultraviolet light, said drawing means being electrically coupled to the processor; and

d. projecting means for projecting ultraviolet light energy onto said electronically erasable mask so that said electronically erasable mask transfers a single frame exposure of said image in order to reflect said ultraviolet light energy onto the curable liquid in said solidification plane thereby forming the photoresist pattern on the printed circuit board.

8. A system for rapidly producing interconnections on a printed circuit board according to claim 6 wherein said drawing means comprises a high resolution cathode ray tube.

9. A system for rapidly producing interconnections on a printed circuit board according to claim 6 wherein said drawing means comprises a back-lighted liquid crystal display.

10. A system for rapidly producing interconnections on a printed circuit board according to claim 6 wherein said drawing means comprises a helium-neon laser with an acousto-optic modulator.

7. A system for rapidly producing interconnections on a printed circuit board according to claim wherein said drawing means comprises an infrared diode laser raster scanner.

11. A system for rapidly producing a circuit pattern on a substrate, said system comprising:

a pattern generating computer that converts an image of a pattern to be written into information representative of a pattern to be written;

a first light source emitting light in a first wavelength range, said first light source coupled to said pattern generating computer so that said first light source is modulated with said information representative of a pattern to be written, said first wavelength range comprising wavelengths longer than ultraviolet light;

an electronically erasable mask in which information representative of a pattern to be written can be optically written and stored, said electronically erasable mask positioned to receive light emitted by said first light source, said electronically erasable mask absorbing radiation within said first wavelength range and forming within said electronically erasable mask an optically readable image that corresponds to said information representative of a pattern to be written, whereby said electronically erasable mask acts as an ultraviolet wavelength isolating image buffer;

a second light source emitting ultraviolet light, said second light source directing said ultraviolet light onto said optically readable image within said electronically erasable mask so that said ultraviolet light is modulated with a pattern corresponding to said optically readable image; and

a substrate positioned so that said modulated ultraviolet light is incident on said substrate so that a photosensitive medium positioned on the surface of said substrate is exposed in accordance with said modulated ultraviolet light pattern.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein said first light source comprises an infrared diode laser raster scanner.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein said first light source comprises a visible laser and an accousto-optical modulator.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein said electronically erasable mask stores a frame of information that represents a portion of a total circuit pattern to be formed, the system further comprising a translation table on which said substrate is mounted and means for translating said translation table so that adjacent frames of information can be projected onto said substrate.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein said electronically erasable mask is coupled to said pattern generating computer so that said electronically erasable mask can be erased after said optically readable image has been read out.