I-Corps: Translation Potential of Chip Manufacturing at the Limits of Solid-State Miniaturization

The broader impact of this I-Corps project is the development of new semiconductor wafer exposure equipment for chip manufacturing and research-grade cleanroom industries. Current products in the market present challenges in meeting the progressive miniaturization needs of the industry apart from being enormously complex and expensive. In addition, the current constraints in sourcing manufacturing equipment from isolated equipment providers worldwide is a factor that limits the availability of semiconductor products. The solution advanced in this project will address these barriers using a novel lithography technology. If successful, chip manufacturers and semiconductor fabrication cleanrooms may use this wafer-exposure equipment in chip production for diverse end-uses such as integrated circuits, flexible electronics, nanoelectromechanical systems, capacitive touch screens, sensors, nano-optics, nanocatalysis, etc. This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with a first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of the technology. This solution is based on the development of wafer-exposure equipment that is enabled by a new lithography methodology. This lithography technique employs large-scale arrays of deeply miniaturized source beams to simultaneously write patterns on thin-film materials at the whole wafer-level and near the ultimate limits of solid-state miniaturization. Key innovations that underpin this technology include the formation of nanoscopic source beams in large arrays and their use in material patterning applications. The lithography technique has the potential to enable a performance regime where customers will benefit from substantial efficiencies in patterning resolution, process scalability, manufacturing complexity, and equipment and operational costs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.