[2510.15082] A low-cost, open-source maskless photolithography stepper for microfabrication

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Physics > Instrumentation and Detectors

arXiv:2510.15082 (physics)

[Submitted on 16 Oct 2025]

Title:A low-cost, open-source maskless photolithography stepper for microfabrication

Authors:B. Joel Gonzalez, Elio Bourcart, J. Kent Wirant, Michael Juan, Justin Wang, Matthew T. Moneck<br>View a PDF of the paper titled A low-cost, open-source maskless photolithography stepper for microfabrication, by B. Joel Gonzalez and 5 other authors

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Abstract:Photolithography is a key part of modern semiconductor process flows, and photolithography steppers have been used for decades to achieve precise patterning for device fabrication. However, these tools are often large and expensive, which restricts their use to industry and well-funded university laboratories. In this paper, we propose a $3000 maskless photolithography stepper that is affordable, open-source, and easy to assemble. The stepper, which uses a Digital Light Processing (DLP) projector as its optical engine, is able to achieve an optical resolution of under 2 microns. The stepper also features a motorized micropositioning system, which is able to align features with single-digit micron precision. A deep learning computer vision model is also used to achieve fine-grain alignment of patterns on a chip. These capabilities allow for the use of the stepper for microfabrication to produce micron-scale devices such as NMOS transistors.

Comments:<br>14 pages, 17 figures, to be submitted to PLOS One

Subjects:

Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)

Cite as:<br>arXiv:2510.15082 [physics.ins-det]

(or<br>arXiv:2510.15082v1 [physics.ins-det] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2510.15082

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arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite

Submission history<br>From: Joel Gonzalez [view email]<br>[v1]<br>Thu, 16 Oct 2025 18:54:32 UTC (31,742 KB)

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