Coating and Development Station for High-Resolution Optical Lithography

基于有机半导体的柔性传感器系统能够实现广泛的新颖应用，特别是在可穿戴电子以及健康和生命科学领域。然而，大多数研究都集中在单个传感器和设备的优化上；由于高技术挑战，更大规模的柔性系统集成和微流控系统的集成很少涉及。不来梅大学的微传感器、致动器和系统研究所(IMSAS)将有机器件方面的知识与微系统和微流控元件制造方面的丰富经验结合在一起，这为进一步推动柔性有机传感器系统领域向更高的集成密度发展提供了理想的背景。高重复性的光学光刻是这项研究的关键。然而，IMSAS目前可用于涂覆和开发光学有源层的设备既不提供柔性组件集成所需的功能，也不提供集成柔性组件所需的质量。缺少必要的选项。尽管复杂表面上的多步骤光刻是集成有机器件的先决条件，但IMSAS目前可用的设备只允许简单的旋转沉积，这导致了层厚度和器件特性的巨大变化。粘合促进剂的几种沉积方法也是不可能的，由于安全要求，光致抗蚀剂和显影剂的选择受到限制。为了填补制造技术中的这些空白，并能够进行预期的实验，这里需要一个新的涂层和显影站，i)允许均匀的涂层和显影，包括边缘去除，ii)允许对更复杂的表面进行喷涂，iii)允许在真空热板内沉积附着力促进剂，以及iv)包括两个额外的热板来执行复杂的温度处理。

Flexible sensor systems based on organic semiconductors enable a wide range of novel applications, especially in the field of wearable electronics and health and life sciences. Most research, however, is focussed on the optimization of individual sensors and devices; a larger scale integration of a flexible system and the integration of microfluidic system to deliver and control analytes is only rarely addressed due to the high technological challenges. The Institute for Mikrosensors, -actuators, and -systems (IMSAS) of the University of Bremen combines knowledge in organic devices with extensive experience in the fabrication of microsystems and microfluidic elements, which provides an ideal background to move the field of flexible organic sensor systems further towards higher integration density. A highly reproducible optical lithography is essential for this research. However, the equipment currently available at IMSAS for coating and development of optically active layers provides neither the functionality nor quality required for an integration of flexible components. Essential options are missing. Although a multi-step lithography on complex surfaces is a prerequisite for the integration of organic devices, the equipment currently available at IMSAS only allows simple spin-on deposition, which results in large variations in layer thickness and device characteristics. Several deposition methods for adhesion promoters are not possible as well, and the choice of photoresists and developers is limited due to safety requirements. To fill these gaps in the fabrication technology, and to be able to perform the intended experiments, a new coating and development station is requested here that i) allows homogeneous coating and development including edge removal, ii) allows spray coating for more complex topographies, iii) allows deposition of an adhesion promoter inside a vacuum hot plate, and iv) includes two additional hot plates to perform complex temperature treatments.