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型应用，特别是在可穿戴电子产品和健康与生命科学领域。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，柔性系统的大规模集成以及微流体系统的集成以递送和控制分析物很少得到解决。不莱梅大学的微传感器、执行器和系统研究所（IMSAS）将有机器件方面的知识与微系统和微流体元件制造方面的丰富经验相结合，这为将柔性有机传感器系统领域进一步推向更高的集成密度提供了理想的背景。一个高度可重复的光学光刻是必不可少的这项研究。然而，IMSAS目前可用于涂覆和开发光学活性层的设备既不能提供集成柔性组件所需的功能，也不能提供集成柔性组件所需的质量。缺少基本选项。虽然在复杂表面上的多步光刻是有机器件集成的先决条件，但IMSAS目前可用的设备仅允许简单的旋涂沉积，这导致层厚度和器件特性的较大变化。用于粘合促进剂的几种沉积方法也是不可能的，并且由于安全要求，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，并且为了能够进行预期的实验，这里需要一种新的涂覆和显影站，其i）允许均匀的涂覆和显影，包括边缘去除，ii）允许喷涂更复杂的形貌，iii）允许在真空热板内沉积粘合促进剂，以及iv）包括两个附加的热板以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.