Lithography & Microfabrication

Shaping the future – with light

When precision reaches the limits of mechanics, light takes over. Lasers have become the key enablers for advanced lithography and microfabrication, defining and structuring materials with unmatched accuracy, flexibility, and speed. From semiconductor patterning and 3D microprinting to holographic optics and transparent displays – laser light is the most precise tool.

Holography & augmented reality

Lasers are also central to the fabrication of volume holographic optical elements (HOEs) used in augmented reality displays and automotive lighting.
During recording, two or more coherent laser beams interfere inside a photosensitive glass or polymer, forming a three-dimensional refractive index modulation.
Lasers with precise wavelength tunability and outstanding coherence stability allow designers to encode wavelength-selective or angularly selective holograms that manipulate light for HUDs, AR waveguides, or dynamic lighting.
TOPTICA’s tunable diode lasers provide the spectral control and beam coherence required to master these complex interference patterns.

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Precision microfabrication

In precision manufacturing, lasers enable non-contact material processing with micrometer accuracy and minimal thermal damage.
Femtosecond and picosecond fiber lasers, often used as seeders for high-power amplification, deliver energy in ultrashort bursts – vaporizing or ablating material faster than heat can diffuse.
This technique is used to create micro-channels, optical fibers, waveguides, filters, and functional surfaces on metals, glass, and semiconductors.
Laser microfabrication combines speed, repeatability, and scalability – essential for today’s high-tech components in photonics, electronics, and medical devices.

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Direct Writing Lithography

Laser Direct-Write Lithography is a patterning technique in which a focused laser beam writes structures directly onto a resist-coated substrate without the use of a photomask. Instead of projecting a pattern through a mask, the pattern is generated digitally and exposed point-by-point on the surface. Because the pattern is defined by software rather than a physical mask, the design can be changed immediately. This flexibility makes Direct-Write Lithography especially valuable for rapid prototyping, small-batch fabrication, and research environments. Direct-Write Lithography is widely used in micro- and nanofabrication laboratories and complements high-volume manufacturing tools such as steppers or scanners.

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