U.S.-Based Photolithography Services for MEMS and Sensor Fabrication
Photolithography defines the patterns that become MEMS devices, sensors, and micro-scale structures. Rogue Valley Microdevices provides photolithography services on 100mm, 150mm, and 200mm wafers at our U.S.-based, ITAR-registered MEMS foundry, supporting programs from first prototype through production manufacturing.
Our team transfers mask patterns onto photoresist-coated wafers with high accuracy and repeatability. That precision lets you define structural layers, electrical routing, cavities, and micro-scale device features down to just a few microns, with dependable alignment from layer to layer.
Because we run lithography in the same fab as thin-film deposition, plasma etching, and metal lift-off, your wafers stay in one controlled process environment from start to finish. The same lithography line patterns the photoresist masks for our DRIE silicon etches and the bilayer resist stacks behind our metal lift-off process, so each masking layer is tuned to the step that follows it. One fab, one engineering team, and full transparency into every process decision.
Contact and Proximity Photolithography for MEMS Devices
Most MEMS devices rely on micron-scale geometry rather than nanometer-scale semiconductor nodes. For these designs, contact and proximity lithography deliver reliable, cost-effective pattern transfer matched to the features MEMS devices actually need.
Engineers use these capabilities to fabricate pressure sensors, inertial sensors, microfluidic devices, and optical MEMS components. Not sure which exposure approach fits your device? Our guide to photolithography methods compares the options.
Photolithography Capabilities and Specifications
Our photolithography toolset is built for complex, multilayer MEMS device architectures while maintaining precise alignment across your complete fabrication sequence:
| Process Metric | Capability |
|---|---|
| Exposure methods | Contact and proximity lithography for micron-scale patterning |
| Minimum feature size | 5µm and larger with excellent wafer-level uniformity |
| Alignment | Front-to-back alignment for double-sided and multilayer device designs; accurate mask alignment layer to layer |
| Photoresist coating | Spin coat for planar etch and lift-off patterning; spray coat for deep features and high-topography structures |
| Wafer sizes | 100mm, 150mm, and 200mm substrates |
For resist selection, thicknesses, and coating methods, see our photoresist coating services, which cover both spin coat and spray coat processes.
Supported Wafer Sizes and Materials
We pattern 100mm, 150mm, and 200mm wafers across a broad set of substrate materials:
- Silicon
- Silicon on insulator (SOI)
- Quartz
- Sapphire
- Glass
- GaN on silicon
- Silicon carbide
- Other specialty substrates and materials
An Extension of Your Engineering Team
Rogue Valley Microdevices provides flexible photolithography services for innovators, startups, universities, and established technology companies. Our engineers work directly with you to optimize mask layouts, lithography parameters, and wafer process flows before the first wafer starts.
You gain:
- A direct line to the process engineers running your wafers
- Transparency into lithography parameters and every process decision
- Design-for-manufacturing feedback grounded in wafer-level results
- Integration with the complete MEMS process chain in one U.S. fab
From Prototype to Production
Because we operate a full MEMS fabrication environment, lithography integrates with every process step required to manufacture advanced devices, from film growth through final etch. This integrated approach helps you move from device concept to volume manufacturing with greater speed and confidence, whether you need a handful of development wafers or a qualified production process. Explore our complete MEMS foundry capabilities and wafer services to see the whole toolbox.
Request Photolithography Services
Tell us about your device, your substrate, and your feature sizes. Our engineering team will respond with a practical path from mask to patterned wafer, and a quote to match. Request a quote to get started.