History and future of mask making

Ken L. Levy

doi:10.1117/12.262794

27 December 1996 History and future of mask making

Ken L. Levy

Proceedings Volume 2884, 16th Annual BACUS Symposium on Photomask Technology and Management; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.262794
Event: 16th Annual BACUS Symposium on Photomask Technology and Management, 1996, Redwood City, CA, United States

Abstract

The history of the mask industry has three main periods, which I call the Classical Period, the Dark Ages, and the Renaissance, by analogy with those periods in the history of Western Europe. During the Classical Period, people developed 1X masks and the technology to make them. In the Dark Ages, people exploited the equipment developed during the Classical Period to make 5X reduction reticle, ending the nobility of mask making. In today's Renaissance of mask making, a proliferation of mask types is requiring a rebirth of innovation and creativity. The Renaissance resembles the Classical Period: masks are once again strategic, and technological capability is once again the driver. Meanwhile, the mask industry is carrying forward the productivity and efficiency gains it achieved during the Dark Ages. We must create a new business and economic model to support these changes in the characteristics of the marketplace.

Citation Download Citation

Ken L. Levy "History and future of mask making", Proc. SPIE 2884, 16th Annual BACUS Symposium on Photomask Technology and Management, (27 December 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.262794

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