A method includes: depositing a mask layer over a substrate; directing first radiation reflected from a central collector section of a sectional collector of a lithography system toward the mask layer according to a pattern; directing second radiation reflected from a peripheral collector section of the sectional collector toward the mask layer according to the pattern, wherein the peripheral collector section is vertically separated from the central collector section by a gap; forming openings in the mask layer by removing first regions of the mask layer exposed to the first radiation and second regions of the mask layer exposed to the second radiation; and removing material of a layer underlying the mask layer exposed by the openings.

A grating coupler may be fabricated by exposing a photopolymer layer to grating forming light for forming periodic refractive index variations in the photopolymer layer. The photopolymer layer may be exposed to apodization light for reducing an amplitude of the periodic refractive index variations in a spatially-selective manner. The apodization may also be achieved or facilitated by subjecting outer surface(s) of the photopolymer layer to a chemically reactive agent that causes the refractive index contrast to be reduced near the surface(s) of application. The apodized refractive index profile of the gratings facilitates the reduction of optical crosstalk between different gratings of the grating coupler.

Methods and apparatuses for minimizing line edge/width roughness in lines formed by photolithography are provided. In one example, a method of processing a substrate includes applying a photoresist layer comprising a photoacid generator to on a multi-layer disposed on a substrate, wherein the multi-layer comprises an underlayer formed from an organic material, inorganic material, or a mixture of organic and inorganic materials, exposing a first portion of the photoresist layer unprotected by a photomask to a radiation light in a lithographic exposure process, and applying an electric field or a magnetic field to alter movement of photoacid generated from the photoacid generator substantially in a vertical direction.

A photolithography method is provided. The photolithography method includes forming a photoresist layer on a wafer, exposing a portion of the photoresist layer by using an exposure device and a mask, and forming a photoresist pattern by removing a non-exposed portion of the photoresist layer. The mask includes a substrate having a main pattern area and a blocking area outside the main pattern area, a main pattern on the main pattern area of the substrate, and a blocking pattern on the blocking area of the substrate. An external circumference of the blocking pattern extends to the maximum area of the mask that may be illuminated by the exposure device or to the outside of the maximum area of the mask.

A method for forming a mask pattern is provided, comprising forming a negative photoresist on a substrate; in an environment without oxygen, to performing a first exposure on the negative photoresist by use of a first ordinary mask plate, so that a fully-cured portion of the negative photoresist is exposed to light and a semi-cured portion and a removed portion of the negative photoresist are not exposed to light; in an environment with oxygen, performing a second exposure on the negative photoresist by use of a second ordinary mask plate, so that the semi-cured portion of the negative photoresist is exposed to light and the removed portion of the negative photoresist not exposed to light; removing the uncured negative photoresist and forming the mask pattern.

A method of forming a masking element is provided. The method includes forming a photoresist material having a polymer backbone over a substrate, where the polymer backbone includes a linking group that links a first polymer segment to a second polymer segment, each of the first and the second polymer segments having an ultraviolet (UV) curable group. The method includes exposing the photoresist material under a first UV radiation to break the link between the first polymer segment and the second polymer segment. The method includes exposing the photoresist material under a second UV radiation different from the first UV radiation to form a patterned resist layer. And the method includes developing the patterned resist layer to form a masking element.

A novel method for the manufacturing of fine line circuitry on a transparent substrates is provided, the method comprises the following steps in the given order providing a transparent substrate, depositing a pattern of light-shielding activation layer on at least a portion of the front side of said substrate, placing a photosensitive composition on the front side of the substrate and on the pattern of light-shielding activation layer, photo-curing the photosensitive composition from the back side of the substrate with a source of electromagnetic radiation, removing any uncured remnants of the photosensitive composition; and thereby exposing recessed structures and deposition of at least one metal into the thus formed recessed structures whereby a transparent substrate with fine line circuitry thereon is formed. The method allows for very uniform and fine line circuitry with a line and space dimension of 0.5 to 10 μm.

Techniques and arrangements for performing exposure operations on a wafer utilizing both a stepper apparatus and an aligner apparatus. The exposure operations are performed with respect to large composite base dies, e.g., interposers, defined within the wafer, where the interposers will become a part of microelectronic devices by coupling with active dies or microchips. The composite base dies may be coupled to the active dies via “native interconnects” utilizing direct bonding techniques. The stepper apparatus may be used to perform exposure operations on active regions of the composite base dies to provide a fine pitch for the native interconnects, while the aligner apparatus may be used to perform exposure operations on inactive regions of the composite base dies to provide a coarse pitch for interfaces with passive regions of the composite base dies.

A method of lithography patterning includes forming a resist layer over a substrate and providing a radiation with a first exposure dose to define an opening to be formed in the resist layer. The opening is to have a target critical dimension CD.sub.1 after developed by a negativ-tone development (NTD) process. The method further includes exposing the resist layer to the radiation with a second exposure dose less than the first exposure dose and developing the resist layer in a negative-tone development process to remove unexposed portions of the resist layer, resulting in an opening between resist patterns. A critical dimension CD.sub.2 of the opening is greater than CD.sub.1 by a delta. The method further includes forming an interfacial layer on sidewalls of the resist patterns. The interfacial layer has a thickness that is substantially equal to half of the delta.

An exposure method and an exposure machine according to the present disclosure, which can achieve higher exposure accuracy, belong to the technical field of display. The exposure method comprises the following steps: a mask is placed at a first position above a substrate to be exposed; a first region of a photoresist on the substrate is exposed; the mask is moved to a second position above the substrate; and a second region of the photoresist on the substrate is exposed. As a result, an overlapped region between the first region and the second region of the photoresist is exposed twice. The present disclosure is applicable to the manufacturing of a liquid crystal display device.