San Jose, CA--Maskless Lithography, a Silicon Valley startup led by a group of industry veterans, has come out of stealth mode, revealing a new direct-write digital-imaging technology for printed-circuit-board (PCB) production.
Uses ordinary resists
According to the company, its MLI-2027 direct-write lithography system is the industry's first to combine high throughput and yield with unparalleled accuracy using standard "non-laser-direct-imaging" resists. Based on its patented Gray Level Imaging (GLI) technology, the MLI-2027 offers high printing speed on conventional dry-film resists with real-time distortion correction.
Maskless said that Sanmina-SCI Corporation (San Jose, CA) has accepted the first production tool after completing beta testing, validation, and qualification. "The acceptance of this tool marks five years of development coming to fruition," stated Dan Meisburger, founder and CTO of Maskless Lithography. "In 2005, based upon our founding partners' experience in both lithography and metrology, we identified an opportunity to develop a lithography system that could deliver unrivalled value to the PCB market. We believe we have exceeded that initial vision and are now ready to share this tried and tested capability."
Meisburger founded Maskless Lithography in 2005; he has previously held senior roles at Ultratech Stepper, IBM, Hewlett-Packard and KLA-Tencor, where he was responsible for developing the world's first high-speed electron-beam wafer-inspection tool.
"We are really impressed with Maskless' unique direct-write lithography tool," said Mike Keri, vice president of operations for Sanmina-SCI. "The MLI-2027 has allowed us to meet highly challenging designs using conventional dry film resists at high yields and high throughput rates."
For more information, see www.maskless.com.
