Sanders to demonstrate stand-alone lithography system

Leaders of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., are selecting Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company in Nashua, N.H., to demonstrate a stand-alone X-ray exposure system. This capability is expected to enhance the capabilities of semiconductor manufacturers to print monolithic microwave integrated circuits - better known as MMICs - with fine dimensions at high-throughput levels. DARPA is awarding the $10.5 million contract to the Sanders Microwave Electronics Division under the aegis of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command in Arlington, Va. The point source X-ray lithography system is expected to produce circuits by stepping a series of X-ray exposures across a wafer, which enables throughput levels greater than those available through traditional electron beam lithography. - J.K.