Modular infrared heating array

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 19:27:14 +0800

On the lithography floor, soft bake and hard bake aren’t just “steps.” They’re commitments you live by. A 2°C drift in photoresist temperature can shift a critical dimension by nanometers. One particle shed during heating can kill a 300 mm wafer. We built the modular infrared heating array to match that reality. What matters, technically We run near-infrared (NIR) emitters in a modular array, so power density is zone-controlled instead of averaged across a big hotplate. The payoff: wafer-level uniformity of ±0.1°C across the process window, mapped with thermocouples and checked against in-situ, emissivity-corrected sensing. Response is sub-second, so thermal overshoot vanishes when you change recipes. The hardware is cleanroom-compatible down to Class 1—sealed housing, low-outgassing materials, no exposed filaments. Particle generation stays low, and repeatability is locked in by closed-loop control and fixed emitter geometry. Why this works on the line Photoresist baking is where thermal budget meets yield. You need temperature precision to hit CD targets, and you need cleanliness to keep defect counts where they belong. Our array gives you both. Fast settling shortens changeover and keeps the line stable. Energy use drops because NIR heats the wafer directly, not the surrounding mechanics. Reliability is built for 24/7 operation, and the modular design means you can swap components without letting unplanned downtime dictate your schedule. The practical details The array integrates with existing tracks through standard mechanical and electrical interfaces. Still, you have to qualify alignment and emissivity settings for each resist stack and wafer size. Expect a short commissioning period to dial in the bake profile and lock down the control limits. Once that’s done, the process stays disciplined—no drift, no surprises.

Modular on The Warm IR Heating Factory

Modular infrared heating array