Nikon Releases New FPD Lithography System FX-6AS

Producing leading edge small-and-medium-sized high-definition panels with higher performance

October 26, 2021

TOKYO - Nikon Corporation (Nikon) announced the release of the new FPD lithography system FX-6AS that supports small and medium-size panels. The FX-6AS is an optimal FPD lithography system for manufacturing high definition organic light emitting diode (OLED) panels and LCD panels for the latest and high-definition mobile devices, such as smartphones.

With the newly developed projection lens, the FX-6AS enables the highest level of resolution, high alignment accuracy, and high throughput. The FX-6AS employs an i-line light source that has been used in the existing models. This enables the high-volume production of high definition panels without changing the existing manufacturing processes.

Product name and release date

Product name	FPD Lithography System FX-6AS
Sales launch	In early November 2021

Development Background

In addition to higher resolution, displays used in smart devices, VR, AR devices are equipped with more features, such as thinness and flexibility.
Especially, LTPO^* technology that reduces power consumption and enables higher definition is attracting attention. In order to realize this technology, it is important to make circuit patterns on a panel thinner and make the line-width uniform.
In order to meet these needs, Nikon has developed FPD lithography system"FX-6AS" that supports G6 plates, which realizes even higher definition and higher functionality for small-and-medium-sized panels.

*LTPO: Low Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide
LTPO can optimize the refresh rate of a display. The resolution of OLED and FPD panels can be enhanced and the power consumption can be reduced.

Key Features

1. High Resolution

Nikon has developed a new projection lens that enables higher resolution. The FX-6AS features the multi-lens system consisting of multiple projection lenses, realizing wide exposure field and excellent efficiency.
For the exposure of circuit patterns, the FX-6AS has achieved a high resolution of 1.2 μm (L/S^*) for binary masks and 1.1μm (L/S) for phase shift masks. (current resolution when using phase shift masks is 1.0 μm (L/S). Added on October 2, 2023.)

*L/S: Line and Space

2. Using the same light source as the previous models

The FX-6AS employs an i-line light source that has been used in the existing models. This enables the production of high definition panels without changing the existing manufacturing processes related to the exposure process.

3. High Overlay Accuracy

High overlay accuracy is realized by using a new projection lens with reduced aberration. Furthermore, the new body that reduces the influence of vibration and temperature during operation is designed to realize higher measurement accuracy of alignment marks^*. This realizes a high alignment accuracy of ±0.23 μm.

*A mark on a plate used as a reference point for position alignment.

4. High Throughput

With the introduction of the new projection lens, the improved stage, and the enhanced illumination power, the FX-6AS achieves high throughput. It provides a high throughput of 85 plates per hour when using a binary mask.

Performance Overview

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Resolution (L/S)	1.0 μm (when using a phase shit mask) * Added on October 2, 2023.
Projection magnification	1:1
Overlay	≦±0.23 μm
Plate size	1,500 mm x 1,850 mm
Takt time	42 s/plate Conditions: 1,500 mm x 1,850 mm, 4-scan, i-line 30 mJ/cm²