Design and integration of a DMD-based dual-telecentric optical system for sub-micron maskless lithography

AbstractMaskless lithography centered on digital micromirror devices (DMDs) is widely used for high precision fabrication of complex structures due to its advantages of high speed and low cost. However, the widespread adoption of DMD-based digital lithography remains hindered by its limited capability in fabricating high-precision submicron patterns—a challenge stemming from inherent optical aberrations, stray light interference during projection, and inconsistent focal plane control. Here we present a sub-micron digital lithography technology based on a dual-telecentric optical system. Using resin as the lithographic medium, this technology significantly suppresses optical aberrations through the dual-telecentric optical design, reduces the influence of stray light with Monte Carlo ray tracing, and employs an intelligent autofocus algorithm to achieve precise focal plane control. This enables the fabrication of patterns with feature sizes below 0.5 μm over a manufacturing format exceeding 0.5 mm in a single-step planar projection process. This study demonstrates that resin materials can be used for high-precision digital lithography, offering high processing speed and good process controllability, and provides an alternative material and technological approach for submicron-scale fabrication.