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A bare 300 mm silicon wafer clamped on a stainless spin chuck inside an open coater module, a bead of photoresist just dispensed at its centre and spread across only the inner part of the disc

Patterning at the Limit: What Actually Happens When a Chip Is Manufactured

A chip is not carved, it is printed — the same four-step loop repeated across dozens of layers. Resolution stopped being the binding constraint some time ago; placement, variation and measurement took over.

By Brecht Corbeel · August 9, 2026 · 20 min read

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