Out on the line, the Micro LED wafer comes out of cleaning and just sits there. Any moisture left on the surface is a straight invitation to pattern collapse when the photoresist hits, and a single streak can carry straight through lithography and etch—yield gone. The dryer has to strip that film without beating up the stack.
What we focused on under the hood
We built this wafer drying heater around tight thermal control. Across the active area, wafer-level uniformity stays within ±0.1°C, so the photoresist temperature during soft bake and hard bake stays inside the recipe window. Short-wave infrared elements give you fast, repeatable ramp-up—less thermal budget, but you still keep polymer integrity.
It’s cleanroom-compatible down to Class 1–100, using low-outgassing materials and an airflow path that doesn’t invite particles. We verify zero particle generation against your metrology limits, and the platform is built to run 24/7 with uptime that aims for zero unplanned stops.
Why this matters in Micro LED
In Micro LED fabrication, the dryer sits right where cleaning, coating, and pattern transfer meet. Consistent drying stabilizes surface energy before photoresist application, which cuts edge bead and gives you better critical dimension control. Temperature precision through soft bake and hard bake improves adhesion and etch selectivity, so the etch front stays vertical and residue-free.
The payoff is fewer reworks, tighter process windows, and a cycle time you can plan around. Energy use drops too, thanks to short dwell times and efficient thermal coupling—lower operating cost without giving up performance.
A few practical details you’ll want lined up
Installation means matching exhaust routing and exhaust gas treatment to the solvent profile of your photoresist line. If the venting isn’t aligned, you can get backflow into the chamber and contaminate the wafer.
The heater is engineered for standard 150 mm and 200 mm wafer carriers, but if you change carriers, run a short qualification to confirm airflow and temperature mapping. And set a calibration interval that matches your SPC targets—repeatability doesn’t happen by accident.