Karl Suss MA56 Mask Aligner Photolithography 4" Wafer 350W 110V 1500VA 60Hz

Karl Suss MA56 Mask Aligner Photolithography 4" Wafer 350W 110V 1500VA 60Hz

The Karl Suss MA56 is a contact/proximity mask aligner used in photolithographic patterning of semiconductor wafers. This system is configured for 4-inch (100mm) wafers and uses a 350W mercury (Hg) lamp exposure unit to transfer photomask patterns onto photoresist-coated substrates. It includes a binocular alignment microscope, an X/Y/Omega stage with scope manipulator, and a cassette-based wafer handling system with pre-aligned station. The system was previously sent back to Karl Suss and factory-rebuilt; it has seen little to no use since that rebuild. It is being sold as-is because the ENI power supply is missing and the unit has not been powered or tested.

Specifications & What's Included

• Make: Karl Suss (KSM)
• Model: MA56
• Controller Model / Part No.: 260MS022
• Main Machine Type: 1301112
• Voltage: 110V
• Power Rating: 1500 VA
• Frequency: 60 Hz
• System Power Requirement: 1.1 kW
• Exposure Unit: 350W mercury (Hg) lamp
• Wafer Capacity: 4-inch (100mm) wafers
• Alignment: X, Y, Omega stage with scope manipulator
• Wafer Handling: Cassette system with pre-aligned station
• Optics: Vacuum contact exposure tooling intact
• Microscope: Binocular alignment microscope with dual violet-coated objectives
• Controller: Karl Suss controller unit with 4-digit red LED display, CP/CI1/CI2/DS/START controls (included)
• Utilities Required: Vacuum, compressed air, nitrogen, electrical power
• Country of Manufacture: USA (Waterbury Center, Vermont)
• Missing: ENI power supply (not included — sold as-is without it)
• Not powered or tested at our facility

Applications

The Karl Suss MA56 is a contact mask aligner from the mid-1980s era of semiconductor and MEMS fabrication. Mask aligners like the MA56 are used in photolithography — the core patterning step in IC fabrication, MEMS device manufacturing, thin-film research, and academic cleanroom labs. In contact mode, the photomask is brought into direct contact with the resist-coated wafer and the mercury lamp exposes the pattern through UV light; proximity mode allows a small gap to reduce mask wear. Karl Suss (now SUSS MicroTec) aligners of this generation were standard equipment in university microfabrication facilities, government research labs, and small-volume production lines throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The MA56 platform supported both research and pilot-line work on substrates up to 4 inches, making it a practical tool for III-V compound semiconductor work, silicon IC prototyping, optical waveguide fabrication, and MEMS patterning. Systems of this type remain in use today in legacy research cleanrooms, teaching labs, and low-volume specialty fabs where the economics of upgrading to stepper-based lithography are not justified.