Challenges
Despite it being a versatile technique, there are still several challenges to be addressed by stencil lithography. During deposition through the stencil, material is deposited not only on the substrate through the apertures but also on the stencil backside, including around and inside the apertures. This reduces the effective aperture size by an amount proportional to the deposited material, leading ultimately to aperture clogging.
The accuracy of the pattern transfer from the stencil to the substrate depends on many parameters. The material diffusion on the substrate (as a function of temperature, material type, evaporation angle) and the geometrical setup of the evaporation are the main factors. Both lead to an enlargement of the initial pattern, called blurring.
Read more about this topic: Stencil Lithography
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