Toronto-based open source semiconductor lithography research.
Semiconductor fabrication is locked behind billion-dollar fabs, toxic chemical supply chains, and restricted equipment. KOSL is building the processes and tools to change that — making chip-making as accessible as PCB fabrication.
Every chemical in our process is a safe, consumer-available substitute for its industrial counterpart. HF is replaced with KOH. PMMA photoresist is replaced with egg white albumen. The developer is water.
Egg white protein (ovalbumin) functions as both photoresist and gate dielectric (k ≈ 5–6, higher than SiO2). Riboflavin (vitamin B2) acts as a Type II photosensitizer at 450nm, generating singlet oxygen that crosslinks the protein into water-insoluble patterns.
Exposure uses a 5W 450nm laser diode on a CNC platform. Development is distilled water. The dual-function material serves as both the patterning layer and the gate insulator at $0.004/mL — versus $1.49/mL for conventional PMMA.
All process recipes, equipment schematics, and experiment results — including failures — published under permissive licenses. No patents, no paywalls.
No specialty chemicals, restricted materials, or surplus equipment from decommissioned fabs. Every supply is consumer-available from standard retailers.
No hydrofluoric acid. No organic solvents. Water-based development, KOH etching. Safe for garage labs, makerspaces, and university teaching environments.
Process development and equipment design. Leads the Albu photoresist research and lithography machine architecture.
Engineering and systems integration. Builds the hardware, software, and product infrastructure around the core research.
Every hazardous industrial chemical mapped to a safe, consumer-available alternative.