lithography

n. [ Cf. F. lithographie. ] 1. The art or process of putting designs or writing, with a greasy material, on stone, and of producing printed impressions therefrom. The process depends, in the main, upon the antipathy between grease and water, which prevents a printing ink containing oil from adhering to wetted parts of the stone not covered by the design. See Lithographic limestone, under Lithographic. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. a printing process for reproducing images, using any flat surface, such as a metal plate, in a manner similar to lithography{ 1 }. [ PJC ]

3. The process of producing patterns on semiconductor crystals by exposing photosensitive coatings on a matrix, such as silicon, to light patterns in the form desired for the circuit, and subsequently treating (e.g., chemically) the patterns thus formed in such a way as to create integrated semiconductor circuits with the desired properties. This is the principle method (1990's) to create the high-density integrated circuits used in the digital computers on which you are reading this. [ PJC ]