(1) For early disk drives, see
stepper motor.
(2) In chip manufacturing, a stepper is the photolithographic method used to project an image onto each chip on the wafer. The stepper moves the wafer under the light and photomask one die at a time until the entire wafer has been exposed. Stepper machines are used to create chips such as microcontrollers (MCUs), which are manufactured by the billions every year but do not require the most advanced technology (see
process technology). For state-of-the-art chips, photolithographic scanners are used (see
EUV machine). See
chip manufacturing.