Selba

Swiss expert in photolithography and fine glass machining.
High-precision solutions for industrial applications.
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SWISS PRECISION MANUFACTURING

Precision Photolithography &
Fine Glass Machining

Selba specializes in high-precision microfabrication and optical components for demanding industrial applications. With decades of expertise, we support industries requiring accuracy, reliability and custom engineering solutions. Selba delivers cutting-edge solutions in photolithography, precision graduation and glass machining. Our capabilities allow us to meet the highest standards in microfabrication.

Selba: precision photolithography

Swiss Quality

Selba operates from Versoix, in the Geneva region of Switzerland — an environment with a long industrial heritage in high-precision manufacturing. Our production processes reflect the exacting standards associated with Swiss technical manufacturing: tight dimensional tolerances, rigorous in-process inspection, and a supply chain built around qualified partners in the precision industry.

High Accuracy

Micron Patterning. Repeatable at Production Scale. Selba's photolithographic capabilities are built around high-resolution laser photoplotting at up to 50,800 dpi, enabling the production of fine-feature patterns on glass and film substrates with consistent edge definition and positional accuracy. Our glass machining department maintains precise geometric indexing between photolithographic patterns and machined external profiles, including drilling operations on substrates as thin as 0.1 mm.

Expertise

Our competencies span the full process chain: from artwork generation and laser photoplotting, through chromium and antireflective coating processes, to glass machining and final metrology.

OUR CORE COMPETENCIES

Products & Services

Our products are used across multiple high-tech industries requiring high-precision components.
Selba's glass photomask

Glass
Photomasks

The most reliable and precise solution. Used in electronics, photonics, microfluidics and semiconductors.
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Selba's Optical Encoder Disc

Optical
Encoder Discs

A key component
to high-precision
optical rotary encoders.
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Selba's Optical Linear Scale

Optical
Linear Scales

High-quality products
designed to fit
linear optical encoders.
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Selba's Film Photomask

Film
Photomasks

Cost-effective alternative to glass, film photomasks are used in chemical etching processes and prototyping.
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Selba's Calibration Targets

Calibration
Plates & Targets

Accurate measurement artifacts for metrology, microscopy, and optical inspection equipment.
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Selba's Fine Glass Machining

Fine Glass
Machining

In-house designed equipment
to machine fine glass
according to your specifications.
Technical Details

EXPERTISE & MARKETS

Industrial Applications

We deliver hundreds of thousands of products per year, offering consistent high-quality and reliability to our clients
Selba's industrial application: automation

Automation

Precision Motion Feedback for Industrial Automation Systems
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Accurate position and velocity feedback is fundamental to the performance of modern automation equipment — from robotic arms and CNC axes to servo drives and linear stages. Selba manufactures incremental and absolute encoder discs and linear scales on glass, film, and aluminum substrates, providing the optical reading element at the heart of rotary and linear encoder systems. Our photolithographic process delivers consistent line widths, pitch accuracy, and edge definition across the full graduation pattern, directly determining the resolution and signal quality available to the motion controller. For demanding industrial environments, glass substrates offer the dimensional stability and thermal resistance required to maintain accuracy across operating temperature ranges. Aluminum-based encoder discs and scales — currently under development on sheets as thin as 0.2 mm — address applications where low weight and mechanical integration constraints are priorities. Aluminum-coated film variants further extend the range of available configurations for applications combining high reflectivity with cost-competitive production volumes.
Selba's industrial application: electronics

Electronics

High-Resolution Photomasks for PCB and Photochemical Fabrication
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The electronics industry relies on precise photolithographic artwork to define conductor patterns, etch geometries, and component features across a wide range of substrates and processes. Selba produces both glass and film photomasks suited to the resolution and format requirements of printed circuit board manufacturing, photochemical machining, and related industrial lithography workflows. Glass photomasks — available on sodalime substrates with chromium or antireflective chromium layers — deliver the dimensional stability and pattern fidelity required for high-accuracy exposure processes. For prototyping and mid-volume production runs where rigid substrates are not necessary, film photomasks produced at up to 50,800 dpi provide sharp pattern definition at competitive lead times, with standard Gerber and DXF input formats accepted and shipping within 24 hours of order confirmation. Custom artwork is developed in close collaboration with process engineers to ensure mask specifications align with the downstream photolithographic process.
Selba's industrial application: watch industry

Watch Industry

We are a trusted partner of Swiss Watchmaking Maisons
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The watchmaking industry demands a rare combination of dimensional precision, surface quality, and component repeatability — requirements that sit at the core of Selba’s manufacturing capabilities. Our glass machining department, equipped with in-house designed machinery, produces components that conform to tight mechanical tolerances while meeting the aesthetic standards inherent to high-end horology. Precision graduation patterns and calibration plates — produced photolithographically on glass — supply the traceable geometric references required for optical measurement and quality control across watchmaking production lines. By integrating photolithographic patterning and glass machining within a single production site, tolerance stack-up between the two processes is eliminated, ensuring geometric consistency from prototype to series production. Whether supplying functional optical components or reference artifacts for metrology systems, Selba operates as a long-term precision manufacturing partner to maisons for whom no detail is too small.
Selba's industrial application: optics & phonics

Optics & Photonics

Substrate Patterning & Machining for Optical Instrumentation.
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Selba’s capabilities span several critical functions within optical and photonic system development. Encoder discs and linear scales — produced on glass, film, and aluminum substrates — provide the optical graduation elements for positioning systems integrated into optical instruments, laser equipment, and motion stages requiring Micron repeatability. Glass photomasks on quartz (fused silica) substrates serve deep-UV and high-precision exposure applications, where sodalime glass is insufficiently transmissive and dimensional stability over the full exposure field is essential.
Calibration plates and precision graduation patterns serve as reference artifacts for the validation of microscopes, interferometers, optical comparators, and machine vision systems — with feature pitch, substrate format, and aperture geometry specified to match the exact requirements of the target instrument. Where optical components must conform to a defined mechanical envelope, Selba’s glass machining capability — including complex profile cutting and drilling on substrates as thin as 0.1 mm — allows patterned elements to be shaped to precise external geometries without introducing positional error between the optical pattern and the machined form.
Selba's industrial application: medtech

Medical Devices / Medtech

Precision Components for Regulated Environments.
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Medical device manufacturers and medtech developers require components where dimensional accuracy, process traceability, and batch-to-batch repeatability are non-negotiable. Selba supplies photomasks, calibration plates, and precision graduation patterns used across medical imaging, diagnostics, microfluidics, and bioelectronic fabrication processes.
Glass and film photomasks support the lithographic fabrication of microfluidic channels, bioelectronic substrates, and diagnostic array structures, where pattern accuracy at the micron level directly determines device performance. Calibration plates and optical targets — produced on dimensionally stable glass substrates — provide the certified geometric references needed to validate imaging systems, optical comparators, and machine vision setups operating within ISO-regulated production environments. All Selba components are manufactured under controlled conditions with full traceability across the production chain, consistent with the quality management framework Selba is formalizing toward ISO 9001 certification by Q1 2027.
Selba's industrial application: new space

Space & New Space

Deep expertise in precision encoder discs and scales

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Space and New Space applications place exceptional demands on every onboard component. Spacecraft operate in a punishing environment of vacuum, radiation and extreme thermal cycling, from the deep cold of eclipse to direct solar exposure, all while their attitude control and pointing systems must deliver sub-arcsecond accuracy. Earth-observation satellites are a striking example: capturing high-resolution images of the ground from hundreds or thousands of kilometres away means that the smallest pointing error is magnified enormously at the surface, so extreme precision at the encoder level translates directly into image sharpness. Reaction wheels, gimballed antennas, instrument pointing mechanisms, solar array drives and deployable structures all rely on position and angle feedback that cannot drift with temperature or time. In each case, the precision of the encoder disc is a key element that determines the performance of the whole system.  

Selba meets these requirements with deep expertise in precision encoder discs and scales, using photolithographic chrome patterning to produce extremely fine, repeatable graduations. These are patterned on Borofloat® 33 glass, a borosilicate float glass whose low thermal expansion, dimensional stability and optical homogeneity keep the pattern precisely registered through orbital thermal cycling, while its vacuum compatibility and low outgassing meet the reliability standards of the space environment. 

Discover our industrial use cases

Virtually every product we design and manufacture follows bespoke customer requirements
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Flexible Manufacturing

Custom Services

We provide our clients with custom solutions to meet their needs.

Prototyping

From Concept
to First Product.
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Selba’s integrated production capabilities allow rapid iteration from digital artwork to finished part, without the lead times typically associated with precision optical manufacturing. Standard input formats including Gerber and DXF are accepted directly.

Before any file proceeds to production, Selba’s R&D experts review the submitted artwork to verify design integrity, flag potential process constraints, and confirm that the geometry is optimised for the target substrate and photolithographic process. This upstream review is a standard part of the Selba service, ensuring that the first prototype is representative of what series production will deliver.

Film photomask orders that clear review are shipped within 24 hours. For glass-based components, in-house photolithography and glass machining operate within the same facility, eliminating subcontractor dependencies that typically extend turnaround times.

Small Series

Controlled Volumes.
Consistent Results.
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For customers moving beyond initial validation — qualification batches, clinical evaluation units, pre-series instrument builds, or limited-run industrial components — Selba offers the process discipline of a precision manufacturer at volumes that many larger suppliers do not prioritise.

Every order begins with a structured file review by Selba’s R&D experts, who assess the submitted artwork against the intended process and substrate before production is initiated, resolving potential issues before they become production defects.

Each run then benefits from the same photolithographic process, substrate materials, and inspection protocols regardless of quantity, with full traceability maintained across the production chain from artwork verification through to final dimensional and optical checks.

Mass Production

Precision at scale
100% quality control
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When customers move to series production, Selba’s manufacturing infrastructure delivers consistent output at scale without compromising dimensional accuracy or surface quality.

The same R&D-led file review applied at the prototyping stage governs every mass production programme, ensuring artwork is fully validated before the first film is run. Established process parameters, qualified substrate materials, and documented quality checkpoints ensure that performance achieved during development is maintained across production volumes.

Selba’s laser photoplotting capability — at up to 50,800 dpi — combined with in-house glass machining, enables high-throughput production of encoder discs, photomasks, linear scales, and calibration plates with repeatable pattern fidelity across batches. Long-term supply is further supported by a network of qualified precision industry partners and a quality management framework progressing toward ISO 9001 certification by Q1 2027.