In the photolithography process, elements to be created on the IC are reproduced in a pattern of transparent and opaque areas on the surface of a quartz plate called a photomask. The scanner passes light through the photomask, forming an image of the photomask pattern. The image is focused and reduced by a lens, and projected onto the surface of a silicon wafer that is coated with a photosensitive material called a photoresist. After exposure in the scanner, the coated wafer is developed like photographic film.