the present invention provides a system that enables the use of electrophoretic resists in the microfabrication industry for the production of microelectronic devices and is of sufficiently high quality to be used as a replacement for , or supplement to , current photoresist deposition technology . this system enables the application of electrophoretic resists in automated equipment that meets the standards for cleanliness and production throughput desired by the microelectronic fabrication industry . the system , apparatus and method , for providing electrophoretic resist layers on microelectronic workpieces for the microfabrication of microelectronic devices comprises a deposition station for receiving a microelectronic workpiece and depositing a layer of electrophoretic photoresist thereon , a workpiece handling apparatus , and a control unit coupled to the workpiece handling apparatus and the deposition station for coordinating the processing of the workpiece in accordance with a predetermined sequence and set of processing parameters .