Abstract: The present invention concerns a contact photolithographic process for realizing submicrometer metal lines, in particular lines for devices such as FETs, MESFETs and ICs, with width different from the pattern width on the masks, through contact photolithographic techniques. In particular through this technique it is possible to realize metal lines having width smaller than 0.5 .mu.m. By varying the reversal photoresist exposure energy it is possible to control the dimension of the line to be realized. Using an exposure energy lower than the one normally used, lines having width smaller than the width of the corresponding tracks on the mask are obtained and vice versa, with an exposure energy higher than the one normally used, lines having width greater than the corresponding tracks on the mask are obtained.