A strain gauge with a strain-sensitive electrical resistor track and connector electrodes for contacting the resistor track arranged on a carrier substrate is provided with a protective coating having inorganic materials and covering at least part of the carrier substrate andor of the resistor track andor of the connector electrodes. The method includes selecting an overlay pattern having a first feature with a first pitch and a second feature with a second pitch different than the first pitch, performing a photolithography simulation to determine a sensitivity coefficient associated with the overlay pattern, and providing a photomask having the overlay pattern thereon. The thick metallic coating, in addition to minimizing package-shift effects, is also useful as a low-resistance routing layer. A drain electrode is at the second surface of the semiconductor die. Consequently, exposure is carried out through a slit formed by the first blade and the second blade. A small relative movement between the sections is achieved when the two angles at the two interfaces have opposite signs.