https://nanyte.com/photoresists/az-10xt · last updated 2026-07-26
- Manufacturer
- Merck
- Tone
- positive
- Chemistry
- DNQ-novolak
- Thickness
- 4–20 µm
- Exposure dose
- 380 mJ/cm² at 365 nm
- Developer
- AZ 400K
- Applications
- Electroplating / molding · Etch mask
Cross-checked — two independent extractions agree on the spin curve and the single-value figures.
- Substrate
- Resist
- Exposed
Spin coating
Data points
| Series | rpm | µm | Published dose |
|---|---|---|---|
| AZ 10XT 520cP | 1000 | 14 | — |
| 1500 | 12 | — | |
| 2000 | 10 | — | |
| 2500 | 9.0 | — | |
| 3000 | 7.8 | — | |
| AZ 10XT 220cP | 1000 | 9.8 | — |
| 1500 | 7.7 | — | |
| 2000 | 6.6 | — | |
| 2500 | 5.9 | — | |
| 3000 | 5.3 | — | |
| AZ 10XT 100cP | 1000 | 6.7 | — |
| 1500 | 5.6 | — | |
| 2000 | 5.0 | — | |
| 2500 | 4.4 | — | |
| 3000 | 4.0 | — |
Values are the manufacturer’s starting points, not a guarantee — characterize on your own tool. Series digitized from a published figure are approximate (±10 %).
Published dose is the datasheet’s own thickness bracket, quoted as printed — the full table and its citation are in the exposure section. A thickness the table does not cover shows nothing, and a thickness within 10 % of a bracket edge shows every bracket it could fall in.
AZ 10XT 520cP: read from figure, "SPIN CURVES (200MM SILICON)", p.1 of AZ 10XT Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21) — one of three viscosity-grade curves on the same chart, identified by its red 520cP legend entry
AZ 10XT 220cP: read from figure, "SPIN CURVES (200MM SILICON)", p.1 of AZ 10XT Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21) — identified by its blue 220cP legend entry; consistent with the '220cps, 6µm thick film' reference process elsewhere in this document (p.3-4, p.6-7)
AZ 10XT 100cP: read from figure, "SPIN CURVES (200MM SILICON)", p.1 of AZ 10XT Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21) — identified by its green 100cP legend entry
- Spin curves cover 1000-3000 rpm on 200 mm silicon for three viscosity grades (520 cP, 220 cP, 100 cP), each a single, unambiguously legended line on one chart (not a multi-SKU chart, so no grade-identification ambiguity) — values above are read from the figure, not a published numeric table, and need visual QC.
- Coating note (p.12): the spin-curve graphs assume coating to equilibrium
- thicker coats can be produced off-curve by shortening spin time and letting the film 'self level', which this document does not quantify.
- No dispense volume, spin ramp, or edge-bead detail is published anywhere in this datasheet.
- Adhesion
- HMDS recommended — Oxide-forming substrates (e.g. Si) should be HMDS primed prior to coating AZ 10XT (PROCESS CONSIDERATIONS > SUBSTRATE PREPARATION, p.12).
- Rehydration
- A rehydration delay of 30-60 minutes between soft bake and exposure is required for films thicker than 5.0 µm; delay time varies with film thickness and ambient humidity.1
Soft bake
- Soft bake
- 110 °C (95–110 °C) · 2 min · hotplate
- Notes
- This is the reference 6 µm-film softbake, repeated identically across all four 6 µm reference processes (dense lines and holes, on Si and on Cu; p.3, p.4, p.6, p.7).
SOURCE: Reference Process tables, p.3-4 and p.6-7 of AZ 10XT Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21) (6 µm film on Si/Cu)
Exposure dose
The manufacturer publishes 380 mJ/cm² at 365 nm. Dose scales with film thickness and depends on your optics, so treat it as a starting point and run a dose array.
- Dose at 365 nm
- 380 mJ/cm²
- Dose at 405 nm
- Not published — characterize on-tool
- As published
- 380 mJ/cm² i-line is the datasheet's 6 µm-on-silicon figure; the same film on copper needs more, and a 24 µm double coat took 1785 and 1875 mJ/cm² on two g-h-line tools.
SOURCE: Reference Process tables, p.3-4 of AZ 10XT Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21)
| Film thickness | Dose |
|---|---|
| 6 µm | 455 mJ/cm² |
SOURCE: REFERENCE PROCESS (DENSE LINES IN 6µM FILM THICKNESS ON CU)…
REFERENCE PROCESS (DENSE LINES IN 6µM FILM THICKNESS ON CU), p.6 of AZ 10XT Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21): "i-line @ 455mJ/cm2 nominal (0.48NA)". i-line is the 365 nm mercury line.
| Film thickness | Dose |
|---|---|
| 6 µm | 445 mJ/cm² |
SOURCE: REFERENCE PROCESS (HOLES IN 6.0µM FILM THICKNESS ON CU), p.7…
REFERENCE PROCESS (HOLES IN 6.0µM FILM THICKNESS ON CU), p.7 of AZ 10XT Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21): "i-line @ 445mJ/cm2 nominal (0.48NA)". i-line is the 365 nm mercury line.
Development
- Developer
- AZ 400K
- Dilution
- 1:4
- Time
- 7 min
- Method
- immersion
- Rinse
- Not published — characterize on-tool
- Developer family
- TMAH or buffered alkaline
SOURCE: Reference Process tables (dense lines / holes, 6 µm film, Si…
Reference Process tables (dense lines / holes, 6 µm film, Si and Cu), p.3-4 and p.6-7 of AZ 10XT Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21)
Hard bake, etch & strip
- Hard bake
- 90–100 °C
- Stripper
- AZ Kwik Strip, AZ 300T, or AZ 400T (solvent-based removers), per PROCESS CONSIDERATIONS > STRIPPING, p.12 of AZ 10XT Series Technical datasheet
Not published for this resist: Descum, Etch resistance, Storage — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: PROCESS CONSIDERATIONS > HARD BAKE, p.12 of AZ 10XT Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21)
Where it's used
Practical notes from the datasheet
AZ 10XT is a thick positive-tone plating resist pitched by the vendor as an upgrade over conventional thick DNQ resists in sidewall profile, aspect ratio and photospeed. Like other thick DNQ-class positive resists it needs a rehydration wait — 30-60 minutes between soft bake and exposure for any film over 5 µm — before it develops reliably; skipping it is a common source of process trouble on thick coats, and the wait grows to 45 minutes for the datasheet's 24 µm double-coat process. Post-expose bake is explicitly optional and every reference process in this datasheet runs with none, consistent with a non-chemically-amplified resist. It develops in either TMAH (AZ 300MIF/AZ 435MIF) or a buffered alkaline developer (AZ 400K, used in most of the reference processes here) — the datasheet does not name one as preferred. HMDS priming is called out explicitly for oxide-forming substrates such as silicon. Exposure dose and softbake time both scale sharply with target film thickness and substrate: at the same 6 µm film thickness the i-line nominal rises from 380 mJ/cm² on silicon to 445-455 mJ/cm² on copper, so confirm the working dose on your own tool. A first-time user should follow the specific reference-process table for their target thickness and substrate rather than a single rule of thumb.
Sources & disclaimer
- Merck — AZ 10XT datasheet (Rev. (03/21)) · accessed 2026-07-10
- FILM REHYDRATION, p.12, and TYPICAL PROCESS (p.1) / Reference Process tables (p.3-4, p.6-7, p.9-10) of AZ 10XT Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21)
- Schermer et al.. High-resolution projection lithography for MEMS-applications using thick photoresist AZ 10XT. 2022 Smart Systems Integration (SSI) (2022). doi:10.1109/SSI56489.2022.9901437Thick AZ 10XT under projection (stepper) lithography for MEMS etch masks
Manufacturer datasheet values are starting points; optimal parameters depend on your substrate, equipment and environment. Product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. NANYTE is not affiliated with the manufacturers listed. Last updated 2026-07-26.