https://nanyte.com/photoresists/az-12xt · last updated 2026-07-26
- Manufacturer
- Merck
- Tone
- positive
- Chemistry
- Chemically amplified
- Thickness
- 3–20 µm
- Developer
- AZ 300MIF
- Applications
- Etch mask · Electroplating / molding · High aspect ratio
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AZ 12XT-20PL-15 | 1000 | 23 |
| 1500 | 18 | |
| 2000 | 15 | |
| 2500 | 13 | |
| 3000 | 12 | |
| 3500 | 11 | |
| 4000 | 10 | |
| AZ 12XT-20PL-10 | 1000 | 14 |
| 1500 | 11 | |
| 2000 | 9.5 | |
| 2500 | 8.3 | |
| 3000 | 7.5 | |
| 3500 | 7.0 | |
| 4000 | 6.7 | |
| AZ 12XT-20PL-05 | 1000 | 6.2 |
| 1500 | 4.8 | |
| 2000 | 4.2 | |
| 2500 | 3.8 | |
| 3000 | 3.5 | |
| 3500 | 3.2 | |
| 4000 | 3.0 |
Values are the manufacturer’s starting points, not a guarantee — characterize on your own tool. Series digitized from a published figure are approximate (±10 %).
AZ 12XT-20PL-15: read from figure, p.1 of AZ 12XT-20PL Series Technical Datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21), 'SPIN CURVES (150MM SILICON)'. Three-grade chart; traces identified by the chart's own legend (red triangle = AZ 12XT-20PL-15, blue circle = AZ 12XT-20PL-10, green diamond = AZ 12XT-20PL-05), not by color alone.
AZ 12XT-20PL-10: read from figure, p.1 of AZ 12XT-20PL Series Technical Datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21), 'SPIN CURVES (150MM SILICON)'. Three-grade chart; traces identified by the chart's own legend (red triangle = AZ 12XT-20PL-15, blue circle = AZ 12XT-20PL-10, green diamond = AZ 12XT-20PL-05), not by color alone.
AZ 12XT-20PL-05: read from figure, p.1 of AZ 12XT-20PL Series Technical Datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21), 'SPIN CURVES (150MM SILICON)'. Three-grade chart; traces identified by the chart's own legend (red triangle = AZ 12XT-20PL-15, blue circle = AZ 12XT-20PL-10, green diamond = AZ 12XT-20PL-05), not by color alone.
- The chart's own y-axis is printed as 'Film Thickness (nm)' (p.1), which is almost certainly a labeling typo in the vendor's document - the plotted values (2-24) and the product's stated 3.0->20µm single-coat range (same page) only make sense as micrometres, and the grade names (-05/-10/-15) line up with the 5/10/15 µm worked-example film thicknesses used later in the same datasheet (pp.3-5).
- The values are read as µm here.
- No numeric spin-curve table is printed anywhere else in the document.
- Adhesion
- HMDS recommended — 'Oxide forming substrates (Si, etc.) should be HMDS primed prior to coating AZ 12XT.' (p.9, Substrate Preparation).
- Rehydration
- None - 'Rehydration Hold: None' is stated explicitly in the Typical Process summary (p.1).
Soft bake
- Soft bake
- 110 °C (95–110 °C) · 2 min · hotplate
- Notes
- Typical Process states a single value: '110ºC/120s' (p.1).
SOURCE: p.1 (Typical Process, used for temp_c/time_s above); p.9 (range); pp.3-5,8 (worked examples)
Exposure dose
Exposure is i-line only, and every published dose is tied to a specific film and substrate: 100 mJ/cm² at 5 µm on silicon, 185 mJ/cm² at 15 µm, and 250 mJ/cm² for 10 µm on copper. Run a dose array on your own tool to land the working dose.
- Post-exposure bake
- 90 °C (90–100 °C) · 60 s
Not published for this resist: Dose at 365 nm, Dose at 405 nm — characterize on-tool.
Development
- Developer
- AZ 300MIF
- Dilution
- 0.26N (2.38%) TMAH, ready-to-use
- Method
- puddle
- Developer family
- TMAH-based
Not published for this resist: Time, Rinse — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: p.1, p.9 (developer); pp.3-5,7,8 (worked-example times)
Hard bake, etch & strip
- Hard bake
- 100–115 °C
- Etch resistance
- Described only qualitatively: 'Excellent for Through Silicon Via (TSV), plating, and RIE etch applications' (p.1); hard bake (100-115°C) is said to improve 'pattern stability in dry etch processes' (p.9).
- Stripper
- AZ Kwik Strip, AZ 300T, or AZ 400T (solvent-based removers, all three explicitly recommended, p.9)
Not published for this resist: Descum, Storage — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: p.9 (Hard Bake)
Where it's used
Practical notes from the datasheet
AZ 12XT is a chemically amplified positive-tone counterpart to the vendor's negative nXT line, aimed at the same TSV/RDL plating-mask and RIE etch-mask space but developing and exposing faster for higher tool throughput. Unlike the thick DNQ resists this recipe library also covers, no rehydration hold is needed - but the tradeoff is a PEB that is explicitly required (not optional) for the latent image to develop at all, and a real amine-sensitivity window: coats thinner than 6 µm must be exposed and developed within 30-45 minutes of softbake or airborne base contamination can degrade the pattern, a classic chemically-amplified-resist failure mode distinct from DNQ rehydration. Exposure dose and develop time both scale strongly with film thickness across the worked examples (100-250 mJ/cm2; 2x30s to 2x60s puddles), so there is no single number to quote - the full tables are printed with the exposure and development steps. HMDS priming is required on Si. Hard bake is optional and helps adhesion/etch stability rather than being required for imaging.
Sources & disclaimer
- Merck — AZ 12XT datasheet (Rev. (03/21)) · accessed 2026-07-10
- Bernardin et al.. Demonstration of a Robust All-Silicon-Carbide Intracortical Neural Interface. Micromachines (2018). doi:10.3390/mi9080412AZ-12XT-20PL was coated at 15-18 um over HMDS as the deep-RIE mask used to etch through a 3 um n+ epilayer, and AZ-12XT was used again to open windows in the amorphous-SiC film for contact pads and recording sites of an intracortical neural probe.
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.