https://nanyte.com/photoresists/az-1518 · last updated 2026-07-26
- Manufacturer
- Merck (AZ Electronic Materials)
- Tone
- positive
- Chemistry
- DNQ-novolak
- Thickness
- 1.9–5.6 µm
- Exposure dose
- 150 mJ/cm² at 436 nm
- Developer
- AZ 300MIF
- Applications
- Etch mask · Electroplating / molding · General prototyping
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 1518 as supplied | 500 | 5.6 |
| 1000 | 3.9 | |
| 1500 | 3.3 | |
| 2000 | 2.9 | |
| 2500 | 2.6 | |
| 3000 | 2.3 | |
| 3500 | 2.1 | |
| 4000 | 1.9 |
Values are the manufacturer’s starting points, not a guarantee — characterize on your own tool. Series digitized from a published figure are approximate (±10 %).
read from figure, "SPIN CURVES (150mm Wafers)" chart, p.1 of AZ 1500 Series Technical Datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21); AZ 1518 identified by its red triangle legend marker, distinct from AZ 1505 (blue diamond), AZ 1512 (magenta square) and AZ 1529 (green circle) plotted on the same axes. Cross-checked for plausibility against the reference thickness (2.40 µm film) named in the p.2-4 resolution/DOF figures, which sits between the 1000 and 1500 rpm figure-read points, consistent with a typical process spin speed in that band.
- Datasheet does not state spin ramp/acceleration, dispense volume, or static vs dynamic dispense for the spin-curve chart.
- Spin coating is named as one of several compatible coating methods (spray and roller coating are also mentioned, p.6 COATING) but no method-specific parameters are published beyond that.
- No edge-bead-removal recipe is given, only that AZ EBR Solvent or AZ EBR 70/30 are the companion EBR products (p.2).
- Adhesion
- HMDS recommended — "Oxide forming substrates (Si, etc.) should be primed with HMDS (hexamethyl disilazane) or other suitable primer prior to coating AZ 1500.1
Soft bake
- Soft bake
- 100 °C (90–110 °C) · 1.5 min · hotplate
- Notes
- 100°C/90s hotplate soft bake is the condition used for the AZ 1518 resolution ladder (p.3, FT=2.4 µm on Si) and the AZ 1518 depth-of-focus series (p.4, FT=2.40 µm on Si).
SOURCE: RESOLUTION OF AZ 1518 at FT=2.4µm on Si, p.3; DEPTH OF FOCUS FOR 2.0µM LINES AZ 1518 AT FT=2.40µM ON SI, p.4
Exposure dose
The manufacturer publishes 150 mJ/cm² at 436 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 436 nm (g-line)
- 150 mJ/cm²
- As published
- 150 mJ/cm² g-line prints 1.0 µm lines in a 2.4 µm film, with the datasheet's resolution and focus series bracketing it from 130 to 150 mJ/cm²; nothing is published for i-line or h-line.
- Post-exposure bake
- 105–115 °C
Not published for this resist: Dose at 365 nm, Dose at 405 nm — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: p.2 SEM image caption; p.3 RESOLUTION OF AZ 1518 at FT=2.4µm; p.4 DEPTH OF FOCUS FOR 2.0µM LINES AZ 1518
Development
- Developer
- AZ 300MIF
- Time
- 60 s
- Method
- puddle
- Developer family
- TMAH or buffered alkaline
Not published for this resist: Dilution, Rinse — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: p.2 SEM caption ("AZ 300 MIF Develop (60s)"); p.4 DEPTH OF…
p.2 SEM caption ("AZ 300 MIF Develop (60s)"); p.4 DEPTH OF FOCUS caption ("Develop: AZ 300MIF (60s) puddle"); p.3 resolution caption ("Develop: AZ 300MIF (60s)")
Hard bake, etch & strip
- Hard bake
- 100–110 °C
- Etch resistance
- Marketed for "demanding wet etch applications" with "excellent substrate adhesion"; no quantitative etch rate or resistance data is published in this datasheet.2
- Stripper
- AZ 300T, AZ 400T, or AZ Kwik Strip — removers designed for DNQ/novolac type photoresists.3
Not published for this resist: Descum, Storage — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: HARD BAKE, p.6
Where it's used
Practical notes from the datasheet
AZ 1518 is a mid-to-thick grade in Merck's AZ 1500 series, a general-purpose positive DNQ/novolak-type resist sold for wet-etch masking needing strong adhesion (the datasheet's stripper guidance — removers "designed for DNQ/novolac type photoresists" — is the basis for this chemistry classification, since the document never states the chemistry as a standalone claim). Unlike AZ 1505, this datasheet documents AZ 1518 with dedicated resolution and depth-of-focus figures at a 2.4 µm reference film thickness: 100°C/90s hotplate soft bake, g-line exposure on a Nikon 1755G7A (0.54 NA) stepper, and a 60 s AZ 300MIF puddle develop, resolving down to roughly 1.0-1.2 µm lines and holding pattern fidelity across a documented ±0.8-1.2 µm focus window. PEB and hard-bake conditions, by contrast, are given only as series-wide ranges (105-115°C optional PEB; 100-110°C hard bake), not single values specific to AZ 1518. On the p.1 multi-grade spin-speed chart (AZ 1505/1512/1518/1529 plotted together), the AZ 1518 curve was identified by its red triangle legend marker; the reported points are a figure read, not a printed table, and warrant a visual QC pass against the source chart.
Grades in this family
Other grades in the AZ 1500 series line differ mainly in coating thickness:
Troubleshooting
Common failure modes for AZ 1518, answered from the manufacturer's datasheet and application notes. These are starting points — your substrate, tooling and environment shift the specifics, so calibrate on-tool.
What exposure dose should I use for AZ 1518?
The datasheet's headline captioned dose is 150 mJ/cm² on g-line (436 nm) — for 1.0 µm lines in a 2.4 µm film. It also sweeps nearby doses: 130/140/150 mJ/cm² in the resolution figure and 140/150 mJ/cm² in the depth-of-focus figure. This dose is g-line-specific — no i-line (365 nm) or h-line (405 nm) value is published.
SOURCE: AZ 1500 Series Technical Datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — p.2 SEM caption; RESOLUTION p.3; DEPTH OF FOCUS p.4
What soft bake does AZ 1518 need?
For AZ 1518 the datasheet documents a specific condition: 100°C for 90 s on a hotplate, used for the resolution ladder and depth-of-focus series at a 2.4 µm reference film on silicon. This is grade-specific here, unlike the series' generic 90–110°C range with no stated time.
SOURCE: AZ 1500 Series Technical Datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — RESOLUTION at FT=2.4 µm, p.3; DEPTH OF FOCUS, p.4
Which developer and develop time should I use for AZ 1518?
AZ 300MIF is the developer named in every AZ 1518 test caption, run for 60 s by puddle. The dilution is not stated. The series-wide process note also allows a 60 s puddle or immersion develop with an MIF or inorganic developer, but AZ 300MIF is the grade-specific choice documented here.
SOURCE: AZ 1500 Series Technical Datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — p.2 and p.4 develop captions; TYPICAL PROCESS, p.1
How thick a film does AZ 1518 coat?
AZ 1518 is the mid-to-thick grade of the AZ 1500 series. On the p.1 spin-speed chart (150 mm wafers) its trace runs from about 5.6 µm at 500 rpm down to 1.9 µm at 4,000 rpm; the datasheet's own characterization film is 2.4 µm, which sits between the 1,000 and 1,500 rpm points.
SOURCE: AZ 1500 Series Technical Datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — SPIN CURVES (150 mm Wafers), p.1
What resolution does AZ 1518 reach?
In this datasheet AZ 1518 resolves down to roughly 1.0–1.2 µm lines at a 2.4 µm film thickness, under g-line (436 nm) exposure on a Nikon 1755G7A (0.54 NA) stepper with a 100°C/90 s soft bake and a 60 s AZ 300MIF puddle develop, holding pattern fidelity across a documented focus window.
SOURCE: AZ 1500 Series Technical Datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — RESOLUTION and DEPTH OF FOCUS figures, p.3–4
Sources & disclaimer
- Merck (AZ Electronic Materials) — AZ 1518 datasheet (Rev. (03/21)) · accessed 2026-07-10
- SUBSTRATE PREPARATION, p.6.
- APPLICATION, p.1.
- STRIPPING, p.7.
- Mitra et al.. Microchip electrophoresis at elevated temperatures and high separation field strengths. ELECTROPHORESIS (2013). doi:10.1002/elps.201300427B270 glass coated with 120 nm of chrome and 530 nm of AZ1518 was UV-exposed and developed to transfer the channel pattern before wet etching, producing microchip electrophoresis devices.
- Tsarev et al.. Patterning of Lead Halide Perovskite Device Stacks on CMOS Readout Using Selective Microfabrication Protocols. Advanced Materials (2026). doi:10.1002/adma.202523002An AZ1518 photoresist mask defined the ITO patterning step in a perovskite-on-CMOS device stack; the same study used the thinner AZ1505 where about 1 um minimum features were required.
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.