https://nanyte.com/photoresists/az-4533 · last updated 2026-09-28
- Manufacturer
- Merck (AZ Electronic Materials)
- Tone
- positive
- Chemistry
- DNQ-novolak
- Thickness
- 2.7–4.7 µm
- Developer
- AZ 340 (AZ 400K also usable)
- Substrate
- Resist
- Exposed
Spin coating
Data points
| Series | rpm | µm |
|---|---|---|
| AZ 4533 as supplied | 2000 | 4.7 |
| 3000 | 3.8 | |
| 4000 | 3.3 | |
| 5000 | 3.0 | |
| 6000 | 2.7 |
Values are the manufacturer’s starting points, not a guarantee — characterize on your own tool.
numeric table "FILM THICKNESS [µm] as FUNCTION of SPIN SPEED (characteristically)", p.2 of AZ 4500 Series Technical Datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21).
- Datasheet states the common spin time is about 30-40 s for standard coating.
- No dispense volume, ramp/acceleration, or static-vs-dynamic dispense is given.
- The spin-speed table above is captioned 'characteristically', i.e. representative rather than guaranteed values.
- Dilution/edge-bead removal uses AZ EBR Solvent or AZ EBR 70/30 (PROCESSING GUIDELINES, p.2).
- AZ 4533-specific reduced-spin-time or multi-coat techniques for extra-thick films are not discussed in this datasheet — those special techniques (3 s spin, multi-coat with bake cycle) are described only for AZ 4562 (the highest-viscosity grade).
- Adhesion
- Datasheet does not address substrate priming or HMDS for the AZ 4500 series; there is no SUBSTRATE PREPARATION section (unlike the AZ 1500 series datasheet from the same manufacturer).
Soft bake
- Soft bake
- 100 °C · 50 s · hotplate
- Notes
- Series-wide PROCESSING GUIDELINES value, not stated as AZ 4533-specific vs AZ 4562-specific — the table applies to both grades. For very thick coatings the datasheet separately advises (p.1, GENERAL INFORMATION) leaving the resist at room temperature at least 15 minutes before prebake to let solvent evaporate, and preferring a hotplate with a ramped temperature over an oven, to avoid trapped-solvent bubbling and adhesion failure.
SOURCE: PROCESSING GUIDELINES, p.2 ("Prebake: 100°C, 50", hotplate")
Exposure dose
AZ 4533 gets a 310 to 440 nm sensitivity range and no dose. The only energy number in the sheet is a general thick-film warning — above 1000 mJ/cm² in extreme cases — not a figure for this grade's 2.7 to 4.7 µm films. Run a dose array on your own tool to land the working dose.
Not published for this resist: Dose at 365 nm, Dose at 405 nm — characterize on-tool.
Development
- Developer
- AZ 340 (AZ 400K also usable)
- Dilution
- AZ 340 diluted 1:5 with water; no dilution stated for AZ 400K.
- Developer family
- Buffered alkaline
Not published for this resist: Time, Method, Rinse — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: PROCESSING GUIDELINES, p.2 ("Development: AZ 340, 1:5, 30"/µm film thickness"); GENERAL INFORMATION, p.2
Hard bake, etch & strip
- Hard bake
- 115 °C · 50 s
- Stripper
- AZ 100 Remover, concentrated.1
- Storage
- Store in sealed original containers between 0°C and 25°C; brief excursions do not adversely affect properties (+27°C for 10 hours, +32°C for 6 hours, or +35°C for 5 hours). Shelf life is 1 year at recommended storage conditions; the expiration date is printed on each bottle's label.2
Not published for this resist: Descum, Etch resistance — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: PROCESSING GUIDELINES, p.2 ("Postbake: 115°C, 50s hotplate or 60 min. oven")
Where it's used
Practical notes from the datasheet
AZ 4533 is a thick-film member of Merck's AZ 4500 series, formulated (per p.1) with a photoactive compound of "low absorption and reduced nitrogen content" specifically so film thicknesses above the ~3 µm ceiling of standard positive resists can still be fully exposed and cleared without the crosslinking or nitrogen-trapping side effects that appear when a standard resist is pushed to extreme thickness. Reach for AZ 4533 when a moderate thick coat in the few-micron range is enough and a straightforward single-spin process is wanted; step up to AZ 4562 only when the target film is thicker than AZ 4533's standard spin range or needs the reduced-spin-time or multi-coat methods. Unlike the datasheet's introduction, which discusses AZ 4562's special coating techniques (reduced spin time, multi-coat) for very thick films, no such special technique is documented specifically for AZ 4533. This datasheet has no dedicated APPLICATION section and does not name specific end-uses (etch mask, lift-off, plating, etc.) — its content is limited to achieving and processing the thick coating itself, so the applications field is left empty rather than inferred. Develop time is a rate (30 s per µm of film thickness) rather than a fixed duration, and PEB is optional and only relevant to monochromatic exposure. No HMDS/adhesion-promotion guidance is given, unlike the AZ 1500 series datasheet from the same manufacturer. MicroChemicals states that AZ/TI resist resin is novolak and its photoactive compound belongs to the diazonaphthoquinone (DNQ) group — the basis for calling AZ 4533 dnq-novolak here.
Grades in this family
Other grades in the AZ 4500 series line differ mainly in coating thickness:
| Grade | Thickness |
|---|---|
| AZ 4533 (this page) | 2.7–4.7 µm |
| AZ 4562 | 5.1–8.8 µm |
Troubleshooting
Common failure modes for AZ 4533, 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.
How long should I develop AZ 4533, and why does one fixed develop time fail across spin speeds?
The datasheet gives develop time as a rate, not a number: AZ 340 diluted 1:5 at 30 s per µm of film. Across AZ 4533's spin table that is roughly 80 s at 6000 rpm (2.69 µm) up to 140 s at 2000 rpm (4.67 µm), so a time tuned on a fast-spun coat under-develops a slow-spun one. It also notes that even heavily overexposed positive resist saturates at a dissolution rate of about 100 nm/s, and recommends working near 2 µm/min and adjusting the exposure dose for clearing and feature size.
SOURCE: AZ 4500 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) —…
AZ 4500 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — Processing Guidelines, Film Thickness as Function of Spin Speed table and General Information, p.2
Which developer should I use with AZ 4533 to avoid residue on the cleared areas?
The datasheet designs the AZ 4500 series for common sodium- and potassium-based developers, with AZ 340 diluted 1:5 as a good choice and AZ 400K also usable. MicroChemicals' trouble-shooting guide is more specific: it lists the 4500 series among resists that need a particular developer for constant, fast, residue-free development, naming the KOH-based AZ 400K or the TMAH-based AZ 826 MIF. A few nm of film left on the floor is enough to block an etch start or keep plated metal from bonding to the seed.
SOURCE: AZ 4500 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) —…
AZ 4500 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — General Information and Processing Guidelines, p.2. MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application note — Compatible Developer?, p.7; Inhomogeneous Etch Start, p.16; Bad Adhesion of the Metal Structures, p.17
Bubbles appeared in my AZ 4533 film during exposure — what should I change?
AZ 4533 already carries a low-absorption photoactive compound with reduced nitrogen content, so look at the process. MicroChemicals lists four causes: a soft bake too short or cool, leaving solvent in which exposure N2 can form bubbles; weak adhesion, where bubbles form; exposure intensity too high for the N2 to outgas in time; and film thickness, since N2 has further to diffuse. If bubbles appear at the datasheet's 100 °C / 50 s hotplate prebake, lengthen it toward the guide's 1 min per µm at 100 °C, and lower the intensity or split the exposure into steps.
SOURCE: p.1 Processing Guidelines
AZ 4500 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — General Information, p.1; Processing Guidelines, p.2. MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application note — Bubbles in Resist Film After Exposure, p.14–15
Unexposed AZ 4533 is losing thickness in the developer — how do I cut the dark erosion?
Check developer strength and the prebake. As developer concentration rises, dark erosion grows faster than development rate, and AZ 826 MIF runs slightly higher dark erosion than more selective developers. A soft bake that is too short or cool leaves solvent that raises erosion; one that is too hot or long decomposes the photoactive compound that inhibits dissolution, which raises it too. Start from the datasheet's 100 °C / 50 s hotplate prebake with AZ 340 at 1:5 and move one variable at a time.
SOURCE: MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application…
MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application note — Development: Dark Erosion Too High, p.9–10. AZ 4500 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — Processing Guidelines, p.2
Sources & disclaimer
- Merck (AZ Electronic Materials) — AZ 4533 datasheet (Rev. (03/21)) · accessed 2026-07-10
- https://www.microchemicals.com/AZ-4533-Photoresist-3.785-l/1A004533 — MicroChemicals states: 'The resin of AZ and TI resists is Novolak... photo active compound... belongs to the group of diazonaphthoquinones (DNQ)'; the basis for classifying AZ 4533 as dnq-novolak.
- PROCESSING GUIDELINES, p.2.
- HANDLING ADVISES, p.3.
- Wang et al.. Microscopic geared metamachines. Nature Communications (2025). doi:10.1038/s41467-025-62869-6A 4 um AZ4533 layer was spin-coated as a sacrificial layer beneath an SU-8 cap and later dissolved in acetone to release optically driven micro-gears.
- Lima et al.. Fabrication of 3D microstructures using grayscale lithography. Advanced Optical Technologies (2019). doi:10.1515/aot-2019-0023An 8 um AZ 4562 film was exposed on a Heidelberg DWL 66FS laser direct-write system using 128 grayscale levels, calibrated gray value against exposure depth, and transferred into silicon by RIE at 1:1 selectivity and into Cu and NiCo by electroplating.
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 2026-09-28.