https://nanyte.com/photoresists/az-4562 · last updated 2026-09-28
- Manufacturer
- Merck (AZ Electronic Materials)
- Tone
- positive
- Chemistry
- DNQ-novolak
- Thickness
- 5.1–8.8 µm
- Developer
- AZ 340 (AZ 400K also usable)
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 4562 as supplied | 2000 | 8.8 |
| 3000 | 7.2 | |
| 4000 | 6.2 | |
| 5000 | 5.5 | |
| 6000 | 5.1 |
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).
- GENERAL INFORMATION (p.1) states AZ 4562 "allows to spin coat 10 µm in a single step (2000 rpm)" — this rounded prose figure disagrees with the precise tabulated value of 8.77 µm at 2000 rpm on p.2; the tabulated value is the one plotted here, being the more precise, directly tabulated figure.
- For thicker films the datasheet describes two special techniques specific to AZ 4562: (1) reducing the common ~30-40 s spin time to only 3 s, yielding ~20 µm, but the substrate must then be left horizontal on the spinner for an additional minute to dry
- (2) multiple coating with a bake cycle in between (inter-coat bakes must not exceed 90°C or the final prebake temperature, whichever is lower), exploiting the fact that AZ 4562's high solids content (close to its dissolution limit) means the underlying coat is only minimally redissolved.
- No dispense volume or ramp/acceleration is given for either the standard or special techniques.
- 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 4562-specific vs AZ 4533-specific — the table applies to both grades and assumes a standard single coat, not the special thick-film techniques. For 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. For AZ 4562 multi-coating specifically, inter-coat bakes must not exceed 90°C or the final prebake temperature (whichever is lower).
SOURCE: PROCESSING GUIDELINES, p.2 ("Prebake: 100°C, 50", hotplate")…
PROCESSING GUIDELINES, p.2 ("Prebake: 100°C, 50", hotplate"); GENERAL INFORMATION, p.1 (multi-coat inter-bake constraint)
Exposure dose
AZ 4562 has no published dose; it is sensitive from 310 to 440 nm, and its lower-absorption sensitizer exists so thick coats clear at the bottom without over-dosing and crosslinking the surface. 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 4562 is the highest-viscosity grade in Merck's AZ 4500 series, formulated (per p.1) with a photoactive compound of "low absorption and reduced nitrogen content" so that films far thicker than the ~3 µm ceiling of standard positive resists can still be fully exposed through their depth without surface crosslinking or nitrogen-bubble lifting. Choose AZ 4562 over AZ 4533 whenever the film has to be thicker than the thinner grade's standard spin range delivers, or when only its reduced-spin-time or multi-coat routes can reach the target — for ordinary few-micron coats, AZ 4533 remains the simpler choice. It is the only grade in this datasheet with documented special coating techniques for extreme thickness: a 3 s reduced spin time (with the wafer left horizontal an extra minute to dry) for ~20 µm films, or multi-coating with inter-coat bakes capped at 90°C (or the final prebake temperature, whichever is lower) for still-thicker stacks, up to a series-wide ceiling of 50 µm. A minor internal inconsistency exists between the prose claim of '10 µm in a single step (2000 rpm)' (p.1) and the tabulated 8.77 µm at 2000 rpm (p.2) — the table value is used in the spin curve here as the more precise figure, but it is worth confirming directly against the source PDF. This datasheet has no dedicated APPLICATION section, does not name specific end-uses (etch mask, lift-off, plating, etc.), and does not address grayscale or 3D lithography despite being the series' thick-film flagship grade — none of those are asserted here. 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.
Grades in this family
Other grades in the AZ 4500 series line differ mainly in coating thickness:
| Grade | Thickness |
|---|---|
| AZ 4533 | 2.7–4.7 µm |
| AZ 4562 (this page) | 5.1–8.8 µm |
Troubleshooting
Common failure modes for AZ 4562, 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.
My thick AZ 4562 coat blistered and lifted off after prebake — what went wrong?
Solvent was trapped under a skin. For high film thicknesses the datasheet asks for at least 15 minutes at room temperature after coating so most of the solvent can evaporate before the prebake; otherwise the surface dries fast, solvent left in the bulk forms bubbles and lifts the film, and adhesion fails. It also rates a hotplate as the better choice over an oven, especially with the temperature ramped up to the final value.
SOURCE: AZ 4500 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — General Information, p.1
How do I get AZ 4562 beyond its single-coat spin range to 20 µm or more?
The datasheet gives two routes. Cut the usual 30–40 s spin to about 3 s, which gives around 20 µm, then leave the wafer horizontal on the spinner for another minute to dry. Or multi-coat with a bake between layers: the high solids content means the next coat dissolves the one below only slightly, but the in-between bake must not exceed 90 °C or the final prebake temperature. Measure your own thickness — the spin table gives 8.77 µm at 2000 rpm while the text says 10 µm in one step at 2000 rpm.
SOURCE: AZ 4500 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) —…
AZ 4500 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — General Information, p.1; Film Thickness as Function of Spin Speed table, p.2
Why does a 10–20 µm AZ 4562 film develop so slowly near the substrate?
Two limits stack up. After the prebake the film needs water to diffuse back in before exposure; MicroChemicals puts the rehydration time at about 1 min for a 1 µm film rising to several hours above 30 µm, and development rate drops significantly below about 40 % relative humidity. The datasheet adds that even heavily overexposed positive resist saturates near 100 nm/s, so it recommends running at about 2 µm/min — 30 s per µm in AZ 340 1:5 — and setting the dose for clean clearing.
SOURCE: MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application…
MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application note — Development: Insufficient Development Rate (Sufficient Rehydration?), p.6. AZ 4500 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — General Information and Processing Guidelines, p.2
Can a thick AZ 4562 film still bubble or crack during exposure?
Yes, though less readily than a standard resist. The datasheet explains that a standard resist at these thicknesses generates too much nitrogen, which, trapped in the thick layer, cannot diffuse out fast enough and may lift the film, and that the 4500 series uses a low-absorption compound with reduced nitrogen content to allow thick films. MicroChemicals still lists thick films, high exposure intensity, a light soft bake and weak adhesion as bubble causes. If it happens, lower the lamp intensity or split the exposure into steps with pauses so the N2 can escape.
SOURCE: AZ 4500 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) —…
AZ 4500 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — General Information, p.1. MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application note — Bubbles in Resist Film After Exposure, p.14–15
How do I keep the AZ 4562 edge bead from spoiling mask contact?
A tall edge bead holds the mask off the film, and the gap costs resolution through diffraction. MicroChemicals names AZ 4562 among the high-viscosity resists where spinning at high speed helps suppress the bead. Without an automatic unit, remove it manually at about 500 rpm with AZ EBR Solvent — not acetone or other low-boiling solvents — then spin the solvent off at higher speed. For thick coats, a horizontal delay between coating and soft bake stops the bead growing as viscosity drops on the hotplate.
SOURCE: MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application…
MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application note — Spin Coating: Edge Bead?, p.2–3; Gap between Photomask and Resist Surface?, p.12. AZ 4500 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — Processing Guidelines (AZ EBR Solvent or AZ EBR 70/30), p.2
Sources & disclaimer
- Merck (AZ Electronic Materials) — AZ 4562 datasheet (Rev. (03/21)) · accessed 2026-07-10
- https://www.microchemicals.com/dokumente/datenblaetter/tds/merck/en/tds_az_p4620_photoresist.pdf — AZ P4620 Photoresist Data Package, 'Thick Photoresist Product Summary' (p.3): the table lists the '4500 Series' row with Platform 'DNQ' — the basis for classifying AZ 4562 as dnq-novolak.
- PROCESSING GUIDELINES, p.2.
- HANDLING ADVISES, p.3.
- 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.
- Giacomozzi et al.. Design of U-Shaped Frequency Tunable Microwave Filters in MEMS Technology. Sensors (2023). doi:10.3390/s23010466Two successive thick AZ 4562 moulds were defined over a Cr/Au seed layer for selective gold electroplating of the 1.8 um bridge layer and the 3 um coplanar-waveguide layer of an RF-MEMS tunable filter.
- Greer et al.. Step-and-Repeat Nanoimprint-, Photo- and Laser Lithography from One Customised CNC Machine. Nanoscale Research Letters (2016). doi:10.1186/s11671-016-1341-9AZ4562 was spun to 5 um and developed in 1:5 AZ400K, benchmarking mask-based photolithography against nanoimprint and laser lithography on a single custom CNC platform.
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.