https://nanyte.com/photoresists/az-9245 · last updated 2026-09-28
- Manufacturer
- AZ Electronic Materials (Clariant AG)
- Tone
- positive
- Chemistry
- DNQ-novolak
- Thickness
- 4.6–6.6 µm
- Exposure dose
- 900 mJ/cm² (broadband stepper, 4.6 µm film)
- Developer
- AZ 400K Developer
- Applications
- Electroplating / molding · High aspect ratio · MEMS structural
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 9245 (220 cP) | 2000 | 6.6 |
| 2500 | 5.8 | |
| 3000 | 5.2 | |
| 3500 | 4.8 | |
| 3800 | 4.6 |
Values are the manufacturer’s starting points, not a guarantee — characterize on your own tool.
numeric table "Film Thickness" (columns 2000/2500/3000/3500 rpm, row "AZ 9245 Photoresist 220 cP"), p.7, combined with the single grade-specific anchor point from "Typical Process for 4.6 µm Film Thickness [AZ 9245 Photoresist (220 CPS)]" (Coat: Spin 3800 rpm, 60 sec → 4.6 µm target), p.6, of AZ 9200 Photoresist datasheet. Both are explicitly labeled AZ 9245 (220 cP) and are mutually consistent (monotonic decrease: 4.8 µm at 3500 rpm to 4.6 µm at 3800 rpm).
- The p.7 table's units are ambiguous in the source document — in places the values carry an "Å" (Angstrom) suffix (e.g. "6 600 Å"), and elsewhere the same figures appear as "6.6um" etc. A literal Angstrom reading (0.66 µm at 2000 rpm) would be physically inconsistent with the rest of the document: it would mean the film gets THICKER at the higher 3800 rpm point (4.6 µm, from the p.6 Typical Process table) than at the lower 2000 rpm point (0.66 µm), which violates basic spin-coating physics (thickness decreases with increasing spin speed).
- The µm reading is internally consistent with the 4.6 µm/3800 rpm anchor point, so that is the reading plotted above.
- Coat/dispense and edge-bead removal are documented as explicit process steps for this grade (p.6): "Coat: Dispense static or dynamic @ 300 rpm, Spin 3800 rpm/60 sec" then "Edge Bead Removal: Rinse 500 rpm/10 sec, Dry 1000 rpm/10 sec" — both built into the same Typical Process table as softbake/exposure/develop.
- No rehydration hold is listed anywhere in this document — despite this being a thick resist, where a rehydration hold is sometimes expected, this specific 1997 datasheet's process tables simply do not include one.
- Adhesion
- Not addressed anywhere in this datasheet — no substrate priming/HMDS guidance is given at all.
- Rehydration
- Not mentioned anywhere in this document. The grade-specific "Typical Process for 4.6 µm Film Thickness [AZ 9245 Photoresist (220 CPS)]" table (p.6) lists Coat → Softbake → Edge Bead Removal → Exposure → Post Exposure Bake (not recommended) → Development, with no separate rehydration step. This may be a gap in this particular 1997 datasheet rather than confirmation the process needs none, so nothing is asserted either way.
Soft bake
- Soft bake
- 110 °C · 2 min · hotplate
- Notes
- Grade-specific: "Softbake 110°C, 120 sec hotplate" — Typical Process for 4.6 µm Film Thickness [AZ 9245 Photoresist (220 CPS)], p.6. Corroborated by matching "Softbake Hotplate 110°C, 120 sec" conditions on the Linearity [Broadband] and Focus Latitude [Broadband] test panels for the same 4.6 µm film thickness (p.2-3).
SOURCE: Typical Process for 4.6 µm Film Thickness [AZ 9245 Photoresist (220 CPS)], p.6 of AZ 9200 Photoresist datasheet.
Exposure dose
The manufacturer publishes 900 mJ/cm² (broadband stepper, 4.6 µm film). Dose scales with film thickness and depends on your optics, so treat it as a starting point and run a dose array.
- As published
- 900 mJ/cm² on a broadband stepper is the documented dose for a 4.6 µm film, mid-way in a 780 to 1020 mJ/cm² sweep; the i-line numbers in the same document belong to the thicker 9260 grade.
Not published for this resist: Dose at 365 nm, Dose at 405 nm — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: Typical Process for 4.6 µm Film Thickness [AZ 9245 Photoresist…
Typical Process for 4.6 µm Film Thickness [AZ 9245 Photoresist (220 CPS)], p.6; corroborated by Linearity [Broadband] and Focus Latitude [Broadband], p.2-3, of AZ 9200 Photoresist datasheet.
Development
- Developer
- AZ 400K Developer
- Dilution
- 1:4
- Time
- 2 min
- Method
- spray
- Rinse
- Spin rinse 300 rpm/20 sec, then spin dry 4000 rpm/15 sec (following the AZ 400K spray develop at 27°C dispense temperature).
- Developer family
- Buffered alkaline
SOURCE: Typical Process for 4.6 µm Film Thickness [AZ 9245 Photoresist (220 CPS)], p.6 of AZ 9200 Photoresist datasheet.
Hard bake, etch & strip
- Stripper
- AZ 400T and 300T strippers are recommended for removal of AZ 9200 photoresist; AZ S-46 stripper is a non-NMP solvent stripper particularly suited to thin film recording head applications (Companion Products, p.8).
- Storage
- "Keep in sealed original container. Protect from light and heat. Store between 30 and 70°F (–1 to 24°C). Refrigerate whenever possible. Refrigeration may extend shelf life. Empty container may contain harmful residue and vapors." (Storage, p.8).
Not published for this resist: Hard bake, Descum, Etch resistance — characterize on-tool.
Where it's used
Practical notes from the datasheet
AZ 9245 (220 cP) is the thinner of two viscosity grades in this 1997 Clariant AZ 9200 thick-resist line, a positive DNQ-novolak resist (per AZ's own Thick Photoresist Product Summary, which places the 9200 Series on the DNQ platform, and the AZ P4000 cross-reference below) targeting a 4.6 µm single-coat film with sub-micron resolution (<1 µm lines/spaces per p.1) and 5-7:1 aspect ratios on broadband steppers. Its Typical Process table explicitly states PEB is "not recommended in most applications" and does not list a rehydration-hold step at all — contrary to what might be assumed for a thick resist, this document gives no basis to include one. Edge-bead removal is documented as an explicit spin-rinse/spin-dry step (500 rpm/10s rinse, 1000 rpm/10s dry) built directly into the same process table as coat, softbake, exposure, and develop. The document states AZ 9200 is sensitive to both h- and i-line light, but only broadband exposure data (900 mJ/cm² nominal) is actually published for the 4.6 µm/AZ 9245 process specifically — the datasheet's only i-line dose data belongs to the thicker AZ 9260 (10 µm) grade and is not reused here. AZ 9200 is pitched as a higher-resolution replacement for AZ P4000, processed on the same tools and "developed from the same chemistry."
Grades in this family
Other grades in the AZ 9200 line differ mainly in coating thickness:
| Grade | Thickness | Exposure dose |
|---|---|---|
| AZ 9245 (this page) | 4.6–6.6 µm | 900 mJ/cm² |
| AZ 9260 | 7.9–11.4 µm | 1500 mJ/cm² |
Troubleshooting
Common failure modes for AZ 9245, 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.
The 900 mJ/cm² dose from the AZ 9245 typical process doesn't print my features to size — why?
That dose is quoted with a 10 % bias, for a 4.6 µm film spun at 3800 rpm and exposed on a broadband stepper, so it is not a 1:1 sizing dose for every tool. The broadband linearity and focus-latitude charts for 4.6 µm on Ni/Fe (110 °C / 120 s hotplate, Ultratech 1500 at 0.315 NA) span 780–1020 mJ/cm², and they were developed 180 s in AZ 400K 1:4 against the typical process's 120 s. Run a dose series on your own tool, substrate and develop time.
SOURCE: AZ 9200 Photoresist Product Data Sheet (Clariant, July 1997) —…
AZ 9200 Photoresist Product Data Sheet (Clariant, July 1997) — Typical Process for 4.6 µm Film Thickness [AZ 9245], p.6; Linearity and Focus Latitude [Broadband], 4.6 µm on Ni/Fe, p.2–3
Can I develop AZ 9245 in TMAH instead of AZ 400K?
Yes, but it is the second choice. The datasheet recommends inorganic developers based on potassium hydroxide, preferring AZ 400K 1:4 — a buffered developer for bath life and process stability that also minimises the risk of mobile-ion contamination — for thick films, in spray or immersion. For integrated-circuit applications it allows TMAH developers such as the non-surfactant AZ 300 MIF. The 4.6 µm typical process is AZ 400K 1:4, 120 s spray at a 27 °C dispense temperature, so a switch to TMAH needs its own time and dose.
SOURCE: AZ 9200 Photoresist Product Data Sheet (Clariant, July 1997) —…
AZ 9200 Photoresist Product Data Sheet (Clariant, July 1997) — p.1; Typical Process for 4.6 µm [AZ 9245], p.6; Companion Products (Developers), p.8
Why do my AZ 9245 features blur toward the wafer edge?
Check the edge bead. A raised rim holds the mask off the film, and the gap degrades resolution through diffraction. The AZ 9245 typical process removes it with an edge-bead rinse at 500 rpm for 10 s followed by a 1000 rpm, 10 s dry, and the datasheet recommends AZ EBR 70/30 or AZ EBR Solvent for both front- and back-side removal. MicroChemicals warns against acetone or other low-boiling solvents for this step.
SOURCE: AZ 9200 Photoresist Product Data Sheet (Clariant, July 1997) —…
AZ 9200 Photoresist Product Data Sheet (Clariant, July 1997) — Typical Process for 4.6 µm [AZ 9245], p.6; Companion Products (Edge Bead Removers), p.8. MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application note — Spin Coating: Edge Bead?, p.2–3; Gap between Photomask and Resist Surface?, p.12
Why am I getting comets and pinholes in freshly spun AZ 9245?
Usually bubbles in the resist itself. Moving or shaking a bottle injects air, and over months the photoactive compound releases N2 that dissolves in the resist and comes out as bubbles once the bottle is opened. MicroChemicals' fix is to leave the bottle with its cap set loosely for pressure balance and wait, 1–2 h in most cases, before coating; with pipette dispensing, let the filled pipette stand so bubbles rise away from the tip. Keep stock sealed at the datasheet's −1 to 24 °C, refrigerated where possible.
SOURCE: MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application…
MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application note — Spin Coating: Comet-Shaped Structures?, p.3; Bubbles or Particles in Resist Film After Coating, p.13–14. AZ 9200 Photoresist Product Data Sheet (Clariant, July 1997) — Storage, p.8
What strips AZ 9245 after plating, and why won't it come off after a hot process step?
The datasheet recommends AZ 400T and AZ 300T strippers, with AZ S-46 as a non-NMP solvent stripper suited to thin-film recording-head work. If the film was heated hard — by an evaporation source, a growing film or ion bombardment — it can crosslink and resist removal. MicroChemicals rates low-vapour-pressure NMP or DMSO as better removers, heated up to 80 °C if the resist is crosslinked, names TechniStrip P1316 for heavily crosslinked positive films, and advises against acetone, which evaporates fast and leaves residues.
SOURCE: AZ 9200 Photoresist Product Data Sheet (Clariant, July 1997) —…
AZ 9200 Photoresist Product Data Sheet (Clariant, July 1997) — Companion Products (Strippers), p.8. MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application note — Photoresist Removal Does Not Work (Well), p.19–20
Sources & disclaimer
- AZ Electronic Materials (Clariant AG) — AZ 9245 datasheet (July 1997 (per copyright line "© Clariant AG, July 1997"; no separate "Rev." string is printed)) · accessed 2026-07-10
- https://www.microchemicals.com/dokumente/datenblaetter/tds/merck/en/tds_az_p4000_series.pdf — AZ P4000 Series technical datasheet, titled 'Positive Tone Photoresists' (p.1); the AZ 9200 sheet itself (p.1) says AZ 9200 'can be used as a higher resolution replacement for AZ P4000 photoresist... it is developed from the same chemistry' — the basis for classifying AZ 9245 as a positive resist sharing AZ P4000's chemistry.
- 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 '9200 Series' row with Platform 'DNQ' — the basis for classifying AZ 9245 as dnq-novolak.
- Bay et al.. Optimal overlayer inspired by Photuris firefly improves light-extraction efficiency of existing light-emitting diodes. Optics Express (2013). doi:10.1364/OE.21.00A179A firefly-inspired factory-roof relief was built in AZ 9245 on a GaN LED by direct-writing laser lithography on a Heidelberg DWL 66 photoplotter, using power-modulated multi-step writing to produce a three-dimensional profile that raised light extraction.
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.