https://nanyte.com/photoresists/az-eci-3007 · last updated 2026-09-28
- Manufacturer
- Merck
- Tone
- positive
- Chemistry
- DNQ-novolak
- Thickness
- 0.6–1.1 µm
- Applications
- Etch mask · Electroplating / molding
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 ECI 3007 | 1500 | 1.1 |
| 2000 | 0.95 | |
| 3000 | 0.75 | |
| 4000 | 0.65 | |
| 5000 | 0.60 |
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)"), p.1 of AZ ECI 3000 Series datasheet — legend-labeled "ECI 3007" (blue circle marker), clearly separated (~2x factor) from the ECI 3012 and ECI 3027 traces across the full 1500-5000 rpm plotted range.
- Multi-grade chart plots ECI 3007 / ECI 3012 / ECI 3027 together (legend, distinct colors, p.1); unlike some other multi-grade AZ charts, the three traces stay well-separated (roughly 2x factor between adjacent grades) across the whole 1500-5000 rpm range, so the ECI 3007 trace could be identified with reasonable confidence — but the reading is still a visual estimate from a plotted curve, not a printed numeric table, and no point is extrapolated past the 1500-5000 rpm plotted range.
- No spin accel/dispense parameters, no edge-bead removal procedure, and no rehydration hold are published for this grade; AZ EBR Solvent/AZ EBR 70/30 are listed only as companion thinning/edge-bead products (COMPANION PRODUCTS, p.2) with no protocol given.
- Rehydration is not applicable — this is a thin film (<1.2 µm), not a thick-DNQ resist.
- Adhesion
- HMDS recommended — "Oxide forming substrates (Si, etc.) should be primed with HMDS (hexamethyl disilazane) or other suitable primer prior to coating AZ ECI 3000." (SUBSTRATE PREPARATION, p.10). No specific HMDS bake temp/time is published.
Soft bake
- Soft bake
- 90–110 °C · 60 s
- Notes
- Soft bake is 90-110°C for 60 s; the higher end of the range improves adhesion to metals. Bakes may be run on a hotplate or in a vented bake oven — neither is named as the default. No ECI 3007-specific process is published (the worked reference processes cover ECI 3012 and ECI 3027), so these are the conditions given for the ECI 3000 series as a whole.
SOURCE: TYPICAL PROCESS, p.1; SOFT BAKE, p.10 of AZ ECI 3000 Series datasheet.
Exposure dose
The only exposure data for ECI 3007 is an i-line dose-to-clear curve that swings between roughly 40 and 70 mJ/cm² as film thickness changes — a thin-film interference effect, and a clearing dose rather than a process dose. Run a dose array on your own tool to land the working dose.
- Post-exposure bake
- 110 °C · 60 s–1.5 min (optional)
Not published for this resist: Dose at 365 nm, Dose at 405 nm — characterize on-tool.
Development
- Time
- 60 s
- Developer family
- TMAH or buffered alkaline
Not published for this resist: Developer, Dilution, Method, Rinse — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: TYPICAL PROCESS, p.1; DEVELOPERS list, COMPANION PRODUCTS, p.2 of AZ ECI 3000 Series datasheet.
Hard bake, etch & strip
- Hard bake
- 100–115 °C
- Stripper
- AZ 100 Remover, AZ 300T, AZ 400T, or AZ Kwik Strip™ (STRIPPING, p.10): "AZ ECI 3000 strips readily in removers designed for DNQ/novolac type photoresists." Patterns baked above 140°C may cross-link and become harder to strip.
Not published for this resist: Descum, Etch resistance, Storage — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: HARD BAKE, p.10 of AZ ECI 3000 Series datasheet.
Where it's used
Practical notes from the datasheet
AZ ECI 3007 is a general-purpose, i-line/g-line cross-over positive resist for thin (0.6-1.15 µm), high-throughput plasma/RIE and wet-etch masking — the thinnest of three grades (3007/3012/3027) in Merck's AZ ECI 3000 series, sharing chemistry, developer compatibility, and process temperature windows with its siblings. The datasheet resolves no grade-specific reference process for ECI 3007 itself — every worked exposure/PEB/develop example is built around ECI 3012 or ECI 3027 instead — so soft bake, PEB, and develop here fall back to the series-wide Typical Process line rather than a grade-specific table. The only ECI 3007-specific exposure data is a thin-film-interference (dose-to-clear swing) curve (p.6), which is a physical clearing-dose artifact, not a stated process dose; treat the series' 365-436 nm exposure window as a starting point and run a dose array rather than expect a single vendor number. Like the rest of the series it is a DNQ/novolac positive resist compatible with both TMAH (MIF) and inorganic developers, stripping in standard DNQ/novolac removers, with wet-etch and plating adhesion called out as target applications.
Grades in this family
Other grades in the AZ ECI 3000 series line differ mainly in coating thickness:
| Grade | Thickness | Exposure dose |
|---|---|---|
| AZ ECI 3007 (this page) | 0.6–1.1 µm | — |
| AZ ECI 3012 | 1.1–1.9 µm | 220 mJ/cm² @ 436 nm |
| AZ ECI 3027 | 2.4–4.4 µm | 262 mJ/cm² @ 365 nm |
Troubleshooting
Common failure modes for AZ ECI 3007, 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.
Why does my AZ ECI 3007 clearing dose jump around between wafers spun only slightly differently?
Thin-film interference. The datasheet's i-line dose-to-clear curve for AZ ECI 3007 on silicon swings between roughly 40 and 70 mJ/cm² across 0.6–1.15 µm, with a full cycle about every 0.1 µm, so a few tens of nm of thickness drift moves the clearing dose a lot. Hold spin speed and coater conditions tight, or pick a thickness near a swing extremum where the curve is flat. A PEB — 110 °C for 60–90 s in the typical process — also mitigates standing-wave effects from monochromatic exposure.
SOURCE: AZ ECI 3000 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) —…
AZ ECI 3000 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — Thin Film Interference and Linearity Curves for i-line (ECI 3007 i-line TFI curve on Si), p.6; Typical Process, p.1; Post Expose Bake, p.10
My AZ ECI 3007 dose worked on silicon but under- or over-exposes on chrome, ITO or glass — why?
At AZ ECI 3007's sub-micron thickness much of the light reaches the substrate, so its reflectivity sets the dose the film actually absorbs. MicroChemicals points out that metals such as Ag, Cr and Pt reflect short-wavelength light strongly, ITO absorbs most of the blue and UV, and quartz and glass transmit most of it. The swing curve in the datasheet is measured on silicon only, so re-run a dose series on each new substrate stack.
SOURCE: MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application…
MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application note — Changed Substrate Reflectivity? (Thin Resist Films), p.9. AZ ECI 3000 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — ECI 3007 i-line TFI curve on Si, p.6
Can I dilute AZ ECI 3007 for films thinner than its spin curve reaches?
Yes — MicroChemicals names the AZ ECI 3000 resists as capable of strong dilution for films of 200 nm and less, and recommends PGMEA (sold as AZ EBR Solvent) as the thinner; the datasheet lists AZ EBR Solvent or AZ EBR 70/30 for thinning. Use only a suitable solvent and stay within a resist-specific maximum dilution, or the resist can rapidly form particles. The datasheet's own spin curve for AZ ECI 3007 bottoms out at about 0.6 µm at 5000 rpm.
SOURCE: MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application…
MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application note — Laser Interference Lithography (Particles in Heavily Diluted Resists?), p.5; Diluted Photoresist?, p.14. AZ ECI 3000 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — Companion Products, p.2; Spin Curves, p.1
AZ ECI 3007 lines are lifting during a wet etch on metal — what helps adhesion?
Start with the soft bake: the datasheet's range is 90–110 °C, and the high end improves adhesion to metals. Prime oxide-forming substrates such as Si with HMDS, and hard bake at 100–115 °C after develop, which the datasheet says improves adhesion in wet etch. On noble metals MicroChemicals notes that HMDS does little, and a few-nm titanium or chromium adhesion layer gives very good resist adhesion. Keep any HMDS vapour-primed onto a heated substrate, never spun on.
SOURCE: AZ ECI 3000 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) —…
AZ ECI 3000 Series Technical datasheet (Merck, Rev. 03/21) — Typical Process, p.1; Substrate Preparation, Soft Bake and Hard Bake, p.10. MicroChemicals 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application note — Inferior Resist Adhesion (On Noble Metals?; Wrong HMDS Application), p.11
Sources & disclaimer
- Merck — AZ ECI 3007 datasheet (Rev. (03/21)) · accessed 2026-07-10
- Lipp et al.. Aperture-Controlled Fabrication of All-Dielectric Structural Color Pixels. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2023). doi:10.1021/acsami.3c03353750 nm ECI 3007 patterned on a maskless writer to tune structural color
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.