https://nanyte.com/photoresists/az-nlof-2020 · last updated 2026-07-10
- Manufacturer
- Merck
- Tone
- negative
- Chemistry
- Chemically amplified
- Thickness
- 1.6–4.6 µm
- Exposure dose
- 66 mJ/cm² at 365 nm
- Developer
- AZ 300MIF
- Applications
- Lift-off · Etch mask
Cross-checked — two independent extractions agree.
Spin coating
AZ nLOF 2020 is spin-coated to 1.6–4.6 µm. The curve below is redrawn from the manufacturer's published data — read your target thickness off the vertical axis and take the matching spin speed as a starting point.
Data points
| Series | rpm | µm |
|---|---|---|
| AZ nLOF 2020 | 500 | 4.6 |
| 1000 | 3.3 | |
| 1500 | 2.8 | |
| 2000 | 2.4 | |
| 2500 | 2.1 | |
| 3000 | 1.9 | |
| 3500 | 1.7 | |
| 4000 | 1.6 |
Values are the manufacturer's starting points, not a guarantee; verify on your own tool. Characterize on-tool. Series digitized from a published figure were independently cross-checked by a second blind read; treat those values as approximate (±10 %).
read from figure, "SPIN CURVES (150mm Silicon)", p.1 of AZ nLOF 2000 Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21) — chart plots three grades (nLOF 2070 red, nLOF 2035 yellow, nLOF 2020 blue) with an explicit color-coded legend; nLOF 2020 identified by its blue 'nLOF 2020' legend entry (bottom curve, lowest thickness at every speed) and cross-checked against the grade-specific 2.0 µm reference process (p.3, p.6-7, which names 'AZ nLOF 2020 (33cPs)' explicitly).
This grade is the bottom (lowest-thickness-at-every-speed) trace on the three-grade family chart, identified by its blue 'nLOF 2020' legend entry — and corroborated a second way, beyond the legend color alone: this datasheet's own 2.0 µm reference process names the exact resist run as 'AZ nLOF 2020 (33cPs)' (p.3, p.6-7), matching the lowest-viscosity trace on the chart. Still a figure read, not a numeric table, so visual QC is required. No dispense volume, spin ramp, or edge-bead detail is published in this datasheet.
- Adhesion
- Rehydration
Soft bake
- Soft bake
- 110 °C · 60 s · hotplate
- Notes
SOURCE: EXAMPLE PROCESS (2.0µm Film Thickness on Si), p.3 of AZ nLOF 2000 Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21)
Exposure dose
The manufacturer publishes 66 mJ/cm² at 365 nm ("Exposure: i-line @ 66mJ/cm2 nominal (0.54NA) Nikon Stepper" — verbatim, EXAMPLE PROCESS (2.0µm Film Thickness on Si), p.3. Confirmed series-wide: "AZ nLOF 2000 requires exposure energy at the 365nm wavelength" (p.8).). Dose scales with film thickness and depends on your optics, so treat it as a starting point and run a dose array.
- Dose at 365 nm
- 66 mJ/cm²
- Dose at 405 nm
- Not published — characterize on-tool
- As published
- Post-exposure bake
- 110 °C · 60 s
SOURCE: EXAMPLE PROCESS (2.0µm Film Thickness on Si), p.3 of AZ nLOF 2000 Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21)
Development
- Developer
- AZ 300MIF
- Dilution
- undiluted (ready-to-use 0.26N / 2.38% TMAH developer; no dilution ratio stated)
- Time
- 60 s
- Method
- puddle
- Rinse
- Not published — characterize on-tool
- Developer family
- TMAH-based
SOURCE: EXAMPLE PROCESS (2.0µm Film Thickness on Si), p.3 of AZ nLOF 2000 Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21): 'AZ 300MIF, 60s single puddle'
Hard bake, etch & strip
- Stripper
- AZ 400T or AZ Remover 770 (solvent-based removers), recommended per PROCESS CONSIDERATIONS > STRIPPING, p.8 of AZ nLOF 2000 Series Technical datasheet.
Not published for this resist: Hard bake, Descum, Etch resistance, Storage — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: PROCESS CONSIDERATIONS > HARD BAKE, p.8 of AZ nLOF 2000 Series Technical datasheet (Rev. 03/21)
Where it's used
AZ nLOF 2020 is the thinnest (~2 µm) grade of AZ's chemically amplified nLOF 2000 lift-off series, and the only one of this recipe set's nLOF grades with a single stated nominal exposure dose rather than a dose-latitude sweep with no headline number: its 66 mJ/cm² i-line nominal sits comfortably inside the datasheet's own 62-74 mJ/cm² through-dose printable window, not pinned to an edge. As with the rest of the series, PEB is REQUIRED, not optional as on the DNQ positive resists elsewhere in this project, and is the step that most directly sets the negative-tone undercut lift-off profile — the datasheet's own CD-vs-PEB-temperature data (measured on the related 2035 grade) puts the sensitivity at roughly <0.04 µm/°C, so a few degrees of hotplate drift shows up as a real dimensional shift. Develop is a single 60 s AZ 300MIF puddle, simpler than the two-puddle cycle the thicker 2070 grade needs to fully clear its film. No rehydration wait is needed after softbake, unlike the thick DNQ positive resists elsewhere in this set, and the cured film's >150°C thermal stability is what lets the undercut profile survive a subsequent metal evaporation and lift-off step. The datasheet explicitly does not recommend the nLOF 2000 series for use on copper substrates.
Sources & disclaimer
- Merck — AZ nLOF 2020 datasheet (Rev. (03/21)) · accessed 2026-07-10
- Herth et al.. Performances of the Negative Tone Resist AZnLOF 2020 for Nanotechnology Applications. IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology (2012). doi:10.1109/TNANO.2012.2196802The most-cited nLOF 2020 characterization: 50 nm lines at 100 nm pitch by e-beam
- Lilak et al.. Spoken Digit Classification by In-Materio Reservoir Computing With Neuromorphic Atomic Switch Networks. Frontiers in Nanotechnology (2021). doi:10.3389/fnano.2021.675792Lift-off Pt grid for a neuromorphic atomic-switch-network chip
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 2026-07-10.