https://nanyte.com/photoresists/az-nlof-2035 · last updated 2026-07-10
- Manufacturer
- Merck
- Tone
- negative
- Chemistry
- Chemically amplified
- Thickness
- 3–6.1 µm
- Exposure dose
- 80 mJ/cm² at 365 nm
- Developer
- AZ 300MIF
- Applications
- Lift-off · Etch mask · High aspect ratio
Cross-checked — two independent extractions agree.
Spin coating
AZ nLOF 2035 is spin-coated to 3–6.1 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 2035 | 500 | 6.1 |
| 1000 | 5.6 | |
| 1500 | 4.9 | |
| 2000 | 4.2 | |
| 2500 | 3.9 | |
| 3000 | 3.6 | |
| 3500 | 3.3 | |
| 4000 | 3.0 |
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 datasheet — legend-labeled "nLOF 2035" (yellow/orange square marker), distinguishable from the nLOF 2070 (red diamond) and nLOF 2020 (blue diamond) traces by color and marker shape across the full 500-4000 rpm plotted range. Cross-checked against the grade-specific 3.5µm coat thickness stated in the EXAMPLE PROCESS table (p.4), which falls within this reading between the 2500 and 3000 rpm points.
Multi-grade chart plots nLOF 2070 / nLOF 2035 / nLOF 2020 together (legend, distinct colors/markers, p.1); the nLOF 2035 trace sits clearly between the other two across the plotted range with a stated grade-specific 3.5µm anchor point (EXAMPLE PROCESS, p.4) that agrees with the read curve, giving 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 500-4000 rpm plotted range. No spin accel/dispense parameters or edge-bead removal procedure are published; AZ EBR Solvent/AZ EBR 70/30 are listed only as companion thinning/edge-bead products (COMPANION PRODUCTS, p.2) with no protocol given. No rehydration hold applies to this resist — the Typical Process table explicitly states "Rehydration Hold: None" (p.1); see the rehydration field.
- Adhesion
- Rehydration
Soft bake
- Soft bake
- 110 °C · 60 s · hotplate
- Notes
SOURCE: EXAMPLE PROCESS (3.5µm Film Thickness on Si), p.4; SOFT BAKE, p.8 of AZ nLOF 2000 Series datasheet.
Exposure dose
The manufacturer publishes 80 mJ/cm² at 365 nm ("i-line @ 80mJ/cm2 nominal (0.548NA) Nikon Stepper*" — EXAMPLE PROCESS (3.5µm Film Thickness on Si), p.4. Also: "AZ nLOF 2000 requires exposure energy at the 365nm wavelength" (EXPOSURE, p.8) and the Typical Process line "Expose: 365nm sensitive" (p.1).). 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
- 80 mJ/cm²
- Dose at 405 nm
- Not published — characterize on-tool
- As published
- Post-exposure bake
- 110 °C · 60 s
SOURCE: EXAMPLE PROCESS (3.5µm Film Thickness on Si), p.4 of AZ nLOF 2000 Series datasheet.
Development
- Developer
- AZ 300MIF
- Dilution
- used as supplied (ready-to-use MIF developer; industry-standard 0.26N/2.38% TMAH per DEVELOPING section)
- Time
- 2 min
- Method
- puddle
- Rinse
- Not published — characterize on-tool
- Developer family
- TMAH-based
SOURCE: EXAMPLE PROCESS (3.5µm Film Thickness on Si), p.4; DEVELOPING, p.8 of AZ nLOF 2000 Series datasheet.
Hard bake, etch & strip
- Etch resistance
- "May be processed with vertical sidewalls for RIE etching" (APPLICATION, p.1) — a qualitative capability claim; no etch rate or selectivity data is published.
- Stripper
- AZ 400T or AZ Remover 770 (STRIPPING, p.9): "AZ nLOF 2000 Series resists are compatible with industry standard solvent based removers."
Not published for this resist: Hard bake, Descum, Storage — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: HARD BAKE, p.8; APPLICATION, p.1 of AZ nLOF 2000 Series datasheet.
Where it's used
AZ nLOF 2035 is the middle grade in Merck's AZ nLOF 2000 series, a chemically-amplified i-line negative resist purpose-built to give an undercut lift-off sidewall from a single standard expose/PEB/develop flow, without the extra image-reversal bake/flood-expose steps older negative processes required. The PEB is not optional here — the datasheet states it is "required for proper imaging" and the resist's CD is directly sensitive to PEB temperature (documented at ~0.03-0.04 µm/°C for this exact 3.5µm film thickness); getting PEB temperature and time right matters more for this chemistry than for a standard DNQ positive resist. No rehydration hold is needed (explicitly "None" per the Typical Process table), but delays between soft bake and exposure should be minimized. It is not recommended for copper substrates. One internal inconsistency in the source document is worth flagging: a Linearity/Exposure-Latitude chart on p.6 is captioned "AZ nLOF 2020 @ FT=3.5µm" even though 3.5µm and a 120s develop otherwise match the nLOF 2035 example elsewhere in the same document — this recipe does not use that chart's data, since the document itself names it as the 2020 grade.
Sources & disclaimer
- Merck — AZ nLOF 2035 datasheet (Rev. (03/21)) · accessed 2026-07-10
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.