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AZ P4110 process recipe

AZ P4110 is the thinnest grade of Merck's AZ P4000 plating resist series, rated for 1.0-3.0 µm single coats and read at 2.7 µm from 1000 rpm down to 1.1 µm at 5000 rpm on a 150 mm wafer.

https://nanyte.com/photoresists/az-p4110 · last updated 2026-09-13

At a glance
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Manufacturer
Merck KGaA (AZ Electronic Materials)
Tone
positive
Thickness
1–3 µm
Developer
AZ 400K at 1:4, or at 1:3 / AZ 421K (unbuffered) for films above 12 µm; AZ Developer 1:1 where aluminium must not be etched; AZ 340 is also listed
Applications
Electroplating / molding · Etch mask

Cross-checked — two independent extractions agree on the spin curve and the single-value figures.

The exposed resist dissolves in the developer; the unexposed film stays. Schematic cross-sections for AZ P4110 — feature width, film aspect ratio and sidewall angle are illustrative, not to scale.
01 / Coating

Spin coating

Spin curve for AZ P4110: film thickness in µm against spin speed in rpm.0.51.01.52.02.53.01k2k3k4k5kSPIN SPEED (rpm)THICKNESS (µm)
Data points
AZ P4110 — film thickness (µm) by spin speed (rpm)
SeriesrpmµmPublished dose
AZ P411010002.7
15002.3
20002.0
25001.8
30001.6
35001.5
90 mJ/cm² · 1.5 µm row · Suss MA-200 mask aligner
within 10 % of a bracket edge
40001.3
45001.2
50001.1

Values are the manufacturer’s starting points, not a guarantee — characterize on your own tool. Series digitized from a published figure are approximate (±10 %).

Published dose is the datasheet’s own thickness bracket, quoted as printed — the full table and its citation are in the exposure section. A thickness the table does not cover shows nothing, and a thickness within 10 % of a bracket edge shows every bracket it could fall in.

read from figure — the red cross markers legended 'P4110' on the 'Typical spin curves (150mm substrate)' chart, p.2 of the AZ P4000 Series technical datasheet, Rev. (08/21). Nine plotted markers at 500 rpm steps from 1000 to 5000 rpm; no numeric table accompanies the chart. Marker centres located against the 1 µm gridlines of the embedded chart image; treat each value as a figure read of about ±5 %.

Redrawn from the manufacturer's published data — hover to read between points, click to pin.
  • The curve runs from about 2.7 µm at 1000 rpm to 1.1 µm at 5000 rpm, so the grade's rated 1.0-3.0 µm range is almost exactly the span of a normal spin window, with 2.0 µm landing near 2000 rpm.
  • The chart is for a 150 mm substrate.
  • The sheet notes that films up to 8.0 µm, depending on wafer size, can be spun to equilibrium from these curves, and that single films above 7.0 µm are not spun to equilibrium — thicker coats come from timed spread-and-spin programs or multiple coats.
  • No dispense volume or acceleration is published for spins inside this range; the only coating sequence given is for films above 20 µm.
Adhesion
HMDS recommended — 'Substrates must be clean, dry, and free of organic residues. Oxide forming substrates (Si, etc.) should be HMDS primed prior to coating AZ P4000' (Substrate preparation, p.6). A soft bake towards 115 °C also improves adhesion to most metals.
02 / Bake

Soft bake

Soft bake
95–115 °C
Notes
No time is published for this grade. The process-considerations page gives 95-115 °C and calls bake conditions application specific; the typical-process box on p.1 prints the window as 90-115 °C, so the two pages differ by 5 °C at the low end, and the narrower one is carried. Temperatures towards 115 °C improve adhesion to most metals, and thicker films may need a ramped bake to stop solvent outgassing from raising bubbles.

SOURCE: Soft bake section, p.6, and typical process box, p.1, of the AZ P4000 Series technical datasheet, Rev. (08/21)

03 / Exposure

Exposure dose

AZ P4110's dose is published against film thickness, not as a single number. Read the row for the film you coat and run a dose array around it.

As published
No dose is given for AZ P4110 by name. The series table gives approximate Suss MA-200 aligner doses by film thickness: 90 mJ/cm² at 1.5 µm, 135 mJ/cm² at 3.5 µm and 800 mJ/cm² at 12 µm.
AZ P4110 — dose by film thickness · Suss MA-200 mask aligner
Film thicknessDose
1.5 µm90 mJ/cm²
3.5 µm135 mJ/cm²
12 µm800 mJ/cm²
SOURCE: 'Approximate exposure dose requirement vs. film thickness…

'Approximate exposure dose requirement vs. film thickness (Suss MA-200)' table, p.5 of the AZ P4000 Series technical datasheet, Rev. (08/21): 1.5 µm 90 mJ/cm², 3.5 µm 135 mJ/cm², 12 µm 800 mJ/cm². The table is published for the P4000 series as a whole, indexed by film thickness rather than by grade.

04 / Development

Development

Developer
AZ 400K at 1:4, or at 1:3 / AZ 421K (unbuffered) for films above 12 µm; AZ Developer 1:1 where aluminium must not be etched; AZ 340 is also listed
Dilution
AZ 400K 1:4 for better selectivity on thinner films, 1:3 for films above 12 µm; AZ Developer 1:1
Method
spray or immersion
Developer family
Buffered alkaline

Not published for this resist: Time, Rinse — characterize on-tool.

SOURCE: Developing section, p.6, and companion products, p.1, of the AZ P4000 Series technical datasheet, Rev. (08/21)

05 / Post-processing

Hard bake, etch & strip

Hard bake
100–110 °C
Etch resistance
'Excellent substrate adhesion for wet etch applications' (p.1); a 100-110 °C hard bake 'improves adhesion in wet etch or plating applications and improves pattern stability in dry etch processes' (p.6).
Stripper
AZ 300T, AZ 400T or AZ Kwik Strip (companion products, p.1).

Not published for this resist: Descum, Storage — characterize on-tool.

SOURCE: Hard bake section, p.6, and dielectric insulator table, p.5, of the AZ P4000 Series technical datasheet, Rev. (08/21)

06 / Applications

Where it's used

Practical notes from the datasheet

AZ P4110 is the low-viscosity end of the P4000 series (18 cSt at 23 °C), a general-purpose positive resist whose photoactive compound is engineered not to poison plating solutions and to extend plating bath life. At 1-3 µm it is the thinnest grade for plating and wet-etch masks. At these thicknesses the sheet requires no rehydration hold, and its approximate aligner dose for a 1.5 µm film is 90 mJ/cm². Soft bake in the 95-115 °C window, leaning high when adhesion to metal matters; develop in AZ 400K 1:4, which the sheet recommends for thinner films because it is more selective. A post-exposure bake is not generally needed, though 100-115 °C can widen process latitude and reduce standing waves under monochromatic exposure.

07 / Family

Grades in this family

Other grades in the AZ P4000 Series line differ mainly in coating thickness:

AZ P4000 Series — grade comparison
GradeThickness
AZ P4110 (this page)1–3 µm
AZ P42102–4 µm
AZ P4330-RS3–5 µm
AZ P44004–6 µm
AZ P46206.9–14.8 µm
AZ P490310–30 µm
08 / Sources

Sources & disclaimer

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 2026-09-13.

Cite this recipe

NANYTE. "AZ P4110 process recipe." NANYTE Photoresist Library. https://nanyte.com/photoresists/az-p4110. Accessed 2026-09-13.

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