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AZ P4210 process recipe

AZ P4210 is Merck's 2.0-4.0 µm grade of the AZ P4000 plating resist series, reading 4.8 µm at 1000 rpm and 1.8 µm at 5000 rpm on a 150 mm wafer.

https://nanyte.com/photoresists/az-p4210 · last updated 2026-09-13

At a glance
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Manufacturer
Merck KGaA (AZ Electronic Materials)
Tone
positive
Thickness
2–4 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 P4210 — feature width, film aspect ratio and sidewall angle are illustrative, not to scale.
01 / Coating

Spin coating

Spin curve for AZ P4210: film thickness in µm against spin speed in rpm.1234561k2k3k4k5kSPIN SPEED (rpm)THICKNESS (µm)
Data points
AZ P4210 — film thickness (µm) by spin speed (rpm)
SeriesrpmµmPublished dose
AZ P421010004.8
15003.7
20003.0
25002.7
30002.5
35002.3
40002.1
45001.9
50001.8

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 dark-blue diamond markers legended 'P4210' 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 plotted markers run from 4.8 µm at 1000 rpm to 1.8 µm at 5000 rpm, a little wider than the grade's rated 2.0-4.0 µm.
  • The fitted line on the chart runs slightly above the 2000 rpm marker (about 3.0 µm), so the marker values are the ones carried.
  • 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.
Rehydration
Required for films thicker than 4.0 µm: hold between soft bake and exposure for typically 30-60 minutes, depending on film thickness, at 40-45 % relative humidity (Film rehydration, p.6). The p.3 reference process for a 12 µm AZ P4620 film uses a 30 min hold at 42 % RH. At this grade's slowest spins the film passes 4.0 µm and the hold applies.
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 P4210'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 P4210 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 P4210 — 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 P4210 covers 2-4 µm in the P4000 series (54 cSt at 23 °C), the plating-compatible positive resist whose photoactive compound is engineered not to poison electroplating solutions. The sheet sells the series for electroplating and for wet etching, where it cites excellent substrate adhesion. The series dose table puts a 3.5 µm film at about 135 mJ/cm² on a Suss MA-200 aligner. At the 4 µm top of its range it sits right at the sheet's rehydration threshold — films thicker than 4.0 µm need a 30-60 minute hold at 40-45 % RH before exposure — so a coat spun slower than about 1500 rpm should get that hold. Soft bake at 95-115 °C, develop in AZ 400K 1:4 by spray or immersion.

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 P41101–3 µm
AZ P4210 (this page)2–4 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 P4210 process recipe." NANYTE Photoresist Library. https://nanyte.com/photoresists/az-p4210. Accessed 2026-09-13.

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