https://nanyte.com/photoresists/kl-6000 · last updated 2026-09-28
- Manufacturer
- KemLab Inc.
- Grades
- KL6008 · KL6005 · KL60031
- Tone
- positive
- Thickness
- 2.5–12 µm
- Developer
- 0.26N TMAH
- Applications
- Etch mask · General prototyping
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 |
|---|---|---|
| KL6008 | 1000 | 10 |
| 2000 | 7.0 | |
| 3000 | 5.7 | |
| 4000 | 5.0 | |
| 5000 | 4.4 | |
| KL6005 | 1000 | 7.3 |
| 2000 | 5.2 | |
| 3000 | 4.2 | |
| 4000 | 3.6 | |
| 5000 | 3.2 | |
| KL6003 | 1000 | 5.1 |
| 2000 | 3.6 | |
| 3000 | 2.9 | |
| 4000 | 2.5 | |
| 5000 | 2.2 |
Values are the manufacturer’s starting points, not a guarantee — characterize on your own tool. Series digitized from a published figure are approximate (±10 %).
KL6008: read from figure 'KL6000 Spin Curve', p.2 of KL 6000 series TDS — identified by legend marker/color (blue diamonds = KL6008) on the combined three-curve chart; topmost curve, consistent with KL6008 having the largest stated film-thickness range (5-12+ µm).
KL6005: read from figure 'KL6000 Spin Curve', p.2 of KL 6000 series TDS — identified by legend marker/color (red squares = KL6005) on the combined three-curve chart; middle curve, consistent with the stated 4-7 µm range.
KL6003: read from figure 'KL6000 Spin Curve', p.2 of KL 6000 series TDS — identified by legend marker/color (purple triangles = KL6003) on the combined three-curve chart; bottom curve, consistent with the stated 2.5-4.5 µm range.
- Coat program includes a 5-10 second spread cycle (longer for thicker films); spin time at final speed is 45 seconds.
- Spin curves determined on 6-inch Si with static dispense of ~4 mL of KL6000 photoresist (TDS p.2, Spin Coat).
- The TDS also publishes a fine-tuning formula for thickness under 10 µm: New Spin Speed = Spin Speed x (measured film thickness / desired film thickness)^2.
- No explicit edge-bead-removal step is published.
- Adhesion
- HMDS recommended — HMDS (hexamethyldisilazane) primer is recommended and 'will increase adhesion of KL6000 to most substrates' (TDS p.2, Substrate); KL6000 adheres to gold, glass, aluminum, chromium and copper.
Soft bake
- Soft bake
- 105 °C · 2 min · hotplate
- Notes
- Narrative Soft Bake section (p.2): 'The recommended soft-bake by hotplate is 105°C +/- 5°C. Typical bake time is 120 seconds; longer bake times can help to drive the casting solvent out of thicker films.' 120 s is used here as the labeled-typical value. The p.1 Process Guide table instead gives four thickness-specific times at the same 105°C — 150 s (11 µm and 8 µm points on KL6008), 120 s (5 µm point on KL6005), 90 s (3 µm point on KL6003) — reflecting the 'longer bake for thicker films' guidance; these are kept as per-thickness values rather than promoted to the scalar above, since they are per-thickness, not typical/series-wide.
SOURCE: Soft Bake section, p.2 of KL 6000 series TDS ('Typical bake…
Soft Bake section, p.2 of KL 6000 series TDS ('Typical bake time is 120 seconds'); per-thickness table values on p.1 Process Guide.
Exposure dose
Broadband on silicon climbs with the coat — 90 mJ/cm² at 3 µm, 120 at 5 µm, 180 at 8 µm, 210 at 11 µm. Dill A/B/C constants are published at 365 nm as well, but those are modelling inputs and carry no dose. Run a dose array on your own tool to land the working dose.
- Post-exposure bake
- 90 °C · 1.5 min (optional — if needed)
Not published for this resist: Dose at 365 nm, Dose at 405 nm — characterize on-tool.
Development
- Developer
- 0.26N TMAH
- Developer family
- TMAH-based
Not published for this resist: Dilution, Time, Method, Rinse — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: Process Guide table, p.1, and Develop section, p.3 of KL 6000 series TDS
Hard bake, etch & strip
- Etch resistance
- Wet chemical etchants for Au, Cu, Cr, Al, etc. do not degrade patterns made with KL6000 (TDS p.3, Etch Resist).
- Stripper
- NMP, DMSO or similar solvent-based removers at 50-80°C (TDS p.3, Photoresist Removal); thicker films may benefit from a two-bath process — first bath removes bulk resist, second bath cleans thoroughly.
- Storage
- Store upright in tightly closed containers at 40-70°F (4-21°C), away from oxidizers, acids, bases and ignition sources (TDS p.3, Storage).
Not published for this resist: Hard bake, Descum — characterize on-tool.
Where it's used
Practical notes from the datasheet
KL6000 is a series of three grades (KL6008, KL6005, KL6003) sharing one thick-film process family, with the Process Guide table demonstrating four representative thickness/process points: 11 µm and 8 µm on KL6008, 5 µm on KL6005, and 3 µm on KL6003 (softbake 90-150 s at 105°C, broadband dose 90-210 mJ/cm2, develop 45-90 s by spray puddle, scaling with thickness). PEB is explicitly optional and not required for most applications — a notable process simplification versus thinner i-line resists. As a thick single-coat resist, edge-bead buildup and softbake solvent retention are the process risks most worth re-verifying on-tool for the thickest (KL6008) grade; the datasheet itself flags that longer softbake helps drive solvent out of thicker films. Dill optical parameters at 365 nm (A=0.371 µm-1, B=0.075 µm-1, C=0.036 cm2/mJ) are published for lithography simulation. Etch resistance to common wet metal etchants (Au, Cu, Cr, Al) is explicitly claimed by the manufacturer. KemLab family SDS data (e.g. the sibling KL5300 MSDS) suggests a DNQ-novolak chemistry consistent with KL6000's product category, but no KL6000-specific composition table is published, so no chemistry is claimed for this grade.
Troubleshooting
Common failure modes for KL 6000 series, 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.
An 11 µm KL6008 coat still has resist at the bottom of the trenches after one develop puddle — dose or develop?
Check both against the thickness you actually coated. KemLab's process guide on Si scales broadband dose from 90 mJ/cm² at 3 µm (KL6003) to 120 at 5 µm (KL6005), 180 at 8 µm and 210 at 11 µm (KL6008). The develop changes too: a single 60 s spray puddle at 3 µm, but a double spray puddle for the thicker points — 2 × 45 s at 5 µm, 2 × 75 s at 8 µm and 2 × 90 s at 11 µm. The datasheet says thicker films benefit from refreshing the developer mid-step.
SOURCE: KL6000 Positive Photoresist TDS (KemLab Inc., no revision printed) — Process Guide table, p.1; Develop, p.3
How long should I softbake a thick KL6008 film so solvent isn't left in the bulk?
Longer than the typical time. The datasheet recommends a 105 °C ± 5 °C hotplate bake, typically 120 s, and notes that longer bakes help drive the casting solvent out of thicker films. Its process guide uses 150 s at 105 °C for the 8 µm and 11 µm KL6008 points, 120 s for 5 µm KL6005 and 90 s for 3 µm KL6003 — so a thick coat baked for the thin-film time is under-baked by the maker's own table.
SOURCE: KL6000 Positive Photoresist TDS (KemLab Inc., no revision printed) — Soft Bake, p.2; Process Guide table, p.1
My KL6000 coat measured thinner than the spin curve promised — how do I correct the spin speed?
KemLab gives a correction for KL6000 films under 10 µm: new spin speed = spin speed × (measured thickness / desired thickness)². Its curves were run on 6-inch Si with a static dispense of about 4 mL, a 5–10 s spread cycle (the longer time for thicker films) and 45 s at final speed, so expect an offset whenever your wafer size, dispense volume or spin time differs from those conditions.
SOURCE: KL6000 Positive Photoresist TDS (KemLab Inc., no revision printed) — Spin Coat, p.2
Will KL6000 hold up as a wet-etch mask on gold or copper without lifting?
The datasheet says wet chemical etchants for Au, Cu, Cr, Al and similar metals do not degrade KL6000 patterns, and that it adheres to gold, glass, aluminium, chromium and copper. It still recommends an HMDS prime, stating that HMDS increases KL6000 adhesion to most substrates — so if a mask lifts during a long etch, confirm the primer step was run.
SOURCE: KL6000 Positive Photoresist TDS (KemLab Inc., no revision printed) — Substrate, p.2; Etch Resist, p.3
How do I get a 10 µm KL6000 layer fully off after etching?
KemLab lists NMP, DMSO and similar industry-standard removers at 50–80 °C. For thick films it suggests splitting removal into two baths: one to take off the bulk of the resist, then a second to finish cleaning the surface.
SOURCE: KL6000 Positive Photoresist TDS (KemLab Inc., no revision printed) — Photoresist Removal, p.3
Sources & disclaimer
- KemLab Inc. — KL 6000 series datasheet (not stated — no revision or copyright date is printed anywhere in this TDS; the only certification mark present is an ISO 9001:2015 seal on the final page.) · accessed 2026-07-10
- KemLab KL6000 Positive Photoresist TDS, 'Process Guide' table (p.1) Product row and the 'Film Thickness Range / Viscosity' table (p.2): KL6008, KL6005, KL6003.
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.