https://nanyte.com/photoresists/kmpr-1015 · last updated 2026-09-28
- Manufacturer
- Kayaku Advanced Materials
- Tone
- negative
- Chemistry
- Epoxy (SU-8 type)
- Thickness
- 12.5–40 µm
- Developer
- 2.38 % TMAH (0.26 N) aqueous alkaline developer; SU-8 developer (solvent) may be used instead
- Applications
- High aspect ratio · MEMS structural · Electroplating / molding · Etch mask
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 | Published dose |
|---|---|---|---|
| KMPR 1015 | 1000 | 40 | 665–1055 mJ/cm² · 31–55 µm row |
| 2000 | 22 | 355–485 mJ/cm² · 12–20 µm row 500–645 mJ/cm² · 21–30 µm row within 10 % of a bracket edge | |
| 3000 | 16 | 355–485 mJ/cm² · 12–20 µm row | |
| 4000 | 13 | 355–485 mJ/cm² · 12–20 µm row within 10 % of a bracket edge |
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 filled-triangle trace legended KMPR 1015 on Figure 1, 'KMPR 1000 Thickness vs. Spin Speed', p.2, the middle of the five traces. Four plotted markers; no numeric table accompanies the chart.
- The curve halves across the first half of the sweep — 40 µm at 1000 rpm to 21.5 µm at 2000 — then eases to 16 and 12.5 µm at 3000 and 4000 rpm.
- Its trace runs close to KMPR 1010's at the fast end, where the two overlap around 12-15 µm, so in that band the choice between them is really about which grade's slower spin gives the better uniformity.
- Table 1 puts this grade at 60 % solids and 1900 cSt.
- The recommended program is a 500 rpm / 5-10 s spread at 100 rpm/s acceleration, then 30 s at the final speed at 300 rpm/s, dispensing 1 ml of resist per inch of substrate diameter.
- Adhesion
- HMDS not required — "Adhesion promoters are typically not required." For applications that require electroplating, the datasheet recommends pre-treating the substrate with HMDS Primer, and its Plating process lists HMDS as the first step.1
Soft bake
- Soft bake
- 100 °C (95–105 °C) · hotplate
- Notes
- 100 °C on a level hotplate, with 95-105 °C also usable. Convection ovens are advised against — a skin forms and traps solvent in the film. Time is thickness-binned and this grade's 12.5-40 µm span crosses three bins: 7 min for 12-20 µm, 12 min for 21-30 µm and 15 min for 31-55 µm, so the bake follows the film you actually coat. Bake, cool to room temperature, then return the wafer to the hotplate — visible wrinkling means it needs longer.
SOURCE: Soft Bake section and Table 2, p.2 of the KMPR 1000 datasheet (Ver. 6, December 2019)
Exposure dose
KMPR 1015'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
- Dose is published against film thickness rather than against the grade, so it follows the coating: 355-485 mJ/cm² at 12-20 µm, 500-645 at 21-30 and 665-1055 at 31-55. Doses climb on reflective substrates — the datasheet's multipliers run 1.5× on glass, Pyrex and ITO and 1.5-2× on gold, aluminium, copper, nickel and titanium against 1× on silicon.
- Post-exposure bake
- 100 °C (95–105 °C) · hotplate
| Film thickness | Dose |
|---|---|
| 12–20 µm | 355–485 mJ/cm² |
| 21–30 µm | 500–645 mJ/cm² |
| 31–55 µm | 665–1055 mJ/cm² |
SOURCE: KMPR 1000 datasheet
Table 3 'Exposure Dose' of the KMPR 1000 datasheet (Ver. 6). The three bins carried here are the ones this grade's thickness range crosses. The table is not attributed to a specific wavelength.
Development
- Developer
- 2.38 % TMAH (0.26 N) aqueous alkaline developer; SU-8 developer (solvent) may be used instead
- Method
- immersion, spray or spray-puddle
- Rinse
- After TMAH, spray rinse with de-ionized water for 20 s and blow dry with filtered air or nitrogen. After SU-8 developer, spray with fresh developer for about 10 s, then isopropyl alcohol for another 10 s, then blow dry — a white film during the IPA rinse means the film is under-developed and needs more developer.
- Developer family
- TMAH or solvent
Not published for this resist: Dilution, Time — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: Development and Rinse and Dry sections with Tables 6 and 7, p.3-4 of the KMPR 1000 datasheet (Ver. 6, December 2019)
Hard bake, etch & strip
- Hard bake
- Not published — characterize on-tool
- Descum
- RIE, 2 min at 100 W with 10 sccm O2 at 100 mTorr — quoted as step 3 of the datasheet's plating sequence.
- Etch resistance
- "Excellent dry etch resistance" (Features, p.1); the series is positioned for DRIE work, and the datasheet's own example shows 10 µm features etched to 65 µm deep.
- Stripper
- Remover PG (NMP) at 80 °C for 10-20 min by immersion, provided the film was never hard baked. Plasma removal where needed: RIE at 200 W with 80 sccm O2 and 8 sccm CF4, 100 mTorr, 10 °C.
- Storage
- Store frozen at -10 °C (14 °F) in tightly closed upright containers, away from light, heat, acids and ignition sources. Shelf life is thirteen months frozen, typically one to two months at room temperature. Defrost at room temperature for 24 h before use.
Where it's used
Practical notes from the datasheet
KMPR 1015 fills the middle of Kayaku's chemically amplified epoxy negative line, coating 12.5 to 40 µm where 1010 stops near 27 and 1025 starts around 21. It is a grade that only exists in the current revision of the datasheet — the older Ver. 4.2 line ran 1005, 1010, 1025 and 1050 — so a process written against an older sheet will not mention it. The series is built for thick, vertical-walled masks that survive plating baths and dry etching and then strip cleanly, which is the practical distinction from SU-8. As everywhere in this line, the process numbers key to film thickness rather than to the grade, so choosing 1015 mainly decides which rows of those tables apply: across its range that means a 7, 12 or 15 min soft bake, 355-1055 mJ/cm², a 2 or 3 min post-exposure bake and 5-6 min in TMAH. The post-exposure bake is where cross-linking happens and is not optional, and hard baking is explicitly discouraged for plating work because an un-hard-baked film is the one that strips.
Grades in this family
Other grades in the KMPR 1000 series line differ mainly in coating thickness:
Troubleshooting
Common failure modes for KMPR 1015, 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.
What's the published plating flow for a KMPR 1015 mould, and should I hard bake before plating?
Kayaku's plating sequence is: (1) HMDS, (2) coat, expose, PEB and develop, (3) descum by RIE, 2 min at 100 W, 10 sccm O₂, 100 mTorr, (4) electrolytic copper, the example being 60 min at 0.1 A/dm². Do not add a hard bake: the datasheet marks it as neither required nor recommended for plating resistance, and KMPR processed without one swells, lifts and strips afterwards in Remover PG at 80 °C.
SOURCE: Kayaku KMPR 1000 Technical Data Sheet, Ver. 6, Dec 2019 — Substrate Preparation, p.2; Plating and Removal, p.4
My KMPR 1015 is 30 µm — is a 2 min PEB enough?
No. The PEB is required to complete the curing reaction and should follow exposure directly, and its time steps with thickness: 2 min at 100 °C up to 25 µm, 3 min for 25–50 µm, 4 min at 50 µm and above (95–105 °C is also acceptable). KMPR 1015 spans roughly 12.5–40 µm, so faster spins sit in the 2 min row and slower ones need 3 min. After 1 min of PEB a mask image should be visible; if it isn't, exposure, temperature or both were insufficient.
SOURCE: KMPR 1000 Technical Data Sheet
Kayaku KMPR 1000 Technical Data Sheet, Ver. 6, Dec 2019 — Figure 1, p.2; Post Exposure Bake (PEB), note and Table 5 PEB Times, p.3
Small holes in KMPR 1015 aren't opening in TMAH. What should I change?
Agitation first. The TMAH immersion times — 5 min for 12–20 µm, 6 min for 21–30 and 31–55 µm in 2.38 % TMAH — are approximate because dissolution rate varies widely with agitation, and strong agitation is recommended for thick or high-aspect-ratio structures. An ultrasonic or megasonic bath is helpful for developing out vias or holes. Rinse with a 20 s DI water spray afterwards and dry with filtered air or nitrogen.
SOURCE: Kayaku KMPR 1000 Technical Data Sheet, Ver. 6, Dec 2019 — Development and note, p.3; Table 6 and Rinse and Dry, p.4
The KMPR 1000 dose table gives 665–1055 mJ/cm² at 31–55 µm. How do I find my KMPR 1015 dose in that window?
With an exposure matrix, using the PEB as the readout. That row is wide, and the rows below it (355–485 at 12–20 µm, 500–645 at 21–30 µm) cover the rest of KMPR 1015's range. A correct dose gives a visible latent image only once the wafer is on the PEB hotplate: an image already visible before PEB means overexposure, and no image after 1 min of PEB means underexposure or too little heat. Scale by 1.5X on glass or ITO and 1.5–2X on metals and nitride.
SOURCE: Kayaku KMPR 1000 Technical Data Sheet, Ver. 6, Dec 2019 — Exposure note, Tables 3–4 and Post Exposure Bake note, p.3
Sources & disclaimer
- Kayaku Advanced Materials — KMPR 1015 datasheet (Ver. 6, December 2019 (printed in the footer of every page)) · accessed 2026-09-10
- "Substrate Preparation", pp.1–2, and "Plating", p.4.
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.