KMPR 1050 process recipe

Spin coating

KMPR 1050 is spin-coated to 34–115 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.

Recommended program: dispense 1 ml of resist per inch (25 mm) of substrate diameter; spin at 500 rpm for 5-10 s at 100 rpm/s acceleration, then spin at the target speed for 30 s at 300 rpm/s acceleration. The document publishes TWO spin curves for the same four resists at two different ambient conditions: Figure 1 (21°C, US & EU) and Figure 2 (23°C, Japan & Asia) — the curves are not identical (e.g. KMPR 1050 at 1000 rpm reads ~101 µm in Figure 1 vs. ~115 µm in Figure 2), a reminder that spin results are sensitive to coat-bowl ambient temperature/humidity and should be recharacterized on-tool. Both curves are now captured above: Figure 1 (21°C US & EU) as the primary curve, Figure 2 (23°C Japan & Asia) as a second series digitized by extracting marker vector-path pixel positions and axis tick-label pixel positions directly from the PDF page content stream. Source: "Coat" / "Recommended Program", p.1, and Figures 1-2, p.2.

Soft bake

Soft bake

100 °C · hotplate

Notes

Recommended bake temperature is 100°C (95-105°C also usable, per text) — this scalar temperature is explicit in the document. Time is published as a THICKNESS-BINNED table only up to 80 µm: 5-11 µm → 5 min; 12-20 µm → 7 min; 21-30 µm → 12 min; 31-55 µm → 15 min; 56-80 µm → 20 min. KMPR 1050's own spin curve (Figure 1) reaches 101 µm at 1000 rpm, i.e. above the table's published range — the datasheet does not give a soft-bake time for film thicker than 80 µm at all, so no time is assumed for the thick end of this grade's range. Convection ovens are explicitly not recommended. A cool-down/re-heat 'wrinkle' check is described to confirm the film is fully dry.Show more

SOURCE: Table 2 "Soft Bake Times" and "Soft Bake" section text, p.2

Exposure dose

The manufacturer does not publish a clearing dose for KMPR 1050. Determine it with a dose array on your own tool.

As published

"KMPR® 1000 is most commonly exposed with conventional UV (350-400 nm) radiation, although i-line (365 nm) is recommended. It may also be exposed with e-beam or x-ray radiation." (Processing Guidelines, p.1); the front-page banner separately calls the product a "KMPR®1000 i-Line photoresist." The dose table (Table 3) is not separately re-attributed to a specific wavelength beyond this general statement.Show more

Post-exposure bake

100 °C

Not published for this resist: Dose at 365 nm, Dose at 405 nm — characterize on-tool.

Development

Developer

2.38% TMAH (0.26N) aqueous alkaline developer (primary); SU-8 Developer (solvent-based) is also usable as an alternative

Dilution

2.38% TMAH (0.26N), used at this standard concentration (not diluted from a stock in the document)

Time

Not published — characterize on-tool

Method

immersion

Rinse

DI water, ~20 s spray rinse, then filtered air/N2 dry (TMAH path). If the optional SU-8-developer alternative is used instead, rinse is ~10 s fresh developer spray then ~10 s IPA spray, per the SU-8-developer note.Show more

Developer family

TMAH-based

SOURCE: "Develop" and "Rinse and Dry" sections plus Table 5 (TMAH) and Table 6 (SU-8 developer), p.3

Hard bake, etch & strip

Etch resistance

Listed as a Feature: "Excellent dry etch resistance." Demonstrated in an application photo ("Etched Trenches", 10 µm features, 65 µm deep, credited to ULVAC) consistent with use as a DRIE (deep reactive ion etch) mask. No quantitative etch rate or selectivity numbers are published. Source: "Features" list and application photos, p.1.Show more

Stripper

MicroChem Remover PG (NMP): heat bath to 80°C, immerse substrate 10-20 minutes (actual time depends on resist thickness and agitation, e.g. ultrasound). For fully electroformed metal structures, a stronger sequence is given: Remover PG 10 min @80°C → DIW rinse → XP Remover K (epoxy stripping chemistry) 10 min @80°C → DIW rinse → XP Neutralizer K 3 min @25°C. Plasma removal: RIE 200 W, 80 sccm O2, 8 sccm CF4, 100 mTorr, 10°C. Source: "Removal" / "Process Recommendation" / "Plasma Removal", p.3.Show more

Storage

Store frozen, in tightly closed, upright containers, at 14°F (-10°C), away from light, heat, acids, and ignition sources. Shelf life is twelve months at 14°F (-10°C), but typically only one to two months at room temperature. Defrost at room temperature for 24 hours before use. Source: "Storage", p.4.Show more

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

SOURCE: "Plating" section note, p.3

Where it's used

KMPR 1050 is the thickest-coating grade in Kayaku Microchem/MicroChem's KMPR 1000 line and, unlike the solvent-developed SU-8 2000 family, is a chemically amplified epoxy resist designed to develop in aqueous TMAH — a meaningful process difference worth flagging for anyone assuming all thick epoxy negative resists behave like SU-8. Its published process tables (soft bake, exposure dose, TMAH develop time) only cover film thicknesses up to 80 µm, while KMPR 1050's own spin curve reaches roughly 101 µm at 1000 rpm; process engineers working at the thick end of this grade's range will need to extrapolate or characterize on-tool, since the datasheet simply does not publish numbers there. PEB time follows a thickness-threshold rule (2/3/4 minutes at 25/50 µm cutoffs) rather than a continuous table. A distinctive storage gotcha: KMPR 1000 resists must be stored frozen (14°F/-10°C) and require a full 24-hour room-temperature thaw before use — treating it like a room-temperature-stable resist will produce inconsistent films. The resist strips cleanly with Remover PG when only lightly cross-linked, but a fully electroformed/plated structure needs the stronger Remover PG → XP Remover K → XP Neutralizer K sequence to fully dissolve.

Sources & disclaimer

• Kayaku Microchem (MicroChem) — KMPR 1050 datasheet (Ver. 4.2 (printed in the footer of every page: "Ver. 4.2")) · accessed 2026-07-10

1. Lee et al.. Fabrication of thick electroforming micro mould using a KMPR negative tone photoresist. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering (2008). doi:10.1088/0960-1317/18/5/055032
   180 µm, 18:1 KMPR molds — strippable, unlike SU-8.
2. Shin et al.. UV Lithography and Molding Fabrication of Ultrathick Micrometallic Structures Using a KMPR Photoresist. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems (2010). doi:10.1109/JMEMS.2010.2045880
   KMPR molds for mm-wave traveling-wave-tube structures.

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 2026-07-12.

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