https://nanyte.com/photoresists/ma-p-1215 · last updated 2026-09-28
- Manufacturer
- micro resist technology GmbH
- Tone
- positive
- Chemistry
- DNQ-novolak
- Thickness
- 1.5 µm
- Exposure dose
- 45 mJ/cm² (broadband, metered at 365 nm)
- Applications
- Etch mask · Electroplating / molding
- Substrate
- Resist
- Exposed
Spin coating
The manufacturer does not publish a spin curve for ma-P 1215.
- One tabulated point, not a sweep: the technical data table gives ma-P 1215 as 1.5 µm at 3000 rpm for 30 s, the single condition every grade in the series is listed at, and one anchor is not a curve.
- The sheet also plots film thickness against spin speed from 1000 to 6000 rpm for all six grades, but as smooth lines with no markers and no numeric table, so no values are published from it.
- Accel, dispense volume and edge-bead removal are not published.
- Adhesion
- Not mentioned in this document.
Soft bake
- Soft bake
- Not published — characterize on-tool
Exposure dose
The manufacturer publishes 45 mJ/cm² (broadband, metered at 365 nm). Dose scales with film thickness and depends on your optics, so treat it as a starting point and run a dose array.
- Dose at 405 nm
- Not published — characterize on-tool
- As published
- 45 mJ/cm² is the published dose for ma-P 1215, measured under broadband exposure with the meter reading the 365 nm line rather than specified as a monochromatic i-line dose.
SOURCE: Technical data table, p.1 of the ma-P 1200 series product sheet (ls.24.02.01), ma-P 1215 column
Development
Not published for this resist: Developer, Dilution, Time, Method, Rinse — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: Unique features / Characteristics, p.1-2 of the ma-P 1200 series product sheet (ls.24.02.01)
Hard bake, etch & strip
- Etch resistance
- "High pattern stability in wet etch processes and acid and alkaline plating baths" and "Highly stable in dry etch processes e.g. CHF3, CF4, SF6" (Unique features, p.1).
Not published for this resist: Hard bake, Descum, Stripper, Storage — characterize on-tool.
Where it's used
Practical notes from the datasheet
ma-P 1215 is the 1.5 µm grade of micro resist technology's ma-P 1200 positive series, and the grade all three papers listed below used: thick enough to survive a wet etch of chromium or an HF oxide open, with a published dose of 45 mJ/cm². It sits between the 1 µm ma-P 1210, at 35 mJ/cm², and the 2.5 µm ma-P 1225 at 55 mJ/cm², so its exposure cost scales gently with the extra film. The series is sold for stability in wet etches and in acid and alkaline plating baths, for dry etching in CHF3, CF4 or SF6, and for easy removal, and it develops in aqueous alkali. The sheet publishes no softbake, developer product or develop time; the published papers listed below are the practical place to find a starting bake and exposure.
Grades in this family
Other grades in the ma-P 1200 series line differ mainly in coating thickness:
Troubleshooting
Common failure modes for ma-P 1215, 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.
ma-P 1215 sticks to the mask during hard-contact exposure. How do I stop it?
MicroChemicals' trouble shooter names four causes, first a film that still holds too much solvent because the softbake was too cool or too short. The ma-P 1200 sheet publishes no softbake, so there is no grade-specific number; MicroChemicals recommends about 100 °C on a hotplate for one minute per µm, a place to start testing for a 1.5 µm ma-P 1215 film. Particles or bubbles in the film transfer to the mask and stick locally, so clean the mask. Soft contact helps if the aligner allows it, and poor substrate adhesion lets the mask pull the film off.
SOURCE: MicroChemicals GmbH 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter'…
MicroChemicals GmbH 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' application note (not a micro resist technology document) — Sticking Between Resist Film and Mask, p.6; micro resist technology ma-P 1200 series product sheet (ls.24.02.01) — Technical data table (1.5 µm at 3000 rpm), p.1
My wet etch undercuts ma-P 1215 far more than the etch depth. Is the resist failing?
MicroChemicals' trouble shooter says an isotropic etch undercuts a mask by roughly as much as it etches down, and much more than that points to adhesion rather than the resist itself, which the ma-P sheet sells for high pattern stability in wet etch processes. It adds that a hardbake after development, around 140 °C for 5–10 minutes, often improves adhesion for wet etching, and 140–150 °C improves resistance to strongly oxidising etchants such as nitric-acid mixtures. The ma-P sheet gives no hardbake, so confirm the resist still strips cleanly after whatever bake you settle on.
SOURCE: MicroChemicals GmbH 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' — Wet…
MicroChemicals GmbH 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' — Wet Etching: Underetching? p.15 and Resist Attack in HNO3-Containing Etchants? p.16; micro resist technology ma-P 1200 series product sheet (ls.24.02.01) — Unique features, p.1
The etch through my developed ma-P 1215 starts unevenly across the open areas. Why?
Even a few nanometres of resist left in a cleared area blocks many etchants. The common sources are HMDS spun on as a liquid, or HMDS vapour in the same coater that spins the resist: the excess releases ammonia during the softbake, which modifies the resin at the substrate and can leave a layer that will not develop through. Prime from the vapour phase onto a heated wafer and keep it out of the resist coater. An incompatible developer or a short rinse after development leaves the same thin residue.
SOURCE: MicroChemicals GmbH 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' —…
MicroChemicals GmbH 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' — Inhomogeneous Etch Start? (resist residuals), p.16, and HMDS Applied Correctly; Contamination by Other Substances?, p.7–8
ma-P 1215 leaves bare patches on the wafer after spinning. What should I check?
MicroChemicals' trouble shooter puts poor wetting first: noble metals, a wafer that is not clean, an HF dip that left some oxide behind, and high cleanroom humidity all promote uncoated areas. Next is volume — it recommends 1–5 ml per substrate depending on viscosity, thickness and substrate size, dispensed as close to the centre as possible. On smooth wafers a fast ramp to the final speed, above 1000 rpm/s, suppresses the gaps; the ma-P sheet's own condition for 1.5 µm is 3000 rpm for 30 s.
SOURCE: MicroChemicals GmbH 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' —…
MicroChemicals GmbH 'Photolithography Trouble Shooter' — Uncoated Substrate Areas after Resist Coating?, p.1; micro resist technology ma-P 1200 series product sheet (ls.24.02.01) — Technical data table, p.1
Sources & disclaimer
- micro resist technology GmbH — ma-P 1215 datasheet (ls.24.02.01 (printed on both pages)) · accessed 2026-09-10
- https://kayakuam.com/products/ma-p-1200/ — kayakuam.com states 'ma-P 1200 is a positive tone DNQ/novolac based resist series'; the basis for classifying ma-P 1215 as dnq-novolak.
- Haus et al.. Robust Pressure Sensor in SOI Technology with Butterfly Wiring for Airfoil Integration. Sensors (2021). doi:10.3390/s21186140Uses ma-P 1215 as the lithographic mask through which 40% hydrofluoric acid opens the oxide to define boron doping windows, in an SOI piezoresistive pressure sensor built for airfoil integration.
- Xu et al.. Mapping enzyme catalysis with metabolic biosensing. Nature Communications (2021). doi:10.1038/s41467-021-27185-9Transfers sawtooth electrode patterns into a 2 um-thick ma-P 1215 layer over sputtered chromium, then wet-etches the chromium through the resist to build the electrodes of a droplet-microfluidic enzyme-screening chip.
- Zhang et al.. Linked optical and gene expression profiling of single cells at high-throughput. Genome Biology (2020). doi:10.1186/s13059-020-01958-9States a complete ma-P 1215 process for a chromium electrode mask: a 2 um coat, a 1 min bake at 95 C, a 3.5 min collimated UV exposure, then development and chromium etching.
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.