SUEX process recipe

Coating — dry-film lamination

SUEX is supplied as a pre-cut dry-film sheet and applied by hot-roll lamination — it is not spin-coated. Thickness is fixed per sheet, 20–1000 µm, selected by sheet rather than by spin speed.

SUEX is laminated onto the substrate with a heated roll laminator, not spin-coated — there is no spin curve, and thickness is fixed per sheet (see thicknessRange). Recommended hot-roll lamination conditions, stated identically in both the Thick and Thin datasheets: roller/plate temperature 60-70°C for all rolls (Thin datasheet: 'for all rolls and plates'); pressure 5-10 psi (30-65 kPa); speed 0.5-1.5 ft/min (0.15-0.5 m/min), with thicker films requiring slightly slower speeds. Source: 'LAMINATION' / 'Recommended conditions for hot roll lamination', p.1 of both the Thick SUEX Data Sheet (June 2020) and the Thin SUEX Data Sheet (Rev 6/2020). Pre-lamination substrate prep (both datasheets, 'SUBSTRATE PREPARATION', p.1) calls for the substrate to be free of organic contamination and metal oxides and cleaned/dried immediately before lamination, and mentions a 'dehydration bake' as sometimes needed before further cleaning/surface activation — but no dehydration-bake temperature or time is published anywhere in either datasheet, so no numeric pre-lamination substrate temperature is recorded. The clear PET cover sheet is removed immediately before lamination; sheets must not touch the substrate until <1 cm before the rollers; vacuum lamination is recommended over topography for thick films.

Soft bake

Soft bake

5 min · hotplate

Notes

Both datasheets call this step the 'post lamination bake' (PLB), not a softbake in the classic solvent-drying sense — the laminated sheet arrives solvent-free. Both state it is 'normally not needed or recommended', but that 'for improved adhesion and surface quality, the laminated article may be baked on a hotplate at 80 - 85°C for 5 minutes.' Temperature is published only as an 80-85°C range and is left null here to avoid false precision; the 5-minute duration is a single stated value.Show more

SOURCE: 'BAKE', p.1 of both the Thick SUEX Data Sheet (June 2020) and the Thin SUEX Data Sheet (Rev 6/2020)

Exposure dose

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

As published

'The solvent developed negative working photoresist is sensitive to UV radiation in the range of 350 – 395nm' (both datasheets, product description, p.1). 'For optimum resolution i-line filters or soda lime masks are highly recommended to remove wavelengths below 350nm for improved resolution and sidewall acuity' ('EXPOSURE', p.1). Both dose tables (Table 1, p.2) explicitly label their two exposure-dose rows 'mJ/cm2 @ 365 nm' — one for an i-line/UV-filtered exposure, one for an unfiltered exposure.Show more

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

Development

Developer

PGMEA (propylene glycol methyl ether acetate), two-bath system

Method

immersion

Rinse

IPA

Developer family

Solvent

Not published for this resist: Dilution, Time — characterize on-tool.

SOURCE: 'DEVELOPMENT' and 'RINSE/DRY', p.1; Table 1 'Devl Time Face Down', p.2 — both the Thick SUEX Data Sheet (June 2020) and the Thin SUEX Data Sheet (Rev 6/2020)

Hard bake, etch & strip

Stripper

SUEX is not intended to be removed once processed: 'SUEX is generally used as a permanent highly cross-linked film and is not intended to be removed.' For film that has not been hard baked, an NMP-based remover may lift it from the substrate; hard-baked film is generally removed only with CO2 laser ablation equipment. Source: 'REMOVAL', p.1 of both the Thick SUEX Data Sheet (June 2020) and the Thin SUEX Data Sheet (Rev 6/2020).Show more

Storage

Store in the original black packaging in a standard, temperature-controlled environment between 18°C (65°F) and 25°C (77°F); shelf life is up to 2 years from date of manufacture under those conditions. Source: 'STORAGE', p.1 of both the Thick SUEX Data Sheet (June 2020) and the Thin SUEX Data Sheet (Rev 6/2020).Show more

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

SOURCE: 'HARD BAKE (Optional)', p.1 of both the Thick SUEX Data Sheet (June 2020) and the Thin SUEX Data Sheet (Rev 6/2020)

Where it's used

SUEX is DJ MicroLaminates' cationically-cured epoxy dry-film photoresist, supplied as thin (20-75 µm) and thick (100 µm-1 mm) laminate sheets rather than spin-coated, making it a common choice for high-aspect-ratio MEMS structures, wafer-level-packaging molds, and electroplating templates where single-pass spin-coat thickness limits become impractical. Because it laminates onto the substrate via a heated roller rather than a spindle, its process is defined by roller temperature, speed and pressure instead of a spin curve, and its exposure dose, post-exposure bake and develop time are all published as thickness-binned tables rather than single values — treat the row matching the target sheet thickness as the starting point. The datasheet explicitly identifies the cured film as a permanent, highly cross-linked structural layer 'not intended to be removed', strippable only with an NMP-based remover before hard bake or by CO2 laser ablation after, so it is suited to permanent-structure and plating-mold applications rather than a sacrificial lift-off role.

Sources & disclaimer

• DJ MicroLaminates — SUEX datasheet (June 2020 (Thick SUEX Data Sheet, Rev June 2020; sibling Thin SUEX Data Sheet, Rev 6/2020)) · accessed 2026-07-11
• https://djmicrolaminates.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Thin-SUEX-Data-Sheet-June-2020.pdf — Thin SUEX (20-75 µm) Data Sheet, Rev 6/2020 — the source of the thin-film Table 1 process conditions and the 20-75 µm stated thickness range; read jointly with the Thick datasheet since 'SUEX' is one product family spanning both sheets.

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 2026-07-11.

Related recipes