https://nanyte.com/photoresists/az-9245 · last updated 2026-07-26
- Manufacturer
- AZ Electronic Materials (Clariant AG)
- Tone
- Not photoimageable (underlayer)
- Thickness
- 4.6–6.6 µm
- Exposure dose
- 900 mJ/cm²
- Developer
- AZ 400K Developer
- Applications
- Electroplating / molding · High aspect ratio · MEMS structural
Cross-checked — two independent extractions agree on the spin curve and the single-value figures.
Spin coating
Data points
| Series | rpm | µm |
|---|---|---|
| AZ 9245 (220 cP) | 2000 | 6.6 |
| 2500 | 5.8 | |
| 3000 | 5.2 | |
| 3500 | 4.8 | |
| 3800 | 4.6 |
Values are the manufacturer’s starting points, not a guarantee — characterize on your own tool.
numeric table "Film Thickness" (columns 2000/2500/3000/3500 rpm, row "AZ 9245 Photoresist 220 cP"), p.7, combined with the single grade-specific anchor point from "Typical Process for 4.6 µm Film Thickness [AZ 9245 Photoresist (220 CPS)]" (Coat: Spin 3800 rpm, 60 sec → 4.6 µm target), p.6, of AZ 9200 Photoresist datasheet. Both are explicitly labeled AZ 9245 (220 cP) and are mutually consistent (monotonic decrease: 4.8 µm at 3500 rpm to 4.6 µm at 3800 rpm).
- The p.7 table's units are ambiguous in the source document — in places the values carry an "Å" (Angstrom) suffix (e.g. "6 600 Å"), and elsewhere the same figures appear as "6.6um" etc. A literal Angstrom reading (0.66 µm at 2000 rpm) would be physically inconsistent with the rest of the document: it would mean the film gets THICKER at the higher 3800 rpm point (4.6 µm, from the p.6 Typical Process table) than at the lower 2000 rpm point (0.66 µm), which violates basic spin-coating physics (thickness decreases with increasing spin speed).
- The µm reading is internally consistent with the 4.6 µm/3800 rpm anchor point and is the one used here.
- Coat/dispense and edge-bead removal are documented as explicit process steps for this grade (p.6): "Coat: Dispense static or dynamic @ 300 rpm, Spin 3800 rpm/60 sec" then "Edge Bead Removal: Rinse 500 rpm/10 sec, Dry 1000 rpm/10 sec" — both built into the same Typical Process table as softbake/exposure/develop.
- No rehydration hold is listed anywhere in this document — despite this being a thick resist, where a rehydration hold is sometimes expected, this specific 1997 datasheet's process tables simply do not include one.
- Adhesion
- HMDS not required — Not addressed anywhere in this datasheet — no substrate priming/HMDS guidance is given at all, unlike the Merck-era AZ documents processed alongside this one.
- Rehydration
- Not mentioned anywhere in this document.
Soft bake
- Soft bake
- 110 °C · 2 min · hotplate
- Notes
- Grade-specific: "Softbake 110°C, 120 sec hotplate" — Typical Process for 4.6 µm Film Thickness [AZ 9245 Photoresist (220 CPS)], p.6.
SOURCE: Typical Process for 4.6 µm Film Thickness [AZ 9245 Photoresist (220 CPS)], p.6 of AZ 9200 Photoresist datasheet.
Exposure dose
The manufacturer publishes 900 mJ/cm². Dose scales with film thickness and depends on your optics, so treat it as a starting point and run a dose array.
- As published
- 900 mJ/cm² on a broadband stepper is the documented dose for a 4.6 µm film, mid-way in a 780 to 1020 mJ/cm² sweep; the i-line numbers in the same document belong to the thicker 9260 grade.
Not published for this resist: Dose at 365 nm, Dose at 405 nm — characterize on-tool.
SOURCE: Typical Process for 4.6 µm Film Thickness [AZ 9245 Photoresist…
Typical Process for 4.6 µm Film Thickness [AZ 9245 Photoresist (220 CPS)], p.6; corroborated by Linearity [Broadband] and Focus Latitude [Broadband], p.2-3, of AZ 9200 Photoresist datasheet.
Development
- Developer
- AZ 400K Developer
- Dilution
- 1:4
- Time
- 2 min
- Method
- spray
- Rinse
- Spin rinse 300 rpm/20 sec, then spin dry 4000 rpm/15 sec (following the AZ 400K spray develop at 27°C dispense temperature).
- Developer family
- Buffered alkaline
SOURCE: Typical Process for 4.6 µm Film Thickness [AZ 9245 Photoresist (220 CPS)], p.6 of AZ 9200 Photoresist datasheet.
Hard bake, etch & strip
- Stripper
- AZ 400T and 300T strippers are recommended for removal of AZ 9200 photoresist; AZ S-46 stripper is a non-NMP solvent stripper particularly suited to thin film recording head applications (Companion Products, p.8).
- Storage
- "Keep in sealed original container. Protect from light and heat. Store between 30 and 70°F (–1 to 24°C). Refrigerate whenever possible.
Not published for this resist: Hard bake, Descum, Etch resistance — characterize on-tool.
Where it's used
Practical notes from the datasheet
AZ 9245 (220 cP) is the thinner of two viscosity grades in this 1997 Clariant AZ 9200 thick-resist line, targeting a 4.6 µm single-coat film with sub-micron resolution (<1 µm lines/spaces per p.1) and 5-7:1 aspect ratios on broadband steppers. Its Typical Process table explicitly states PEB is "not recommended in most applications" and does not list a rehydration-hold step at all — contrary to what might be assumed for a thick resist, this document gives no basis to include one. Edge-bead removal is documented as an explicit spin-rinse/spin-dry step (500 rpm/10s rinse, 1000 rpm/10s dry) built directly into the same process table as coat, softbake, exposure, and develop. The document states AZ 9200 is sensitive to both h- and i-line light, but only broadband exposure data (900 mJ/cm² nominal) is actually published for the 4.6 µm/AZ 9245 process specifically — the datasheet's only i-line dose data belongs to the thicker AZ 9260 (10 µm) grade and is not reused here. This document predates and differs structurally from the Merck-branded AZ datasheets processed alongside it (no explicit tone/chemistry statement, no HMDS guidance), so it states no tone or base chemistry for this grade.
Grades in this family
Other grades in the AZ 9200 line differ mainly in coating thickness:
| Grade | Thickness | Exposure dose |
|---|---|---|
| AZ 9245 (this page) | 4.6–6.6 µm | 900 mJ/cm² |
| AZ 9260 | 7.9–11.4 µm | 1500 mJ/cm² |
Sources & disclaimer
- AZ Electronic Materials (Clariant AG) — AZ 9245 datasheet (July 1997 (per copyright line "© Clariant AG, July 1997"; no separate "Rev." string is printed, unlike the Merck-era AZ documents processed alongside this one)) · accessed 2026-07-10
- Bay et al.. Optimal overlayer inspired by Photuris firefly improves light-extraction efficiency of existing light-emitting diodes. Optics Express (2013). doi:10.1364/OE.21.00A179A firefly-inspired factory-roof relief was built in AZ 9245 on a GaN LED by direct-writing laser lithography on a Heidelberg DWL 66 photoplotter, using power-modulated multi-step writing to produce a three-dimensional profile that raised light extraction.
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 2026-07-26.