Specific Process Knowledge/Lithography/Development
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Development Comparison Table
| Manual beaker development | Developer: SU8 (Wet bench) | Developer: E-beam 02 | Developer: TMAH Manual 02 | Developer: TMAH UV-lithography | Developer: TMAH Stepper | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose |
Fall-back option if you have a process, which is not compatible with the automatic, or semi-automatic, tools Requires individual risk assessment for TMAH development! |
Development of:
|
Development of:
|
Development of:
|
Development of:
Post-exposure baking |
Development of:
Post-exposure baking |
| Developer | Process dependent | mr-Dev 600 (PGMEA) |
|
AZ 726 MIF (2.38% TMAH in water) | AZ 726 MIF (2.38% TMAH in water) | AZ 726 MIF (2.38% TMAH in water) |
| Method | Submersion | Submersion | Puddle | Puddle | Puddle | Puddle |
| Handling |
Manual handling in beakers
|
|
|
|
Vacuum chuck | Vacuum chuck |
| Process temperature | Room temperature | Room temperature | Room temperature | Room temperature | Room temperature | Room temperature |
| Process agitation | No agitation allowed | Magnetic stirrer | Rotation | Rotation | Rotation | Rotation |
| Process rinse | Process dependent | IPA | IPA | DI water | DI water | DI water |
| Substrate size |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Allowed materials | All cleanroom approved materials |
|
All cleanroom approved materials |
|
|
|
| Batch size | 1 - 5 | 1 - 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 - 25 | 1 - 25 |
Developer-1 and Developer-2
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This equipment was decommissioned January 2017!
Developer-1 and Developer-2 are manual developer baths for submersion development of AZ 5214E and AZ 4562 resists in AZ 351B developer. The developer is mixed 1:5 in water by the user prior to development start, and the wafer cassette is agitated manually by the user during development. The development time is controlled manually by the user. After development, the substrates are rinsed with water in the bench.
The user APV, and contact information can be found in LabManager: Developer-1 Developer-2
Process information
Standard development time using vigorous agitation:
AZ 5214E:
- 1.5µm resist: 60 sec
- 2.2µm resist: 70 sec
- 4.2µm resist: 3 min
AZ 4562:
- 10µm resist: 5 min
Standard development procedure:
- Before using one of developer baths, please check the "Litho4_Dev-7up-KOH" logbook to find out when they were last used. A fresh bath can be reused without problems.
- The main rule is a developer made yesterday must be changed.
- During development, agitate the substrates by moving the carrier up and down.
- Rinse substrates with water for 4-5 min. after development.
- Spin-dry substrates or dry with nitrogen gun after rinsing.
Procedure for making a new developer
1. Switch off the heater, and dump the old developer.
2. 800ml "Developer AZ 351B" is mixed with 4000ml water in a special container in the fume hood.
3. Fill the bath with the developer mixture, and heat it to 22°C before use.
| Purpose |
Development of
| |
|---|---|---|
| Developer |
AZ 351B diluted 1:5 in water (NaOH and sodium borate salt) | |
| Method | Development |
Submersion |
| Handling |
Cassette | |
| Process parameters | Temperature |
22°C |
| Agitation |
Manual | |
| Rinse |
DI water | |
| Substrates | Substrate size |
|
| Allowed materials |
Silicon, glass, and polymer substrates Film or pattern of all types | |
| Batch |
1-8 |
Developer-6inch
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This equipment will be decommissioned December 2019!
The Developer: 6inch bench is an automated developer bath for submersion development of AZ 5214E and AZ 4562 resists in AZ 351B developer. The developer is mixed 1:5 in water by the equipment prior to development start. The developer is circulated during development, and the wafer cassette may be agitated by a mechanical elevator. The development time is controlled manually by the user. After development, the substrates are rinsed with water in the bench.
The user manual, user APV, and contact information can be found in LabManager
Process information
Standard development time:
AZ 5214E:
- 1.5µm resist: 60 sec
- 2.2µm resist: 70 sec
- 4.2µm resist: 3 min
AZ 4562:
- 10µm resist: 5 min
| Purpose |
Development of
| |
|---|---|---|
| Developer |
AZ 351B diluted 1:5 in water (NaOH and sodium borate salt) | |
| Method | Development |
Submersion |
| Handling |
Cassette | |
| Process parameters | Temperature |
22°C |
| Agitation |
Circulation and mechanical | |
| Rinse |
DI water | |
| Substrates | Substrate size |
|
| Allowed materials |
Silicon, glass, and polymer substrates Film or pattern of all types | |
| Batch |
1-25 |
The content on this page, including all images and pictures, was created by DTU Nanolab staff, unless otherwise stated.
Manual beaker development in fumehood
Beaker development, in fume hood 09: UV development or fume hood 10: e-beam development, is a fall-back option if you have a process, which is not compatible with the automatic, or semi-automatic, tools. We always recommend using, or at least trying, the automatic and semi-automatic tools, instead of using manual beaker development.
Manual beaker development is necessary for some processes, but should be avoided if possible, due to the fact that it is notoriously difficult to get a stable repeatable process - especially when multiple users are sharing the same process; everybody simply does things a bit different from each other, which leads to changes in the process outcome. Some processes have a very narrow process window, which makes them inherently sensitive to small changes in the development. The manual development also has a much greater chance of producing particles, both from the operator and the environment.
Finally the safety of the operator is at a significantly higher risk, since any manual handling of chemicals carries the risk of accidental spills with it. This is especially problematic if the developer is TMAH based, where direct skin exposure of >1% TMAH on a few percent of the body must be treated as a life-threatening event.
Special rules for manual beaker development of TMAH
- Automatic agitation methods are not allowed - this includes magnetic stirring or sonication
- Manual agitation methods, which create large waves or turbulence in the development solution, are not allowed
- Users must submit a risk assessment for any process requiring manual beaker development of TMAH based developers
- Users requiring manual beaker development of TMAH based developers must additionally provide valid reasons for not using the already available automatic and semi-automatic tools
Standard manual beaker development procedure
1) Submerge exposed substrate into development solution
2) When timer ends, move substrate directly into Rinse 1
3) After a few seconds, move substrate into Rinse 2*
4) Remove developed substrate for drying
(*It is allowed to omit the Rinse 2 step)
The standard procedure for manual beaker development in a fume hood is as follows:
- Prepare development process
- Perform development
- Clean up
Prepare development process
- Write the chemical label, which must always be present in your chemical setup - your write your label before pouring the chemical
- Find the beakers required for your process
- Find the items required for holding/submerging your substrate during the process
- Find carriers or other storage units for placing your substrate after the process has finished
- Find a timer - make sure it works as you expect it to, before submerging your substrate into the development solution and discovering that the timer is in fact broken
- Get some cleanroom wipes and keep them nearby, for wiping any drops spilled during handling
- Do not cover too many of the exhaust holes in the fume hood table, as this will reduce the efficiency of the exhaust, which reduces safety
- Do not place your beakers too close to the fume hood sash, as this can make it difficult to efficiently extract the fumes escaping from the beakers, which reduces safety
Perform development
- Put on the appropriate personal protection gear
- Pour rinsing agent into Rinse 1 and Rinse 2 beakers - typically DI water or IPA
- Pour development solution into development beaker
- Place exposed substrate in the appropriate carrier
- Set timer
- Submerge substrate into development beaker
- Start timer immediately
- When timer is 5 seconds from ending, prepare to lift the substrate out of the development beaker
- Lift substrate out of development beaker - it can help to lift it at a slight angle, to allow liquids to drain more easily from large surfaces
- Submerge it immediately into Rinse 1
- Agitate up/down for at least a few seconds
- Move substrate into Rinse 2*
- Agitate slightly
- The developed substrate can now be removed and dried
(*It is allowed to omit the Rinse 2 step)
Clean up
- Pour Rinse 1 and Rinse 2 into appropriate waste: water goes into the sink, IPA goes into C-waste drain
- Rinse beakers with the DI-water gun
- Pour development solution into appropriate waste: solvent based developer goes into C-waste drain. NB! TMAH is an aqueous alkaline solution, which must never be mixed with solvents! TMAH waste goes into the dedicated TMAH waste container, stored in the chemical cabinet in E-4.
- If your developer solution is not TMAH based:
- Rinse beaker 3 times, discard water into sink
- If your developer solution is TMAH based:
- Rinse beaker once with DI-water and discard this into the TMAH waste
- Rinse beaker two more times, discarding the water into the sink
- Hang all beakers to dry on the drying rack
- Erase the chemical label text
- Wipe any droplets on the fume hood surface
- Discard any napkins/other trash in the bin inside the fume hood
The content on this page, including all images and pictures, was created by DTU Nanolab staff, unless otherwise stated.
Developer: SU8 (Wet Bench)
Tool description
The Developer: SU-8 (wet bench) is a manually operated wet bench for submersion development of SU-8 photoresist in PGMEA (supplied in the cleanroom as the product mr-Dev 600).
The SU-8 development is a three-stage process:
- Submerge into "FIRST" bath to dissolve the bulk of the resist
- Submerge into "FINAL" bath to finish the development
- Submerge into "RINSE" bath to stop the development process and rinse the substrates
The development time is controlled manually by the user. After development the substrates are dried in the empty bath, which is dedicated for drying.
| Product: | Arias wet bench |
|---|---|
| Year of purchase: | 2023 |
| Location: | Cleanroom E-4 |
User manual
The user manual and contact information can be found in LabManager - requires login
Tool training
Training on the tool requires users to complete the lithography TPT followed by online tool training and hands-on authorization training.
| Tool purpose |
Development of:
|
|---|---|
| Developer | mr-Dev 600 (PGMEA) |
| Development method | Submersion |
| Handling method | Multi- or single wafer holder |
| Process temperature | Room temperature |
| Process agitaion | Magnetic stirrer |
| Process rinse | IPA |
| Substrate sizes |
|
| Substrate materials |
|
| Substrate batch size | 1-6 |
Process information
Several aspects of the SU-8 processing outcome are affected by the development process:
- The lithographic resolution is affected by the time between PEB (post-exposure bake) and development, as the cross-linking process continues in the interface between exposed and unexposed regions even at room temperature
- Cracks in the structures is affected by two things; the development time, and how much has previously been developed in the developer bath. Cracking is worse with longer development time, and worse in a fresh developer bath. This effect of the developer quickly saturates after developing 5-10 wafers
- The stability of fine structures (high aspect ratio structures) is affected by the rinse after development, as the lower surface tension of IPA compared to PGMEA reduces pattern collapse during drying
Development time
Development time is strongly dependent on the SU-8 thickness:
- Minimum development time: 1 min per 20 µm in FIRST bath
- Maximum development time: SU-8 is not very sensitive to over-development
Recommendations for development time:
- ≤5 µm: 2 minutes in FIRST bath, followed by 2 minutes in FINAL bath
- ~40 µm: 5 minutes in FIRST bath, followed by 5 minutes in FINAL bath
- ≥180 µm: 15 minutes in FIRST bath, followed by 15 minutes in FINAL bath
The content on this page, including all images and pictures, was created by DTU Nanolab staff, unless otherwise stated.
Developer: E-beam 02
Tool description
The Developer: E-beam 02 is a semi-automatic and programmable single substrate developer system, which can be used for development of resists on chips, 50 mm, 100 mm, 150 mm and 200 mm substrates. The development is done using ZED-N50 or AR 600-50 developers and IPA for rinsing.
Single substrates are loaded manually into the tool, but the developer dispense, puddle time, agitation, rinse and drying is controlled by the tool.
| Product: | Laurell EDC-650Hz-8NPPB-IND |
|---|---|
| Year of purchase: | 2024 |
| Location: | Cleanroom E-4 |
User manual
The user manual and contact information can be found in LabManager - requires login
Tool training
Training on the tool requires users to complete the lithography TPT followed by the online tool training and a hands-on authorization training.
The tool training video is part of the online tool training, but can also be viewed here (the video is for Developer: TMAH Manual 02, but the two tools are almost identical).
| Tool purpose |
Development of:
|
|---|---|
| Developer |
|
| Development method | Puddle |
| Handling method |
|
| Process temperature | Room temperature |
| Process agitaion | 4 cycles per minute |
| Process rinse | IPA |
| Substrate sizes |
|
| Substrate materials |
|
| Substrate batch size | 1 |
Process information
All recipes use the following structure:
- Pressurize the developer canister
- Dispense puddle while rotating substrate slowly
- Puddle development with/without agitation of substrate
- Spin off developer
- Clean substrate with IPA
- Dry substrate and chamber with nitrogen
Multi puddle
Multi puddle recipes repeat steps 2-4 for the given number of puddles.
Process recipes
(Updated 2026-01-14, JEHEM)
N50 recipes have the letter "N" in them. AR-600-50 recipes have the letter "A" in them. The number is the development time in seconds:
- 01 Rinse
- 02 N 15
- 03 N 30
- 04 N 60
- 05 N 90
- 06 N 120
- 07 N 180
- 08 N 300
- 09 N 600
- 10 N 2x60
- 11 N 5x60
- 12 A 15
- 13 A 30
- 14 A 60
- 15 A 90
- 16 A 120
- 17 A 180
- 18 A 300
- 19 A 600
- 20 A 2x60
- 21 A 5x60
- 30 N 3x60s
- NILT AR
- NILT MOE
- NILT p30
- NILT p31
- NILT p32
Agitation
4 cycles per minute, 30 rpm, 30 rpm/s.
The content on this page, including all images and pictures, was created by DTU Nanolab staff, unless otherwise stated.
Developer: TMAH Manual 02
Tool description
The Developer: TMAH manual 02 is a semi-automatic and programmable single substrate developer system, which can be used for development of resists on chips, 50 mm, 100 mm and 150 mm substrates. The development is done using AZ 726 MIF, which is a 2.38% TMAH solution with wetting agent.
Single substrates are loaded manually into the tool, but the developer dispense, puddle time, agitation, rinse and drying is controlled by the tool.
| Product | Laurell EDC-650-HZB-23NP |
|---|---|
| Year of purchase | 2016 |
| Tool modification |
Converted from e-beam solvent developer to UV TMAH developer in 2024 |
| Location | Cleanroom E-4 |
User manual
The user manual and contact information can be found in LabManager - requires login
Tool training
Training on the tool requires users to complete the lithography TPT followed by the online tool training and a hands-on authorization training.
The tool training video is part of the online tool training, but can also be viewed here.
| Tool purpose |
Development of UV resists:
Development of DUV resists:
|
|---|---|
| Developer | AZ 726 MIF (2.38% TMAH) |
| Development method | Puddle |
| Handling method |
|
| Process temperature | Room temperature |
| Process agitaion | 15 cycles per minute |
| Process rinse | DI water |
| Substrate sizes |
|
| Substrate materials |
|
| Substrate batch size | 1 |
| Media flow rates |
|
Process information
All recipes use the following structure:
- Pressurize the TMAH canister
- Pre-wet substrate at high RPM
- Dispense puddle while rotating substrate slowly
- Puddle development with agitation of substrate
- Spin off developer
- Clean substrate and chamber with DI water
- Dry substrate and chamber with nitrogen
Multi puddle
Multi puddle recipes repeat steps 2-4 for the given number of puddles.
Process recipes
(Updated 2026-01-12, JEHEM)
- -Rinse-
- 1x015s
- 1x030s
- 1x060s
- 1x120s
- 2x060s
- 5x060s
Agitation
Testing showed that adding agitation to the puddle step gave better uniformity in the development rate over the entire area of the substrate as well as increased development rate.
Tests were performed on under-exposed resist, specifically for showing the difference between the agitation and non-agitation puddle development - the measured results cannot necessarily be transferred directly to a working process, only the vague general behavior of the two process setups; faster/slower development speed and better/worse uniformity across substrate.
| Non-agitation | Agitation | |
|---|---|---|
| Test results |
|
|
| Normalized development rate | 1 | 1.20 |
| Non-uniformity | 21% | 11% |
| Agitation | None | 15 cycles per minute, 20 rpm, 500 rpm/s |
| Substrate | 100 mm SSP silicon | |
| Resist film | 1.5 µm AZ 5214E | |
| Exposure dose | 50 mJ/cm2 (~50% of normal dose) | |
| Development | Single puddle for 60 seconds | |
| Developer | AZ 726 MIF (2.38% TMAH) | |
The content on this page, including all images and pictures, was created by DTU Nanolab staff, unless otherwise stated.
Developer: TMAH UV-lithography
Tool description
The Developer TMAH UV-lithography is a fully automatic and programmable cassette-to-cassette system, which can be used for post-exposure baking and development of UV resists on 100 mm and 150 mm substrates. The development is done using AZ 726 MIF, which is a 2.38% TMAH solution with wetting agent.
The developer dispense, puddle time, agitation, rinse and drying is controlled by the tool.
| Product: | Süss MicroTec Gamma 2M developer |
|---|---|
| Year of purchase: | 2014 |
| Location: | Cleanroom E-4 |
Chuck size and lift pins
Link to information about developer chuck size and hotplate pin positions.
User manual
The user manual and contact information can be found in LabManager - requires login
Tool training
Training on the tool requires users to complete the lithography TPT followed by the online tool training and a hands-on authorization training.
The tool training video is part of the online tool training, but can also be viewed here.
| Tool purpose |
Development of:
Development of DUV resists:
|
|---|---|
| Developer | AZ 726 MIF (2.38% TMAH) |
| Development method | Puddle |
| Handling method |
|
| Process temperature | Room temperature |
| Process agitation | 1 cycles per 30 seconds |
| Process rinse | DI water |
| Substrate sizes |
|
| Substrate materials |
|
| Substrate batch size | 1-25 |
| Media flow rates |
|
Process information
Processing on Developer TMAH UV-lithography consists of the following steps:
- Post-exposure bake
- Puddle development
- Rinse
Features of Developer TMAH UV-lithography:
- Cassette-to-cassette wafer handling
- In-line hotplates
- In-line cool plate
- Puddle developer module with rinse and dry
Post-exposure baking
Chemically amplified resists and cross-linking negative resists must be baked after exposure in order to finish the process initiated by the exposure light. Post-exposure bake, or PEB, is carried out on one of the two hotplates. After baking, the wafer is cooled for 20 seconds on the 20°C cool plate.
Puddle Development
Development on Developer TMAH UV-lithography is divided into the following steps:
- Pre-wet
- Puddle dispense
- Development
- Spin-off
Pre-wet may be done using developer or DI water, or it may be skipped. It consists of a short dispense at medium spin speed (2s @ 1200 rpm).
Puddle dispense is done by dispensing developer (AZ 726 MIF) to the center of the wafer in order to build up a puddle of developer on the wafer. During the dispense, the wafer may be stopped or rotating slowly (30 rpm). The developer is dispensed at a rate of approximately 225 ml/min. A dispense time of 3s, and 7s is used for 4", and 6" wafers, respectively, corresponding to a volume of 11 ml, and 26 ml, respectively.
Development is carried out by leaving the developer puddle on the wafer for the duration of the development time (puddle time). The rotation is stopped during the development, but the developer may be agitated by rotating the wafer a few turns at low speed, e.g. 2s @ 30 rpm halfway through the development time, in order to facilitate good uniformity.
Spin-off is designed to stop the development by removing the developer from the wafer before the rinse. It is usually carried out as a short spin at high speed (3s @ 4000 rpm), but may be omitted.
Processes are divided into single puddle (SP), double puddle (DP), and multiple puddle (MP).
Rinse
After development, the substrate is rinsed using DI water, and dried using nitrogen.
The standard rinse and dry procedure is 30s at 4000 rpm with DIW being administered from the top at the center of the substrate, followed by a 10-15s dry at 3000 rpm using nitrogen from the top at the center of the substrate. The top side rinse is at a rate of approximately 500 ml/min, corresponding to 250 ml DIW during the rinse. The flow rate of the nitrogen is 50 l/min, and the drying time is set according to the size of the substrate.
Process recommendations
Recommended parameters for development of different resists. Information about exposure dose can be found here: Information on UV exposure dose
2 µm AZ nLOF 2020
- PEB: 60s @ 110°C
- Development: SP 30s. For lift-off, use SP 60s (sidewall angle ~15°)
1.5 µm AZ MiR 701
- PEB: 60s @ 110°C
- Development: SP 60s
1.5 µm AZ 5214E
- No PEB
- Development: SP 60s
2.2 µm AZ 5214E (image reversal)
- Reversal bake: 60s-120s @ 110°C
- Flood exposure: ~500 mJ/cm2
- Development: SP 60s
6.2 µm AZ 4562
- No PEB
- Development: MP 3x60s
10 µm AZ 4562
- No PEB
- Development: MP 4x60s or MP 5x60s
Standard Processes
NB: The list of standard processes is not necessarily complete, as new processes are added over time.
Development (only)
Development sequences on Developer TMAH UV-lithography are grouped in the sequence number range 1000-1999 and are divided into the following steps: Pre-wet, puddle dispense, development, spin-off, and finally rinse and dry.
Single puddle:
- (1001) DCH 100mm SP 30s
- (1002) DCH 100mm SP 60s
- (1004) DCH 100mm SP 90s
- (1003) DCH 100mm SP 120s
- (1005) DCH 150mm SP 60s
Multiple puddle:
- (1019) DCH 100mm MP 3x60s
- (1010) DCH 100mm MP 4x60s
- (1012) DCH 100mm MP 5x60s
- (1018) DCH 100mm MP 7x60s
- (1017) DCH 100mm MP 10x60s
- (1006) DCH 150mm MP 3x60s
Each of these sequences start with a 2s pre-wet at 1200 rpm using developer. The puddle dispense is done at a rotation of 30rpm. The dispense time is 3s, and 7s, corresponding to a volume of 11 ml, and 26 ml, for 100mm, and 150mm, respectively. The development (puddle time) is split in two by an agitation step of 2s at 30rpm (one rotation). Spin-off is 3s at 4000rpm. Finally, the wafer is rinsed as described above. The multiple puddle sequences repeat the dispense, development, and spin off steps a number of times before the rinse.
Special sequences:
- DCH 100mm SP 60s no spin-off
As DCH 100mm SP 60s except the spin-off step is omitted. The development is thus terminated by the rinse (30s @ 4000rpm). This may help in case of scumming problems.
Post-exposure baking (only)
Chemically amplified resists and cross-linking negative resists must be baked after exposure (Post-Exposure Bake, PEB) in order to finish the process initiated by the exposure light. The PEB sequences are grouped in the sequence number range 2000-2999:
- (2001) DCH PEB 110C 60s
- (2002) DCH PEB 110C 120s
The baking is done at 110°C followed by a cooling step at 20°C for 20 seconds.
Combined PEB and development
For convenience, the PEB and development function of the machine may be combined in one sequence. The PEB + development sequences are grouped in the sequence number range 3000-3999:
- (3001) DCH 100mm PEB60s@110C+SP60s
- (3005) DCH 100mm PEB60s@110C+SP30s
- (3010) DCH 150mm PEB60s@110C+SP60s
The sequences are a combination of [substrate size] + [PEB at temperature and time] + [development for time].
The content on this page, including all images and pictures, was created by DTU Nanolab staff, unless otherwise stated.
Developer: TMAH UV-lithography
Tool description
This developer is dedicated for development of DUV resists. The developer is fully automatic and can run 1-25 substrates in a single batch. Supported substrate sizes are 100 mm, 150 mm and 200 mm (200 mm requires tool change).
The machine is equipped with 1 developer line with 2,38% TMAH in water (AZ 726 MIF), 1 topside rinse line with DI water, 1 backside rinse line with DI water and 1 Nitrogen line for drying.
The developer dispense, puddle time, agitation, rinse and drying is controlled by the tool.
| Product: | Süss MicroTec Gamma 2M developer |
|---|---|
| Year of purchase: | 2013 |
| Location: | Cleanroom F-3 |
User manual
The user manual and contact information can be found in LabManager - requires login
Tool training
Training on the tool requires users to complete the lithography TPT followed by the online tool training and a hands-on authorization training.
The tool training video is part of the online tool training, but can also be viewed here.
| Tool purpose |
Development of DUV resists:
May also be used for development of:
|
|---|---|
| Developer | AZ 726 MIF (2.38% TMAH) |
| Development method | Puddle |
| Handling method |
|
| Process temperature | Room temperature |
| Process agitation | 1 cycles per 30 seconds |
| Process rinse | DI water |
| Substrate sizes |
|
| Substrate materials |
|
| Substrate batch size | 1-25 |
| Media flow rates |
|
Process information
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Processing on Developer TMAH stepper consists of the following steps:
- Post-exposure bake
- Puddle development
- Rinse
Features of Developer TMAH stepper:
- Cassette-to-cassette wafer handling
- In-line hotplates
- In-line cool plate
- Puddle developer module with rinse and dry
The development process will be performed by the customer together with the Lithography group of DTU Nanolab. In case you would like to do DUV lithography please contact Lithography team, who will consult you and run your wafers together with you.
Here you can find a chart demonstrating a dependence between 250 nm line width/pillars diameter and exposure dose.
Post-exposure baking
Chemically amplified resists and cross-linking negative resists must be baked after exposure in order to finish the process initiated by the exposure light. Post-exposure bake, or PEB, is carried out on one of the two hotplates. After baking, the wafer is cooled for 20 seconds on the 20°C cool plate.
Puddle Development
Development on Developer TMAH stepper is divided into the following steps:
- Pre-wet
- Puddle dispense
- Development
- Spin-off
Pre-wet may be done using developer or DI water, or it may be skipped. It consists of a short dispense at medium spin speed (2s @ 1200 rpm).
Puddle dispense is done by dispensing developer (AZ 726 MIF) to the center of the wafer in order to build up a puddle of developer on the wafer. During the dispense, the wafer may be stopped or rotating slowly (30 rpm). The developer is dispensed at a rate of approximately 500 ml/min.
Development is carried out by leaving the developer puddle on the wafer for the duration of the development time (puddle time). The rotation is stopped during the development, but the developer may be agitated by rotating the wafer a few turns at low speed, e.g. 2s @ 30 rpm halfway through the development time, in order to facilitate good uniformity.
Spin-off is designed to stop the development by removing the developer from the wafer before the rinse. It is usually carried out as a short spin at high speed (3s @ 4000 rpm), but may be omitted.
Processes are divided into single puddle (SP), double puddle (DP), and multiple puddle (MP).
Rinse
After development, the substrate is rinsed using DI water, and dried using nitrogen.
The standard rinse and dry procedure is 30s at 4000 rpm with DIW being administered from the top at the center of the substrate, followed by a 10-15s dry at 3000 rpm using nitrogen from the top at the center of the substrate. The top side rinse is at a rate of approximately 350 ml/min. The flow rate of the nitrogen is 50 l/min, and the drying time is set according to the size of the substrate.
Standard Processes
NB: The list of standard processes is not necessarily complete, as new processes are added over time.
Development (only)
Development sequences on Developer TMAH stepper are divided into the following steps: Pre-wet, puddle dispense, development, spin-off, and finally rinse and dry.
Single puddle:
- 1004 DCH DEV 60s
- 1104 DCH 100mm SP 60s
- 1105 DCH 150mm SP 60s
- 1106 DCH 200mm SP 60s
Post-exposure baking (only)
Chemically amplified resists and cross-linking negative resists must be baked after exposure (Post-Exposure Bake, PEB) in order to finish the process initiated by the exposure light:
- (1000) DCH PEB 130C 60s
- (1001) DCH PEB 130C 90s
The baking is done at 130°C followed by a cooling step at 20°C for 20 seconds.
Combined PEB and development
For convenience, the PEB and development function of the machine may be combined in one sequence:
- (1002) DCH PEB_60s and DEV_60s
- (1003) DCH PEB_90s and DEV_60s
Decommisioned tools
Developer 1 & 2 were decommissioned 2017-01. Information about decommissioned tool can be found here.
Developer 6 inch was decommissioned 2019-12. Information about decommissioned tool can be found here.