Parameter optimization method for fabricating 3D microstructures embedded in single-layer negative-tone photoresist

This paper reports on an optimization method for parameter sets for fabricating 3-dimensional microstructures in a single thick-film photoresist by the moving-mask UV lithography technique. The proposed optimization method employs the UV exposure calculation and the chemical behavior of chemically amplified negative-photoresist considering a cross-linking process during a thermal treatment of post-exposure bake to predict an optimum parameter range. In this paper, the validity of the proposed optimization method was successfully verified by evaluating a microchannel with ldquocmrdquo length covered by a top-membrane and its dependence on the process parameter sets.