[labnetwork] HSQ Availability

Fri Feb 17 09:16:47 EST 2023

Thanks for the update on the Dow supply.  I have been very happy with both the DisChem and the EM Resist products and they appear to be virtually the same as the Dow product.

I would just add that I store my decanted vials in a -60C fridge. I have been using a Stirling UltraCold NEU25NEU.

Regards,
Mark K Mondol

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark K Mondol
Assistant Director NanoStructures Laboratory
And
Facility Manager Scanning Electron Beam Lithography Facility
Bldg 36 Room 229
 mondol at mit.edu
office - 617-253-9617
cell - 617-224-8756
________________________________
From: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> on behalf of Paul Reynolds <Paul.Reynolds at glasgow.ac.uk>
Sent: Friday, February 17, 2023 7:46 AM
To: Michael Rooks <michael.rooks at yale.edu>; Matt Moneck <mmoneck at andrew.cmu.edu>
Cc: labnetwork <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: [labnetwork] HSQ Availability

Hi all,

I've just bought a final 1L bottle of Fox-16, price has doubled since my last bottle in 2020 (unsure how much of that is a Brexit surcharge...). As we all know, actually communicating with Dow / DuPont<https://www.dupont.com/electronic-materials/spin-on-dielectrics.html> is basically impossible. I've bought through Univar and Ellsworth in the past. This time, Ellsworth confirmed what we heard at MAEBL 22:

1 litre is the only available size and the product will be obsolete:

The effective date of the product discontinuation will be July 1, 2023, with final orders

being accepted through May 1, 2023.

So it seems like the end of the road for 16% HSQ solutions we can freeze with ease. It's been a happy 3 years since I followed Mike's instructions on storage in LN2[1<https://mtl.mit.edu/pipermail/labnetwork/2019-April/003616.html>][2<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273140774_Storing_HSQ_in_liquid_nitrogen>]. A big dewar cost me £2.5k<https://www.coleparmer.co.uk/i/worthington-35hcb-11m-cryogenic-storage-dewar-system-35-l-10-canisters/0377941> or so and it's paid for itself. We freeze in 8ml bottles and put a new one out every week/two in the 4C fridge. This bottle should last us another couple of years.

***update***
While writing this message I emailed Ellsworth again and they sent the following memo from DuPont:

UPDATE 11/11/22

To support and hearing our customers concerns DuPont APT intends to maintain FOx and XR-1541 series supply beyond July 1st, 2023, until 2025.However, potential supply risk still remains. Production hardware safety plus capability assessment to maintain high quality resin manufacturing and the final product is still in progress.

The cliff edge on Fox/XR-1541 has been pushed back for now, expect the prices to continue increasing though!

Best wishes
Paul

--
Dr Paul Reynolds
Electron Beam Lithography Engineer
James Watt Nanofabrication Centre
University of Glasgow

Working pattern: Mon,Wed,Thu,Fri 0800-1745

[cid:c657e835-5222-4c9e-b925-1a609a1ad6a9]
________________________________
From: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> on behalf of Michael Rooks <michael.rooks at yale.edu>
Sent: 15 February 2023 21:34
To: Matt Moneck <mmoneck at andrew.cmu.edu>
Cc: labnetwork <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: [labnetwork] HSQ Availability

We are now buying HSQ from Dischem<https://discheminc.com/>, in Pennsylvania. Dischem and EMresist buy HSQ powder from AQM in Canada, and then mix it in MIBK.
The resolution and sensitivity are similar to that of HSQ from Dow, but we found that the Dischem HSQ sticks better if we bake it at 120C after spinning.
Prices for thin HSQ are high, but manageable. Prices for thick HSQ (like Dow's Fox-16) are prohibitively expensive. We will have to rework our processes when we run out. We store HSQ in liquid nitrogen, so shelf life is not an issue. You can also buy HSQ powder directly from AQM.

--------------------------------
Michael Rooks
nano.yale.edu<http://nano.yale.edu>

On Wed, Feb 15, 2023 at 3:59 PM Matt Moneck <mmoneck at andrew.cmu.edu<mailto:mmoneck at andrew.cmu.edu>> wrote:

Hi All,

I would like to solicit your feedback on HSQ options for ebeam litho.  Our group has traditionally worked with Dow Corning’s XR-1541-002 HSQ, and it has fit our needs for many years.  However, as our stock is now reaching a reorder point, we have reached out to vendors for quotes only to find that pricing has increased to a level we could have never imagined (not to mention lead times on the order of 80 business days).  With that in mind, we have been looking at alternative suppliers, including EM Resist (distributed through Integrated Micro Materials) and Allresist (Medusa 82).

If anyone has experience working with the EM Resist and Allresist products, we would appreciate any feedback you might you might have on how they compare to the XR-1541.  For example, do you see any major differences in resolution, adhesion, dosing, etch resistance, etc.?

If you have other alternatives, we would love to hear about them as well, although, we do prefer to buy pre-mixed solutions as opposed to mixing dry HSQ with MIBK ourselves.

Best Regards,

Matt

--
Matthew T. Moneck, Ph.D
Executive Director, Claire & John Bertucci Nanotechnology Laboratory
Electrical & Computer Engineering | Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
Phone: 412-268-5430
ece.cmu.edu<http://ece.cmu.edu>
nanofab.ece.cmu.edu<http://nanofab.ece.cmu.edu>

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