AbstractHeat transfer in a resist‐coated silicon wafer using a bake process is theoretically evaluated by modeling the three‐dimensional diffusion process, focusing on the controllability of the lithographic performance of chemically amplified resists. Six models of various ambient conditions are used. The proximity gap between the hotplate and the wafer is found to have a dominant influence on the heat transfer process for the whole system. Because the atmosphere near the wafer acts as a thermal diffusion buffer layer, no temperature gradient occurs in the resist, even when it is subjected to convective heat transfer from the resist surface. Experimental results obtained by X‐ray lithography confirm the calculation re