Method of etching conductive lines through an etch resistant photoresist mask

摘要

A passivation coating is formed on a photoresist mask to increase the resistance of the mask during subsequent etching of an underlying conductive layer to form a pattern of sub-half micron conductive lines. In an embodiment of the invention, the passivation coating is formed by exposing the mask to a plasma containing nitrogen. The passivating coating maintains the substantially vertical mask profile during subsequent etching, such as high density plasma etching, thereby improving the dimensional integrity of the sub-half micron conductive lines.