Fluorinated hard mask for micropatterning of polymers

摘要

The present invention discloses the formation of a hard mask layer in an organic polymer layer by modifying at least locally the chemical composition of a part of said exposed organic low-k polymer. This modification starts from an exposed surface of the polymer and extends into the polymer thereby increasing the chemical resistance of the modified part of the polymer. As a result, this modified part can be used as a hard mask or an etch stop layer for plasma etching.