| abstract |
Photoresist masks are stripped using a H 2 -N 2 plasma to prevent increasing the dielectric constant of an exposed carbon-containing dielectric material. Embodiments of the present invention include forming a low dielectric constant, carbon-containing layer, e.g., a polymeric layer, on an exposed metal feature overlying a wafer, forming a photoresist mask on the dielectric layer, forming an opening in the dielectric layer exposing the metal feature and a portion of the dielectric layer, preheating the wafer and stripping the photoresist mask using the H 2 -N 2 plasma. |