Patent ID: 8470126

Claim:
An apparatus for etching features in an etch layer, said apparatus comprising: a plasma processing chamber, comprising: a chamber wall forming a plasma processing chamber enclosure; a chuck for supporting and chucking a substrate within the plasma processing chamber enclosure; a pressure regulator for regulating the pressure in the plasma processing chamber enclosure; at least one electrode or coil for providing power to the plasma processing chamber enclosure for sustaining a plasma; a gas inlet for providing gas into the plasma processing chamber enclosure; and a gas outlet for exhausting gas from the plasma processing chamber enclosure; gas sources in fluid connection with the gas inlet, comprising: a fluorine free deposition gas source; and an etch gas source; a controller controllably connected to the gas sources, the chuck, and the at least one electrode or coil, comprising: at least one processor; and non-transitory computer readable media, comprising: computer readable code for providing a conditioning for a patterned pseudo-hardmask of amorphous carbon or polysilicon disposed over the etch layer, wherein the conditioning comprises: computer readable code providing a fluorine free deposition gas comprising a hydrocarbon gas; followed by computer readable code for forming a plasma from the fluorine free deposition gas; followed by computer readable code for providing a bias less than 500 volts to the at least one electrode or coil; followed by computer readable code for forming a deposition on top of the patterned pseudo-hardmask; followed by computer readable code for etching the etch layer through the patterned pseudo-hardmask.