Patent ID: 8911587

Claim:
An apparatus for providing a protective coating layer on a patterned photoresist (PR) mask with first mask features formed on an etch layer disposed on a substrate, comprising: a plasma processing chamber, comprising: a chamber wall forming a plasma processing chamber enclosure; a substrate support for supporting 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 for providing power to the plasma processing chamber enclosure for sustaining a plasma; at least one RF power source electrically connected to the at least one electrode; 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; a gas source in fluid connection with the gas inlet, the gas source comprising: a deposition gas source; and a profile shaping gas source; a controller controllably connected to the gas source and the at least one RF power source, comprising: at least one processor; and non-transitory computer readable media, comprising: computer readable code for performing a process of providing a protective coating on a patterned PR mask so as to prevent the patterned PR mask from dissolving into an organic solvent of a second PR material, wherein the protective coating comprises at least one cycle, the patterned mask having first mask features, wherein computer readable code for each cycle comprises: computer readable code for flowing a deposition gas into the plasma chamber; computer readable code for depositing a deposition layer over the surface of the first mask features by forming a plasma from the deposition gas; computer readable code for stopping the flow of the deposition gas; computer readable code for flowing a profile shaping gas into the plasma chamber; computer readable code for shaping the profile of the deposition layer by forming a plasma from the profile shaping gas; and computer readable code for stopping the flow of the deposition gas; and computer readable code for patterning, after a liquid PR material is applied over the first PR mask having the protective coating that is formed so as to prevent the patterned PR mask from dissolving into an organic solvent of a second PR material, the PR material into a second mask features, wherein the first and second mask features form a second PR mask, and wherein the protective coating allows no or little solvent to go through the protective coating.