Patent ID: 7901743

Claim:
A method of treating a low dielectric constant film on a plurality of substrates, comprising: disposing said plurality of substrates in a batch processing system including a process chamber, said dielectric film on the plurality of substrates having a dielectric constant value less than the dielectric constant of SiO 2 ; heating said plurality of substrates while exposing one or more of the plurality of substrates to an inert atmosphere in said process chamber; generating plasma and molecular fragments of a treating compound with an in-situ plasma generation system coupled to said process chamber, said treating compound comprising a C x H y containing compound, wherein x and y represent integers greater than or equal to unity; introducing said treating compound into said process chamber; exposing at least one surface of said dielectric film on said plurality of substrates to said plasma; sealing or partially sealing the exposed surfaces of the dielectric film; and restoring or partially restoring the value of the dielectric constant of the low dielectric constant film by replenishing carbon depleted sites with carbon-containing material in the treating compound.