Patent ID: 7323292

Claim:
A process for using a photo-definable layer in a negative mask scheme to manufacture a semiconductor device, comprising: forming over a substrate a photo-definable layer that is convertible to an insulative material; exposing selected portions of said photo-definable layer to electro-magnetic radiation in a negative pattern scheme to convert said selected portions to an insulative material; removing non-exposed portions of said photo-definable layer with an etch process that is selective to exposed portions of said photo-definable layer; using said exposed portions of said photo-definable layer as a patterned etch mask for further processing steps; leaving said exposed portions of said photo-definable layer as an insulative layer within said semiconductor device after completion of the use of said exposed portions of said photo-definable layer as a patterned etch mask; and converting said insulative layer to an oxide layer through exposure to an oxygen plasma after said leaving step.