Patent ID: 7132316

Claim:
A method of forming a thin film, comprising: depositing a first film to overlie a substrate; depositing another film having a first thickness to overlie said first film over said substrate such that said first film is an intermediate film between said another film and said substrate, said first thickness being greater than a thickness at which said another film is subject to dewet from said substrate, said another film including at least one material selected from a photoresist and an antireflective coating, wherein said intermediate film has a stabilizing effect upon said another film, said intermediate film having a dielectric property such that a film stack including said intermediate film and said another film overlying said substrate is characterized by a second derivative of a free energy for said film stack having a positive value; stabilizing said another film to form a stabilized film; depositing a second film to overlie said stabilized film; thinning said stabilized film to a second thickness by causing interaction between said stabilized film and said second film, said interaction including reacting a polymeric material of said stabilized film with an acid of said second film, said second thickness being less than said thickness at which said another film is subject to dewet as initially deposited, wherein said stabilized film having said second thickness remains free of dewetting defects.