Patent ID: 7323401

Claim:
A method of processing a thin film structure on a semiconductor substrate using an optically writable mask, said method comprising: placing the substrate in a reactor chamber, the substrate having on its surface a target layer to be etched in accordance with a predetermined pattern; depositing a carbon-containing hard mask layer on said substrate by: (a) introducing a carbon-containing process gas into the chamber and including a layer-enhancing additive gas that enhances thermal properties of the deposited carbon-containing layer, (b) generating a reentrant toroidal RF plasma current in a reentrant path that includes a process zone overlying the workpiece by coupling plasma RF source power to an external portion of said reentrant path, (c) coupling RF plasma bias power or bias voltage to the workpiece; photolithographically defining said predetermined pattern in said carbon-containing hard mask layer; etching the target layer in the presence of said hard mask layer.