Gas-Phase Functionalization of Three Classes for Polymer Films with TiCl sub 4. Analysis by XFS, RBS and O sub 2 RIE Methods and Application to Plasma-Developed Resists.

The reaction TiCl sub 4 with three families of copolymers differing in their hydrophilicity and acidity was investigated after equilibration of the polymers at 30% RH. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XFS), Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) and oxygen reactive ion etching (O sub 2 RIE) methods were used to study the etching behavior of a variety of these films before and after reaction with TiCl sub 4 vapor. The effect of processing conditions such as treatment time and background pressure inside the gas-functionalization cell (GFC) on the deposition of Ti and on the polymer films was studied and correlated with the O sub 2 RIE behavior.