Sioc properties and its uniformity in bulk for damascene applications

The method of claim 27, wherein the one or more respective hydrogen treatments are conducted under the following conditions:

• H2 flow:
• from about 1600 to 2400 sccm;
• temperature:
• from about 300 to 450° C.;
• pressure:
• from about 4.5 to 9.0 mTorr;
• time;
• from about 30 to 240 seconds;
• and
• power:
• from about 300 to 1500 W.

The method of claim 27, wherein the one or more respective hydrogen treatments are conducted under the following conditions:

• H2 flow:
• from about 1800 to 2200 sccm;
• temperature:
• from about 350 to 400° C.;
• pressure:
• from about 6.0 to 7.5 mTorr;
• time:
• from about 90 to 180 seconds;
• and
• power:
• from about 600 to 1200 W.

A method of forming a dielectric material layer, comprising the steps of:

• sequentially forming one or more dielectric material sub-layers over a structure;
• treating each sequentially formed one or more dielectric material sub-layers in sequence with a respective hydrogen treatment to form respective hard layers on the upper surface of each respective sequentially formed one or more dielectric material sub-layers;
• and
• forming an uppermost dielectric material sub-layer over the sequentially formed one or more dielectric material sub-layers and respective hard layers to complete formation of the dielectric material layer.
• wherein the one or more of the respective hard layers are etch stop layers.