E. Kondoh*, M.R. Baklanov** #, H. Bender and K. Maex** +

IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, 3001 Leuven, Belgium

* Present address, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Centre for Microelectronic Systems, 820-8502 Fukuoka, Japan.

** Authors to whom correspond: +32-16-281315 (fax), baklanov@imec.be.

# On leave from Institute of Semiconductor Physics, Novosibirsk, Russia.

Porous silica film having the median pore size of 5.5 nm was exposed to an oxygen plasma afterglow. The exposure resulted in a removal of hydrophobic organic groups of the silica surface, leading to a continuos increase in the refractive index and decrease in the thickness. The exposure to thermal oxide did not exhibit any change of the film.

Page by E. Kondoh