TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ELECTRONICS - Preferred Property: The dielectric layers have dielectric constants of less than 3. The silicon carbide barrier layer and the silicon carbide hard mask have dielectric constants of less than 5.5. The conductive material filling the vias has a resistivity of less than 5 micro ohm-cm. The silicon carbide layer, the silicon carbide barrier layer, and the silicon carbide hard mask have leakage currents of less than 1x10 to the power -8 A/cm2-2 MV/cm2.Preferred Component: The gas mixture further comprises an inert gas. The silicon layer and/or the silicon carbide hard mask is an anti-reflective coating (ARC) at a wavelength of less than 250 nm. Preferred Ratio: The ratio of the silicon source to the dopant in the gas mixture is 1:1-1:100. Preferred Method: The substrate is heated to 150-450 degrees C, and the deposition chamber is maintained at 1-15 Torr. The silicon or carbon source is provided to the chamber at 10-4000 sccm or 50-10000 sccm. The silicon carbide layer, the silicon carbide barrier layer, and the silicon carbide hard mask, are plasma treated. Inert gas(es) are provided to the process chamber. An electric field is applied to the inert gas(es) in the chamber to generate plasma. The electric field is a radiofrequency power which is 100-1000 watts. The process chamber is maintained at 5-10 Torr. The inert gas is provided to the deposition chamber at 1000-7000 sccm. A silicon carbide cap layer is formed on the silicon carbide hard mask prior to defining a pattern.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - CERAMICS AND GLASS - Preferred Layer: The dielectric layers can be silicon dioxide, fluorosilicate glass (FSG), silicate glass, or organosilicate.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Material: The conductive material filling the vias and the interconnects, and the metal layer on the substrate can be copper, aluminum, and/or tungsten.Preferred Component: The dopant is ammonia, silane, and/or nitrogen. The inert gas is helium, argon, and/or nitrogen.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Component: The silicon source or the carbon source comprises an organosilane compound having the general formula of SixCyHz, in which x = 1-2, y = 1-6, and z = 4-18. The silicon or carbon source is silane, methane, and/or disilane. The organosilane compound is a methyl silane, dimethylsilane, trimethylsilane, tetramethylsilane, and/or diethylsilane. The dopant can be methane, ethylene, and/or acetylene.