Plasma damage of low-k dielectrics during photoresist (PR) stripping in a dual-damascene process is a critical issue in the application of copper/low-k technology for <= 45 nm nodes to increase the signal processing speed of integrated circuit devices. In this article, a detailed and systematic work has been conducted to study the low-k damage on porous methyl silsesquioxane ultralow-k films using various PR strip chemistries and process conditions on a high density plasma reactor. The experimental results obtained from different test methodologies show that the low-k damage generated under fixed process conditions increases in the order of NH3 < N-2 < H-2/N-2 < H-2 < O-2. Among plasma control parameters, bias power has a very pronounced effect on low-k damage for reducing chemistries due to the acceleration of Si-C bond breaking by ion bombardment. Source power also affects the low-k damage significantly as it controls the ion density and flux to the wafer surface. The pressure effect is more complicated and shows different characteristics for oxidizing and reducing chemistries. The extent of low-k damage depends on the orientation of the wafer surface exposed to the plasma, leading to different sensitivity of the damage to the strip chemistry and process condition. Based on this work, an optimized chemistry and process regime are identified to effectively reduce low-k damage and achieve good strip process performance. (c) 2007 American Vacuum Society.