In this study, the effects of fluorine treatment on surface properties, surface free energies, and dielectric constants of polyimide thin films were studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, contact angles, and dielectric characteristics, respectively. The glass transition temperature of fluorinated polyimide film gradually decreases with increasing fluorine pressure. The surface free energies and dielectric constants of the film decreased with increasing amount of the treatment fluorine gas. It was explained that the replacement of fluorine led to a decrease of the local electron polarization of polyimide and an increase of the free volume, which could be attributed to the relatively large volume of fluorine. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.