In advanced interconnect applications, the possibility to remove completely photoresist layers is one of the key points. To have the maximum removal efficiency, the selection of the needed chemistries is of first importance. To this end, the characterization of post-etched photoresists can be used to support that selection. The complete work includes the use of various spectroscopic and polymer characterization techniques. In the present paper, results obtained by time of flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AR-XPS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) are presented for the characterization of post-etched photoresist used in photoresist mask patterning schemes. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.