defining photoresist layer has been exposed and removed developed the base loaded polymer may be applied before a post exposure bake u201c peb u201d process step or afterward furthermore the polymer may be applied after a short peb or one that is performed at a lower temperature than normal such that the photoresist is partially unprotected u201c deprotection u201d before the polymer is applied deprotection is a process wherein regions of the photoresist where acid formed by exposure to light serves as a catalyst for a chemical reaction typically during peb thereby removing protection groups attached to the polymer and renders them soluble in a developer fig2 illustrates an embodiment of the invention after the peb and or develop process step a conformal coating of base loaded polymer 201 may be applied to the semiconductor wafer and baked during this second bake the residual acid 205 diffuses out of the feature and reacts with the base at least some of the low acid concentration at the edge of the feature is neutralized 210 by the base and reduces the line edge roughness of the feature by applying the base loaded polymer after developing the photoresist as in the above embodiment the photoresist sensitivity is not significantly affected and therefore no significant amount of incident radiation energy need be applied during exposure alternatively a sealant may be implied instead of a base loaded polymer in a similar way as described above the sealant however serves to fill in imperfections of the feature line edge rather than neutralize the acid within the line edge in order to reduce line edge roughness fig3 illustrates one embodiment of the invention.