A process for treating silica dielectric film on a substrate, which
includes reacting a suitable hydrophilic silica film with an effective
amount of a multifunctional surface modification agent. The film is
present on a substrate and optionally has a pore structure with
hydrophilic pore surfaces, and the reaction is conducted for a period of
time sufficient for said surface modification agent to penetrate said pore
structure and produce a treated silica film having a dielectric constant
of about 3 or less, wherein the surface modification agent is hydrophobic
and suitable for silylating or capping silanol moieties on such
hydrophilic surfaces. Dielectric films and integrated circuits including
such films are also disclosed.