Halogenated organic compounds incorporated into novolac‐based resists act as tracers and provide a specific end point detection (EPD) signal which can characterize the transition between resist layers during plasma etching. The EPD signal is supplied by the plasma induced emission intensity of the halogen resonance lines, all located in the VUV spectral region. Two chlorine—and bromine—based tracers have been selected which provide specific and convenient EPD signals to monitor the etching of multilayer systems. The basic criteria for an organic compound tracer to be incorporated into novolac‐based resist are discussed.