Techniques disclosed herein a method and system for conditioning a polymeric layer on a substrate to enable adhesion of a metal layer to the polymeric layer. Techniques may include conditioning the polymeric layer with nitrogen-containing plasma to generate a nitride layer on the surface of the polymeric layer. In another embodiment, the conditioning may include depositing a CuN layer using a lower power copper sputtering process in a nitrogen rich environment. Following the condition process, a higher power copper deposition or sputtering process may be used to deposit copper onto the polymeric layer with good adhesion properties.