The present disclosure provides a technique including a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, which is capable of improving the characteristics of a film formed on a substrate. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device may include: (a) forming a first film containing a predetermined element, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen on a substrate; and (b) forming a second film thinner than the first film on a top surface of the first film, the second film having an oxygen concentration lower than an oxygen concentration of the first film or having oxygen and carbon concentrations lower than oxygen and carbon concentrations of the first film.

Provided are: forming an oxycarbonitride film, an oxycarbide film or an oxide film on a substrate by alternately performing a specific number of times: forming a first layer containing the specific element, nitrogen and carbon, on the substrate, by alternately performing a specific number of times, supplying a first source containing the specific element and a halogen-group to the substrate in a processing chamber, and supplying a second source containing the specific element and an amino-group to the substrate in the processing chamber; and forming a second layer by oxidizing the first layer by supplying an oxygen-containing gas, and an oxygen-containing gas and a hydrogen-containing gas to the substrate in the processing chamber.

A method for depositing silicon oxynitride film structures is provided that is used to form planar waveguides. These film structures are deposited on substrates and the combination of the substrate and the planar waveguide is used in the formation of optical interposers and subassemblies. The silicon oxynitride film structures are deposited using low thermal budget processes and hydrogen-free oxygen and hydrogen-free nitrogen precursors to produce planar waveguides that exhibit low losses for optical signals transmitted through the waveguide of 1 dB/cm or less. The silicon oxynitride film structures and substrate exhibit low stress levels of less than 20 MPa.

A transparent optical element for a motor vehicle includes at least one first transparent layer of a polymer material. The optical element further has at least one second transparent layer including at least silicon, titanium, oxygen and nitrogen.

A cutting tool comprises a substrate and a coating that coats the substrate, the coating including an α-alumina layer provided on the substrate, the α-alumina layer including crystal grains of α-alumina, the α-alumina layer including a lower portion and an upper portion, the upper portion being occupied in area at a ratio of 50% or more by crystal grains of α-alumina having a (006) plane with a normal thereto having a direction within ±15° with respect to a direction of the normal to the second interface, the lower portion being occupied in area at a ratio of 50% or more by crystal grains of α-alumina having a (006) plane with a normal thereto having a direction within ±15° with respect to the direction of the normal to the second interface, the α-alumina layer having a thickness of 3 μm or more and 20 μm or less.

A doped or undoped silicon carbide (SiC.sub.xO.sub.yN.sub.z) film can be deposited in one or more features of a substrate for gapfill. After a first thickness of the doped or undoped silicon carbide film is deposited in the one or more features, the doped or undoped silicon carbide film is exposed to a remote hydrogen plasma under conditions that cause a size of an opening near a top surface of each of the one or more features to increase, where the conditions can be controlled by controlling treatment time, treatment frequency, treatment power, and/or remote plasma gas composition. Operations of depositing additional thicknesses of silicon carbide film and performing a remote hydrogen plasma treatment are repeated to at least substantially fill the one or more features. Various time intervals between deposition and plasma treatment may be added to modulate gapfill performance.

A composition comprises at least one a composition comprising at least one organosilicon compound which has two or more silicon atoms connected to either a carbon atom or a hydrocarbon moiety.

The invention provides a PEALD process to deposit etch resistant SiOCN films. These films provide improved growth rate, improved step coverage and excellent etch resistance to wet etchants and post-deposition plasma treatments containing O.sub.2 co-reactant. In one embodiment, this PEALD process relies on a single precursor—a bis(dialkylamino)tetraalkyldisiloxane, together with hydrogen plasma to deposit the etch-resistant thin-films of SiOCN. Since the film can be deposited with a single precursor, the overall process exhibits improved throughput.

A surface coated cutting tool comprises a tool body. A TiAlCN layer having an average layer thickness of 2.0 to 20.0 μm and represented by (Ti.sub.(1-x)Al.sub.x)(C.sub.yN.sub.(1-y)) is provided on the surface of the tool body and has an average content ratio x.sub.avg of Al and an average content ratio y.sub.avg of C that satisfy 0.60≤x.sub.avg≤0.95 and 0.00≤y.sub.avg≤0.05, an area ratio occupied by crystal grains having an NaCl-type face-centered cubic structure that satisfies 90 area % or more, and crystal grains satisfying 0.01 μm<d≤0.20 μm in 10 to 40 area %. An average maximum length in a direction parallel to the surface of the tool body in each region in which the crystal grains having d of 0.01 μm<d≤0.20 μm are adjacent and connected to each other in the upper layer side region is 5.0 μm or less.

It is an object to provide a functional film which does not require formation of a protective layer by laminating and applying a protective film, and sticking of the protective layer, and also has high moist heat resistance; and a method for producing the same. The object is accomplished by a configuration where the functional film includes a support, an inorganic layer, and a protective layer consisting of a resin film, in which the inorganic layer and the protective layer are directly joined to each other, and in a case where an intensity ratio obtained by dividing an intensity of a maximum peak B in a range of 2,900 to 3,000 cm.sup.−1 by an intensity of a maximum peak A in a range of 2,800 to 2,900 cm.sup.−1 in an infrared absorption spectrum is defined as B/A, the intensity ratio B/A in a surface of the protective layer on the inorganic layer side is 1.04 times or more the intensity ratio B/A in a surface of the protective layer on the opposite side.