Methods of enhancing the corrosion resistance of an oxidizable material exposed to a supercritical fluid is disclosed One method includes placing a surface layer on an oxidizable material, and choosing a buffered supercritical fluid containing a reducing agent with the composition of the buffered supercritical fluid containing the reducing agent chosen to avoid the corrosion of the surface layer or reduce the rate of corrosion of the surface layer and avoid the corrosion of the oxidizable material or reduce the rate of corrosion of the oxidizable material at a temperature above the supercritical temperature and supercritical pressure of the supercritical fluid.

The disclosure is directed at methods of producing metals with texture surfaces. The metals may include metal nanoparticles, metal alloy nanoparticles, thin metal films, thin metal foils or extended metal surfaces. A selected metal is combined with an aqueous growth solution that may include a cationic surfactant solution and a metal salt to generate a reaction mixture. A pH of the reaction mixture may be adjusted before an ascorbic acid is added. After the ascorbic acid is added, the reaction mixture is left to react and then the resultant metal with a textured surface is collected.

A processing apparatus may include a down-facing substrate processing chamber fixed at acute angle to horizontal. A chuck plate on a platform may pivot from an open position wherein the platform is at an acute angle to the processing chamber, to a parallel position wherein the platform is parallel to the processing chamber. The chuck plate may then be moved linearly into sealing engagement with the processing chamber. A chuck holder may be provided on the platform to hold the chuck in place.

The present invention provides a surface-independent surface-modifying multifunctional biocoating and methods of application thereof. The method comprises contacting at least a portion of a substrate with an alkaline solution comprising a surface-modifying agent (SMA) such as dopamine so as to modify the substrate surface to include at least one reactive moiety. In another version of the invention, a secondary reactive moiety is applied to the SMA-treated substrate to yield a surface-modified substrate having a specific functionality.

Catalysts include nanoparticles of catalytic metal and cellulose or cellulose derivatives. The catalysts are used in electroless metal plating. The catalysts are free of tin.

Certain embodiments herein relate to methods and apparatus for processing a partially fabricated semiconductor substrate in a remote plasma environment. The methods may be performed in the context of wafer level packaging (WLP) processes. The methods may include exposing the substrate to a reducing plasma to remove photoresist scum and/or oxidation from an underlying seed layer. In some cases, photoresist scum is removed through a series of plasma treatments involving exposure to an oxygen-containing plasma followed by exposure to a reducing plasma. In some embodiments, an oxygen-containing plasma is further used to strip photoresist from a substrate surface after electroplating. This plasma strip may be followed by a plasma treatment involving exposure to a reducing plasma. The plasma treatments herein may involve exposure to a remote plasma within a plasma treatment module of a multi-tool electroplating apparatus.

A method for electroless metal deposition includes steps as follows. a) a substrate is provided, and the substrate has a surface which is subjected to a hydroxide surface modification to form a hydrophilic chemical oxide layer; b) a catalyst layer is formed on the chemical oxide layer, the catalyst layer includes a plurality of colloidal nanoparticles, and each of the plurality of colloidal nanoparticles includes a palladium nanoparticle and a high molecular polymer which wraps the palladium nanoparticle; and c) an electroless metal deposition is conducted, and a metal is deposited on the catalyst layer to form an electroless metal layer. An electroless metal layer included substrate is also provided.

A method and composition for coating surfaces, a corresponding coating and the use of objects coated according to said method. A cleaned, metallic surface is contacted with an aqueous composition that is a dispersion or suspension, and drying and/or baking the organic coating or optionally, drying the organic coating and coating with an equivalent or additional coating composition prior to a drying and/or baking. The aqueous composition has a pH of 4 to 11 and contains an anionic polyelectrolyte in a quantity of 0.01 to 5.0 wt. % relative to the total mass of the composition, which may have a solids content of from 2 to 40 wt. %. The solids have an average particle size from 10 to 1000 nm. A coating forms on the basis of an ionogenic gel which binds cations released from the metallic surface that originate from a pretreatment stage or from the contacting.

Certain embodiments herein relate to methods and apparatus for processing a partially fabricated semiconductor substrate in a remote plasma environment. The methods may be performed in the context of wafer level packaging (WLP) processes. The methods may include exposing the substrate to a reducing plasma to remove photoresist scum and/or oxidation from an underlying seed layer. In some cases, photoresist scum is removed through a series of plasma treatments involving exposure to an oxygen-containing plasma followed by exposure to a reducing plasma. In some embodiments, an oxygen-containing plasma is further used to strip photoresist from a substrate surface after electroplating. This plasma strip may be followed by a plasma treatment involving exposure to a reducing plasma. The plasma treatments herein may involve exposure to a remote plasma within a plasma treatment module of a multi-tool electroplating apparatus.