A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes a process chamber. A chuck is disposed in the process chamber. The chuck is configured to hold a substrate thereon. A transfer unit is adjacent to the process chamber. The transfer unit includes a transfer hand configured to transfer the substrate. A slow discharge layer is disposed on a first surface of the transfer hand. The slow discharge layer is configured to discharge static electricity charged in the substrate.

A method of forming a boron-based film mainly containing boron on a substrate includes forming, on the substrate, an adhesion layer containing an element contained in a surface of the substrate and nitrogen, and subsequently, forming the boron-based film on the adhesion layer.

A SiH-free vinyldisilane compound, which is free of (lacks) a silicon-bonded hydrogen atom. The use of the SiH-free vinyldisilane compound, or a collection of such compounds, as a starting material or precursor for synthesizing or making silicon-heteroatom compounds. The silicon-heteroatom compounds synthesized therefrom; films of and devices containing the silicon-heteroatom compounds; methods of making the SiH-free vinyldisilane compound, silicon-heteroatom compounds, films, and devices; and uses of the SiH-free vinyldisilanes, silicon-heteroatom compounds, films, and devices.

A method for forming a thin film by a deposition process, including: a substrate is placed in a deposition chamber; a precursor is introduced into the deposition chamber to form an adsorption layer on a surface of the substrate; a reactant is introduced into the deposition chamber and reacts with the adsorption layer to form a thin film layer on the surface of the substrate and generate reaction byproducts; a vacuuming operation is performed on the deposition chamber to decrease a chamber pressure therein to reduce desorption energy of the reaction byproducts formed at the surface of the thin film layer; plasma is introduced into the deposition chamber to increase energy of the surface of the formed thin film layer; a cleaning gas is introduced into the deposition chamber to discharge the reaction byproducts and the residual precursor and reactant in the deposition chamber.

A substrate processing apparatus includes: a gas injection portion including two gas distribution portions, disposed on an upper portion in the chamber and spatially separated from each other, and two types of nozzles, respectively connected to the two gas distribution portions, having different lengths to each other; a first electrode, connected to a radio-frequency (RF) power supply and disposed below the gas injection portion to be vertically spaced apart from the gas injection portion, having a plurality of openings into which among the nozzles, one type of nozzles are respectively inserted; and a second electrode, disposed to oppose the first electrode, mounting a substrate.

Methods for the formation of films comprising Si, C, O and N are provided. Certain methods involve sequential exposures of a hydroxide terminated substrate surface to a silicon precursor and an alcohol-amine to form a film with hydroxide terminations. Certain methods involved sequential exposures of hydroxide terminated substrate surface to a silicon precursor and a diamine to form a film with an amine terminated surface, followed by sequential exposures to a silicon precursor and a diol to form a film with a hydroxide terminated surface.

Methods and apparatuses for depositing thin films using plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) with ramping radio-frequency (RF) power are provided herein. Embodiments involve increasing the RF power setting of PEALD cycles after formation of initial screening layers at low RF power settings.

An air gap forming method of forming an air gap in a gap structure having an upper surface, a lower surface, and a sidewall connecting the upper and lower surface, includes: repeatedly performing a selective deposition cycle, wherein the selective deposition cycle includes supplying a deposition inhibitor onto a substrate including the gap structure; and selectively forming a material layer on the upper surface compared to the sidewall.

Methods of forming structures including a photoresist underlayer and an adhesion layer and structures including the photoresist underlayer and adhesion layer are disclosed. Exemplary methods include forming the photoresist underlayer and forming an adhesion layer using a cyclical deposition process. The adhesion layer can be formed within the same reaction chamber used to form the photoresist underlayer.

In one embodiment, a particle with a first particle thickness may be formed on a film with a first thickness, followed by a plasma treatment. The first particle thickness may be reduced to a second particle thickness below an allowable limit and the first film thickness may be reduced to a second film thickness by the plasma treatment. In another embodiment, a particle with a first particle thickness may be formed on a first film with a first film thickness, followed by a plasma treatment. The first particle thickness may be reduced to a second particle thickness below an allowable limit and the first film thickness may be reduced to a second film thickness by the plasma treatment. After the plasma treatment, a second film with a third film thickness may be deposited on the first film and the particle may be buried in the second film.