A film having filling capability of a patterned recess on a surface of a substrate is deposited by forming a viscous material in a gas phase by striking a plasma in a chamber filled with a volatile precursor that can be polymerized within certain parameter ranges which include a partial pressure of the precursor during a plasma strike and substrate temperature.

Provided is a method for seasoning a reactor in which a dry cleaning step and a first seasoning step are carried out at the first temperature, then the temperature is raised to a second temperature. The method also comprises a second seasoning step and a substrate processing step are carried out at the second temperature. The seasoning step of the disclosure suppresses dry cleaning byproducts from evaporating, spreading and re-spreading in a reactor. Thus, deterioration of the film quality deposited on a substrate is prevented, extending the wet etch cycle of the reactor and improving the uptime and the efficiency of the reactor.

Methods of removing native oxide layers and depositing dielectric layers having a controlled number of active sites on MEMS devices for biological applications are disclosed. In one aspect, a method includes removing a native oxide layer from a surface of the substrate by exposing the substrate to one or more ligands in vapor phase to volatize the native oxide layer and then thermally desorbing or otherwise etching the volatized native oxide layer. In another aspect, a method includes depositing a dielectric layer selected to provide a controlled number of active sites on the surface of the substrate. In yet another aspect, a method includes both removing a native oxide layer from a surface of the substrate by exposing the substrate to one or more ligands and depositing a dielectric layer selected to provide a controlled number of active sites on the surface of the substrate.

An etch stop layer is formed over a semiconductor fin and gate stack. The etch stop layer is formed utilizing a series of pulses of precursor materials. A first pulse introduces a first precursor material to the semiconductor fin and gate stack. A second pulse introduces a second precursor material, which is turned into a plasma and then directed towards the semiconductor fin and gate stack in an anisotropic deposition process. As such, a thickness of the etch stop layer along a bottom surface is larger than a thickness of the etch stop layer along sidewalls.

A method for forming a silicon oxide film on a step formed on a substrate includes: (a) designing a topology of a final silicon oxide film by preselecting a target portion of an initial silicon nitride film to be selectively deposited or removed or reformed with reference to a non-target portion of the initial silicon nitride film resulting in the final silicon oxide film; and (b) forming the initial silicon nitride film and the final silicon oxide film on the surfaces of the step according to the topology designed in process (a), wherein the initial silicon nitride film is deposited by ALD using a silicon-containing precursor containing halogen, and the initial silicon nitride film is converted to the final silicon oxide film by oxidizing the initial silicon nitride film without further depositing a film wherein a Si—N bond in the initial silicon nitride film is converted to a Si—O bond.

A film having filling capability of a patterned recess on a surface of a substrate is deposited by forming a viscous material in a gas phase by striking a plasma in a chamber filled with a volatile precursor that can be polymerized within certain parameter ranges which include a partial pressure of the precursor during a plasma strike and substrate temperature.

There is provided a technique that includes: high-frequency power sources supplying power to plasma generators; and matchers installed between the high-frequency power sources and the plasma generators and matching load impedances of the plasma generators with output impedances of the high-frequency power sources, wherein at least one of the high-frequency power sources includes: a high-frequency oscillator; a directional coupler at a subsequent stage of the high-frequency oscillator, which extracts a part of a traveling wave component from the high-frequency oscillator and a part of a reflected wave component from the matcher; a filter removing a noise signal in the reflected wave component extracted by the directional coupler; and a power monitor measuring the reflected wave component after passing through the filter and the traveling wave component extracted by the directional coupler and feedback-controlling the matcher to reduce a ratio between the reflected wave component and the traveling wave component.

A method of depositing a layer on a semiconductor workpiece is disclosed. The method includes placing the semiconductor workpiece on a wafer chuck in a processing chamber, introducing a first precursor into the processing chamber, introducing a second precursor into the processing chamber, and while the second precursor is in the processing chamber, applying radiation to the semiconductor workpiece, whereby a surface of the semiconductor workpiece is heated. The method also includes, while the second precursor is in the processing chamber, applying a voltage bias to the wafer chuck.

Methods of depositing a film using a plasma enhanced process are described. The method comprises providing continuous power from a power source connected to a microwave plasma source in a process chamber and a dummy load, the continuous power split into pulses having a first time and a second time defining a duty cycle of a pulse. The continuous power is directed to the microwave plasma source during the first time, and the continuous power is directed to the dummy load during the second time.

Methods for depositing SiOC and SiOCN films are disclosed. Exemplary methods utilize precursors containing iodine and alkoxide, and can be used to form low-k spacers using O-free PEALD.