A substrate with a backside surface configured to provide a friction switch when the substrate is loaded onto a substrate holder in a substrate-loading cycle, wherein the substrate backside surface has a molecular assembly including at least one high-interaction region and at least one low-interaction region. Further, there is provided methods using such a substrate and methods for creating such a substrate.

A method of manufacturing a metal wire, a method of manufacturing a metal wire grid, a wire grid polarizer, and an electronic device are provided. The method of manufacturing a metal wire includes: forming a metal material layer on a base substrate; etching the metal material layer by using a composite gas including an etching gas and a coating reaction gas to form the metal wire and a protective coating layer on a surface of the metal wire.

The present disclosure relates to stacks having a hermetic overlayer, as well as methods and apparatuses for applying such hermetic overlayers. In particular embodiments, the hermetic overlayer allows a film to be employed as a positive tone, EUV photoresist with dry development.

A method of processing a substrate that includes forming over the substrate an extreme ultraviolet (EUV)-active photoresist film including a network of metal oxide terminated with alkoxy groups and patterning the EUV-active photoresist film with EUV lithography.

Disclosed herein are methods of purifying compounds useful for the deposition of high purity tin oxide and high purity compounds purified by those methods. Such compounds are those of the Formula as follows R.sub.x—Sn-A.sub.4-x, wherein: A is selected from the group consisting of (Y.sub.aR′.sub.z) and a 3- to 7-membered N-containing heterocyclic group; each R group is independently selected from the group consisting of an alkyl or aryl group having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms; each R′ group is independently selected from the group consisting of an alkyl, acyl or aryl group having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms; x is an integer from 0 to 4; a is an integer from 0 to 1; Y is selected from the group consisting of N, O, S, and P; and z is 1 when Y is O, S or when Y is absent and z is 2 when Y is N or P.

Photoresists and methods of forming and using the same are disclosed. In an embodiment, a method includes spin-on coating a first hard mask layer over a target layer; depositing a photoresist layer over the first hard mask layer using chemical vapor deposition or atomic layer deposition, the photoresist layer being deposited using one or more organometallic precursors; heating the photoresist layer to cause cross-linking between the one or more organometallic precursors; exposing the photoresist layer to patterned energy; heating the photoresist layer to cause de-crosslinking in the photoresist layer forming a de-crosslinked portion of the photoresist layer; and removing the de-crosslinked portion of the photoresist layer.

A system and method for depositing a photoresist and utilizing the photoresist are provided. In an embodiment a deposition chamber is utilized along with a first precursor material comprising carbon-carbon double bonds and a second precursor material comprising repeating units to deposit the photoresist onto a substrate. The first precursor material is turned into a plasma in a remote plasma chamber prior to being introduced into the deposition chamber. The resulting photoresist comprises a carbon backbone with carbon-carbon double bonds.

A KrF (248 nm) photoresist patterning process flow is disclosed wherein photoresist patterns having a sub-100 nm CD are formed on a dielectric antireflective coating (DARC) thereby lowering cost of ownership by replacing a more expensive ArF (193 nm) photoresist patterning process. A key feature is treatment of a DARC such as SiON with a photoresist developer solution that is 0.263 N tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) prior to treatment with hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) in order to significantly improve adhesion of features with CD down to about 60 nm. After the HMDS treatment, a photoresist layer is coated on the DARC, patternwise exposed, and treated with the photoresist developer solution to form a pattern therein. Features that were previously resolved by KrF patterning processes but subsequently collapsed because of poor adhesion, now remain upright and intact during a subsequent etch process used to transfer the sub-100 nm features into a substrate.

Two classes of cyclic tin compounds, trioxa-aza-1-stannabicyclo-[3.3.3]-undecanes, also referred to as stannatranes, and tetraaza-1-stannabicyclo-[3.3.3] undecanes, also referred to as azastannatranes, are described, as are methods for their preparation. These cyclic tin compounds are resistant to rearrangement and the generation of dialkyltin impurities is not observed during the synthesis, purification or deposition of these compounds to form oxostannate films.

Disclosed herein are methods and apparatuses for exposing an organic metal-oxide film to a blanket UV treatment prior to a lithographic patterning operation. A blanket UV treatment may be used to shift a solubility curve of the film, such that a lower EUV dose may be used to pattern the film. Additionally, a blanket UV treatment may be used after development to further cure the film.