Deep reactive ion etching is essential for creating high aspect ratio micro-structures for microelectromechanical systems, sensors and actuators, and emerging flexible electronics. A novel hybrid dual soft/hard mask bilayer may be deposited during semiconductor manufacturing for deep reactive etches. Such a manufacturing process may include depositing a first mask material on a substrate; depositing a second mask material on the first mask material; depositing a third mask material on the second mask material; patterning the third mask material with a pattern corresponding to one or more trenches for transfer to the substrate; transferring the pattern from the third mask material to the second mask material; transferring the pattern from the second mask material to the first mask material; and/or transferring the pattern from the first mask material to the substrate.

A method for manufacturing an integrated circuit includes patterning a plurality of photomask layers over a substrate, partially backfilling the patterned plurality of photomask layers with a first material using atomic layer deposition, completely backfilling the patterned plurality of photomask layers with a second material using atomic layer deposition, removing the plurality of photomask layers to form a masking structure comprising at least one of the first and second materials, and transferring a pattern formed by the masking structure to the substrate and removing the masking structure. The first material includes a silicon dioxide, silicon carbide, or carbon material, and the second material includes a metal oxide or metal nitride material.

Flexible electrical devices comprising electrode layers on softening polymers and methods of manufacturing such devices, including lift-off processes for forming electrodes on softening polymers, processes for forming devices with a patterned double softening polymer layer, and solder reflow processes for forming electrical contacts on softening polymers.

Provided are a cleaning method and cleaning device for cleaning with micro/nano-bubbles, with which a simple method of spraying a treatment solution containing micro/nano-bubbles onto a substrate to be processed makes it possible to efficiently and reliably peel off residual resist or remove contaminants from the substrate, while reducing an environmental load.

This cleaning method is characterized in that, with respect to a substrate to be treated to which a resist film has adhered onto the substrate or a substrate to be treated to which the surface thereof has been contaminated with a metal or metal compounds, the resist film is peeled off or the metals or metal compounds are removed by spraying onto the substrate to be treated a treatment solution containing gaseous micro/nano-bubbles and having a temperature maintained at 30 C. to 90 C., the mean particle size of the micro/nano-bubbles when measured by an ice embedding method using a cryo-transmission electron microscope being 100 nm or smaller, preferably 30 nm or smaller, and also preferably the density of such bubbles being 10.sup.8 or more bubbles per 1 mL.

A method of making a thin film transistor, the method including: providing an insulating layer on a semiconductor substrate, forming a semiconductor layer on the insulating layer; locating a first photoresist layer, a nanowire structure, a second photoresist layer on the semiconductor layer, wherein the nanowire structure comprises a nanowire; forming an opening in the first photoresist layer and the second photoresist layer to form an exposed surface, wherein a part of the nanowire is exposed in the opening; depositing a conductive film layer on the exposed surface of the semiconductor layer, wherein the conductive film layer defines a nano-scaled channel corresponding to the nanowire, and the conductive film layer is divided into two regions by the nano-scaled channel, one region is used as a source electrode, and the other region is used as a drain electrode; forming a gate electrode on the semiconductor substrate.

An implantable device is provided. The implantable device includes a flexible polymeric substrate that extends through an aperture in an electrically conductive material to form an anchor that partially covers the electrically conductive material. Methods for fabricating the implantable device are also provided.

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor element includes forming a first silicon oxide film on a semiconductor wafer under a first film forming condition; forming a second silicon oxide film on the first silicon oxide film under a second film forming condition, a density of the second silicon oxide film being lower than a density of the first silicon oxide film; coating, with a photoresist, a region including the second silicon oxide film; exposing the photoresist using a photomask having an aperture and being disposed such that at least a portion of an edge of the aperture is disposed on the second silicon oxide film; removing a portion of the photoresist to form a photoresist pattern that has an overhang shape in a cross-section of the photoresist pattern; forming an electrode film on a region including the photoresist pattern; and performing lift-off by removing the photoresist pattern.

A method of manufacturing an electrode structure for a device, such as a GaN or AlGaN device is described. In one example, the method includes providing a substrate (212) of GaN or AlGaN with a surface region of the GaN or AlGaN exposed through an opening (216) in a layer of silicon nitride (214) formed on the substrate. The method further includes depositing layers of W (222), in one example, or Ni (220) and W (222), in another example, on the substrate and the layer of silicon nitride using reactive evaporation and photoresist layers (230) having an undercut profile for liftoff. The method further includes removing the photoresist layers having the undercut profile, and depositing layers of WN (224) and Al over the underlying layers of W or Ni and W by sputtering.

An electrical device, comprising a softening polymer layer, an electrode layer on a surface of the softening polymer layer and a cover polymer layer on the surface of the softening polymer layer. An opening in the polymer cover layer is filled with a reflowed solder, one end of the reflowed solder, located inside the opening, contacts a contact pad site portion of the electrode layer, and another end of the reflowed solder contacts an electrical connector electrode of the device.

Embodiments are directed to a method and resulting structures for smoothing the sidewall roughness of a post-etched film. A sacrificial layer is formed on a substrate. A patterned mask is formed by removing portions of the sacrificial layer to expose a surface of the substrate. The sidewalls of the patterned mask are smoothed and a target layer is formed over the patterned mask and the substrate. Portions of the target layer are removed to expose a surface of the patterned mask and the patterned mask is removed.