Methods to manufacture integrated circuits are described. Nanocrystalline diamond is used as a hard mask in place of amorphous carbon. Provided is a method of processing a substrate in which nanocrystalline diamond is used as a hard mask, wherein processing methods result in a smooth surface. The method involves two processing parts. Two separate nanocrystalline diamond recipes are combined—the first and second recipes are cycled to achieve a nanocrystalline diamond hard mask having high hardness, high modulus, and a smooth surface. In other embodiments, the first recipe is followed by an inert gas plasma smoothening process and then the first recipe is cycled to achieve a high hardness, a high modulus, and a smooth surface.

The present disclosure provides a manufacturing method of a semiconductor structure and a semiconductor structure. The manufacturing method includes: providing a substrate, where the substrate includes a complete die region and an incomplete die region; forming a stack on the substrate, where the stack includes sacrificial layers and supporting layers; forming a first photoresist layer on the stack; exposing the first photoresist layer, and developing to remove the first photoresist layer on the incomplete die region; and etching the stack by using the first photoresist layer on the complete die region as a mask.

The present disclosure provides a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: providing a substrate that includes an array region and an edge region; forming a composite layer on the substrate, where the composite layer includes an amorphous silicon layer and a silicon dioxide layer, and the silicon dioxide layer is located on a surface of the amorphous silicon layer away from the substrate; dry etching the silicon dioxide layer in the array region by using first plasma, to expose a part of the surface of the amorphous silicon layer in the array region; performing, by using second plasma, a plasma surface treatment on an exposed part of the surface of the amorphous silicon layer; cleaning an amorphous silicon layer on which the plasma surface treatment has been performed and a dry etched silicon dioxide layer; and coating a first photoresist layer on the composite layer in the edge region and the array region of the substrate, and performing exposing and developing.

The present disclosure provides a processing method for semiconductor surface defects and a preparation method for semiconductor devices. The processing method for semiconductor surface defects includes: placing a semiconductor device in a plasma processing device, the semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor substrate and deposition layers formed on the surface of the semiconductor substrate, bubbles being formed in the deposition layers; and plasma bombarding the surface of the deposition layer to break the bubbles, so that the surface of the deposition layer is flat.

A method for fabricating a semiconductor device is described that includes forming a base layer over a top layer of a substrate, the base layer includes a silicon based dielectric having a thickness less than or equal to 5 nm and greater than or equal to 0.5 nm; forming a photoresist layer over the base layer, the photoresist including a first side and an opposite second side; exposing a first portion of the photoresist layer to a pattern of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation from the first side; exposing a second portion of the photoresist layer with a pattern of electron flux from the second side, the electron flux being directed into the photoresist layer from the base layer in response to the EUV radiation; developing the exposed photoresist layer to form a patterned photoresist layer; and transferring the pattern of the patterned photoresist layer to the base layer and the top layer.

In an embodiment, a method includes performing a first atomic layer deposition (ALD) process to form a first material layer over a first blank wafer, the first ALD process comprising: performing a first precursor sub-cycle using a first precursor; performing a first purge sub-cycle using a inert gas; and performing a second precursor sub-cycle using a second precursor and the inert gas; and performing a second purge sub-cycle for a first duration over a second blank wafer different from the first blank wafer using the inert gas to deposit first defects onto the second blank wafer.

Structures and methods of forming semiconductor devices are presented in which a void-free core-shell hard mask is formed over a gate electrode. The void-free core-shell hard mask may be formed in some embodiments by forming a first liner layer over the gate electrode, forming a void-free material over the first liner layer, recessing the void-free material, and forming a second liner over the recessed void-free material.

A method for fabricating a semiconductor arrangement is provided. The method includes forming a first dielectric layer and forming a first semiconductive layer over the first dielectric layer. The first semiconductive layer is patterned to form a patterned first semiconductive layer. The first dielectric layer is patterned using the patterned first semiconductive layer to form a patterned first dielectric layer. A second semiconductive layer is formed over the patterned first dielectric layer and the patterned first semiconductive layer.

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes depositing a first hard mask layer and a first dielectric layer over a substrate, forming a patterned layer over the first dielectric layer, forming a second hard mask layer over the patterned layer, patterning the second hard mask layer to remove first horizontal portions of the second hard mask layer and leave second portions of the second hard mask layer along sidewalls of the patterned layer, etching a trench in the first dielectric layer using the second portions of the second hard mask layer and the patterned layer as an etching mask, depositing a first gap-filling material in the trench and patterning the first hard mask layer using the first gap-filling material, the patterned layer, and the second portions of the second hard mask layer as a mask.

A semiconductor structure comprises a semiconductor substrate, and a multi-layer patterning material film stack formed on the semiconductor substrate. The patterning material film stack comprises at least a hard mask layer and a resist layer formed over the hard mask layer. The hard mask layer is configured to support selective deposition of a metal-containing layer on a developed pattern of the resist layer through inclusion in the hard mask layer of one or more materials inhibiting deposition of the metal-containing layer on portions of the hard mask layer corresponding to respective openings in the resist layer. The hard mask layer illustratively comprises, for example, at least one of a grafted self-assembled monolayer configured to inhibit deposition of the metal-containing layer, and a grafted polymer brush material configured to inhibit deposition of the metal-containing layer.