The purpose of the present invention is to provide means for sufficiently removing residues on a surface of an object which has been polished including silicon nitride, silicon oxide, or polysilicon. Provided is a composition for surface treatment including an anionic surfactant having a molecular weight of 1,000 or less and water, the composition having a pH of less than 7, wherein a ratio of a molecular weight of a hydrophilic moiety to a molecular weight of a hydrophobic moiety (the molecular weight of the hydrophilic moiety/the molecular weight of the hydrophobic moiety) of the anionic surfactant is 0.4 or more (in which the hydrophobic moiety is a hydrocarbon group having 4 or more carbon atoms and the hydrophilic moiety is a part excluding the hydrophobic moiety and a counterion), and the composition for surface treatment is used for surface treatment of an object which has been polished including at least one selected from the group consisting of silicon nitride, silicon oxide, and polysilicon.

A first mask and a second mask are sequentially provided to perform a multi-step exposure and development processes. Through proper overlay design of the first mask and the second mask, conductive wirings having acceptable overlay offset are formed.

Treatment solutions and methods for treating a substrate including forming a first layer on a surface of the substrate, providing a process gas to the one or more plasma sources, the process gas includes a gas mixture of a reactive gas species and an inert gas species; forming a plasma under vacuum in the one or more plasma sources; and exposing the substrate to the plasma under vacuum to treat the first layer on the surface of the substrate.

A method for producing a semiconductor element and a chemical solution to be used in the method for producing a semiconductor element, the method including dry-etching or chemically-mechanically polishing a ruthenium-containing layer located as an uppermost layer of a substrate; and bringing a surface of the substrate into contact with a chemical solution thereby satisfactorily cleaning and removing a ruthenium residue formed on the surface of the substrate; and a chemical solution to be suitably used in the method for producing a semiconductor element.

Methods for forming microelectronic devices include forming lower and upper stack structures, each comprising vertically alternating sequences of insulative and other structures arranged in tiers. Lower and upper pillar structures are formed to extend through the lower and upper stack structures, respectively. An opening is formed through the upper stack structure, and at least a portion of the other structures of the upper stack are replaced by (e.g., chemically converted into) conductive structures, which may be configured as select gate structures. Subsequently, a slit is formed, extending through both the upper and lower stack structures, and at least a portion of the other structures of the lower stack structure are replaced by a conductive material within a liner to form additional conductive structures, which may be configured as access lines (e.g., word lines). Microelectronic devices and structures and related electronic systems are also disclosed.

There is provided a cleaning liquid for semiconductor substrates having undergone CMP, the cleaning liquid being excellent in storage stability. In addition, there is provided a method of cleaning semiconductor substrates having undergone CMP. The cleaning liquid for semiconductor substrates having undergone CMP shows alkaline properties and contains: an amine compound that is at least one selected from the group consisting of a primary amine, a secondary amine, a tertiary amine, and their salts; a chelating agent; and water. The amine compound content is not less than 25.5 mass % and less than 90 mass % based on the total mass of the cleaning liquid, and the water content is 10 to 60 mass % based on the total mass of the cleaning liquid.

A method for processing a semiconductor wafer is provided. The method includes polishing the semiconductor wafer with a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) tool. The method includes transferring the polished semiconductor wafer to an interface tool from the CMP tool. The method includes discharging a mist spray over the polished semiconductor wafer in the interface tool. The method includes transferring the semiconductor wafer form the interface tool to a cleaning tool for a cleaning process.

A semiconductor structure includes a substrate, a conductive feature over the substrate, a dielectric layer over the conductive feature and the substrate, and a structure disposed over and electrically connected to the conductive feature. The structure is partially surrounded by the dielectric layer and includes a first metal-containing layer and a second metal-contain layer surrounded by the first metal-containing layer. The first and the second metal-containing layers include different materials. A lower portion of the first metal-containing layer includes a transition metal or a transition metal nitride and an upper portion of the first metal-containing layer includes a transition metal fluoride or a transition metal chloride.

A composition for dissolving abrasive particles, and a cleaning method using the composition are provided. The composition includes a sulfur-containing organic acid, a fluorine ion-containing compound, and a solvent, and a turbidity change rate (%) measured at 60° C. for 15 minutes may be in a range of −80 to −99.

To provide a composition for surface treatment capable of treating a surface of a polished object to be polished having both of a silicon-silicon bond and a nitrogen-silicon bond by sufficiently removing defects on the surface of the polished object to be polished. The composition for surface treatment contains a nonionic water-soluble polymer (A) having a main chain including only a carbon atom or a main chain consisting of a carbon atom and a nitrogen atom, and an anionic water-soluble polymer (B) having a main chain including only a carbon atom and a side chain having a sulfonic acid group or a group having a salt thereof or a carboxyl group or a group having a salt thereof, and being bonded to the main chain including only a carbon atom, and the composition is used for surface treatment of a polished object to be polished containing a silicon-silicon bond and a nitrogen-silicon bond and a pH of the composition is less than 9.0.