A semiconductor device includes a SiC semiconductor layer that has a carbon density of 1.0×10.sup.22 cm.sup.−3 or more, a SiO.sub.2 layer that is formed on the SiC semiconductor layer and that has a connection surface contiguous to the SiC semiconductor layer and a non-connection surface positioned on a side opposite to the connection surface, a carbon-density-decreasing region that is formed at a surface layer portion of the connection surface of the SiO.sub.2 layer and in which a carbon density gradually decreases toward the non-connection surface of the SiO.sub.2 layer, and a low carbon density region that is formed at a surface layer portion of the non-connection surface of the SiO.sub.2 layer and that has a carbon density of 1.0×10.sup.19 cm.sup.−3 or less.

Transistors with metal oxide channel material that is in-situ doped for desired charge carrier concentrations. The metal oxide channel material may be deposited by atomic layering of multiple constituent metals with an oxidation of each layer. Such an ALD process may be performed by cyclically depositing a precursor of one of the metals upon a substrate during a deposition phase, and oxidizing the absorbed precursor during an oxidation phase. For a quinary metal oxide, each of three metal precursors may be introduced and oxidized during the ALD process, and charge carrier concentrations may be modulated by further introducing a fourth metal precursor during the ALD process in a manner that disperses this dopant metal within the film at a significantly lower chemical concentration than the other metals.

Thin film transistors having a spin-on two-dimensional (2D) channel material are described. In an example, an integrated circuit structure includes a first device layer including a first two-dimensional (2D) material layer above a substrate. The first 2D material layer includes molybdenum, sulfur, sodium and carbon. A second device layer including a second 2D material layer is above the substrate. The second 2D material layer includes tungsten, selenium, sodium and carbon.

Methods and apparatuses for processing substrates, such as during metal silicide applications, are provided. In one or more embodiments, a method of processing a substrate includes depositing an epitaxial layer on the substrate, depositing a metal silicide seed layer on the epitaxial layer, and exposing the metal silicide seed layer to a nitridation process to produce a metal silicide nitride layer from at least a portion of the metal silicide seed layer. The method also includes depositing a metal silicide bulk layer on the metal silicide nitride layer and forming or depositing a nitride capping layer on the metal silicide bulk layer, where the nitride capping layer contains a metal nitride, a silicon nitride, a metal silicide nitride, or a combination thereof.

A method of forming a semiconductor device may include depositing a NiAl layer on a substrate, oxidizing the NiAl layer to form a bilayer including a NiO semiconducting material layer and an AlO.sub.x layer on the NiO semiconducting material layer, forming a semiconductor layer including the NiO semiconducting material layer, the semiconductor layer also including a channel region, and forming a gate dielectric on the channel region of the semiconductor layer.

A semiconductor device having favorable electrical characteristics is provided. A metal oxide is formed over a substrate by the steps of: introducing a first precursor into a chamber in which the substrate is provided; introducing a first oxidizer after the introduction of the first precursor; introducing a second precursor after the introduction of the first oxidizer; and introducing a second oxidizer after the introduction of the second precursor.

Disclosed are a transition metal chalcogenide thin-layer material, a preparation method and an application thereof. The preparation method comprises: uniformly spreading a transition metal source between two substrates to prepare a sandwich structure; performing a heat treatment on the sandwich structure to fuse and bond the two substrates together, and performing a chemical vapor deposition reaction on a chalcogen element source and the fused and bonded sandwich structure under the protection of a protective gas, wherein the transition metal source is heated to dissolve and diffuse at a reaction temperature, separated out from surfaces of the substrates, and reacts with the chalcogen element source. The prepared thin-layer material is uniformly distributed in a centimeter-level substrate.

Provided is a thin-film forming raw material, which is used in an atomic layer deposition method, including a compound represented, by the following formula (1) :

##STR00001##

where R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, L represents a group represented by the following formula (L-1) or (L-2), and M represents an indium atom or a gallium atom;

##STR00002##

where R.sup.11 and R.sup.12 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, a fluorine atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, or an alkoxy group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, and * represents a bonding position with M in the formula (1);

##STR00003##

where R.sup.21 to R.sup.23 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, a fluorine atom, or an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, and * represents a bonding position with M in the formula (1), provided that R.sup.21 and R.sup.22 represent different groups.

A method for manufacturing a transition metal-dichalcogenide thin film is provided. The method for manufacturing a transition metal-dichalcogenide thin film can comprise the steps of: preparing a base substrate within a chamber; preparing a precursor comprising a transition metal; repeatedly carrying out, multiple times, a step of providing the precursor on the base substrate and a step of purging the chamber, thereby forming, on the base substrate, a preliminary thin film in which the precursor is adsorbed; and manufacturing a transition metal-dichalcogenide thin film by heat treating the preliminary thin film in a gas atmosphere comprising a chalcogen element.

The present invention provides methods to sputter deposit films comprising alkali metal compounds. At least one target comprising one or more alkali metal compounds and at least one metallic component is sputtered to form one or more corresponding sputtered films. The at least one target has an atomic ratio of the alkali metal compound to the at least one metallic component in the range from 15:85 to 85:15. The sputtered film(s) incorporating such alkali metal compounds are incorporated into a precursor structure also comprising one or more chalcogenide precursor films. The precursor structure is heated in the presence of at least one chalcogen to form a chalcogenide semiconductor. The resultant chalcogenide semiconductor comprises up to 2 atomic percent of alkali metal content, wherein at least a major portion of the alkali metal content of the resultant chalcogenide semiconductor is derived from the sputtered film(s) incorporating the alkali metal compound(s). The chalcogenide semiconductors are useful in microelectronic devices, including solar cells.