A method includes forming a gate stack, which includes a gate dielectric and a metal gate electrode over the gate dielectric. An inter-layer dielectric is formed on opposite sides of the gate stack. The gate stack and the inter-layer dielectric are planarized. The method further includes forming an inhibitor film on the gate stack, with at least a portion of the inter-layer dielectric exposed, selectively depositing a dielectric hard mask on the inter-layer dielectric, with the inhibitor film preventing the dielectric hard mask from being formed thereon, and etching to remove a portion of the gate stack, with the dielectric hard mask acting as a portion of a corresponding etching mask.

Integrated circuitry comprising transistor structures with a source/drain etch stop layer to limit the depth of source and drain material relative to a channel of the transistor. A portion of a channel material layer may be etched in preparation for source and drain materials. The etch may be stopped at an etch stop layer buried between a channel material layer and an underlying planar substrate layer. The etch stop layer may have a different composition than the channel layer while retaining crystallinity of the channel layer. The source and drain etch stop layer may provide adequate etch selectivity to ensure a source and drain etch process does not punch through the etch stop layer. Following the etch process, source and drain materials may be formed, for example with an epitaxial growth process. The source and drain etch stop layer may be, for example, primarily silicon and carbon.

The present disclosure relates to an integrated chip comprising a substrate. A first conductive wire is over the substrate. A second conductive wire is over the substrate and is adjacent to the first conductive wire. A first dielectric cap is laterally between the first conductive wire and the second conductive wire. The first dielectric cap laterally separates the first conductive wire from the second conductive wire. The first dielectric cap includes a first dielectric material. A first cavity is directly below the first dielectric cap and is laterally between the first conductive wire and the second conductive wire. The first cavity is defined by one or more surfaces of the first dielectric cap.

A method of manufacturing a memory structure including the following steps is provided. A spacer layer is formed on sidewalls of gate stack structures. A protective material layer covering the spacer layer and the gate stack structures is formed. A mask material layer is formed on the protective material layer. There is a void located in the mask material layer between two adjacent gate stack structures. A first distance is between a top of the protective material layer and a top of the mask material layer. A second distance is between a top of the void and a top of the mask material layer above the void. A third distance is between a bottom of the void and a bottom of the mask material layer below the void. The first distance is greater than a sum of the second and third distances.

In one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a first insulator, a first pad provided in the first insulator, a second insulator provided on the first insulator, and a second pad provided on the first pad in the second insulator. Furthermore, the first insulator includes a first film that is in contact with the first pad and the second insulator, and a second film provided at an interval from the first pad and the second insulator, and including a portion provided at a same height as at least a portion of the first pad.

A first layer is located over a substrate. The first layer includes a first dielectric component and a first conductive component. A first etching stop layer is located over the first dielectric component. A metal capping layer is located over the first conductive component. A second etching stop layer is located over the first etching stop layer and over the metal capping layer. A second layer is located over the second etching stop layer. The second layer includes a second dielectric component and a second conductive component. A third conductive component electrically interconnects the second conductive component to the first conductive component.

Interconnect structures exhibiting reduced accumulation of copper vacancies along interfaces between contact etch stop layers (CESLs) and interconnects, along with methods for fabrication, are disclosed herein. A method includes forming a copper interconnect in a dielectric layer and depositing a metal nitride CESL over the copper interconnect and the dielectric layer. An interface between the metal nitride CESL and the copper interconnect has a first surface nitrogen concentration, a first nitrogen concentration and/or a first number of nitrogen-nitrogen bonds. A nitrogen plasma treatment is performed to modify the interface between the metal nitride CESL and the copper interconnect. The nitrogen plasma treatment increases the first surface nitrogen concentration to a second surface nitrogen concentration, the first nitrogen concentration to a second nitrogen concentration, and/or the first number of nitrogen-nitrogen bonds to a second number of nitrogen-nitrogen bonds, each of which minimizes accumulation of copper vacancies at the interface.

Methods are provided for dual selective deposition of a first material on a first surface of a substrate and a second material on a second, different surface of the same substrate. The selectively deposited materials may be, for example, metal, metal oxide, or dielectric materials.

There is provided a semiconductor device including an etching stop film which is placed disposed on a substrate; an interlayer insulating film which is disposed on the etching stop film; a trench which penetrates the interlayer insulating film and the etching stop film; a spacer which extends along side walls of the trench; a barrier film which extends along the spacer and a bottom surface of the trench; and a filling film which fills the trench on the barrier film. The trench includes a first trench and a second trench which are spaced apart from each other in a first direction and have different widths from each other in the first direction. A bottom surface of the second trench is placed disposed below a bottom surface of the first trench.

A method of forming a semiconductor structure includes forming a first middle-of-line (MOL) oxide layer and a second MOL oxide layer in the semiconductor structure. The first MOL oxide layer including multiple gate stacks formed on a substrate, and each gate stack of the gate stacks including a source/drain junction. A first nitride layer is formed over a silicide in the first MOL oxide layer. A second nitride layer is formed. Trenches are formed through the second nitride layer down to the source/drain junctions. A nitride cap of the plurality of gate stacks is selectively recessed. At least one self-aligned contact area (CA) element is formed within the first nitride layer. The first MOL oxide layer is selectively recessed. An air-gap oxide layer is deposited. The air gap oxide layer is reduced to the at least one self-aligned CA element and the first nitride layer.