A thin film transistor (TFT) substrate includes a TFT on the substrate. The TFT includes an active patterned layer which is made of a polycrystalline silicon, which includes a channel portion, a source portion and a drain portion, and in which protrusions are formed at boundaries between grains and recess spaces are formed between the protrusions. A barrier pattern film fills the recess spaces and forms a flat surface with the protrusions. A gate electrode is on a gate insulating layer located on the barrier pattern film and the protrusions and overlays or corresponds to the channel portion. A source electrode and a drain electrode are on the gate electrode and respectively contact the source portion and the drain portion.

The present disclosure provides embodiments of semiconductor structures and method of forming the same. An example semiconductor structure includes a first source/drain feature and a second source/drain feature and a hybrid fin disposed between the first source/drain feature and the second source/drain feature and extending lengthwise along a first direction. The hybrid fin includes an inner feature and an outer layer disposed around the inner feature. The outer layer includes silicon oxycarbonitride and the inner feature includes silicon carbonitride.

A simplified method for forming pairs of non-volatile memory cells using two polysilicon depositions. A first polysilicon layer is formed on and insulated from the semiconductor substrate in a first polysilicon deposition process. A pair of spaced apart insulation blocks are formed on the first polysilicon layer. Exposed portions of the first poly silicon layer are removed while maintaining a pair of polysilicon blocks of the first polysilicon layer each disposed under one of the pair of insulation blocks. A second polysilicon layer is formed over the substrate and the pair of insulation blocks in a second polysilicon deposition process. Portions of the second polysilicon layer are removed while maintaining a first polysilicon block (disposed between the pair of insulation blocks), a second polysilicon block (disposed adjacent an outer side of one insulation block), and a third polysilicon block (disposed adjacent an outer side of the other insulation block).

A semiconductor device capable of improving operation performance and reliability, may include a gate insulating support to isolate gate electrodes that are adjacent in a length direction. The semiconductor device includes a first gate structure on a substrate, the first gate structure extending lengthwise in a first direction to have two long sides and two short sides, relative to each other, and including a first gate spacer; a second gate structure on the substrate, the second gate structure extending lengthwise in the first direction to have two long sides and two short sides, relative to each other, and including a second gate spacer, wherein a first short side of the second gate structure faces a first short side of the first gate structure; and a gate insulating support disposed between the first short side of the first gate structure and the first short side of the second gate structure and extending lengthwise in a second direction different from the first direction, a length of the gate insulating support in the second direction being greater than a width of each of the first gate structure and the second gate structure in the second direction.

A semiconductor device includes a first transistor in a first region of a substrate and a second transistor in a second region of the substrate. The first transistor includes multiple first semiconductor patterns; a first gate electrode; a first gate dielectric layer; a first source/drain region; and an inner-insulating spacer. The second transistor includes multiple second semiconductor patterns; a second gate electrode; a second gate dielectric layer; and a second source/drain region. The second gate dielectric layer extends between the second gate electrode and the second source/drain region and is in contact with the second source/drain region. The first source/drain region is not in contact with the first gate dielectric layer.

A device includes a plurality of semiconductor fins extending from a substrate. A plurality of first source/drain regions are epitaxially grown from first regions of the semiconductor fins. Adjacent two of the plurality of first source/drain regions grown from adjacent two of the plurality of semiconductor fins are spaced apart by an isolation dielectric. A gate structure laterally surrounds second regions of the plurality of semiconductor fins above the first regions of the plurality of semiconductor fins. A plurality of second source/drain regions are over third regions of the plurality of semiconductor fins above the second regions of the plurality of semiconductor fins.

A nanowire transistor includes undoped source and drain regions electrically coupled with a channel region. A source stack that is electrically isolated from a gate conductor includes an interfacial layer and a source conductor, and is coaxially wrapped completely around the source region, extending along at least a portion of the source region. A Schottky barrier between the source conductor and the source region is a negative Schottky barrier and a concentration of free charge carriers is induced in the semiconductor source region.

A cell architecture and a method for placing a plurality of cells to form the cell architecture are provided. The cell architecture includes at least a 1.sup.st cell and a 2.sup.nd cell placed next to each other in a cell width direction, wherein the 1.sup.st cell includes a one-fin connector which is formed around a fin among a plurality of fins of the 1.sup.st cell, and connects a vertical field-effect transistor (VFET) of the 1.sup.st cell to a power rail of the 1.sup.st cell, wherein a 2.sup.nd cell includes a connector connected to a power rail of the 2.sup.nd cell, wherein the fin of the 1.sup.st cell and the connector of the 2.sup.nd cell are placed next to each other in the cell width direction in the cell architecture, and wherein the one-fin connector of the 1.sup.st cell and the connector of the 2.sup.nd cell are merged.

A semiconductor device and a method of forming the same are provided. In an embodiment, an exemplary semiconductor device includes two stacks of channel members; a source/drain feature extending between the two stacks of channel members along a direction; a source/drain contact disposed under and electrically coupled to the source/drain feature; two gate structures over and interleaved with the two stacks of channel members; a low-k spacer horizontally surrounding the source/drain contact; and a dielectric layer horizontally surrounding the low-k spacer.

A semiconductor device may include a substrate including first and second active regions, which are adjacent to each other, first and second active patterns provided on the first and second active regions, respectively, and a gate electrode extended to cross the first and second active patterns. The gate electrode may include first and second electrode portions provided on the first and second active regions, respectively. The second electrode portion may include a first metal pattern, an etch barrier pattern, a second metal pattern, and a third metal pattern sequentially covering the second active pattern. The first electrode portion may include a second metal pattern covering the first active pattern. The etch barrier pattern may be in contact with the first metal pattern and the second metal pattern, and the etch barrier pattern may be thinner than the first metal pattern and thinner than the second metal pattern.