Methods of forming an integrated device, and in particular forming one or more sample wells in an integrated device, are described. The methods may involve forming a metal stack over a cladding layer, forming an aperture in the metal stack, forming first spacer material within the aperture, and forming a sample well by removing some of the cladding layer to extend a depth of the aperture into the cladding layer. In the resulting sample well, at least one portion of the first spacer material is in contact with at least one layer of the metal stack.

An example method includes patterning a working surface of a semiconductor wafer. The example method includes performing a first deposition of a dielectric material in high aspect ratio trenches. The example method further includes performing a high pressure, high temperature vapor etch to recess the dielectric material in the trenches and performing a second deposition of the dielectric material to continue filling the trenches.

A silicon-based electrode forms an interface with a layer pair being: 1. a thin, semi-dielectric layer made of a lithium (Li) compound, e.g. lithium fluoride, LiF, disposed on and adheres to the electrode surface of the silicon-based electrode and 2. an molten-ion conductive layer of a lithium containing salt (lithium salt layer) disposed on the semi-dielectric layer. One or more device layers can be disposed on the layer pair to make devices such as energy storage devices, like batteries. The interface has a low resistivity that reduces the energy losses and generated heat of the devices.

One or more semiconductor processing tools may form a deep trench within a silicon wafer. The one or more semiconductor processing tools may deposit a first insulating material within the deep trench. The one or more semiconductor processing tools may form, after forming the deep trench with the silicon wafer, a shallow trench above the deep trench. The one or more semiconductor processing tools may deposit a second insulating material within the shallow trench.

Embodiments described herein relate to methods of seam-free gapfilling and seam healing that can be carried out using a chamber operable to maintain a supra-atmospheric pressure (e.g., a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure). One embodiment includes positioning a substrate having one or more features formed in a surface of the substrate in a process chamber and exposing the one or more features of the substrate to at least one precursor at a pressure of about 1 bar or greater. Another embodiment includes positioning a substrate having one or more features formed in a surface of the substrate in a process chamber. Each of the one or more features has seams of a material. The seams of the material are exposed to at least one precursor at a pressure of about 1 bar or greater.

There is provided a method of filling one or more recesses by providing the substrate in a reaction chamber and introducing a first reactant to the substrate with a first dose, introducing a second reactant to the substrate with a second dose, wherein the first and the second doses overlap in an overlap area where the first and second reactants react and leave an initially substantially unreacted area where the first and the second areas do not overlap; introducing a third reactant to the substrate with a third dose, the third reactant reacting with the first or second reactant to form deposited material; and etching the deposited material. An apparatus for filling a recess is also disclosed.

A semiconductor device includes at least one mandrel including a dielectric material, and at least one non-mandrel including a hard mask material having an etch property substantially similar to that of the dielectric material.

A deposition method includes forming a nitride film on a surface of a substrate; and performing, after the depositing, plasma purging supplying a noble gas activated as a plasma. The forming of the nitride film includes a) forming adsorption inhibitors on the surface of the substrate, by supplying a chlorine gas activated by a plasma and by causing the activated chlorine gas to be adsorbed on the surface of the substrate; b) causing a raw material gas, containing silicon and chlorine or a metal and chlorine, to be adsorbed on a region in the surface of the substrate on which the adsorption inhibitors are not present, by supplying the raw material gas on the surface of the substrate; and c) depositing the nitride film on the surface of the substrate, by supplying a nitriding gas to cause the raw material gas to be reacted with the nitriding gas.

An apparatus for depositing film stacks in-situ (i.e., without a vacuum break or air exposure) are described. In one example, an apparatus configured to deposit a plurality of film layers having different compositions on a substrate without exposing the substrate to a vacuum break between film deposition phases, is provided. The apparatus includes a process chamber, a plasma source and a process station reactant feed fluidically coupled to a gas inlet of the process station, and fluidically coupled to an inert gas delivery line, a first reactant mixture gas delivery line and a second reactant mixture gas delivery line such that the first reactant gas mixture and the second reactant gas mixture can be introduced sequentially into the process station reactant feed, and supplied via a shared path to the process station.

An apparatus for depositing film stacks in-situ (i.e., without a vacuum break or air exposure) are described. In one example, a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition apparatus configured to deposit a plurality of film layers on a substrate without exposing the substrate to a vacuum break between film deposition phases, is provided. The apparatus includes a process chamber, a plasma source and a controller configured to control the plasma source to generate reactant radicals using a particular reactant gas mixture during the particular deposition phase, and sustain the plasma during a transition from the particular reactant gas mixture supplied during the particular deposition phase to a different reactant gas mixture supplied during a different deposition phase.