Methods of forming silicon nitride thin films on a substrate in a reaction space under high pressure are provided. The methods can include a plurality of plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) cycles, where at least one PEALD deposition cycle comprises contacting the substrate with a nitrogen plasma at a process pressure of 20 Torr to 500 Torr within the reaction space. In some embodiments the silicon precursor is a silyl halide, such as H.sub.2SiI.sub.2. In some embodiments the processes allow for the deposition of silicon nitride films having improved properties on three dimensional structures. For example, such silicon nitride films can have a ratio of wet etch rates on the top surfaces to the sidewall of about 1:1 in dilute HF.

Semiconductor device structures having low-k features and methods of forming low-k features are described herein. Some examples relate to a surface modification layer, which may protect a low-k feature during subsequent processing. Some examples relate to gate spacers that include a low-k feature. Some examples relate to a low-k contact etch stop layer. Example methods are described for forming such

A method for producing a layer covering the first surfaces of a structure and leaving the second surfaces uncovered including a sequence for forming an initial layer by PEALD deposition, the sequence including cycles, each including injections of first and second precursor in a reaction chamber, and plasma formation in the reaction chamber. The cycles are carried out at a temperature T.sub.cycle such that T.sub.cycle ≤ (T.sub.min - 20° C.), T.sub.min being the minimum temperature of a nominal temperature window for a PEALD deposition. The method includes exposing the initial layer to a densification plasma such that the exposure to the ion flow makes the material on the first surfaces more resistant to etching than the material on the second surfaces. The method also includes a selective etching step, such that the initial layer covers the first surfaces of the front face of the structure by leaving the second surfaces uncovered.

There is provided a technique that includes: forming a film containing Si, O and N or a film containing Si and O on a substrate by performing a cycle a predetermined number of times under a condition where SiCl.sub.4 is not gas-phase decomposed, the cycle including non-simultaneously performing: (a) forming NH termination on a surface of the substrate by supplying a first reactant containing N and H to the substrate; (b) forming a SiN layer having SiCl termination formed on its surface by supplying the SiCl.sub.4 as a precursor to the substrate to react the NH termination formed on the surface of the substrate with the SiCl.sub.4; and (c) reacting the SiN layer having the SiCl termination with a second reactant containing O by supplying the second reactant to the substrate.

The present application discloses a semiconductor device and a method for fabricating the semiconductor device. The semiconductor device includes a substrate having a first lattice constant, a first word line positioned in the substrate, and a plurality of stress regions positioned adjacent to lower portions of sidewalls of the first word line. The plurality of stress regions have a second lattice constant, the second lattice constant of the plurality of stress regions is different from the first lattice constant of the substrate.

The invention relates to a method for producing a back-contact solar cell (10), and to a back-contact solar cell (10) comprising a semiconductor substrate (12), in particular a silicon wafer, comprising a front side (16) and a back side (14), the solar cell (10) comprising electrodes (36) of a first polarity and electrodes (38) of a second polarity on the back side, characterized in that that the electrodes (36) of the first polarity are located on a highly doped silicon layer (20) of the first polarity, the highly doped silicon layer (20) being located on a first passivation layer (18) located on the semiconductor substrate, and the electrodes (38) of the second polarity directly electrically and mechanically contacting the semiconductor substrate (12) via highly doped base regions (30) of the second polarity of the semiconductor substrate (12).

Various embodiments herein relate to methods and apparatus for depositing doped and undoped silicon-containing films having a high degree of purity. In one example, the method includes exposing the substrate to a first reactant and a second reactant; reacting the first and second reactants with one another to form a silicon-containing material and depositing a portion of the silicon-containing film on the substrate; before the silicon-containing film is complete, performing an impurity reduction operation including: (i) generating a plasma from a plasma generation gas comprising inert gas and hydrogen, where the plasma generation gas is substantially free of oxygen, and (ii) exposing the substrate to the plasma to thereby reduce a concentration of fluorine, carbon, hydrogen, and/or nitrogen in the silicon-containing film; and repeating these operations (or a subset thereof) until the silicon-containing film is deposited to a final thickness.

Methods for controlling the formation of oxygen containing thin films, such as silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) and silicon oxycarbonitride (SiOCN) thin films, on a substrate in a reaction space are provided. The methods can include at least one plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) cycle including alternately and sequentially contacting the substrate with a silicon precursor that comprises oxygen and a second reactant that does not include oxygen. In some embodiments the plasma power can be selected from a range to achieve a desired step coverage or wet etch rate ratio (WERR) for films deposited on three dimensional features.

Provided are a composition for depositing a silicon-containing thin film containing a bis(aminosilyl)alkylamine compound and a method for manufacturing a silicon-containing thin film using the same, and more particularly, a composition for depositing a silicon-containing thin film, containing the bis(aminosilyl)alkylamine compound capable of being usefully used as a precursor of the silicon-containing thin film, and a method for manufacturing a silicon-containing thin film using the same.

A method of fabricating a dielectric film includes depositing a first precursor on a substrate. The first precursor includes a cyclic carbosiloxane group comprising a six-membered ring. The method also includes depositing a second precursor on the substrate. The first precursor and the second precursor form a preliminary film on the substrate, and the second precursor includes silicon, carbon, and hydrogen. The method further includes exposing the preliminary film to energy from an energy source to form a porous dielectric film.