A method of manufacturing a gallium nitride substrate, the method including forming a first buffer layer on a silicon substrate such that the first buffer layer has one or more holes therein; forming a second buffer layer on the first buffer layer such that the second buffer layer has one or more holes therein; and forming a GaN layer on the second buffer layer, wherein the one or more holes of the first buffer layer are filled by the second buffer layer.

A method for protecting a surface of a substrate during processing includes a) providing a solution forming a co-polymer having a ceiling temperature; b) dispensing the solution onto a surface of the substrate to form a sacrificial protective layer, wherein the co-polymer is kinetically trapped to allow storage at a temperature above the ceiling temperature; c) exposing the substrate to ambient conditions for a predetermined period; and d) de-polymerizing the sacrificial protective layer by using stimuli selected from a group consisting of ultraviolet (UV) light and heat.

A process for encapsulating an apparatus to restrict environmental element permeation between the apparatus and an external environment includes applying multiple barrier layers to the apparatus and preceding each layer application with a separate cleaning of the presently-exposed apparatus surface, resulting in an apparatus which includes an encapsulation stack, where the encapsulation stack includes a multi-layer stack of barrier layers. Each separate cleaning removes particles from the presently-exposed apparatus surface, exposing gaps in the barrier layer formed by the particles, and the subsequently-applied barrier layer at least partially fills the gaps, so that a permeation pathway through the encapsulation stack via gap spaces is restricted. The quantity of barrier layers applied to form the stack can be based on a determined probability that a stack of the particular quantity of barrier layers is independent of at least a certain quantity of continuous permeation pathways through the stack.

A substrate treating apparatus includes a front heat-treating block, a front relay block and a solution treating block. The front heat-treating block has heat-treating units and main transport mechanisms. The front relay block has receivers and transport mechanisms. The solution treating block has solution treating units and transport mechanisms for solution treatment. The front heat-treating block and front relay block are connected to be able to transport substrates reciprocally. The front relay block and solution treating block are connected to be able to transport the substrates reciprocally. The front relay block is disposed between the solution treating block and front heat-treating block.

A selective modification method of a base material surface includes subjecting at least a part of a surface of a base material to at least one surface treatment selected from the group consisting of an oxidization treatment and a hydrophilization treatment. The base material includes a surface layer and includes an oxide, a nitride or an oxynitride of silicon, or a combination thereof in a first region of the surface layer. A nonphotosensitive composition is applied directly or indirectly on the surface of the base material after the surface treatment. The nonphotosensitive composition includes: a first polymer containing a nitrogen atom; and a solvent. It is preferred that the base material contains a metal in a second region which is other than the first region of the surface layer. In the surface treatment step, an O.sub.2 plasma treatment is preferably conducted.

A holding table for holding a wafer includes plural pins, and a wafer holding surface includes the tips of the plural pins. Therefore, small dust enters between the pins and thus is less readily left between the wafer holding surface and the wafer. Therefore, when the wafer is sucked and held, a gap is less readily made between the wafer holding surface and the wafer. Thus, the occurrence of the situation in which the wafer is held in a waving state is suppressed. For this reason, when a liquid resin is pushed to spread over the lower surface of the wafer, an air bubble enters less readily between the liquid resin and the wafer. This can suppress entry of the air bubble in a protective member obtained by curing the liquid resin.

A method includes removing a dummy gate structure formed over a first fin and a second fin, forming an interfacial layer in the first trench and the second trench, forming a first high-k dielectric layer over the interfacial layer in the first trench and the second trench, removing the first high-k dielectric layer in the second trench, forming a self-assembled monolayer over the first high-k dielectric layer in the first trench, forming a second high-k dielectric layer over the self-assembled monolayer in the first trench and over the interfacial layer in the second trench, forming a work function metal layer in the first and the second trenches, and forming a bulk conductive layer over the work function metal layer in the first and the second trenches. In some embodiments, the first high-k dielectric layer includes lanthanum and oxygen.

The invention provides a method to form and functionalize monolayers on a silicon-rich silicon nitride surface or a silicon surface formed by a nanopore fabrication method known as dielectric breakdown. Thermal, photochemical and radical processing can be used to hydrosilylate nascent silicon and silicon nitride surfaces with various reagents. The conventional need for hydrofluoric acid etching prior to coupling functional groups to the surfaces is thereby completely avoided.

Methods and devices for forming a conductive line disposed over a substrate. A first dielectric layer is disposed over the substrate and coplanar with the conductive line. A second dielectric layer disposed over the conductive line and a third dielectric layer disposed over the first dielectric layer. A via extends through the second dielectric layer and is coupled to the conductive line. The second dielectric layer and the third dielectric layer are coplanar and the second and third dielectric layers have a different composition. In some embodiments, the second dielectric layer is selectively deposited on the conductive line.

Embodiments described herein relate generally to methods for forming a conductive feature in a dielectric layer in semiconductor processing and structures formed thereby. In some embodiments, a structure includes a dielectric layer over a substrate, a surface modification layer, and a conductive feature. The dielectric layer has a sidewall. The surface modification layer is along the sidewall, and the surface modification layer includes phosphorous and carbon. The conductive feature is along the surface modification layer.