The present disclosure provides a semiconductor device and a method for forming a semiconductor device. The semiconductor device includes a substrate, and a first gate dielectric stack over the substrate, wherein the first gate dielectric stack includes a first ferroelectric layer, and a first dielectric layer coupled to the first ferroelectric layer, wherein the first ferroelectric layer includes a first portion made of a ferroelectric material in orthorhombic phase, a second portion made of the ferroelectric material in monoclinic phase, and a third portion made of the ferroelectric material in tetragonal phase, wherein a total volume of the second portion is greater than a total volume of the first portion and the total volume of the first portion is greater than a total volume of the third portion.

A plasma polymerized thin film having low dielectric constant prepared by depositing a first precursor material represented by the following Chemical Formula 1: ##STR00001## wherein in the above Chemical Formula 1, R.sub.1 to R.sub.14 are each independently H or a substituted or non-substituted C.sub.1-C.sub.5 alkyl group, and when the R.sub.1 to R.sub.14 are substituted, their substituents comprise an amino group, a hydroxyl group, a cyano group, a halogen group, a nitro group, or a methoxy group.

A ferroelectric semiconductor device and method are described herein. The method includes performing a diffusion anneal process to drive elements of a dopant film through an amorphous silicon layer and into a gate dielectric layer over a fin to form a doped gate dielectric layer with a gradient depth profile of dopant concentrations. The doped gate dielectric layer is crystallized during a post-cap anneal process to form a gradient depth profile of ferroelectric properties within the crystallized gate dielectric layer. A metal gate electrode is formed over the crystallized gate dielectric layer to obtain a ferroelectric transistor with multi-ferroelectric properties between the gate electrode and the channel. The ferroelectric transistor may be used in deep neural network (DNN) applications.

A method for forming a crystalline high-k dielectric layer and controlling the crystalline phase and orientation of the crystal growth of the high-k dielectric layer during an anneal process. The crystalline phase and orientation of the crystal growth of the dielectric layer may be controlled using seeding sections of the dielectric layer serving as nucleation sites and using a capping layer mask during the anneal process. The location of the nucleation sites and the arrangement of the capping layer allow the orientation and phase of the crystal growth of the dielectric layer to be controlled during the anneal process. Based on the dopants and the process controls used the phase can be modified to increase the permittivity and/or the ferroelectric property of the dielectric layer.

A thin film structure includes a first conductive layer, a dielectric material layer on the first conductive layer, and an upper layer on the dielectric material layer. The dielectric material layer including Hf.sub.xA.sub.1-xO.sub.2 satisfies at least one of a first condition and a second condition. In the first condition the dielectric material layer is formed to a thickness of 5 nm or less and in the second condition the x in Hf.sub.xA.sub.1-xO.sub.2 is in a range of 0.3 to 0.5.

The present disclosure describes a method that can eliminate or minimize the formation of an oxide on the metal gate layers of ferroelectric field effect transistors. In some embodiments, the method includes providing a substrate with fins thereon; depositing an interfacial layer on the fins; depositing a ferroelectric layer on the interfacial layer; depositing a metal gate layer on the ferroelectric layer; exposing the metal gate layer to a metal-halide gas; and performing a post metallization annealing, where the exposing the metal gate layer to the metal-halide gas and the performing the post metallization annealing occur without a vacuum break.

A semiconductor device includes a first semiconductor fin, a first epitaxial layer, a first alloy layer and a contact plug. The first semiconductor fin is on a substrate. The first epitaxial layer is on the first semiconductor fin. The first alloy layer is on the first epitaxial layer. The first alloy layer is made of one or more Group IV elements and one or more metal elements, and the first alloy layer comprises a first sidewall and a second sidewall extending downwardly from a bottom of the first sidewall along a direction non-parallel to the first sidewall. The contact plug is in contact with the first and second sidewalls of the first alloy layer.

Provided are electronic devices and methods of manufacturing the same. An electronic device may include a substrate, a gate electrode on the substrate, a ferroelectric layer between the substrate and the gate electrode, and a carbon layer between the substrate and the ferroelectric layer. The carbon layer may have an sp.sup.2 bonding structure.

The invention herein includes enhancing the surface of an amorphous silicon hardmask through implantation of nonpolar, hydrophobic elements, resulting in increased hydrophobicity and increased resist adhesion of the amorphous silicon surface. According to the invention, implanting the hydrophobic elements may involve introduction of the hydrophobic elements into the surface of the amorphous silicon by way of low energy implantation and plasma treatment. The implanted hydrophobic element may be Boron, Xenon, Fluorine, Phosphorus, a combination thereof, or other hydrophobic elements. According to the invention, the surface of the amorphous silicon is enhanced with 10-15% hydrophobic element, however in other embodiments, this composition may be adjusted as needed. In any case, however, the invention herein includes maintaining an etch selectivity of the bulk amorphous silicon hardmask.

A method for shallow trench isolation structures in a semiconductor device and a semiconductor device including the shallow trench isolation structures are disclosed. In an embodiment, the method may include forming a trench in a substrate; depositing a first dielectric liner in the trench; depositing a first shallow trench isolation (STI) material over the first dielectric liner, the first STI material being deposited as a conformal layer; etching the first STI material; depositing a second STI material over the first STI material, the second STI material being deposited as a flowable material; and planarizing the second STI material such that top surfaces of the second STI material are co-planar with top surfaces of the substrate.