An expansion sheet is adapted to be held and expanded by an expanding apparatus when a platelike workpiece is attached to the expansion sheet. The expansion sheet has a peripheral area around the workpiece where the expansion sheet is adapted to be held by first, second, third, and fourth holding units that are moveable away from each other. The expansion sheet includes a base sheet and an adhesive layer formed on the base sheet, the adhesive layer having adhesion adapted to be reduced by applying ultraviolet light. The adhesion of the adhesive layer in the peripheral area of the expansion sheet is lower than that in the other area of the expansion sheet.

Embodiments herein provide for oxygen based treatment of low-k dielectric layers deposited using a flowable chemical vapor deposition (FCVD) process. Oxygen based treatment of the FCVD deposited low-k dielectric layers desirably increases the Ebd to capacitance and reliability of the devices while removing voids. Embodiments include methods and apparatus for making a semiconductor device including: etching a metal layer disposed atop a substrate to form one or more metal lines having a top surface, a first side, and a second side; depositing a passivation layer atop the top surface, the first side, and the second side under conditions sufficient to reduce or eliminate oxygen contact with the one or more metal lines; depositing a flowable layer of low-k dielectric material atop the passivation layer in a thickness sufficient to cover the one or more metal lines; and contacting the flowable layer of low-k dielectric material with oxygen under conditions sufficient to anneal and increase a density of the low-k dielectric material

The present disclosure includes an ion implantation step that creates doped regions in gate dielectric caps. The doped regions have a different material composition and hence a different etch selectivity than un-doped regions in the gate dielectric caps. The doped regions thus allow for slowing down a subsequent etching process of forming gate contact openings.

A semiconductor device includes: a dielectric structure in which etch stop structures and low-k layers are alternately stacked over a substrate; and a metal interconnection electrically connected to the substrate in the dielectric structure, wherein each one of the etch stop structures includes: a first etch stop layer including a hydrogen blocking material; and a second etch stop layer formed over the first etch stop layer.

A method for forming a semiconductor device includes forming an insulating material layer above a semiconductor substrate and modifying at least a portion of a surface of the insulating material layer after forming the insulating material layer. Further, the method includes forming an electrical conductive structure on at least the portion of the surface of the insulating material layer after modifying at least the portion of the surface of the insulating material layer.

The present disclosure is generally related to semiconductor devices, and more particularly to a dielectric material formed in semiconductor devices. The present disclosure provides methods for forming a dielectric material layer by a cyclic spin-on coating process. In an embodiment, a method of forming a dielectric material on a substrate includes spin-coating a first portion of a dielectric material on a substrate, curing the first portion of the dielectric material on the substrate, spin-coating a second portion of the dielectric material on the substrate, and thermal annealing the dielectric material to form an annealed dielectric material on the substrate.

An apparatus and a method for repairing defects of a semiconductor are provided in the present invention. A reaction gas is introduced into a first chamber with a specific temperature and a specific pressure, thereby performing a defect repairing process to a semiconductor element in the first chamber at a lower temperature. Moreover, the disposition of the second chamber is used to avoid the reaction gas leaking out to the environment.

A thin-film insulator comprises a first electrode over a substrate. A photo up-converting material is over the first electrode. A cured photo-imageable dielectric (PID) containing a high-k filler material is over the photo up-converting material, wherein the cured PID is less than 4 μm in thickness, and a second electrode is over the cured PID.

An embodiment method includes: forming a gate stack over a channel region; growing a source/drain region adjacent the channel region; depositing a first ILD layer over the source/drain region and the gate stack; forming a source/drain contact through the first ILD layer to physically contact the source/drain region; forming a gate contact through the first ILD layer to physically contact the gate stack; performing an etching process to partially expose a first sidewall and a second sidewall, the first sidewall being at a first interface of the source/drain contact and the first ILD layer, the second sidewall being at a second interface of the gate contact and the first ILD layer; forming a first conductive feature physically contacting the first sidewall and a first top surface of the source/drain contact; and forming a second conductive feature physically contacting the second sidewall and a second top surface of the gate contact.

A semiconductor device includes transistors on a substrate, a first interlayer insulating layer on the transistors, a lower interconnection line in an upper portion of the first interlayer insulating layer, an etch stop layer on the first interlayer insulating layer and the lower interconnection line, a second interlayer insulating layer on the etch stop layer, an upper interconnection line in the second interlayer insulating layer, the upper interconnection line including a via portion penetrating the etch stop layer to contact the lower interconnection line, and an etch stop pattern on the etch stop layer and in contact with a first sidewall of the via portion. The second interlayer insulating layer extends on the etch stop pattern and a top surface of the etch stop layer free of the etch stop pattern. A dielectric constant of the etch stop pattern is higher than a dielectric constant of the etch stop layer.