Methods of forming patterned features on a surface of a substrate are disclosed. Exemplary methods include gas-phase formation of a layer comprising an oxalate compound on a surface of the substrate. Portions of the layer comprising the oxalate compound can be exposed to radiation or active species that form exposed and unexposed portions. Material can be selectively deposed onto the exposed or the unexposed portions.

A semiconductor device according to the present disclosure includes a first source/drain feature, a second source/drain feature, a third source/drain feature, a first dummy fin disposed between the first source/drain feature and the second source/drain feature along a direction to isolate the first source/drain feature from the second source/drain feature, and a second dummy fin disposed between the second source/drain feature and the third source/drain feature along the direction to isolate the second source/drain feature from the third source/drain feature. The first dummy fin includes an outer dielectric layer, an inner dielectric layer over the outer dielectric layer, and a first capping layer disposed over the outer dielectric layer and the inner dielectric layer. The second dummy fin includes a base portion and a second capping layer disposed over the base portion.

A method may include providing a substrate having, on a first surface of the substrate, a low dielectric constant layer characterized by a layer thickness. The method may include heating the substrate to a substrate temperature in a range of 200° C. to 550° C.; and directing an ion implant treatment to the low dielectric constant layer, while the substrate temperature is in the range of 200° C. to 550° C. As such, the ion implant treatment may include implanting a low weight ion species, at an ion energy generating an implant depth equal to 40% to 175% of the layer thickness.

A device includes a substrate having a first-face and a second-face. An electrode is provided in a through hole that penetrates through the substrate between the first-face and the second-face. A first-insulator is provided in the substrate and protrudes in a radial direction from an opening end of the through hole on a side close to the second-face to a center of the through hole as viewed from above the first-face. A second-insulator protrudes in the radial direction from the first-insulator as viewed from above the first-face, is thinner than the first-insulator, and is in contact with the electrode. A third-insulator is provided between an inner wall of the through hole and the electrode, and includes a first-portion that is in contact with the first-insulator and a second-portion that is in contact with the inner wall of the through hole and is closer to the second-face than the first-portion.

Methods for depositing oxide thin films, such as metal oxide, metal silicates, 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 first reactant that comprises oxygen and a component of the oxide, and a second reactant comprising reactive species that does not include oxygen species. In some embodiments the plasma power used to generate the reactive species 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. In some embodiments oxide thin films are selectively deposited on a first surface of a substrate relative to a second surface, such as on a dielectric surface relative to a metal or metallic surface.

Provided is a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device suitable for achieving low wiring resistance between semiconductor elements that is bonded via an adhesive layer and multi-layered. The method according to the present invention is as follows. First, a wafer laminate (W) is prepared, the wafer laminate (W) including a wafer (10) having a circuit forming surface (10a), a wafer (20) having a main surface (20a) and a back surface (20b), and an adhesive layer (30) containing an SiOC-based polymer. Then, a hole (H) is formed in the wafer laminate (W) by etching the wafer laminate (W) from the wafer (20) side via a mask pattern masking a portion of the main surface (20a) side of the wafer (20), the hole (H) extending through the wafer (20) and the adhesive layer (30) and reaching a wiring pattern (12b) in the wafer (10). Then, an insulating film (41) is formed on an inner surface of the hole (H). Then, the insulating film (41) on a bottom surface of the hole (H) is removed. Then, the wafer laminate (W) is subjected to a cleaning treatment (an oxygen plasma treatment and/or an Ar sputtering treatment). Then, a conductive portion is formed in the hole (H).

There is provided a technique that includes (a) forming a first film having a first thickness on an underlayer by supplying a first process gas not including oxidizing gas to a substrate, wherein the first film contains silicon, carbon, and nitrogen and does not contain oxygen, and the underlayer is exposed on a surface of the substrate and is at least one selected from the group of a conductive metal-element-containing film and a nitride film; and (b) forming a second film having a second thickness larger than the first thickness on the first film by supplying a second process gas including oxidizing gas to the substrate, wherein the second film contains silicon, oxygen, and nitrogen, and wherein in (b), oxygen atoms derived from the oxidizing gas and diffuse from a surface of the first film toward the underlayer are absorbed by the first film and the first film is modified.

A method includes forming a protruding structure, and forming a non-conformal film on the protruding structure using an Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) process. The non-conformal film includes a top portion directly over the protruding structure, and a sidewall portion on a sidewall of the protruding structure. The top portion has a first thickness, and the sidewall portion has a second thickness smaller than the first thickness.

In an embodiment, a method includes: etching a trench in a substrate; depositing a liner material in the trench with an atomic layer deposition process; depositing a flowable material on the liner material and in the trench with a contouring flowable chemical vapor deposition process; converting the liner material and the flowable material to a solid insulation material, a portion of the trench remaining unfilled by the solid insulation material; and forming a hybrid fin in the portion of the trench unfilled by the solid insulation material.

In a variety of processes for forming electronic devices that use spin-on dielectric materials, properties of the spin-on dielectric materials can be enhanced by curing these materials using plasma doping. For example, hardness and Young's modulus can be increased for the cured material. Other properties may be enhanced. The plasma doping to cure the spin-on dielectric materials uses a mechanism that is a combination of plasma ion implant and high energy radiation associated with the species ionized. In addition, physical properties of the spin-on dielectric materials can be modified along a length of the spin-on dielectric materials by selection of an implant energy and dopant dose for the particular dopant used, corresponding to a selection variation with respect to length.