In an embodiment, a device includes: an isolation region on a substrate; a first semiconductor fin protruding above the isolation region; a second semiconductor fin protruding above the isolation region; and a dielectric fin between the first semiconductor fin and the second semiconductor fin, the dielectric fin protruding above the isolation region, the dielectric fin including: a first layer including a first dielectric material having a first carbon concentration; and a second layer on the first layer, the second layer including a second dielectric material having a second carbon concentration, the second carbon concentration greater than the first carbon concentration.

Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate are provided herein. For example, a method of processing a substrate comprises a) removing oxide from a metal layer disposed in a dielectric layer on the substrate disposed in a processing chamber, b) selectively depositing a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on the metal layer using atomic layer deposition, c) depositing a precursor while supplying water to form one of an aluminum oxide (AlO) layer on the dielectric layer or a low-k dielectric layer on the dielectric layer, d) supplying at least one of hydrogen (H.sub.2) or ammonia (NH.sub.3) to remove the self-assembled monolayer (SAM), and e) depositing one of a silicon oxycarbonitride (SiOCN) layer or a silicon nitride (SiN) layer atop the metal layer and the one of the aluminum oxide (AlO) layer on the dielectric layer or the low-k dielectric layer on the dielectric layer.

A method for forming a semiconductor device structure is provided. The semiconductor device includes forming nanowire structures stacked over a substrate and spaced apart from one another, and forming a dielectric material surrounding the nanowire structures. The dielectric material has a first nitrogen concentration. The method also includes treating the dielectric material to form a treated portion. The treated portion of the dielectric material has a second nitrogen concentration that is greater than the first nitrogen concentration. The method also includes removing the treating portion of the dielectric material, thereby remaining an untreated portion of the dielectric material as inner spacer layers; and forming the gate stack surrounding nanowire structures and between the inner spacer layers.

There is provided a technique that includes: (a) forming a first element-containing film on a substrate by supplying a first element-containing gas to the substrate in an oxygen-free atmosphere; and (b) forming an oxide film by oxidizing the first element-containing film by supplying an oxygen-containing gas to the substrate, wherein in (b), temperature of the substrate is selected depending on a thickness of the first element-containing film.

To manufacture an integrated circuit (IC) device, a structure in which a first material film including silicon atoms and nitrogen atoms and a second material film devoid of nitrogen atoms is formed on a substrate. A carbonyl compound having a functional group without an α-hydrogen is applied to the structure, and thus, an inhibitor is selectively formed only on an exposed surface of the first material film from among the first material film and the second material film.

A method for forming an oligomer-containing layer on a substrate and in a concave portion formed on the substrate by performing a cycle a predetermined number of times under a first temperature, the cycle including supplying a precursor gas to the substrate, and supplying first and second nitrogen- and hydrogen-containing gases to the substrate, so an oligomer including an element in at least one selected from the group of the precursor gas, and the first and second nitrogen-hydrogen-containing gasses, flowed in the concave portion, and (b) forming a film to fill the inside of the concave portion by post-treating the substrate, which has the oligomer-containing layer formed on the surface of the substrate and in the concave portion, under a second temperature not less than the first temperature, so that the oligomer-containing layer formed in the concave portion is modified to form the film.

In general, according to one embodiment, there is provided a semiconductor device including a substrate, an insulating layer formed above the substrate, and a conductive layer provided in the insulating layer. The insulating layer includes at least one cellulose fiber.

An apparatus and method for etching a material layer with a cyclic etching and deposition process. The method for etching a material layer on a substrate includes: (a) etching at least a portion of a material layer (302) on a substrate (101) in an etch chamber (100) to form an open feature (360) having a bottom surface (312) and sidewalls in the material layer (302); (b) forming a protection layer (314) on the sidewalls and the bottom surface (312) of the open feature (360) from a protection layer (314) gas mixture comprising at least one carbon-fluorine containing gas; (c) selectively removing the protection layer (314) formed on the bottom surface (312) of the open feature (360) from a bottom surface (312) open gas mixture comprising the carbon-fluorine containing gas; and (d) continuingly etching the material layer (302) from the bottom surface (312) of the open feature (360) until a desired depth of the open feature (360) is reached.

A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a first semiconductor fin, a second semiconductor fin, a gate structure, a plurality of source/drain structures, a shallow trench isolation (STI) oxide, and a dielectric layer. The first semiconductor fin extends upwardly from the substrate. The second semiconductor fin extends upwardly from the substrate. The gate structure extends across the first and second semiconductor fins. The source/drain structures are on the first and second semiconductor fins. The STI oxide extends continuously between the first and second semiconductor fins and has a U-shaped profile when viewed in a cross section taken along a lengthwise direction of the gate structure. The dielectric layer is partially embedded in the STI oxide and has a U-shaped profile when viewed in the cross section taken along the lengthwise direction of the gate structure.

Provided are methods of making a long-term implantable electronic device, and related implantable devices, including by providing a substrate having a first encapsulation layer that covers at least a portion of the substrate, the first encapsulation layer having a receiving surface; providing one or more electronic devices on the first encapsulation layer receiving surface; and removing at least a portion of the substrate from the first encapsulation layer; thereby making the long-term implantable electronic device. Further desirable properties, including device lifetime increases during use in environments that are challenging for sensitive electronic device components, are achieved through the use of additional layers such as longevity-extending layers and/or ion-barrier layers in combination with an encapsulation layer.