The disclosed technology generally relates to forming a thin film comprising titanium nitride (TiN), and more particularly to forming by a cyclical vapor deposition process the thin film comprising (TiN). In one aspect, a method of forming a thin film comprising TiN comprises exposing a semiconductor substrate to one or more first cyclical vapor deposition cycles each comprising an exposure to a first Ti precursor and an exposure to a first N precursor to form a first portion of the thin film and exposing the semiconductor substrate to one or more second cyclical vapor deposition cycles each comprising an exposure to a second Ti precursor and an exposure to a second N precursor to form a second portion of the thin film, wherein exposures to one or both of the first Ti precursor and the first N precursor during the one or more first cyclical vapor deposition cycles are at different pressures relative to corresponding exposures to one or both of the second Ti precursor and the second N precursor during the one or more second cyclical vapor deposition cycles. Aspects are also directed to semiconductor structures incorporating the thin film and method of forming the same.

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.

There is provided a method of filling one or more gaps by providing the substrate in a reaction chamber and introducing a first reactant to the substrate with a first dose, thereby forming no more than about one monolayer by the first reactant on a first area; introducing a second reactant to the substrate with a second dose, thereby forming no more than about one monolayer by the second reactant on a second area of the surface, wherein the first and the second areas overlap in an overlap area where the first and second reactants react and leave an initially unreacted area where the first and the second areas do not overlap; and, introducing a third reactant to the substrate with a third dose, the third reactant reacting with the first or second reactant remaining on the initially unreacted area.

Described herein is a technique capable of improving the uniformity of the film formation among the substrates. According to the technique described herein, there is provided a configuration including: a reaction tube having a process chamber where a plurality of substrates are processed; a buffer chamber protruding outward from the reaction tube and configured to supply a process gas to the process chamber, the buffer chamber including: a first nozzle chamber where a first nozzle is provided; and a second nozzle chamber where a second nozzle is provided; an opening portion provided at a lower end of an inner wall of the reaction tube facing the buffer chamber; and a shielding portion provided at a communicating portion of the opening portion between the second nozzle chamber and the process chamber.

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.

Memory devices and methods of forming memory devices are described. The memory devices comprise a silicon nitride hard mask layer on a ruthenium layer. Forming the silicon nitride hard mask layer on the ruthenium comprises pre-treating the ruthenium layer with a plasma to form an interface layer on the ruthenium layer; and forming a silicon nitride layer on the interface layer by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Pre-treating the ruthenium layer, in some embodiments, results in the interface layer having a reduced roughness and the memory device having a reduced resistivity compared to a memory device that does not include the interface layer.

Provided is a substrate processing method capable of filling a film in a gap structure without forming voids or seams in a gap, the substrate processing method including: a first step of forming a thin film on a structure including a gap by performing a first cycle including supplying a first reaction gas and supplying a second reaction gas to the structure a plurality of times; a second step of etching a portion of the thin film by supplying a fluorine-containing gas onto the thin film; a third step of supplying a hydrogen-containing gas onto the thin film; a fourth step of supplying an inhibiting gas to an upper portion of the gap; and a fifth step of forming a thin film by performing a second cycle including supplying the first reaction gas and supplying a second reaction gas onto the thin film a plurality of times.

A deposition method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes performing multiple execution cycles serially. Each of the multiple execution cycles includes: supplying a raw material gas into a process chamber; and supplying a reactant gas that reacts with the raw material gas. Among the multiple execution cycles, at least one execution cycle includes adjusting a pressure in the process chamber without supplying the raw material gas, and the adjusting of the pressure is performed prior to the supplying of the raw material gas.

A substrate processing method includes forming an adsorption layer on a substrate by supplying a silicon-containing gas to the substrate; performing a modification by generating plasma containing He; and generating plasma of a reaction gas to cause the plasma to react with the adsorption layer, wherein the forming the adsorption layer, the performing the modification, and the generating the plasma are repeated to form a silicon-containing film.

A method may include forming a first silicon nitride layer in an opening of the semiconductor device and on a top surface of the semiconductor device, wherein the semiconductor device includes an epitaxial source/drain and a metal gate. The method may include forming a second silicon nitride layer on the first silicon nitride layer, as a sacrificial layer, and removing the second silicon nitride layer from sidewalls of the first silicon nitride layer formed in the opening. The method may include removing the second silicon nitride layer and the first silicon nitride layer formed at a bottom of the opening, and depositing a metal layer in the opening to form a metal drain in the opening of the semiconductor device.