Embodiments described herein generally relate to enable the formation of a metal gate structure with a reduced effective oxide thickness over a similar structure formed via conventional methods. A plasma hydrogenation process followed by a plasma nitridization process is performed on a metal nitride layer in a film stack, thereby removing oxygen atoms disposed within layers of the film stack and, in some embodiments eliminating an oxygen-containing interfacial layer disposed within the film stack. As a result, an effective oxide thickness of the metal gate structure is reduced with little or no accompanying flatband voltage shift. Further, the metal gate structure operates with an increased leakage current that is as little as one quarter the increase in leakage current associated with a similar metal gate structure formed via conventional techniques.

Silicon oxide layer is deposited on a semiconductor substrate by PECVD at a temperature of less than about 200° C. and is treated with helium plasma to reduce stress of the deposited layer to an absolute value of less than about 80 MPa. Plasma treatment reduces hydrogen content in the silicon oxide layer, and leads to low stress films that can also have high density and low roughness. In some embodiments, the film is deposited on a semiconductor substrate that contains one or more temperature-sensitive layers, such as layers of organic material or spin-on dielectric that cannot withstand temperatures of greater than 250° C. In some embodiments the silicon oxide film is deposited to a thickness of between about 100-200 Å, and is used as a hardmask layer during etching of other layers on a semiconductor substrate.

In one embodiment, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a first film on a substrate. The method further includes performing a first process of forming a concave portion in the first film and forming a second film on a surface of the first film that is exposed in the concave portion by using a first gas containing a carbon element and a fluorine element. The method further includes performing a second process of exposing the second film to a second gas containing a hydrogen element or a fluid generated from the second gas.

Surface roughness on a non-planar surface of a silicon substrate with upstanding and/or recessed features can be reduced. A first sequence of plasma processing steps and a second sequence of plasma processing steps can be performed on the silicon substrate to reduce the surface roughness of the upstanding and/or recessed features while retaining these features. The first sequence of plasma processing steps includes i) a plasma deposition step using oxygen and at least one fluorocarbon gas followed by ii) a plasma etch step using oxygen, at least one fluorocarbon etchant gas, and SF.sub.6. The second sequence of plasma processing steps includes i) an isotropic plasma etch step using oxygen and at least one fluorine containing etchant gas followed by ii) a plasma etch step using at least one fluorine containing or chlorine containing etchant gas.

A semiconductor device structure is provided. The semiconductor device structure includes a substrate. The semiconductor device structure includes a gate stack over the substrate. The gate stack includes a first dielectric layer, a work function layer, and a gate electrode sequentially stacked over the substrate, the first dielectric layer has a thin portion and a thick portion, the thin portion is thinner than the thick portion and surrounds the thick portion, and the first dielectric layer is a single-layer structure. The semiconductor device structure includes an insulating layer over the substrate and wrapping around the gate stack. The thin portion is between the thick portion and the insulating layer.

A processing method of a silicon nitride film can modify a silicon nitride film such that the silicon nitride film has a required characteristic even if it is formed at a low temperature by CVD. The processing method of the silicon nitride film formed on a substrate by plasma CVD includes modifying a surface portion of the silicon nitride film by irradiating microwave hydrogen plasma to the silicon nitride film to remove hydrogens in the surface portion of the silicon nitride film with atomic hydrogens contained in the microwave hydrogen plasma.

In an embodiment, a device includes: a gate structure over a substrate; a gate spacer adjacent the gate structure; a source/drain region adjacent the gate spacer; a first inter-layer dielectric (ILD) on the source/drain region, the first ILD having a first concentration of an impurity; and a second ILD on the first ILD, the second ILD having a second concentration of the impurity, the second concentration being less than the first concentration, top surfaces of the second ILD, the gate spacer, and the gate structure being coplanar; and a source/drain contact extending through the second ILD and the first ILD, the source/drain contact coupled to the source/drain region.

Embodiments disclosed herein generally related to system for forming a semiconductor structure. The processing chamber includes a chamber body, a substrate support device, a quartz envelope, one or more heating devices, a gas injection assembly, and a pump device. The chamber body defines an interior volume. The substrate support device is configured to support one or more substrates during processing. The quartz envelope is disposed in the processing chamber. The quartz envelope is configured to house the substrate support device. The heating devices are disposed about the quartz envelope. The gas injection assembly is coupled to the processing chamber. The gas injection assembly is configured to provide an NH.sub.3 gas to the interior volume of the processing chamber. The pump device is coupled to the processing chamber. The pump device is configured to maintain the processing chamber at a pressure of at least 10 atm.

A nitrogen plasma treatment is used on an adhesion layer of a contact plug. As a result of the nitrogen plasma treatment, nitrogen is incorporated into the adhesion layer. When a contact plug is deposited in the opening, an interlayer of a metal nitride is formed between the contact plug and the adhesion layer. A nitrogen plasma treatment is used on an opening in an insulating layer. As a result of the nitrogen plasma treatment, nitrogen is incorporated into the insulating layer at the opening. When a contact plug is deposited in the opening, an interlayer of a metal nitride is formed between the contact plug and the insulating layer.

Methods for forming a SiBN film comprising depositing a film on a feature on a substrate. The method comprises in a first cycle, depositing a SiB layer on a substrate in a chamber using a chemical vapor deposition process, the substrate having at least one feature thereon, the at least one feature comprising an upper surface, a bottom surface and sidewalls, the SiB layer formed on the upper surface, the bottom surface and the sidewalls. In a second cycle, the SiB layer is treated with a plasma comprising a nitrogen-containing gas to form a conformal SiBN film.