A method of forming conductive member includes: forming, on substrate, first portion containing first element constituting the conductive member to be obtained and second element causing eutectic reaction with the first element, and second portion containing third element constituting intermetallic compound with the second element; crystallizing primary crystals of the first element by adjusting temperature of the substrate after bringing the first portion into liquid phase state; growing crystal grains of the first element by diffusing the second element from the first portion into the second portion to increase ratio of the first element in crystal state to the first and second elements in the liquid phase state in the first portion while maintaining the temperature of the substrate at the same temperature; and turning the first portion, after completing diffusion of the second element into the second portion, into the conductive member having crystal grains of the first element.

A semiconductor structure comprises a plurality of gate structures alternately stacked with a plurality of channel layers, and a plurality of epitaxial source/drain regions connected to the plurality of channel layers. The plurality of channel layers are connected to the plurality of epitaxial source/drain regions via a plurality of epitaxial extension regions. Respective pairs of adjacent channel layers of the plurality of channel layers are connected to a given one of the plurality of epitaxial source/drain regions via respective ones of the plurality of epitaxial extension regions.

A semiconductor device and a method of forming the same are provided. The semiconductor device includes a gate stack over an active region and a source/drain region in the active region adjacent the gate stack. The source/drain region includes a first semiconductor layer having a first germanium concentration and a second semiconductor layer over the first semiconductor layer. The second semiconductor layer has a second germanium concentration greater than the first germanium concentration. The source/drain region further includes a third semiconductor layer over the second semiconductor layer and a fourth semiconductor layer over the third semiconductor layer. The third semiconductor layer has a third germanium concentration greater than the second germanium concentration. The fourth semiconductor layer has a fourth germanium concentration less than the third germanium concentration.

A superlattice structure includes a substrate. A first superlattice stack is disposed on the substrate. The first superlattice stack includes a first superlattice layer, a second superlattice layer and a third superlattice layer disposed from bottom to top. Three stress relaxation layers respectively disposed between the first superlattice layer and the second superlattice layer, the second superlattice layer and the third superlattice layer and on the third superlattice layer. Each of the stress relaxation layers includes a group III-V compound layer. The thickness of each of the stress relaxation layers should be greater than a relaxation critical thickness.

According to one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a first electrode, a second electrode, a third electrode, a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer, and a first insulating layer. A position of the third electrode in a first direction is between a position of the first electrode in the first direction and a position of the second electrode in the first direction. The first semiconductor layer includes Al.sub.x1Ga.sub.1-x1N and includes a first partial region, a second partial region, and a third partial region. The second semiconductor layer includes Al.sub.x2Ga.sub.1-x2N. A portion of the second semiconductor layer is between the third partial region and the third electrode in the second direction. The first insulating layer includes a first insulating region. The first insulating region is between the third electrode and the portion of the second semiconductor layer in the second direction.

An apparatus and a method for forming a 3-D NAND device are disclosed. The method of forming the 3-D NAND device may include forming a plug fill and a void. Advantages gained by the apparatus and method may include a lower cost, a higher throughput, little to no contamination of the device, little to no damage during etching steps, and structural integrity to ensure formation of a proper stack of oxide-nitride bilayers.

A gallium nitride vapor phase epitaxy apparatus capable of doping magnesium is provided. The apparatus is used in vapor phase epitaxy not using organic metal as a gallium raw material. The apparatus comprises a reactor vessel and a wafer holder. The apparatus comprises a first raw material gas supply pipe configured to supply a first raw material gas containing gallium. The apparatus comprises a second raw material gas supply pipe configured to supply a second raw material gas, which contains nitrogen and configured to react with the first raw material gas. The apparatus comprises a third raw material gas supply pipe configured to supply a third raw material gas containing magnesium. The third raw material gas supply pipe is configured capable of placing a magnesium-based oxide on its supply path. The apparatus comprises a first heating unit configured to heat the magnesium-based oxide in a first temperature range.

A surface-emitting laser element includes: a first guide layer including a photonic crystal layer that is formed on a c plane of a group-3 nitride semiconductor and includes air holes arranged with two-dimensional periodicity in a plane parallel to the photonic crystal layer, and an embedding layer that is formed on the photonic crystal layer and closes the air holes; an active layer formed on the first guide layer; and a second guide layer formed on the active layer, wherein an air hole set including at least a main air hole and a sub-air hole smaller in size than the main air hole is arranged at each square lattice point in the plane parallel to the photonic crystal layer, and wherein the main air hole has a regular-hexagonal prism shape, a long-hexagonal prism shape, or an elliptic cylindrical shape with a major axis parallel to a <11-20> axis.

A method and a wafer processing furnace for forming a doped polysilicon layer on a plurality of substrates is provided. In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises providing a plurality of substrates to a process chamber. It also comprises executing a deposition cycle comprising providing a silicon-containing precursor to the process chamber thereby depositing, on the plurality of substrates, an undoped silicon layer until a pre-determined thickness is reached and providing the process chamber with a flow of a dopant precursor gas without providing the silicon-containing precursor to the process chamber. The method also comprises performing a heat treatment process, thereby forming the doped polysilicon layer.

Provided is a semiconductor substrate with a balance stress. The semiconductor substrate includes a ceramics base, a nucleation layer and a first buffer layer doped with a first dopant. The ceramics base has an off-cut angle other than 0 degree. The nucleation layer is disposed on the ceramics base. The first buffer layer is disposed on the nucleation layer. The first dopant includes C, Fe or a combination thereof. The first buffer layer provides compressive stress to the ceramic base. The concentration of the first dopant in the first buffer layer is increased away from the ceramics base. The curvature of the semiconductor substrate is between 16 km.sup.−1 and −16 km.sup.−1.