An object of the present invention is to provide a silica particle, a silica sol containing the silica particle, and a polishing composition containing the silica sol, which prevent secondary aggregation, have excellent dispersion stability, and are suitable for polishing. The present invention relates to a silica particle in which an average value of a circularity coefficient measured by a field-emission scanning electron microscope is 0.90 or more, and a standard deviation of the circularity coefficient is 0.05 or less.

A method includes: delivering a slurry to a semiconductor tool through a piping network of a slurry delivery system; coupling an electrode pair to an outer wall of a pipe of the piping network; measuring one or more capacitance values associated with the electrode pair with the slurry being an insulting layer between the electrode pair; and deriving a quality metric of the slurry according to the one or more capacitance values.

Embodiments described herein relate to integrated abrasive (IA) polishing pads, and methods of manufacturing IA polishing pads using, at least in part, surface functionalized abrasive particles in an additive manufacturing process, such as a 3D inkjet printing process. In one embodiment, a method of forming a polishing article includes dispensing a first plurality of droplets of a first precursor, curing the first plurality of droplets to form a first layer comprising a portion of a sub-polishing element, dispensing a second plurality of droplets of the first precursor and a second precursor onto the first layer, and curing the second plurality of droplets to form a second layer comprising portions of the sub-polishing element and portions of a plurality of polishing elements. Here, the second precursor includes functionalized abrasive particles having a polymerizable group chemically bonded to surfaces thereof.

A polishing composition having silica-based abrasive grains and a polishing method. A polishing composition having silica particles, wherein on the basis of a colloidal silica dispersion of the silica particles, the dispersion has an Rsp of 0.15 to 0.7 as measured using pulse NMR, and the colloidal silica particles have a shape coefficient SF1 of 1.20 to 1.80, wherein Rsp is calculated based on equation (1):

Rsp=(Rav−Rb)/(Rb)  (1) (wherein Rsp is an index that indicates water affinity; Rav is an inverse of a relaxation time of the colloidal silica dispersion; and Rb is an inverse of a relaxation time of a blank aqueous solution obtained by removing the silica particles from the colloidal silica dispersion), and the shape coefficient SF1 is calculated based on equation (2):

SF1=(area of a circle whose diameter is a maximum diameter of the particle)/(projected area)  (2).

Embodiments include a contact structure and method of forming the same where the contact structure is deliberately positioned near the end of a metallic line. An opening is formed in an insulating structure positioned over the metallic line and then the opening is extended into the metallic line by an etching process. In the etching process, the line end forces etchant to concentrate back away from the line end, causing lateral etching of the extended opening. A subsequent contact is formed in the opening and enlarged opening.

A method of processing a substrate includes selectively dispensing a treatment fluid on a die-by-die basis to onto a substrate, and chemical mechanical polishing the substrate after dispensing the treatment fluid. The treatment fluid modifies a polishing rate of the chemical mechanical polishing at one or more selected die(s) to which the treatment fluid is applied in comparison to one or more remaining die(s) to which the treatment fluid is not applied.

Gate aligned contacts and methods of forming gate aligned contacts are described. For example, a method of fabricating a semiconductor structure includes forming a plurality of gate structures above an active region formed above a substrate. The gate structures each include a gate dielectric layer, a gate electrode, and sidewall spacers. A plurality of contact plugs is formed, each contact plug formed directly between the sidewall spacers of two adjacent gate structures of the plurality of gate structures. A plurality of contacts is formed, each contact formed directly between the sidewall spacers of two adjacent gate structures of the plurality of gate structures. The plurality of contacts and the plurality of gate structures are formed subsequent to forming the plurality of contact plugs.

An embodiment method includes forming a patterned etch mask over a target layer and patterning the target layer using the patterned etch mask as a mask to form a patterned target layer. The method further includes performing a first cleaning process on the patterned etch mask and the patterned target layer, the first cleaning process including a first solution. The method additionally includes performing a second cleaning process to remove the patterned etch mask and form an exposed patterned target layer, the second cleaning process including a second solution. The method also includes performing a third cleaning process on the exposed patterned target layer, and performing a fourth cleaning process on the exposed patterned target layer, the fourth cleaning process comprising the first solution.

A method includes etching a hybrid substrate to form a recess extending into the hybrid substrate. The hybrid substrate includes a first semiconductor layer having a first surface orientation, a dielectric layer over the first semiconductor layer, and a second semiconductor layer having a second surface orientation different from the first surface orientation. After the etching, a top surface of the first semiconductor layer is exposed to the recess. A spacer is formed on a sidewall of the recess. The spacer contacts a sidewall of the dielectric layer and a sidewall of the second semiconductor layer. An epitaxy is performed to grow an epitaxy semiconductor region from the first semiconductor layer. The spacer is removed.

An aspect of the present invention provides a polishing agent for polishing a base substrate having an organic silicon oxide and an insulating material containing silicon (excluding the organic silicon oxide) to remove at least a part of the organic silicon oxide, the polishing agent containing abrasive grains containing silica and an allylamine-based polymer, in which the abrasive grains have a positive charge in the polishing agent, the allylamine-based polymer is at least one selected from the group consisting of a tertiary allylamine-based polymer and a quaternary allylamine-based polymer, and a pH of the polishing agent is 2.8 to 5.0.