A method for fabricating semiconductor device includes the steps of: forming a fin-shaped structure on a substrate; forming a gate dielectric layer on the fin-shaped structure; forming a gate electrode on the fin-shaped structure; performing a nitridation process to implant ions into the gate dielectric layer adjacent to two sides of the gate electrode; and forming an epitaxial layer adjacent to two sides of the gate electrode.

A method includes following steps. A silicon germanium layer is formed on a substrate. A surface layer of the silicon germanium layer is oxidized to form an interfacial layer comprising silicon oxide and germanium oxide. The interfacial layer is nitridated. A metal gate structure is formed over the nitridated interfacial layer.

Methods comprising forming a film on at least one feature of a substrate surface are described. The film is expanded to fill the at least one feature and cause growth of the film from the at least one feature. Methods of forming self-aligned vias are also described.

A method for fabricating a semiconductor device includes providing a substrate including a cell region and a core/peripheral region around the cell region, forming a gate insulating film on the substrate of the core/peripheral region, forming a first conductive film of a first conductive type on the gate insulating film, forming a diffusion blocking film within the first conductive film, the diffusion blocking film being spaced apart from the gate insulating film in a vertical direction, after forming the diffusion blocking film, forming an impurity pattern including impurities within the first conductive film, diffusing the impurities through a heat treatment process to form a second conductive film of a second conductive type and forming a metal gate electrode on the second conductive film, wherein the diffusion blocking film includes helium (He) and/or argon (Ar).

Disclosed herein are rare-earth materials, structures, and methods for integrated circuit (IC) structures. For example, in some embodiments, a precursor for atomic layer deposition (ALD) of a rare-earth material in an IC structure may include a rare-earth element and a pincer ligand bonded to the rare-earth element.

A control gate electrode and a memory gate electrode of a memory cell of a non-volatile memory are formed in a memory cell region of a semiconductor substrate, and a dummy gate electrode is formed in a peripheral circuit region. Then, n.sup.+-type semiconductor regions for a source or a drain of the memory cell are formed in the memory cell region and n.sup.+-type semiconductor regions for a source or a drain of MISFET are formed in the peripheral circuit region. Then, a metal silicide layer is formed over the n.sup.+-type semiconductor regions but the metal silicide layer is not formed over the control gate electrode, the memory gate electrode, and the gate electrode. Subsequently, the gate electrode is removed and replaced with the gate electrode for MISFET. Then, after removing the gate electrode and replacing it with a gate electrode for MISFET, a metal silicide layer is formed over the memory gate electrode and the control gate electrode.

One aspect of the disclosure relates to and integrated circuit structure and methods of forming the same. The integrated circuit structure may include: a thin gate dielectric device on a substrate, the thin gate dielectric device including: a first interfacial layer over a set of fins within the substrate, wherein the interfacial layer has a thickness of approximately 1.0 nanometers (nm) to approximately 1.2 nm; and a thick gate dielectric device on the substrate adjacent to the thin gate dielectric device, the thick gate dielectric device including: a second interfacial layer over the set of fins within the substrate; and a nitrided oxide layer over the second interfacial layer, wherein the nitrided oxide layer includes a thickness of approximately 3.5 nm to approximately 5.0 nm.

An integrated circuit including a trench in the substrate with a high quality trench oxide grown on the sidewalls and the bottom of the trench where the ratio of the thickness of the high quality trench oxide formed on the sidewalls to the thickness formed on the bottom is less than 1.2. An integrated circuit including a trench with high quality oxide is formed by first growing a sacrificial oxide in dilute oxygen at a temperature in the range of 1050° C. to 1250° C., stripping the sacrificial oxide, growing high quality oxide in dilute oxygen plus trans 1,2 dichloroethylene at a temperature in the range of 1050° C. to 1250° C., and annealing the high quality oxide in an inert ambient at a temperature in the range of 1050° C. to 1250° C.

A semiconductor device includes: a substrate; a first active region formed in the substrate and that includes a first region that has a first width and a second region including a second width larger than the first width and extended in a first direction; a second active region formed in the substrate and extended in parallel to the second region of the first active region; and an element isolation insulating film formed in the substrate and that partitions the first active region and the second active region, respectively, wherein the second region of the first active region or the second active region includes a depressed part depressed in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction in a plan view.

A semiconductor structure includes a semiconductor substrate, n-type and p-type FinFETs on the substrate, each of the n-type and the p-type FinFETs include a channel region and a gate structure surrounding the channel region, each gate structure having a phase-changed high-k gate dielectric layer lining a gate trench thereof, the gate trench defined by a pair of spacers. The semiconductor structure further includes a conformal dielectric capping layer over each phase-changed high-k gate dielectric layer, the conformal dielectric capping layer having a higher dielectric constant than the phase-changed high-k gate dielectric layer. Further included on the n-type FinFETs is a multi-layer replacement gate stack of n-type work function material over the phase-changed high-k gate dielectric layer. A method of fabricating the semiconductor structure is also provided.