At least one method, apparatus and system disclosed herein for forming a finFET device. A gate structure comprising a gate spacer on a semiconductor wafer is formed. A self-aligned contact (SAC) cap is formed over the gate structure. A TS structure is formed. At least one M0 metal structure void is formed. At least one CB structure void adjacent the M0 metal structure void is formed. An etch process is performed the M0 and CB structures voids to the gate structure. At least one CA structure void adjacent the CB structure void is formed. The M0, CB, and CA structure voids are metallized.

A method of forming a method of forming a semiconductor device includes providing a semiconductor structure, etching back each gate structure of a plurality of gate structures to form an opening, forming a barrier layer over the dielectric layer, forming a sacrificial layer over the barrier layer, planarizing the sacrificial layer till a surface of the sacrificial layer is substantially flat, and using a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) process to planarize the sacrificial layer and the barrier layer, and to remove the sacrificial layer and to provide a planarized barrier layer. The semiconductor structure includes a semiconductor substrate, a fin, the plurality of gate structures, and a dielectric layer over the semiconductor substrate between adjacent gate structures. A top of the dielectric layer is coplanar with a top of each of the plurality of gate structures.

A first dielectric layer made of a first dielectric material is deposited over a semiconductor substrate. A buffer layer is then deposited on an upper surface of the first dielectric layer. A trench is opened to extend through the buffer layer and the first dielectric layer. A second dielectric layer made of a second dielectric material is the deposited in a conformal manner on the buffer layer and filling the trench. Chemical mechanical polishing of the second dielectric layer is performed to remove overlying portions of the second dielectric layer with the buffer layer being used as a polish stop. After removing the buffer layer, the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric material filling the trench form a pre-metallization dielectric layer having a substantially planar upper surface.

In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, an underlying structure is formed over a substrate. A film is formed over the underlying structure. Surface topography of the film is measured and the surface topography is stored as topography data. A local etching is performed by using directional etching and scanning the substrate so that an entire surface of the film is subjected to the directional etching. A plasma beam intensity of the directional etching is adjusted according to the topography data.

A method, for making a semiconductor device, includes forming a first fin over a substrate. The method includes forming a dummy gate stack on the first fin. The method includes forming a first gate spacer along a side of the dummy gate stack. The first gate spacer includes a first dielectric material. The method includes forming a second gate spacer along a side of the first gate spacer. The second gate spacer includes a semiconductor material. The method includes forming a source/drain region in the first fin adjacent the second gate spacer. The method includes removing at least a portion of the second gate spacer to form a void extending between the first gate spacer and the source/drain region.

A semiconductor device includes: a protruding conductive structure that protrudes to a height from a first surface of the semiconductor device; and a first passivation layer, the first passivation layer overlaying the protruding conductive structure by a first thickness, the first passivation layer overlaying the first surface by a second thickness greater than the first thickness, wherein the first passivation layer is planar at a top surface over the first thickness and the second thickness.

A method of forming a memory device is provided. In some embodiments, a memory cell is formed over a substrate, and a sidewall spacer layer is formed along the memory cell. A lower etch stop layer is formed on the sidewall spacer layer, and an upper dielectric layer is formed on the lower etch stop layer. A first etching process is performed to etch back the upper dielectric layer using the lower etch stop layer as an etch endpoint.

A semiconductor device includes etch stop films formed on the first gate electrode, the first source region, the first drain region, and the shallow trench isolation regions, respectively. First interlayer insulating films are formed on the etch stop film, respectively. Deep trenches are formed in the substrate between adjacent ones of the first interlayer insulating films to overlap the shallow trench isolation regions. Sidewall insulating films are formed in the deep trenches, respectively. A gap-fill insulating film is formed on the sidewall insulating film. A second interlayer insulating film is formed on the gap-fill insulating film. A top surface of the second interlayer insulating film is substantially planar and a bottom surface of the second interlayer insulating film is undulating.

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a via including a first conductive material on an inner wall of a trench on a substrate. The method further includes forming a first insulating interlayer on the substrate. The first insulating interlayer covers the via and partially fills the trench, and the first insulating interlayer has a non-flat upper surface. The method further includes forming a polishing stop layer on the first insulating interlayer, forming a second insulating interlayer on the polishing stop layer, in which the second insulating interlayer fills a remaining portion of the trench, planarizing the second insulating interlayer until the polishing stop layer is exposed, and etching the polishing stop layer and the first and second insulating interlayers using a dry etching process until remaining portions of the polishing stop layer except for a portion of the polishing stop layer in the trench are removed.

The present disclosure is directed to a method for forming metal insulator metal decoupling capacitors with scalable capacitance. The method can include forming a first redistribution layer with metal lines on a portion of a polymer layer, depositing a photoresist layer on the first redistribution layer, and etching the photoresist layer to form spaced apart first and second TIV openings in the photoresist layer, where the first TIV opening is wider than the second TIV opening. The method can further include depositing a metal in the first and second TIV openings to form respective first and second TIV structures in contact with the metal line, removing the photoresist layer, forming a high-k dielectric on a top surface of the first and second TIV structures, and depositing a metal layer on the high-k dielectric layer to form respective first and second capacitors.