The present invention discloses a metal oxide (MO) semiconductor, which is implemented by respectively doping at least an oxide of rare earth element R and an oxide of rare earth element R′ into an indium-containing MO semiconductor to form an In.sub.xM.sub.yR.sub.nR′.sub.mO.sub.z semiconductor. According to the present invention, the extremely high oxygen bond breaking energy in the oxide of rare earth element R is used to effectively control the carrier concentration in the semiconductor, and a charge transportation center can be formed by using the characteristic that the radius of rare earth ions is equivalent to the radius of indium ions, so that the electrical stability of the semiconductor is improved. The present invention further provides a thin-film transistor based on the MO semiconductor and application thereof.

A substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate rotator that holds and rotates a substrate including a film of a metal formed on a surface thereof, a first supply that supplies a first processing liquid containing a chelating agent and a solvent toward the substrate, a second supply that supplies a second processing liquid containing water toward the substrate, and a controller that controls the substrate rotator, the first supply, and the second supply. While rotating the substrate by the substrate rotator, the controller supplies the first processing liquid toward the substrate by the first supply to generate a complex containing the metal and the chelating agent, and after the generation of the complex, supplies the second processing liquid toward the substrate by the second supply to dissolve the complex in the second processing liquid.

The present invention provides a semiconductor wafer treatment liquid, the treatment liquid including at least one hypohalite ion, and at least one anion species selected from halate ion, halite ion and halide ion, wherein at least one of the anion species has a content of 0.30 mol/L or more and 6.00 mol/L or less relative to the treatment liquid.

A substrate processing apparatus, including a processing chamber including a first internal space and a second internal space arranged in a vertical direction, the first internal space being configured to receive process gas to generate plasma; an induction electrode configured to divide the processing chamber, and having a plurality of through-holes arranged to connect the first internal space and the second internal space, wherein the plurality of through-holes are configured to induce an ion beam extracted from ions included in the plasma generated in the first internal space; a radical supply located in the second internal space, and including a reservoir configured to receive chemical liquid in which an object to be processed is immersed, and a lower electrode configured to apply nanopulses to the reservoir to generate radicals from the chemical liquid; and a chemical liquid supply configured to supply the chemical liquid to the reservoir.

A semiconductor structure and a method for forming the same are provided. The method includes: providing a base, a pattern transfer material layer being formed above the base; performing first ion implantation, to dope first ions into the pattern transfer material layer, to form first doped mask layers arranged in a first direction; forming first trenches in the pattern transfer material layer on two sides of the first doped mask layer in a second direction, to expose side walls of the first doped mask layer; forming mask spacers on side walls of the first trenches; performing second ion implantation, to dope second ions into some regions of the pattern transfer material layer that are exposed from the first doped mask layers and the first trenches, to form second doped mask layers; removing the remaining pattern transfer material layer, to form second trenches; and etching the base along the first trenches and the second trenches, to form a target pattern. The present disclosure improves the accuracy of pattern transfer.

A protective film forming composition which has a good mask (protection) function against a wet etching liquid and a high dry etching rate during processing of a semiconductor substrate and also has good coverage even for a stepped substrate, and from which a flat film can be formed due to a small difference in film thickness after being embedded; a protective film produced using the composition; a substrate with a resist pattern; and a method for producing a semiconductor device. This composition contains: (A) a compound having three or more carboxyl groups; (B) a resin or a monomer; and a solvent. The compound (A) having three or more carboxyl groups preferably has a ring structure. This ring structure is preferably selected from among an aromatic ring having 6-40 carbon atoms, an aliphatic ring having 3-10 carbon atoms, and a heterocyclic ring.

An object of the present invention is to provide a treatment method excellently flattens an object to be treated in a case where the treatment method is applied to an object to be treated having a metal layer. Another object of the present invention is to provide a treatment liquid for an object to be treated. The method for treating an object to be treated according to an embodiment of the present invention is a method for treating an object to be treated having a step A of performing an oxidation treatment on an object to be treated having a metal layer so as to form a metal oxide layer and a step B of bringing a treatment liquid into contact with the object to be treated obtained by the step A so as to dissolve and remove the metal oxide layer, in which the treatment liquid contains an organic solvent and an acidic compound, and a content of the organic solvent is 50% by mass or more with respect to a total mass of the treatment liquid.

Techniques for low- or zero-misaligned vias are disclosed. In one embodiment, a high-photosensitivity and low-photosensitivity photoresist are applied to a substrate and exposed at the same time with use of a dual-tone mask. After being developed, one photoresist forms an overhang over a sheltered region. The mold formed by the photoresists is filled with copper and then etched. The overhang prevents the top of the copper infill below the overhang region from being etched. As such, the sheltered region forms a pillar or column after etching, which can be used as a via. Other embodiments are disclosed.

The present disclosure provides an etching composition for a metal nitride layer and an etching method of a metal nitride layer using the same, and more particularly, to an etching composition for a metal nitride layer selectively etching the metal nitride layer, an etching method of a metal nitride layer using the etching composition, and a method of manufacturing a microelectronic device, the method including an etching process performed using the etching composition.

Techniques and mechanisms for providing anisotropic etching of a metallization layer of a substrate. In an embodiment, the metallization layer includes grains of a conductor, wherein a first average grain size and a second average grain size correspond, respectively, to a first sub-layer and a second sub-layer of the metallization layer. The first sub-layer and the second sub-layer each span at least 5% of a thickness of the metallization layer. A difference between the first average grain size and the second average grain size is at least 10% of the first average grain size. In another embodiment, a first condition of metallization processing contributes to grains of the first sub-layer being relatively large, wherein an alternative condition of metallization processing contributes to grains of the second sub-layer being relatively small. A grain size gradient across a thickness of the metallization layer facilitates etching processes being anisotropic.