A film-forming method for forming a crystalline oxide film by a mist-CVD method includes: supplying a mist together with a carrier gas onto a heated substrate in a film-forming member covered with a partition wall, wherein, in at least heating the substrate, a gas other than the carrier gas is fed into the film-forming member. This provides a film-forming method to form a high-quality crystalline oxide film having a remarkably reduced particle density on a film surface.

An in-chamber plasma source in a deposition reactor system includes an array of microcavity or microchannel plasma devices having a first electrode and a second electrode isolated from plasma in microcavities or microchannels. An inlet provides connection to deposition precursor. A region interacts deposition precursor with plasma. An outlet directs precursor dissociated with the plasma onto a substrate for deposition. A reactor system includes a substrate holder across from the outlet, a chamber enclosing the in-chamber plasma source and the substrate holder, an exhaust from the chamber, and conduit supplying precursors from sources or bubblers to the inlet. A reactor system can conduct plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition at high pressures and is capable of forming a complete layer in a single cycle.

Methods of forming a slurry and methods of performing a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process utilized in manufacturing semiconductor devices, as described herein, may be performed on semiconductor devices including integrated contact structures with ruthenium (Ru) plug contacts down to a semiconductor substrate. The slurry may be formed by mixing a first abrasive, a second abrasive, and a reactant with a solvent. The first abrasive may include a first particulate including titanium dioxide (TiO.sub.2) particles and the second abrasive may include a second particulate that is different from the first particulate. The slurry may be used in a CMP process for removing ruthenium (Ru) materials and dielectric materials from a surface of a workpiece resulting in better WiD loading and planarization of the surface for a flat profile.

A method of forming high quality a-BN layers. The method includes use of a precursor chemistry that is particularly suited for use in a cyclical deposition process such as in chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), and the like. In brief, new methods are described of forming boron nitride (BN) layers from precursors capable of growing amorphous BN (a-BN) films by CVD, ALD, or the like. In some cases, the precursor is or includes a borane adduct of hydrazine or a hydrazine derivative.

Vapor deposition methods and related systems are provided for depositing layers comprising vanadium and oxygen. In some embodiments, the methods comprise contacting a substrate in a reaction space with alternating pulses of a vapor-phase vanadium precursor and a vapor-phase oxygen reactant. The reaction space may be purged, for example, with an inert gas, between reactant pulses. The methods may be used to fill a gap on a substrate surface. Reaction conditions, including deposition temperature and reactant pulse and purge times may be selected to achieve advantageous gap fill properties. In some embodiments, the substrate on which deposition takes place is maintained at a relatively low temperature, for example between about 50 C. and about 185 C.

A method of manufacturing a structure for power electronics which includes epitaxially growing a GaN semiconductor layer is provided. The method includes growing buffer layers formed of AlN and Al.sub.xGa.sub.(1-x)N, wherein 0<x<1, on a Si substrate before growing the semiconductor layer on the buffer layers. The method also includes growing deformation compensation layers formed of SiO.sub.2, SiC.sub.xN.sub.(1-x), SiN, SiC.sub.xO.sub.(1-x), SiC, SiN.sub.xO.sub.(1-x), Al.sub.2O.sub.3, and/or Cr.sub.2O.sub.3, wherein 0<x<1, on the substrate opposite the semiconductor layer. The deformation compensation layers compensate for deformation of the structure that occurs while growing the semiconductor and buffer layers and deformation that occurs while cooling the structure. The method further includes estimating epitaxial growth stress, interface stress, and thermal stress of the structure, and adjusting the temperature and or thickness of the layers based on the estimated epitaxial growth stress, interface stress, and/or thermal stress.

Provided herein are methods and apparatuses for controlling uniformity of processing at an edge region of a semiconductor wafer. In some embodiments, the methods include exposing an edge region to treatment gases such as etch gases and/or inhibition gases. Also provided herein are exclusion ring assemblies including multiple rings that may be implemented to provide control of the processing environment at the edge of the wafer.

A process for manufacturing a silicon carbide device from a body of silicon carbide having a back surface, wherein a first layer of a first metal is formed on the back surface of the body; a second layer of a second metal, different from the first metal, is formed on the first layer to form a multilayer, the first or the second metal being nickel or a nickel alloy and forming a nickel-based layer, another of the first or the second metal being a metal X, capable to form stable compounds with carbon and forming an X-based layer; and the multilayer is annealed to form a mixed layer including nickel silicide and at least one of X carbide or a metal X-carbon ternary compound.

A topology-selective deposition method is disclosed. An exemplary method includes providing an inhibition agent comprising a first nitrogen-containing gas, providing a deposition promotion agent comprising a second nitrogen-containing gas to form an activated surface on one or more of a top surface, a bottom surface, and a sidewall surface relative to one or more of the other of the top surface, the bottom surface, and the sidewall surface, and providing a precursor to react with the activated surface to thereby selectively form material comprising a nitride on the activated surface.

Exemplary methods of semiconductor processing, such as methods of depositing a molybdenum-containing material on a substrate, may include providing a molybdenum-containing precursor to a processing region of a semiconductor processing chamber in which the substrate is located. The molybdenum-containing precursor may include a molybdenum complex according to Compound I: ##STR00001##
R may be methyl or ethyl, R may be methyl or ethyl, R may be methyl, ethyl, or propyl, and n may be equal to 1 or 2. Contacting the substrate with the molybdenum-containing precursor may deposit the molybdenum-containing material on the substrate.