A technique improves etch selectivity. An etching includes (a) providing, in a chamber, a substrate including an underlying film and a silicon-containing film on the underlying film, (b) etching the silicon-containing film to form a recess with first plasma generated from a first process gas containing a hydrogen fluoride gas until before the underlying film is exposed at the recess or until the underlying film is partly exposed at the recess, and (c) further etching the silicon-containing film at the recess under a condition different from a condition of (b).

An apparatus includes a processing chamber, a substrate support in the processing chamber, a plasma source coupled to the processing chamber, and a plurality of heating devices arranged on the processing chamber. Each heating device is configured to emit laser beam on a substrate positioned on the substrate support to heat the substrate.

A substrate processing method is provided. The substrate processing method comprises loading a substrate onto a substrate support inside a chamber, forming a plasma inside the chamber, providing a first DC pulse signal to an electromagnet that generates a magnetic field inside the chamber and processing the substrate with the plasma, wherein the first DC pulse signal is repeated at a first period including a first section and a second section subsequent to the first section, the first DC pulse signal has a first level during the first section, and the first DC pulse signal has a second level different from the first level during the second section.

A method of providing access to a contact pad located on a base polyimide layer of an electronic part comprises (i) covering the contact pad and the base polyimide layer with a cover layer comprised of a metallic mask layer, a polyimide layer, and an adhesive layer. The adhesive layer attaches the cover layer to the contact pad and the base polyimide layer. The metallic mask layer is exposed. The method further includes (ii) removing a portion of the metallic mask layer of the cover layer directly above the contact pad, and (iii) through the removed portion of the metallic mask layer, using a plasma-etching process to create an access opening to the contact pad through the polyimide layer and the adhesive layer.

A method of processing a substrate is provided. The substrate includes an etching target region and a patterned region. The patterned region is provided on the etching target region. In the method, an organic film is formed on a surface of the substrate. Subsequently, the etching target region is etched by plasma generated from a processing gas. The organic film is formed in a state that the substrate is placed in a processing space within a chamber. When the organic film is formed, a first gas containing a first organic compound is supplied toward the substrate, and then, a second gas containing a second organic compound is supplied toward the substrate. An organic compound constituting the organic film is generated by polymerization of the first organic compound and the second organic compound.

A semiconductor structure including a pillar structure and a spacer structure is provided. The pillar structure is disposed over a substrate, and comprises: a lower layer, disposed on the substrate; an upper layer, disposed over the lower layer; and a dielectric layer, disposed between the lower layer and the upper layer, wherein the upper layer includes a first portion and a second portion disposed below and connecting the first portion. The spacer structure laterally surrounds the pillar structure, and comprises: an upper portion, surrounding the first portion of the upper layer; and a lower portion, disposed below and connecting the upper portion, wherein a first thickness of the upper portion is substantially greater than a second thickness of the lower portion. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure is also provided.

A method for processing a substrate includes receiving the substrate on a substrate holder disposed in a processing chamber, and performing a cyclic process. One cycle of the cyclic process includes applying a first pulse to illuminate, from an optical source, an optical pattern over a surface of the substrate to locally heat portions of the surface of the substrate according to the optical pattern. And one cycle of the cyclic process further includes applying a second pulse to generate a processing beam to process the substrate with the optical pattern, the first pulse preceding the second pulse.

Methods of depositing a liner layer in a semiconductor device are described. In some embodiments, the method includes depositing a carbon layer including carbon on a substrate, the substrate having at least one feature including a sidewall surface and the carbon layer having a carbon surface; and selectively depositing the liner layer on the sidewall surface over the carbon surface. In other embodiments, the method includes depositing a carbon layer comprising carbon in a bottom second portion of a substrate feature selectively over a top first portion of the substrate feature, the top first portion having a sidewall surface, the carbon layer having a carbon surface; etching the carbon surface; and depositing the conformal layer on the sidewall surface of the top first portion, the conformal layer deposited on the sidewall surface selectively over the carbon surface.

Embodiments described herein include a method for manufacturing a neural implant including patterning a circuit-bearing substrate to produce a first intermediate structure having a plurality of electrode contacts disposed on a first side thereof. The method can include applying an encapsulation layer to the first side of the first intermediate structure to produce a second intermediate structure and coupling a first surface of the second intermediate structure to a carrier, the first surface of the second intermediate structure including the encapsulating layer. The method can include thinning the second intermediate structure to produce a third intermediate structure and forming a plurality of recesses in a portion of the third intermediate structure to produce a fourth intermediate structure. The method can include releasing the carrier from the fourth intermediate structure to produce the neural implant.

In semiconductor processing. plasma etching of materials (e.g., of carbon or silicon) to form vertical high aspect ratio recessed features can lead to clogging inside the recessed features due to unwanted deposition of a mask-derived clogging material (e.g., silicon oxide). This is addressed by declogging, which includes etching the clogging material preferably in the same process chamber by contacting the substrate with a halogen source. After the declogging step, plasma etching proceeds further. The declogging and plasma etching steps can be repeated as many times as needed to etch a recessed feature of desired depth.