A metal removal method which includes: a reaction step of bringing a treatment gas containing a fluorine-containing interhalogen compound and a metal-containing material containing a metal element into contact with each other to generate metal fluoride which is a reaction product of the fluorine-containing interhalogen compound and the metal element; and a volatilization step of heating the metal fluoride under an inert gas atmosphere or in a vacuum environment for volatilization. The metal element is at least one kind selected from iron, cobalt, nickel, selenium, molybdenum, rhodium, palladium, tungsten, rhenium, iridium, and platinum. Also disclosed is a dry etching method using the metal removal method and a production method for a semiconductor element using the dry etching method.

A method for controlling a concentration of donors in an Al-alloyed gallium oxide crystal structure includes implanting a Group IV element as a donor impurity into the crystal structure with an ion implantation process and annealing the implanted crystal structure to activate the Group IV element to form an electrically conductive region. The method may further include depositing one or more electrically conductive materials on at least a portion of the implanted crystal structure to form an ohmic contact. Examples of semiconductor devices are also disclosed and include a layer of an Al-alloyed gallium oxide crystal structure, at least one region including the crystal structure implanted with a Group IV element as a donor impurity with an ion implantation process and annealed to activate the Group IV element, an ohmic contact including one or more electrically conductive materials deposited on the at least one region.

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure includes the following operations. A base and a dielectric layer arranged on the base are provided. A first conductive pillar, a second conductive pillar and a third conductive pillar arranged in the dielectric layer are formed. A mask layer is formed. A portion of a thickness of the third conductive pillar is etched by using the third mask layer as a mask to form a third lower conductive pillar and a third upper conductive pillar stacked on one another, in which the third upper conductive pillar, the third lower conductive pillar and the dielectric layer are configured to form at least one groove. A cover layer filling the at least one groove is formed, in which the cover layer exposes the top surface of the third upper conductive pillar.

A method for etching a thin film includes conducting electron-enhanced chemical vapor etching with at least one reactive background gas and electrons to etch a thin film on a substrate with a positive substrate voltage. In an embodiment, the method is a method for etching a silicon thin film, including conducting electron-enhanced chemical vapor etching with at least one reactive background gas and electrons to etch a silicon thin film on a substrate with a positive substrate voltage.

In a contact hole, a first side surface of an interlayer insulating film is separated from a second side surface of a first conductive film so that a part of an upper surface of the first conductive film is exposed from the interlayer insulating film. In the contact hole, a third side surface of an insulating film is separated from the second side surface of the first conductive film so that a part of the lower surface of the first conductive film is exposed from the insulating film. A plug includes a silicide layer formed on the second side surface of the first conductive film, a barrier metal film formed on the silicide layer, and a second conductive film formed on the barrier metal film.

Provided is a composition, a method of treating a metal-containing film by using the composition, and a method of preparing a semiconductor device by using the composition. The composition may include hydrofluoric acid and an etching controller and the composition may not include hydrogen peroxide. The etching controller may include at least one compound represented by Formula 1:

##STR00001##

A description of Formula 1 is provided in the present specification.

A method of processing a substrate includes providing a substrate including a pattern of lines extending in a first direction, and reducing stitching defects by removing material from the pattern of lines using a gas cluster beam. The pattern of lines includes a first subset of lines stitched to a second subset of lines in a stitching region that includes the stitching defects. The gas cluster beam includes an azimuthal component substantially parallel to the first direction. The stitching defects may be further reduced using an additional gas cluster beam in the opposite and substantially parallel to the first direction. The method may further include exposing a first region and a second region of a photosensitive layer of the substrate to different structured actinic radiation, and forming the pattern of lines on the substrate by developing the first region and the second region.

A semiconductor device for high power application in which a novel semiconductor material having high mass productivity is provided. An oxide semiconductor film is formed, and then, first heat treatment is performed on the exposed oxide semiconductor film in order to reduce impurities such as moisture or hydrogen in the oxide semiconductor film. Next, in order to further reduce impurities such as moisture or hydrogen in the oxide semiconductor film, oxygen is added to the oxide semiconductor film by an ion implantation method, an ion doping method, or the like, and after that, second heat treatment is performed on the exposed oxide semiconductor film.

A semiconductor device for high power application in which a novel semiconductor material having high mass productivity is provided. An oxide semiconductor film is formed, and then, first heat treatment is performed on the exposed oxide semiconductor film in order to reduce impurities such as moisture or hydrogen in the oxide semiconductor film. Next, in order to further reduce impurities such as moisture or hydrogen in the oxide semiconductor film, oxygen is added to the oxide semiconductor film by an ion implantation method, an ion doping method, or the like, and after that, second heat treatment is performed on the exposed oxide semiconductor film.

Methods and systems for implementing artificial intelligence enabled preparation end-pointing are disclosed. An example method at least includes obtaining an image of a surface of a sample, the sample including a plurality of features, analyzing the image to determine whether an end point has been reached, the end point based on a feature of interest out of the plurality of features observable in the image, and based on the end point not being reached, removing a layer of material from the surface of the sample.