The present disclosure provides a method of heating a spin on coating (SOC) film on a wafer. The method includes actions S401 to S405. In action S401, a heating apparatus is provided. The heating apparatus includes a bake plate and an electromagnetic wave generator. In action S402, the bake plate is heated by a heating unit disposed in the bake plate. In action S403, the wafer is placed on the bake plate of the heating apparatus. In action S404, the electromagnetic wave generator generates an electromagnetic wave to heat the SOC film. The electromagnetic wave generated by the electromagnetic wave generator has a frequency within a range of 1 THz to 100 THz. In action S405, the wafer is removed from the bake plate of the heating apparatus.

A method for making a semiconductor structure includes forming a first fin and a second fin over a substrate. The method includes forming one or more work function layers over the first and second fins. The method includes forming a nitride-based metal film over the one or more work function layers. The method includes covering the first fin with a patternable layer. The method includes removing a second portion of the nitride-based metal film from the second fin, while leaving a first portion of the nitride-based metal film over the first fin substantially intact.

Methods for preparing a nanotube membrane for use in a pellicle membrane using dry printing are disclosed. Nanotube fibers are produced in a reaction vessel and dry sprayed onto a filter to form the nanotube membrane. The thickness of the nanotube membrane can be controlled by moving the reaction vessel and the filter relative to each other, or by further processing to reduce the thickness of the layer deposited onto the filter. This method reduces the number of process steps, reducing overall production time, and can also be used to produce larger membranes. The pellicle membrane can be formed with multiple layers and has a combination of high transmittance, low deflection, and small pore size. A conformal coating may applied to an outer surface of the pellicle membrane to protect the pellicle membrane from damage that can occur due to heat and hydrogen plasma created during EUV exposure.

A coating film forming method includes coating a coating liquid by supplying the same to a front surface of a substrate and rotating the substrate to form a coating film, supplying a high-temperature gas having a temperature higher than the substrate to an exposed region of a rear surface of the substrate, adjusting film thickness distribution of the coating film in a plane of the substrate by rotating the substrate at a first rotation speed, and drying, after the adjusting the film thickness distribution, the coating film by adjusting the film thickness of the coating film in an entire plane of the substrate by rotating the substrate at a second rotation speed different from the first rotation speed. A period in which the drying of the coating film is performed includes a period in which the supplying of the high-temperature gas to the substrate is stopped.

Methods and systems for performing overlay and edge placement errors based on Soft X-Ray (SXR) scatterometry measurement data are presented herein. Short wavelength SXR radiation focused over a small illumination spot size enables measurement of design rule targets or in-die active device structures. In some embodiments, SXR scatterometry measurements are performed with SXR radiation having energy in a range from 10 to 5,000 electronvolts. As a result, measurements at SXR wavelengths permit target design at process design rules that closely represents actual device overlay. In some embodiments, SXR scatterometry measurements of overlay and shape parameters are performed simultaneously from the same metrology target to enable accurate measurement of Edge Placement Errors. In another aspect, overlay of aperiodic device structures is estimated based on SXR measurements of design rule targets by calibrating the SXR measurements to reference measurements of the actual device target.

A method includes applying a composition for forming a resist underlayer film to a substrate having a recess in a surface, and baking the composition for forming a resist underlayer film to form a resist underlayer film for filling at least the recess. The composition for forming a resist underlayer film has a copolymer having a structural unit of following formula (1), a cross-linkable compound, a cross-linking catalyst, and a solvent: ##STR00001## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are each independently a C.sub.1-3 alkylene group or a single bond, Z is an —O— group, a —S— group, or a —S—S— group, and Ar is an arylene group.

Methods for making a semiconductor device using an improved BARC (bottom anti-reflective coating) are provided herein. The improved BARC comprises a polymer formed from at least a styrene monomer having at least one or two hydrophilic substituents. The monomer(s) and substituents can be varied as desired to obtain a balance between film adhesion and wet etch resistance. Also provided is a semiconductor device produced using such methods.

A method for reducing resist consumption (RRC) is provided. The method includes treating a surface of a substrate using a RRC composition and forming a photoresist layer comprising a metal-containing material on the RRC composition treated surface. The RRC composition includes a solvent and an acid or a base. The solvent has a dispersion parameter between 10 and 25. The acid has an acid dissociation constant between -20 and 6.8. The base having an acid dissociation constant between 7.2 and 45.

Gate-all-around integrated circuit structures having embedded GeSnB source or drain structures, and methods of fabricating gate-all-around integrated circuit structures having embedded GeSnB source or drain structures, are described. For example, an integrated circuit structure includes a vertical arrangement of horizontal nanowires above a fin, the fin including a defect modification layer on a first semiconductor layer, and a second semiconductor layer on the defect modification layer. A gate stack is around the vertical arrangement of horizontal nanowires. A first epitaxial source or drain structure is at a first end of the vertical arrangement of horizontal nanowires, and a second epitaxial source or drain structure is at a second end of the vertical arrangement of horizontal nanowires.

A resist underlayer film that exhibits removability and preferably solubility only in wet etching reagent solutions, while exhibiting good resistance to resist developers that are resist solvents or aqueous alkali solutions. The composition for forming a resist underlayer film includes a dicyanostyryl group-bearing polymer (P) or dicyanostyryl group-bearing compound (C) and includes solvent, and does not contain a protonic acid curing catalyst and does not contain an alkylated aminoplast crosslinking agent derived from melamine, urea, benzoguanamine, or glycoluril.