A semiconductor device includes a substrate including a first active region, a second active region and a field region between the first and second active regions, and a gate structure formed on the substrate to cross the first active region, the second active region and the field region. The gate structure includes a p type metal gate electrode and an n-type metal gate electrode directly contacting each other, the p-type metal gate electrode extends from the first active region less than half way toward the second active region.

Methods of forming multi-tiered semiconductor devices are described, along with apparatus and systems that include them. In one such method, an opening is formed in a tier of semiconductor material and a tier of dielectric. A portion of the tier of semiconductor material exposed by the opening is processed so that the portion is doped differently than the remaining semiconductor material in the tier. At least substantially all of the remaining semiconductor material of the tier is removed, leaving the differently doped portion of the tier of semiconductor material as a charge storage structure. A tunneling dielectric is formed on a first surface of the charge storage structure and an intergate dielectric is formed on a second surface of the charge storage structure. Additional embodiments are also described.

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.

In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, first and second fin structures are formed over a substrate, an isolation insulating layer is formed over the substrate, a gate structure is formed over channel regions of the first and second fin structures, source/drain regions of the first and second fin structure are recessed, and an epitaxial source/drain structure is formed over the recessed first and second fin structures. The epitaxial source/drain structure is a merged structure having a merger point, and a height of a bottom of the merger point from an upper surface of the isolation insulating layer is 50% or more of a height of the channel regions of the first and second fin structures from the upper surface of the isolation insulating layer.

A method can include ion implanting with the gate mask to form first halo regions and ion implanting with the gate mask and first spacers as a mask to form second halo regions. The gate mask and first spacers can be removed, and an epitaxial layer formed. A dummy gate mask can be formed. Ion implanting with the dummy gate mask can from source-drain extensions. Second spacers can be formed on sides of the dummy gate mask. Ion implanting with the dummy gate mask and second spacers as a mask can form source and drain regions. A surface dielectric layer can be formed and planarized to expose a top of the dummy gate. The dummy gate can be removed to form gate openings between the second spacers. A hi-K dielectric layer and at least two gate metal layers within the gate opening. Related devices are also disclosed.

Methods and systems disclosed herein can measure thin film stacks, such as film on grating and bandgap on grating in semiconductors. For example, the thin film stack may be a 1D film stack, a 2D film on grating, or a 3D film on grating. One or more effective medium dispersion models are created for the film stack. Each effective medium dispersion model can substitute for one or more layers. A thickness of one or more layers can be determined using the effective medium dispersion based scatterometry model. In an instance, three effective medium dispersion based scatterometry models are developed and used to determine thickness of three layers in a film stack.

A gate structure of a field effect transistor includes a first gate dielectric layer, a second gate dielectric layer, and one or more conductive layers disposed over the first gate dielectric layer and the second gate dielectric layer. The first gate dielectric layer is separated from the second gate dielectric layer by a gap filled with a diffusion blocking layer.

A semiconductor device comprises: a substrate including first and second buried source/drain layers; a first nano sheet stack including first nano sheets stacked in a direction vertical to the substrate; a second nano sheet stack including second nano sheets stacked in a direction vertical to the substrate; an isolation wall disposed between the first nano sheet stack and the second nano sheet stack; first gate covering portions of the first nano sheet stack and extending in a direction vertical to the substrate; second gate covering portions of the second nano sheet stack and extending in a direction vertical to the substrate; first common source/drain layers connected to end portions of the first nano sheets and to the first buried source/drain layers; and second common source/drain layers connected to end portions of the second nano sheets and to the second buried source/drain layers.

The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor structure and a manufacturing method thereof. The method includes providing a substrate, where the substrate includes a device region and a peripheral region; and forming a bit line structure in the device region, and forming a transistor structure in the peripheral region, where the transistor structure includes a gate structure, and the bit line structure includes a bit line conductive layer and a bit line protective layer; the gate structure includes a gate oxide layer, a high-k dielectric layer, a gate conductive layer and a gate protective layer; the gate conductive layer and the bit line conductive layer are obtained by patterning a same conductive material layer, and the bit line protective layer and the gate protective layer are obtained by patterning a same protective material layer.

A semiconductor device includes: an active fin disposed on a substrate; a gate structure overlapping the active fin; source/drain regions disposed on both sides of the gate structure and on the active fin; and contact structures respectively connected to the source/drain regions, wherein the gate structure includes: a pair of gate spacers spaced apart from each other to provide a trench; a first gate electrode disposed in the trench and extending along an upper surface and a lateral surface of the active fin; a second gate electrode disposed on the first gate electrode in the trench, wherein the first gate electrode is not disposed between the second gate electrode and the pair of gate spacers; and a gate insulating film disposed between the pair of gate spacers and interposed between the first gate electrode and the active fin.