A method of manufacturing a semiconductor structure and a semiconductor structure are disclosed. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor structure includes: providing a substrate; forming multiple support structures on the substrate, where the multiple support structures are arranged at intervals along a first direction, and a gate trench is formed between every two adjacent support structures; forming a gate structure in the gate trench; and removing a part of each of the support structures, such that each of retained support structures forms two isolation sidewalls spaced apart, the two isolation sidewalls are arranged on opposite sidewalls of the adjacent gate structures respectively, and a filling region is formed by the two isolation sidewalls.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include a MISFET device. An embodiment includes a source/drain over a substrate, a first etch stop layer on the source/drain, and a gate dielectric layer on the first etch stop layer and along the substrate. The embodiment also includes a gate electrode on the gate dielectric layer, and a second etch stop layer on the gate electrode.

Some embodiments relate to a manufacturing method for a semiconductor device. In this method, a semiconductor workpiece, which includes a metal gate electrode thereon, is provided. An opening is formed in the semiconductor workpiece to expose a surface of the metal gate. Formation of the opening leaves a polymeric residue on the workpiece. To remove the polymeric residue from the workpiece, a cleaning solution that includes an organic alkali component is used. Other embodiments related to a semiconductor device resulting from the method.

Transistors having partially recessed gates are constructed on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) semiconductor wafers provided with a buried oxide layer (BOX), for example, FD-SOI and UTBB devices. An epitaxially grown channel region relaxes constraints on the design of doped source and drain profiles. Formation of a partially recessed gate and raised epitaxial source and drain regions allow further improvements in transistor performance and reduction of short channel effects such as drain induced barrier lowering (DIBL) and control of a characteristic subthreshold slope. Gate recess can be varied to place the channel at different depths relative to the dopant profile, assisted by advanced process control. The partially recessed gate has an associated high-k gate dielectric that is initially formed in contact with three sides of the gate. Subsequent removal of the high-k sidewalls and substitution of a lower-k silicon nitride encapsulant lowers capacitance between the gate and the source and drain regions.

A semiconductor structure and a method for forming same are provided, the forming method including: providing a base including a plurality of adjacent device unit regions, an initial device gate structure spanning a plurality of device unit regions being formed on the base; etching a portion of the initial device gate structure in thickness at a junction between the adjacent device unit regions to form a top opening; forming a spacer layer on a side wall of the top opening; etching a remainder of the initial device gate structure exposed from the spacer layer, and forming a bottom opening exposed from the base within the remainder of the initial device gate structure, the remainder of the initial device gate structure being used as a device gate structure; and forming an isolation structure within the top opening and the bottom opening. The spacer layer is configured to adjust a width of the bottom opening, so that the width of the bottom opening is less than a width of the top opening. Therefore, the width of the top opening can be increased properly to enlarge a process window in which the top opening is formed, thereby better implementing isolation between the adjacent device unit regions and improving integrity of the device gate structure, further helping improve performance of a transistor.

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes providing a substrate structure, which includes a substrate, one or more semiconductor fins on the substrate, a gate structure on each fin, an active region located in said fins, and an interlayer dielectric layer covering at the active region. The method includes forming a hard mask layer over the interlayer dielectric layer and the gate structure, and using an etch process with a patterned etch mask, forming a first contact hole extending through the hard mask layer and extending into a portion of the interlayer dielectric layer, using patterned a mask. The method further includes forming a sidewall dielectric layer on sidewalls of the first contact hole, and using an etch process with the sidewall dielectric layer as an etch mask, etching the interlayer dielectric layer at bottom of the first contact hole to form a second contact hole extending to the active region.

A method includes providing a structure having a substrate, a gate structure over the substrate, a sacrificial spacer over a sidewall of the gate structure, a source/drain feature over the substrate and adjacent to the gate structure; forming a dielectric layer over the gate structure, the sacrificial spacer, and the source/drain feature; with the dielectric layer over the gate structure, the sacrificial spacer, and the source/drain feature, forming a contact extending through the dielectric layer to the source/drain feature; removing the dielectric layer to expose the sacrificial spacer; etching the sacrificial spacer to form a trench; and depositing an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer, wherein the ILD layer caps the trench, thereby defining an air gap inside the trench.

A structure for a field-effect transistor includes a semiconductor body, a first gate structure extending over the semiconductor body, and a second gate structure extending over the semiconductor body. A recess is in the semiconductor body between the first and second gate structures. A three part source/drain region includes a pair of spaced semiconductor spacers in the recess; a first semiconductor layer laterally between the pair of semiconductor spacers; and a second semiconductor layer over the first semiconductor layer. The pair of spaced semiconductor spacers, the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer may all have different dopant concentrations.

A method for preparing a semiconductor device includes the following operations. A semiconductor substrate is provided, and a gate dielectric layer, a first conductive layer, and a support layer with a through hole are sequentially formed on the semiconductor substrate. A barrier layer and a second conductive layer are formed in the through hole. The support layer and a part of the first conductive layer located below the support layer are removed to form a primary gate pattern and expose the gate dielectric layer. A gate sidewall protective layer is formed on a sidewall of the primary gate pattern. An insulating layer is formed on a top of the primary gate pattern, a surface of the gate sidewall protective layer and a surface of the exposed part of the gate dielectric layer. A part of the insulating layer and a part of the gate dielectric layer are removed.

A semiconductor device includes a substrate; two source/drain (S/D) regions over the substrate; a gate stack over the substrate and between the two S/D regions; a spacer layer covering sidewalls of the gate stack; an S/D contact metal over one of the two S/D regions; a first dielectric layer covering sidewalls of the S/D contact metal; and an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer covering the first dielectric layer, the spacer layer, and the gate stack, thereby defining a gap. A material of a first sidewall of the gap is different from materials of a top surface and a bottom surface of the gap, and a material of a second sidewall of the gap is different from the materials of the top surface and the bottom surface of the gap.