Abstract: An etching method includes (a) providing a substrate in a chamber in a plasma processing apparatus. The substrate includes a silicon-containing film. The etching method further includes (b) etching the silicon-containing film with a chemical species in plasma generated from a process gas in the chamber. The process gas contains a hydrogen fluoride gas and a phosphorus-containing gas.

Abstract: A method for etching features in a stack below a patterned mask in an etch chamber is provided. The stack is cooled with a coolant with a coolant temperature below ?20° C. An etch gas is flowed into the etch chamber. A plasma is generated from the etch gas. Features are selectively etched into the stack with respect to the patterned mask.

Abstract: Methods of semiconductor processing may include forming plasma effluents. The plasma effluents may then contact a carbon-containing hardmask and an oxide cap. The plasma effluents can etch one or more features in the oxide cap through one or more apertures of the carbon-containing hardmask. Etching can create a tapered profile for one or more features in the oxide cap. The one or more features can be characterized by a critical dimension at the bottom of the one or more features. The critical dimension can be less than or about 80% of a width of the one or more apertures.

Abstract: A polishing composition capable of increasing a polishing selectivity ratio of SiOC to silicon nitride, a production method of the polishing composition, a polishing method, and a manufacturing method of a semiconductor substrate are provided. The polishing composition contains abrasives having a zeta potential of ?5 mV or less, a cationic surfactant, a phosphonic acid-based chelating agent, and a cationic compound having a molecular weight of 300 or less.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to polishing compositions containing at least one abrasive, at least one organic photocatalyst, and water.

Abstract: Methods of semiconductor processing may include providing a hydrogen-containing precursor to a processing region of a semiconductor processing chamber. A substrate may be disposed on a substrate support within the processing region. A layer of silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material may be disposed on the substrate. The methods may include forming plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor. The methods may include contacting the layer of silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material with plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor. The contacting may etch a portion of the layer of silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to selective etching processes. The processes include an etching chemistry (a plasma of a fluorine-containing precursor and a first gas mixture), and a passivating chemistry (a plasma of a sulfur-containing precursor and a second gas mixture). In some embodiments, the sulfur-containing precursor and the second gas mixture are present in a ratio of sulfur-containing precursor to second gas mixture in a range of from 0.01 to 5. The methods include etching a substrate having a plurality of alternating layers of silicon oxide and silicon nitride thereon and a trench formed through the plurality of alternating layers. The silicon nitride layers are selectively etched relative to the silicon oxide layers at an etch selectivity of greater than or equal to 500:1.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a polishing liquid which reduces the occurrence of dishing on a surface to be polished of an object to be polished having a cobalt-containing film after polishing in a case where the polishing liquid is applied to CMP of the object to be polished. In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a chemical mechanical polishing method using the above-mentioned polishing liquid. The polishing liquid of an embodiment of the present invention is a polishing liquid used for chemical mechanical polishing of an object to be polished having a cobalt-containing film, including colloidal silica, a nitrogen-containing aromatic heterocycle, and hydrogen peroxide, in which at least a specific nitrogen-containing aromatic heterocyclic compound (1), a specific nitrogen-containing aromatic heterocyclic compound (2) different from the nitrogen-containing aromatic heterocyclic compound (1) are included as the nitrogen-containing aromatic heterocyclic compound.

Abstract: The invention provides a chemical-mechanical polishing composition comprising: (a) silica abrasive; (b) an amine-based compound, wherein the amine-based compound comprises a carbon to nitrogen ratio of about 1:1 to about 3:1; (c) optionally a buffer; and (d) water, wherein the polishing composition has a pH of about 9 to about 12. The invention also provides a method of chemically-mechanically polishing a substrate, especially a substrate comprising polysilicon, using the inventive polishing composition.

Abstract: Provided herein are devices and techniques for using a low-energy implant for hard mask stress modulation. In one approach, a method may include providing a stack of mandrel film layers, implanting an upper layer of the stack of mandrel film layers, and forming a mask film layer over the upper layer. The method may further include forming a patterning layer over the mask film layer, partially removing the patterning layer and the mask film layer, and patterning the stack of mandrel film layers to form a set of vertical features.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to a method (100) for fabricating a blazed grating. The method (100) comprises providing a substrate and a patterned mask layer (110) on the substrate, performing primary dry etching (120) of the substrate such that primary ions are accelerated towards a primary etch direction to impinge on the substrate, and performing secondary dry etching (150) of the substrate such that secondary ions are accelerated towards a secondary etch direction to impinge on the substrate. A primary projection of the primary etch direction and a secondary projection of the secondary etch direction onto the grating cross-sectional plane extend perpendicular to one and the other of a blaze facet direction and an anti-blaze facet direction, respectively, and ions accelerated towards a direction with a projection onto a grating cross-sectional plane perpendicular to the blaze facet direction are collimated to form a collimated ion beam for etching the substrate.

Abstract: An alkaline etching solution comprising a hydroxide salt (e.g., an alkali metal hydroxide, an ammonium hydroxide, or a combination thereof), a polyol having at least three hydroxyl (—OH) groups, and water. Also provided is a method of producing a semiconductor device by obtaining a semiconductor substrate having masked and unmasked surfaces; exposing the semiconductor substrate having the masked and unmasked surfaces to an alkaline etching solution, such that the unmasked surfaces of the substrate are anisotropically etched, wherein the alkaline etching solution comprises: a hydroxide salt; a polyol having at least three hydroxyl (—OH) groups; and water; and performing additional processing to produce the semiconductor device.

Abstract: An etching method for forming an aperture by selectively etching one or more silicon-containing films in a substrate using a patterned mask layer deposited on top of the one or more silicon-containing films comprises: mounting the substrate in a processing chamber; introducing an etching gas containing a vapor of an oxygen-containing hydrofluorocarbon into the processing chamber; converting the etching gas to a plasma; and allowing an etching reaction to proceed between the plasma and the one or more silicon-containing films so that the one or more silicon-containing films are selectively etched versus the patterned mask layer to form the aperture, wherein the oxygen-containing hydrofluorocarbon has a general formula CxHyFzOn, where 2?x?13, 1?y?15, 1?z?21, 1?n?3.

Abstract: The invention provides a chemical mechanical polishing solution for metal and metal nitride substrates. The polishing solution includes a solvent and functionalized carbon-based particles having oxygen-containing functional groups. The functionalized carbon-based particles having oxygen-containing functional groups react with a peroxy moiety to increase oxygen to carbon atomic ratio on the functionalized carbon-based particles. The functionalized carbon-based particles contain at least 10 weight percent of an sp3-containing structure, the functionalized carbon-based particles include at least 0.01 atomic percent oxygen and a surface of the functionalized carbon-based particles has an atomic oxygen to carbon ratio of at least 0.01.

Abstract: A method for etching features in a stack below a patterned mask in an etch chamber is provided. The stack is cooled with a coolant with a coolant temperature below ?20° C. An etch gas is flowed into the etch chamber. A plasma is generated from the etch gas. Features are selectively etched into the stack with respect to the patterned mask.

Abstract: Exemplary semiconductor processing methods may include a substrate housed in the processing region. A layer of silicon-containing material may be disposed on the substrate, a patterned resist material may be disposed on the layer of silicon-containing material, and a layer of carbon-containing material may be disposed on the patterned resist material and the layer of silicon-containing material. The methods may include providing a hydrogen-containing precursor, a nitrogen-containing precursor, or both to a processing region of a semiconductor processing chamber, forming plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor and/or the nitrogen-containing precursor, and contacting the substrate with the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor and/or the nitrogen-containing precursor. The contacting may remove a portion of the layer of carbon-containing material.

Abstract: A method of performing pulsed remote plasma etching includes arranging a substrate in a processing chamber configured to perform pulsed remote plasma etching, setting at least one process parameter of the processing chamber, supplying at least one gas mixture to an upper chamber region of the processing chamber, supplying, in an ON period, a first voltage to coils arranged around the upper chamber region to energize the at least one gas mixture and generate plasma within the upper chamber region of the processing chamber, turning off the first voltage in an OFF period to discontinue generating plasma within the upper chamber region of the processing chamber, and alternating between supplying the first voltage in the ON period and turning off the first voltage in the OFF period to generate pulsed remote plasma within the upper chamber region of the processing chamber.

Abstract: Various embodiments of methods are provided for etching tungsten in a wet ALE process. The methods disclosed herein use a wide variety of techniques and wet etch chemistries to: (a) oxidize a tungsten surface and form a self-limiting, tungsten oxide passivation layer in a surface modification step of the wet ALE process, and (b) selectively remove the tungsten oxide passivation layer in a dissolution step of the wet ALE process. In the embodiments disclosed herein, ligand-assisted dissolution is used to selectively remove the tungsten oxide passivation layer without removing the unmodified tungsten surface underlying the tungsten oxide passivation layer. The ligand added to the dissolution solution prevents the dissolution solution from attacking and removing the unmodified tungsten surface.

Abstract: A method of processing a substrate that includes: flowing a fluorocarbon, a metal halide, and dihydrogen (H2) into a plasma processing chamber, the plasma processing chamber configured to hold a substrate including a dielectric layer including silicon oxide as an etch target and a patterned hardmask including polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) over the dielectric layer; while flowing the gases, generating a plasma in the plasma processing chamber; and forming a high aspect ratio feature by exposing the substrate to the plasma to etch a recess in the dielectric layer, where a metal-containing passivation layer is formed over the patterned hardmask during the exposing.

Abstract: Provided is a plasma processing method performed with a plasma processing apparatus including a chamber. The method includes: (a) preparing a substrate on a substrate support in the chamber, the substrate including an etching target film and a metal-containing film disposed on the etching target film, the metal-containing film including a side face defining at least one opening on the etching target film; (b) forming a deposited film on at least a portion of the surface of the metal-containing film using a plasma formed from a first processing gas, the first processing gas including a gas containing silicon, carbon or metal; and (c) removing at least a portion of the side face of the metal-containing film using a plasma formed from a second processing gas.