Abstract: In certain embodiments, a method includes forming, on a substrate by spin-on deposition, a layer stack of alternating layers of first and second carbon-containing materials. The layers of the first carbon-containing material include an agent-generating ingredient for generating a solubility-changing agent in response to an activation trigger. The method includes executing the activation trigger in response to which the solubility-changing agent is generated from the agent-generating ingredient in the layers of the first carbon-containing material and modifies the layers of the first carbon-containing material to be soluble in a developer. The method includes etching first openings through the layer stack, filling the first openings with a third material, etching second openings through the layer stack, removing the layers of the first carbon-containing material from the layer stack by exposing those to the developer, and replacing the layers of the first carbon-containing material with a fourth material.

Abstract: Embodiments of a wet etch process and methods are disclosed herein to provide uniform wet etching of material within high aspect ratio features. In the present disclosure, a wet etch process is used to etch material within high aspect ratio features, such as deep trenches and holes, provided on a patterned substrate. Uniform wet etching is provided in the present disclosure by ensuring that wall surfaces of the material being etched (or wall surfaces adjacent to the material being etched) exhibit a neutral surface charge when exposed to the etch solution used to etch the material.

Abstract: Embodiments of a wet etch process and methods are disclosed herein to provide uniform wet etching of material formed within features (e.g., trenches, holes, slits, etc.), and on more planar areas of a patterned substrate, when a critical dimension (CD) of the features is relatively small compared to the more planar areas of the patterned substrate. In the present disclosure, uniform wet etching is provided by ensuring that wall surfaces adjacent to the material being etched exhibit a neutral surface charge when exposed to the etch solution used to etch the material.

Abstract: Embodiments of improved process flows and methods are provided in the present disclosure to form air gaps between metal interconnects. More specifically, the present disclosure provides improved process flows and methods that utilize a wet etch process to form recesses between metal interconnects formed on a patterned substrate. Unlike conventional air gap integration methods, the improved process flows and methods described herein utilize the critical dimension (CD) dependent etching provided by wet etch processes to etch an intermetal dielectric material formed between the metal interconnects at a faster rate than the intermetal dielectric material is etched in surrounding areas of the patterned substrate. This enables the improved process flows and methods described herein to form recesses (and subsequently form air gaps) between the metal interconnects without using a dry etch process.

Abstract: Embodiments of improved process flows and methods are provided in the present disclosure to control fin height and channel area in a fin field effect transistor (FinFET) having gaps of variable CD. More specifically, the present disclosure provides improved transistor fabrication processes and methods that utilize a wet etch process, instead of a dry etch process, to remove the oxide material deposited within the gaps formed between the fins of a FinFET. By utilizing a wet etch process, the improved transistor fabrication processes and methods described herein provide a means to adjust or individually control the fin height of one or more the fins, thereby providing greater control over the channel area of the FinFET.

Abstract: The present disclosure combines chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), wet etch and deposition processes to provide improved processes and methods for planarizing an uneven surface of a material layer deposited over a plurality of structures formed on a substrate. A CMP process is initially used to smooth the uneven surface and provide complete local planarization of the material layer above the plurality of structures. After achieving complete local planarization, a wet etch process is used to etch the material layer until a uniform recess is formed between the plurality of structures and the material layer is provided with a uniform thickness across the substrate. In some embodiments, an additional material layer may be deposited and a second CMP process may be used to planarize the additional material layer to provide the substrate with a globally planarized surface.

Abstract: Embodiments of a wet etch process and method are disclosed to provide uniform etching of material formed within features (such as, e.g., trenches, holes, slits, etc.) having different critical dimension (CD). By combining a non-aqueous organic-based etch solution and an aqueous-based etch solution (either in series or in parallel) within a wet etch process, the disclosed embodiments utilize the opposing effects of CD-dependent etching to provide uniform etching of the material, regardless of CD.

Abstract: A meme generation method, an electronic device, and a storage medium are provided. The method includes: determining a plurality of second expression images corresponding to a target face image based on a plurality of first expression images contained in a first meme; generating a second meme corresponding to the target face image based on the plurality of second expression images corresponding to the target face image; wherein, determining an affine transformation parameter between the target face image and an i-th first expression image in the plurality of first expression images according to a corresponding relation between a face key point in the target face image and a face key point in the i-th first expression image; and transforming the target face image based on the affine transformation parameter to obtain an i-th second expression image corresponding to the target face image.

Abstract: The satellite image processing method includes: acquiring a first target satellite image; defogging the first target satellite image through a first neural network to acquire a first satellite image; and adjusting an image quality parameter of the first satellite image through a second neural network to acquire a second satellite image.

Abstract: A method of generating a virtual idol is provided. The method includes: during obtaining of a virtual idol, feature information of a target object may be obtained, and then the feature information of the target object is used as a generation basis for the virtual idol, so that a target virtual face matching with the feature information may be determined from a preset face material library in a targeted manner, and a target motion video matching with the feature information may be determined from a preset motion video library; and then the virtual face and a facial image in the motion video are fused, which may generate the virtual idol for a scenario where the target object is endorsed, so that the virtual idol may subsequently be used to endorse the target object.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for processing a video frame are provided. The method may include: converting, using an optical flow generated based on a previous frame and a next frame of adjacent frames in a video, a feature map of the previous frame to obtain a converted feature map; determining, based on an error of the optical flow, a weight of the converted feature map, and obtaining a fused feature map based on a weighted result of a feature of the converted feature map and a feature of a feature map of the next frame; and updating the feature map of the next frame as the fused feature map.

Abstract: A sputtering method includes one or more sputtering processes. Each sputtering process includes in a first pre-sputtering phase, sputtering a target material on a baffle plate configured to shield a substrate; in a second pre-sputtering phase, sputtering a target material compound on the baffle plate; and in a main sputtering phase, sputtering the target material compound on the substrate. The first pre-sputtering phase is used to adjust a sputtering voltage for the main sputtering phase.

Abstract: The disclosure discloses a cartoonlization processing method for an image, and relates to a field of computational vision, image processing, face recognition, deep learning technologies. The method includes: performing skin color recognition on a facial image to be processed to determine a target skin color of a face in the facial image; processing the facial image by utilizing any cartoonizing model in a cartoonizing model set to obtain a reference cartoonized image corresponding to the facial image in a case that the cartoonizing model set does not contain a cartoonizing model corresponding to the target skin color; determining a pixel adjustment parameter based on the target skin color and a reference skin color corresponding to the any cartoonizing model; and adjusting a pixel value of each pixel point in the reference cartoonized image based on the pixel adjustment parameter, to obtain a target cartoonized image corresponding to the facial image.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes providing a substrate comprising a source/drain contact region and a dummy gate, forming a first etch stop layer aligned to the source/drain contact region, where the first etch stop layer does not cover the dummy gate. The method may include forming a second etch stop layer over the first etch stop layer, the second etch stop layer covering the first etch stop layer and the dummy gate. The method may include converting the dummy gate to a metal gate. The method may include removing the second etch stop layer using a plasma etching process. The method may include removing the first etch stop layer.

Abstract: A method includes providing a substrate including metal gate stacks and source/drain contact regions in alternating arrangement along a surface of the substrate with a dielectric spacer separating each source/drain contact region from adjacent metal gate stacks. Each source/drain region is recessed within an opening between adjacent metal gate stacks such that source/drain contact regions provide a bottom of the recess and dielectric spacers provide sidewalls. The etch stop layer is formed on the substrate such that it conformally covers the metal gate stacks, the sidewalls and the bottom of each recess, and a sacrificial layer is formed over each of the metal gate stacks and on at least a portion of each sidewall. The etch stop layer is removed from the bottom of each recess to expose the source/drain contact, and the sacrificial layer is then removed from the metal gate stacks and the sidewalls of each recess.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and apparatus for generating an image. The method may include: receiving a first image including a face input by a user in an interactive scene; presenting the first image to the user; inputting the first image into a pre-trained generative adversarial network in a backend to obtain a second image output by the generative adversarial network; where the generative adversarial network uses face attribute information generated based on the input image as a constraint; and presenting the second image to the user in response to obtaining the second image output by the generative adversarial network in the backend.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating a virtual avatar are provided. The method may include: acquiring a first avatar, and determining an expression parameter of the first avatar, where the expression parameter of the first avatar including an expression parameter of at least one of five sense organs; and determining, based on the expression parameter of at least one of the five sense organs, a target virtual avatar that is associated with an attribute of the first avatar and has an expression of the first avatar.

Abstract: A method for filling recessed features with a low-resistivity metal. The method includes providing a patterned substrate containing a recessed feature formed in a first layer and a second layer that is exposed in the recessed feature, forming a nucleation enhancement layer on a sidewall of the first layer in the recessed feature and depositing a metal layer in the recessed feature by vapor phase deposition, where the metal layer is deposited on the second layer and on the nucleation enhancement layer. An initial metal layer may be selectively formed on the second layer in the recessed feature before forming the nucleation enhancement layer.

Abstract: In certain embodiments, a method of forming a semiconductor device includes forming a patterned resist layer over a hard mask layer using an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography process. The hard mask layer is disposed over a substrate. The method includes patterning the hard mask layer using the patterned resist layer as an etch mask. The method includes smoothing the hard mask layer by forming, using a first atomic layer etch step, a first layer by converting a first portion of the hard mask layer, and by removing, using a second atomic layer etch step, the first layer.

Abstract: A method for processing a substrate includes performing a first etch process to form a plurality of partial features in a dielectric layer disposed over the substrate; performing an irradiation process to irradiate the substrate with ultra-violet radiation having a wavelength between 100 nm and 200 nm; and after the irradiation process, performing a second etch process to form a plurality of features from the plurality of partial features.