Micron Technology Incorporated

Prashant Raghu

Jerome A Imonigie

Niraj B Rana

Joseph Neil Greeley

Sanjeev Sapra

Sanh D Tang

Nishant Sinha

Michael Tristan Andreas

Janos Fucsko

Ravi T Iyer

Gordon A Haller

Vishwanath Bhat

Jim J Hofmann

Neil Joseph Greeley

Ian K McDaniel

Scott E Sills

Donald L Yates

Theodore M Taylor

Gundu M Sabde

Vassil N Antonov

Robert J Hanson

Ian C Laboriante

Grady S Waldo

Sandra Tagg

Patrick M Flynn

Duane M Goodner

Joseph Wiggins

Kyle Grant

Yi Yang

Rita J Klein

Timothy A Quick

Kevin J Torek

Andrew Li

Sourabh Dhir

Lukasz Hupka

Naraji B Rana

In an example, a wet cleaning process is performed to clean a structure having features and openings between the features while preventing drying of the structure. After performing the wet cleaning process, a polymer solution is deposited in the openings while continuing to prevent any drying of the structure. A sacrificial polymer material is formed in the openings from the polymer solution. The structure may be used in semiconductor devices, such as integrated circuits, memory devices, MEMS, among others.

Using sacrificial polymer materials in semiconductor processing

Various embodiments comprise methods of selectively etching oxides over nitrides in a vapor-etch cyclic process. In one embodiment, the method includes, in a first portion of the vapor-etch cyclic process, exposing a substrate having oxide features and nitride features formed thereon to selected etchants in a vapor-phase chamber; transferring the substrate to a post-etch heat treatment chamber; and heating the substrate to remove etchant reaction products from the substrate. In a second portion of the vapor-etch cyclic process, the method continues with transferring the substrate from the post-etch heat treatment chamber to the vapor-phase chamber; exposing the substrate to the selected etchants in the vapor-phase chamber; transferring the substrate to the post-etch heat treatment chamber; and heating the substrate to remove additional etchant reaction products from the substrate. Apparatuses for performing the method and additional methods are also disclosed.

Vapor-etch cyclic process

Methods include exposing polysilicon to an aqueous composition comprising nitric acid, poly-carboxylic acid and ammonium fluoride, and removing a portion of the polysilicon selective to an oxide using the aqueous composition.

Removing polysilicon

Compositions for etching polysilicon including aqueous compositions containing nitric acid, ammonium fluoride, and poly-carboxylic acid.

Compositions for etching polysilicon

A surface modification composition comprising a silylation agent comprising a silyl acetamide, a silylation catalyst comprising a perfluoro acid anhydride, an amine-based complexing agent, and an organic solvent. Methods of modifying a silicon-based material and methods of forming high aspect ratio structures on a substrate are also disclosed.

Surface modification compositions, methods of modifying silicon-based materials, and methods of forming high aspect ratio structures

Methods of selectively forming a metal-doped chalcogenide material comprise exposing a chalcogenide material to a transition metal solution, and incorporating transition metal of the transition solution into the chalcogenide material without substantially incorporating the transition metal into an adjacent material. The chalcogenide material is not silver selenide. Another method comprises forming a chalcogenide material adjacent to and in contact with an insulative material, exposing the chalcogenide material and the insulative material to a transition metal solution, and diffusing transition metal of the transition metal solution into the chalcogenide material while substantially no transition metal diffuses into the insulative material. A method of doping a chalcogenide material of a memory cell with at least one transition metal without using an etch or chemical mechanical planarization process to remove the transition metal from an insulative material of the memory cell is also disclosed, wherein the chalcogenide material is not silver selenide.

Methods of selectively doping chalcogenide materials and methods of forming semiconductor devices

Some embodiments include a method of forming a capacitor. An opening is formed through a silicon-containing mass to a base, and sidewalls of the opening are lined with protective material. A first capacitor electrode is formed within the opening and has sidewalls along the protective material. At least some of the silicon-containing mass is removed with an etch. The protective material protects the first capacitor electrode from being removed by the etch. A second capacitor electrode is formed along the sidewalls of the first capacitor electrode, and is spaced from the first capacitor electrode by capacitor dielectric. Some embodiments include multi-material structures having one or more of aluminum nitride, molybdenum nitride, niobium nitride, niobium oxide, silicon dioxide, tantalum nitride and tantalum oxide. Some embodiments include semiconductor constructions.

Multi-material structures and capacitor-containing semiconductor constructions

A method of forming capacitors includes forming support material over a substrate. A first capacitor electrode is formed within individual openings in the support material. A first etching is conducted only partially into the support material using a liquid etching fluid to expose an elevationally outer portion of sidewalls of individual of the first capacitor electrodes. A second etching is conducted into the support material using a dry etching fluid to expose an elevationally inner portion of the sidewalls of the individual first capacitor electrodes. A capacitor dielectric is formed over the outer and inner portions of the sidewalls of the first capacitor electrodes. A second capacitor electrode is formed over the capacitor dielectric.

Methods of forming capacitors

Methods and compositions for etching polysilicon including aqueous compositions containing nitric acid and ammonium fluoride, and apparatus formed thereby.

Etching polysilicon

Some embodiments include methods of treating semiconductor substrates. The substrates may be exposed to one or more conditions that vary continuously. The conditions may include temperature gradients, concentration gradients of one or more compositions that quench etchant, pH gradients to assist in removing particles, and/or concentration gradients of one or more compositions that assist in removing particles. The continuously varying conditions may be imparted by placing the semiconductor substrates in a bath of flowing rinsing solution, with the bath having at least two feed lines that provide the rinsing solution therein. One of the feed lines may be at a first condition, and the other may be at a second condition that is different from the first condition. The relative amount of rinsing solution provided to the bath by each feed line may be varied to continuously vary the condition within the bath.

Methods of treating semiconductor substrates, methods of forming openings during semiconductor fabrication, and methods of removing particles from over semiconductor substrates

Methods of selectively forming metal-doped chalcogenide materials, methods of selectively doping chalcogenide materials, and methods of forming semiconductor device structures including same

Growing community of inventors

Boise, ID, United States of America

Prashant Raghu