Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Industrial Technology Research Institute

Shyh-Shin Ferng

Yi-Hung Lin

Chung-Li Huang

Chungwei Wang

Wei-En Fu

Wen-Li Wu

Yun-San Chien

Gate-all-around (GAA) devices and methods of manufacturing such devices are described herein. A method includes forming a multi-layer structure over a substrate and forming a plurality of source/drain regions in the multi-layer structure. Fins are then patterned into the multi-layer structure through adjacent source/drain regions. A wire release process is performed to remove materials of one or more of the layers in the multi-layer stack. The remaining layers of the multi-layer stack form a stack of nanostructures connecting adjacent source/drain regions of the fins.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing

A method includes forming a test key. The formation of the test key includes forming a first plurality of semiconductor strips, and cutting the first plurality of semiconductor strips into an array of a second plurality semiconductor strips, with each row of the array being formed from one strip in the first plurality of semiconductor strips, forming isolation regions in recesses between the second plurality of semiconductor strips, and recessing the isolation regions. The top portions of the second plurality of semiconductor strips protrude higher than the isolation regions form semiconductor fins, which form a fin array. An X-ray beam is projected on the test key. A diffraction pattern is obtained from scattered X-ray beam scattered from the test key.

Test key design to enable X-ray scatterometry measurement

This application relates to an apparatus and methods for enhancing the performance of X-ray reflectometry (XRR) when used in characterizing thin films and nanostructures supported on a flat substrate. In particular, this application is targeted for addressing the difficulties encountered when XRR is applied to samples with very limited sampling volume, i.e. a combination of small sampling area and miniscule sample thickness or structure height. Point focused X-ray with long wavelength, greater than that from a copper anode or 0.154 nm, is preferably used with appropriately controlled collimations on both incident and detection arms to enable the XRR measurements of samples with limited volumes.

X-ray reflectometry apparatus for samples with a miniscule measurement area and a thickness in nanometers and method thereof

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Hsinchu, Taiwan

Shyh-Shin Ferng