Tin oxide thin film spacers in semiconductor device manufacturing

Abstract

Thin tin oxide films can be used in semiconductor device manufacturing. In one implementation, a method of processing a semiconductor substrate includes: providing a semiconductor substrate having a plurality of protruding features residing on an etch stop layer material, and an exposed tin oxide layer in contact with both the protruding features and the etch stop layer material, where the tin oxide layer covers both sidewalls and horizontal surfaces of the protruding features; and then completely removing the tin oxide layer from horizontal surfaces of the semiconductor substrate without completely removing the tin oxide layer residing at the sidewalls of the protruding features. Next, the protruding features can be removed without completely removing the tin oxide layer that resided at the sidewalls of the protruding features, thereby forming tin oxide spacers.

1 . A partially fabricated semiconductor device, the device comprising:
 an exposed SnO 2  layer and a layer of a silicon-containing material,   wherein the layer of the silicon-containing material comprises an exposed portion, and a non-exposed portion, wherein the exposed SnO 2  layer is over and in direct contact with the non-exposed portion of the layer of the silicon-containing material, and   wherein the silicon-containing material in the exposed portion of the layer of the silicon-containing material is the same as in the non-exposed portion of the layer of the silicon-containing material.   
     
     
         2 . A method of processing a semiconductor substrate, the method comprising:
 (a) providing a semiconductor substrate having an exposed layer comprising a first material and at least one protruding feature comprising a second material that is different from the first material; and   (b) depositing a tin oxide layer over both the first material and the second material, including sidewalls of at least one protruding feature, wherein the first material and the second material are selected such that a ratio of an etch rate of the first material to an etch rate of SnO 2  is greater than 1 for a first etch chemistry, and a ratio of an etch rate of the second material to an etch rate of SnO 2  is greater than 1 for a second etch chemistry.   
     
     
         3 . A method for processing a semiconductor substrate, comprising:
 (a) depositing a tin-containing material on a semiconductor substrate or etching a tin-containing material from a semiconductor substrate in a process chamber; and   (b) cleaning the process chamber after (a) by contacting the process chamber with a hydrogen-containing gas to form a volatile tin-containing product, wherein (b) comprises converting tin fluoride to tin hydride.