Method of topologically restricted plasma-enhanced cyclic deposition of silicon or metal nitride

A method of topology-enabling selective deposition wherein a film is deposited selectively on a top surface of a substrate having a recess pattern constituted by a bottom and sidewalls in semiconductor fabrication, comprising, in sequence:

• (i) supplying a precursor to a reaction space in which the substrate is placed between electrodes, said precursor containing multiple elements including silicon or metal, carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen;
• (ii) conducting purging of the reaction space, without step (i), only to the extent that a greater amount of precursor than an amount of precursor chemisorbed on the top surface of the substrate remains in a vicinity of the top surface of the substrate;
• and then
• (iii) applying RF power between the electrodes while supplying a plasma-generating gas devoid of H and O, without step (i), to generate an ion-rich anisotropic plasma to which the substrate is exposed, thereby depositing a topologically restricted layer selectively and predominantly on the top surface of the substrate wherein substantially no layer, or a substantially thinner layer than the topologically restricted layer, is deposited on the sidewalls and the bottom of the recess pattern without becoming thinner toward the bottom of the recess pattern,
• wherein the topologically restricted layer is constituted by SiCN, SiN, TiCN, TiN, ZrCN, ZrN, HfCN, HfN, TaCN, TaN, NbCN, NbN, AlCN, AlN, CoCN, CoN, CuCN, CuN, WCN, WN, RuCN, RuN, NiCN, NiN LaCN, LaN, or WFN.