Catalyst-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

A method for processing a substrate, the method comprising:

• performing a cyclic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process to fill a portion of a recess, the substrate comprising a dielectric layer having the recess and a first metal layer at a bottom of the recess, one cycle of the cyclic CVD process comprising;
• treating the substrate with a halogen-containing catalyst, the halogen-containing catalyst selectively modifying a surface of a second metal formed over the first metal layer;
• after treating the substrate with the halogen-containing catalyst, treating the substrate with a molecular inhibitor (MI), the MI covering sidewalls of the dielectric layer in the recess;
• and
• depositing the second metal over the first metal layer in the recess, wherein the MI covering the sidewalls prevents deposition of the second metal on the dielectric layer.

A method for processing a substrate, the method comprising:

• exposing the substrate to a first vapor comprising a halogen-containing catalyst, the substrate comprising a dielectric surface and a first metal surface, the halogen-containing catalyst modifying a surface of the first metal surface;
• exposing the substrate to a second vapor comprising a molecular inhibitor (MI), the MI selectively adsorbing on the dielectric surface;
• and
• selectively depositing a second metal over the modified surface of the first metal surface by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), wherein a rate of deposition over the modified surface of the first metal surface is at least 100 times as high as a rate of deposition over the MI on the dielectric surface.