Eliminating yield impact of stochastics in lithography

A method of processing semiconductor substrates, the method comprising:

• providing a substrate having a patterned photoresist, the patterned photoresist comprising a first feature and a second feature, wherein the first feature is partially defined and comprises photoresist at a bottom of the first feature;
• after providing the substrate, preferentially depositing carbon-containing material on the photoresist such that more carbon-containing material is deposited at a bottom of the second feature than at the bottom of the first feature;
• and
• after depositing the carbon-containing material, performing atomic layer etching on exposed surfaces of the substrate.

A method of processing semiconductor substrates, the method comprising:

• providing a substrate having a patterned photoresist, the patterned photoresist comprising a first feature and a second feature, wherein feature depth of the first feature is less than thickness of the patterned photoresist;
• after providing the substrate, depositing carbon-containing material over the patterned photoresist by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition;
• and
• after depositing the carbon-containing material, etching the substrate by modifying a surface of exposed surfaces on the substrate to form modified surfaces and etching the modified surfaces.

An apparatus for processing semiconductor substrates, the apparatus comprising:

• one or more process chambers, each process chamber comprising a chuck;
• one or more gas inlets into the process chambers and associated flow control hardware;
• a plasma generator;
• and
• a controller having at least one processor and a memory, wherein
• the at least one processor and the memory are communicatively connected with one another,
• the at least one processor is at least operatively connected with the flow control hardware, and
• the memory stores computer executable instructions for controlling the at least one processor to at least control the flow control hardware by:
• causing introduction of a hard mask deposition precursor;
• after introducing the hard mask deposition precursor, causing stopping of the introduction of the hard mask deposition precursor;
• after stopping the introduction of the hard mask deposition precursor, causing introduction of a modification gas;
• and
• after introduction of the modification gas, causing introduction of an inert gas and generation of a plasma,
• wherein introduction of the hard mask deposition precursor, modification gas, and inert gas are performed without breaking vacuum.