Amorphous silicon-based films resistant to crystallization

A method comprising:

• delivering a silicon-containing precursor and a boron-containing precursor to a processing region of a semiconductor processing chamber, wherein the atomic percentage of dopant atoms in the dopant-containing precursor to the sum of dopant atoms in the dopant-containing precursor and silicon atoms in the silicon-containing precursor is in a range from 5% to 40%;
• forming a plasma of the silicon-containing precursor and the boron-containing precursor within the processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber;
• depositing a silicon-and-boron material on a substrate disposed within the processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber;
• patterning the silicon-and-boron material to form a patterned silicon-and-boron material;
• depositing a silicon nitride material by atomic layer deposition on the patterned silicon-and-boron material;
• performing a thermal anneal of the patterned silicon-and-boron material at a temperature in a range from 650° C. to 750° C. to form an annealed silicon-and-boron material, the annealed silicon-and-boron material being substantially free of crystalline silicon.

A semiconductor device, comprising:

• a substrate;
• a silicon-and-dopant material on the substrate, wherein:
• the dopant comprises boron, carbon, or phosphorous,
• the atomic percentage of dopant atoms to the sum of dopant atoms and silicon atoms in the silicon-and-dopant material is in a range from 5% to 40%,
• the silicon-and-dopant material is substantially free of crystalline silicon, and
• the silicon-and-dopant material is patterned;
• and
• a silicon nitride material on the silicon-and-dopant layer, wherein:
• the silicon nitride material and the silicon-and-dopant material were annealed at a temperature of 650° C. to 750° C. for at least 2 hours.