Germanium Hump Reduction

A method, comprising:

• receiving a workpiece comprising a stack of semiconductor layers, wherein a top layer of the stack comprises germanium;
• depositing a first pad oxide layer on the top layer;
• depositing a pad nitride layer over the first pad oxide layer, wherein the depositing of the pad nitride layer comprises use of plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) or plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and a process temperature between about 350° C. and about 450° C.;
• and
• patterning the stack using at least the first pad oxide layer and the pad nitride layer as a hard mask layer.

A method, comprising:

• receiving a workpiece comprising a stack of semiconductor layers, wherein a top layer of the stack comprises silicon germanium;
• depositing a first pad oxide layer on the top layer;
• depositing a second pad oxide layer on the first pad oxide layer;
• depositing a pad nitride layer on the second pad oxide layer;
• and
• patterning the stack to form a fin-shaped structure, where the patterning comprises use of the first pad oxide layer, the second pad oxide layer, and the pad nitride layer as a hard mask layer,
• wherein the depositing of the pad nitride layer comprises use of plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) or plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and a process temperature between about 350° C. and about 450° C.