Damage-less hydrogen treatment for molybdenum oxide reduction

A method, comprising:

• positioning a semiconductor structure within a processing volume of a processing chamber, the semiconductor structure comprising:
• a first layer disposed over a substrate surface, the first layer comprising a tungsten based material,
• one or more dielectric layers disposed over the first layer, wherein the one or more dielectric layers comprise a gap formed over a portion of the first layer, and
• a metal material disposed within the gap over the first layer, the metal material comprising a molybdenum oxide (MoOx) layer;
• and
• performing a redox operation on a portion of the semiconductor structure to reduce the MoOx to molybdenum (Mo), wherein performing the redox operation comprises:
• flowing a process gas into the processing chamber;
• and
• applying a microwave energy to the process gas disposed within the processing volume, wherein the application of the microwave energy does not generate a plasma within the processing volume.

A method, comprising:

• positioning a semiconductor structure within a processing chamber, the semiconductor structure comprising:
• one or more dielectric layers disposed on a surface of a hardmask layer;
• a gap formed through the one or more dielectric layers and the hardmask layer, the one or more dielectric layers comprising a low-k dielectric material at a first carbon content, and
• a metal material disposed within the gap, the metal material comprising a first thickness and a first molybdenum oxide (MoOx) content;
• flowing a process gas into the processing chamber;
• and
• performing a redox operation on the semiconductor structure by applying a microwave energy to the process gas to form a processed semiconductor structure, the processed semiconductor structure comprising:
• the low-k dielectric material at a second carbon content, and
• the metal material comprising a second thickness and a second MoOx content, and
• the process of applying the microwave energy to the process gas does not generate a plasma.