US Patent 11049695 Metal contact landing structure

Processing methods may be performed to form semiconductor structures that may include three-dimensional memory structures. The methods may include forming a plasma of a fluorine-containing precursor in a remote plasma region of a processing chamber. The methods may include contacting a semiconductor substrate with effluents of the plasma. The semiconductor substrate may be housed in a processing region of the processing chamber. The methods may include selectively cleaning exposed nitride materials with the effluents of the plasma. The methods may also include subsequently depositing a cap material over the cleaned nitride material. The cap material may be selectively deposited on the nitride material relative to exposed regions of a dielectric material.