A method of layer formation on a substrate with high aspect ratio features
is disclosed. The layer is formed from a gas mixture comprising one or
more process gases and one or more etch species. The one or more process
gases react to deposit a material layer on the substrate. In conjunction
with the material layer deposition, the etch species selectively remove
portions of the deposited material layer adjacent to high aspect ratio
feature openings, filling such features in a void-free and/or seam-free
manner. The material layer may be deposited on the substrate using
physical vapor deposition (PVD) and/or chemical vapor deposition (CVD)
techniques.