Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

A semiconductor manufacturing process in which single crystal silicon substrate is immersed into an oxidation chamber maintained at a first temperature between 400.degree. and 700.degree. C. for a first duration. The oxidation chamber includes a first ambient gas of N.sub.2 or Argon. A second ambient gas is then introduced into the oxidation chamber. The second ambient gas includes a fluorine species to remove any residual oxide from the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate and to form a fluorine terminated upper surface. The ambient temperature within said oxidation chamber is then ramped to a second temperature in the range of approximately 600.degree. to 950.degree. C. A third ambient gas is introduced into said oxidation chamber to form a base oxide layer on the fluorine terminated upper surface of said semiconductor substrate. The third ambient gas includes oxygen and, preferably, the base oxide layer consists essentially of silicon and oxide. A fourth ambient gas, which includes a nitrogen species, is then introduced into the oxidation chamber and the base oxide layer is reoxidized to form an oxynitride layer. Thereafter, a conductive gate structure is formed on the oxynitride layer and a source/drain impurity distribution is introduced into a pair of source/drain regions within the semiconductor substrate.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim