A METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MODIFYING A GATE DIELECTRIC STACK CONTAINING A HIGH-K LAYER USING PLASMA PROCESSING

摘要

A method and system for modifying a gate dielectric stack (1) by exposure to a plasma. The method includes providing the gate dielectric stack (1) having a high-k layer (30) formed on a substrate (10, 125), generating a plasma from a process gas containing an inert gas and one of an oxygen-containing gas or a nitrogen-containing gas, where the process gas pressure is selected to control the amount of neutral radicals relative to the amount of ionic radicals in the plasma, and modifying the gate dielectric stack (1) by exposing the stack (1) to the plasma.