Patent ID: 7214628
Filing Date: 2007-05-08
Classification: H01J,H01L

Abstract:
1. A method of fabricating a gate of a transistor device on a semiconductor substrate, comprising: placing said substrate in a vacuum chamber of a plasma reactor; introducing into said chamber a process gas that includes oxygen; forming an oxide insulating layer at the surface of said substrate by generating a plasma in a plasma generation region within said vacuum chamber during successive “on” times, and allowing ion energy of said plasma to decay during successive “off” intervals separating the successive “on” intervals, said “on” and “off” intervals defining a controllable duty cycle; and during the step of forming the oxide insulating layer, limiting said duty cycle so as to limit formation of defects in said insulating layer; wherein said plasma is separated from said substrate by a distance L, and wherein ions in said plasma travel from said ion generation region to said substrate at an average drift velocity, and said distance L is at least as great as the product of said drift velocity and said “off” time.