Patent ID: 7625603

Claim:
A method of forming a silicon oxide layer, comprising: positioning a substrate in a deposition chamber; and forming a silicon oxide layer by iteratively performing the following steps multiple times: oxidizing a silicon precursor gas in the deposition chamber at a first temperature to form a sub-layer of the silicon oxide layer; providing an oxygen-rich environment in the deposition chamber during the oxidization of the silicon precursor gas; heating the substrate to a second temperature higher than the first temperature to anneal the sub-layer of the silicon oxide layer; and providing an oxygen-rich environment in the deposition chamber during the heating of the substrate; wherein: the formation of each of the sub-layers formed subsequent to a first one of the sub-layers, the first sub-layer having been formed prior to all of the other of the sub-layers, is directly on a respective previously formed one of the sub-layers; the substrate is subjected to subsequent processing steps after said silicon oxide layer is formed; and the second temperature is approximate to the highest processing temperature applied to the substrate during said subsequent processing steps.