Patent ID: 7767262

Claim:
A method of forming a nitrided high-k film, comprising: disposing a substrate in a process chamber; and forming a high-k film on the substrate by: a) depositing and at least partially oxidizing a nitrogen-containing film by sequentially: 1) exposing the substrate to a first metal-containing precursor, purging or evacuating the process chamber, and exposing the substrate to a nitrogen-containing gas to form a nitrogen-containing film, wherein step (1) is optionally repeated with purging or evacuating the process chamber therebetween; and (2) exposing the nitrogen-containing film formed in (1) to a first oxygen-containing gas to at least partially oxidize the nitrogen-containing film, and purging or evacuating the process chamber; and b) depositing an oxygen-containing film by sequentially: (3) exposing the at least partially oxidized nitrogen-containing film to a second metal-containing precursor, purging or evacuating the process chamber, and exposing the substrate to a second oxygen-containing gas so as to further oxidize at least portion of the thickness of the nitrogen-containing film, wherein step (3) is optionally repeated with purging or evacuating the process chamber therebetween; and c) optionally repeating steps a) and b), any number of times, with purging or evacuating the process chamber therebetween, wherein the first and second metal-containing precursors for depositing the nitrogen-containing film and the oxygen-containing film comprise the same one or more metal elements selected from alkaline earth elements, rare earth elements, and Group IVB elements of the Periodic Table, and optionally aluminum, silicon, or aluminum and silicon.