Patent ID: 8138104

Claim:
A method of forming silicon nitride, the method comprising: (i) disposing a substrate including a surface on a ceramic support in a processing chamber; (ii) depositing a silicon nitride layer on a surface of the substrate with plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition by exposing the surface to a silicon-containing precursor gas at a temperature of greater than 400° C.; (iii) after depositing the silicon nitride layer, treating the silicon nitride layer with a first nitrogen plasma; thereafter (iv) exposing the silicon nitride layer to ultraviolet radiation while the temperature of the substrate is maintained at a temperature greater than 400° C.; (v) treating the silicon nitride layer with a second nitrogen plasma after exposing the silicon nitride layer to the ultraviolet radiation; and repeating steps (ii) through (v) one or more times to increase a thickness of the silicon nitride layer.