Patent ID: 7741183

Claim:
A method of forming a semiconductor device comprising: providing a substrate for the semiconductor device; forming a base oxide layer overlying the substrate by applying a rapid thermal oxidation (RTO) of the substrate in the presence of oxygen; forming a nitrogen-rich region within and at a surface of the base oxide layer, the nitrogen-rich region overlying an oxide region in the base oxide layer; after forming the nitrogen-rich region in the base oxide layer, annealing the semiconductor device in a dilute oxygen and hydrogen-free ambient of below 1 Torr partial pressure of the oxygen to heal bond damage in both the oxide region and the nitrogen-rich region in the base oxide layer; after annealing the semiconductor device in the dilute oxygen ambient, subjecting the semiconductor device to an in-situ steam generation (ISSG) to grow and densify the oxide region in the base oxide layer at an interface between the substrate and base oxide layer; forming a gate electrode on the nitrogen-rich region; and forming a source in the substrate on a first side of the gate electrode and drain in the substrate on a second side of the gate electrode.