Patent ID: 6924239

Claim:
A method for processing a substrate having hydrocarbons or other airborne molecular contaminants residing thereon, the method comprising: placing the substrate having a gate dielectric thereon in a process chamber; flowing an oxygen-source gas into the process chamber at a first pressure; forming a first plasma with the oxygen-source gas in the process chamber at a first power for a first predetermined amount of time, therein combining the hydrocarbons or other airborne molecular contaminants with oxygen species of the first plasma to form product gases; removing the product gases from the process chamber, therein reducing an amount of hydrocarbons or other airborne molecular contaminants on the substrate; flowing a nitrogen/source gas into the process chamber at a second pressure; and forming, a second plasma with the nitrogen-source gas in the process chamber at a second power for a second predetermined amount of time, therein nitriding the gate dielectric of the substrate.