Applied Materials, Inc.

Joel Glenn

Judy H Huang

Chris Ngai

Mei Yee Shek

A method and apparatus for reducing oxide traps within a silicon oxide film by incorporating a selected level of fluorine in the silicon oxide film. The method includes the steps of distributing a fluorine source to a processing chamber at a selected rate with the rate being chosen according to the desired level of fluorine to be incorporated into the film, flowing a process gas including a silicon source, an oxygen source and the fluorine source into the processing chamber, and maintaining a deposition zone within the chamber at processing conditions suitable to deposit a silicon oxide film having the selected level of fluorine incorporated into the film over a substrate disposed in the chamber. In a preferred embodiment, the selected level of fluorine incorporated into the film is between 1&times;10 atoms/cm and 1&times;10 atoms/cm . In another preferred embodiment the silicon oxide film is deposited as a first layer of a composite layer premetal dielectric film.

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Little Elm, TX, United States of America

Joel Glenn