Method of manufacturing an ultra-thin insulating layer having reduced leakage current density

A method of manufacturing an ultra-thin insulating layer on a material layer of a material structure placed in a reaction chamber, said method being performed by a plurality of atomic layer deposition (ALD) cycles, wherein each of the plurality of ALD cycles comprises the steps of:

• (a) introducing at least one first gas pulse into the reaction chamber, the at least one first gas pulse comprising a precursor to cause the precursor to be adsorbed on the material layer, wherein the precursor comprises a metal element or a metalloid element;
• (b) introducing a purge gas into the reaction chamber;
• (c) introducing a second gas pulse into the reaction chamber to react with the precursor adsorbed on the material layer to form an atomic layer of the ultra-thin insulating layer, wherein the second gas pulse comprises a reactant;
• (d) introducing the purge gas into the reaction chamber;
• and
• (e) alternatively, between step (b) and step (c) or after step (d), introducing a hydrogen plasma into the reaction chamber and subsequently introducing the purge gas into the reaction chamber.