A method of forming a semiconductor device, the method includes forming a gate dielectric (104) over the semiconductor substrate, exposing the gate dielectric to a halogen, and incorporating the halogen into the gate dielectric (106). In one embodiment, the halogen is fluorine. In one embodiment, the gate dielectric is also exposed to nitrogen and the nitrogen is incorporated into the gate dielectric (108). In one embodiment, the gate dielectric is a metal oxide.