Abstract: A method for treating a gas dispensing device used in chemical vapor deposition and the device treated by such method are disclosed. In the method, a gas dispensing device fabricated substantially of aluminum is first provided that has a planar surface with a multiplicity of apertures therethrough. The planar surface is then exposed to a diluted acid solution that contains at least HNO3 for conducting a cleaning process. After the residual diluted acid solution has been removed from the planar surface, a second step of oxidation is carried out on the surface of the gas dispensing device by exposing the planar surface to an acid solution that contains at least HNO3 for a sufficient length of time until a metal oxide layer such as Al2O3 is formed to a thickness of at least 1 &mgr;m on the planar surface.