Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of forming a fluorine-doped metal oxide dielectric layer suitable for forming a dielectric barrier layer in an integrated circuit device. The method comprises the deposition of a plurality of layers of oxide dielectric onto a substrate by a plurality of cycles of atomic layer deposition, wherein one or more of said cycles of atomic layer deposition additionally comprises the atomic layer deposition of fluorine. In addition, the present invention relates to the dielectric films formed by this methodology and to integrated electronic devices that comprise these metal oxide dielectric barrier layers.

Abstract: A pressure transducer comprises a polycrystalline diamond diaphragm (39), produced by use of a chemical vapour deposition technique, on a support (33). The diaphragm (39) can deflect in response to variations in pressure. A single optical fibre interferometer (36, 32) is used for detecting and measuring the deflection of the diaphragm (39) (FIG. 3).