The metal-organic (MO) chemical vapor deposition of hafnium oxide (HfO2) films from a new MO precursor, Hf(OC(CH3)(2)CH2OCH3)(4), was investigated. The deposition rate of HfO2 is higher when oxygen gas is being supplied with the precursor. However, films deposited in the presence of added oxygen contain large amounts of H2O due to oxidation of the Hf precursor. O-2 addition process degraded HfO2 film properties. In situ remote-plasma oxidation (RPO) is found to be effective in reducing the contaminants in HfO2. Leakage current in HfO2/Si capacitors with TiN gate electrode is also shown to be lower when deposition is without the oxygen addition and RPO treatment is subsequently performed. (C) 2003 American Vacuum Society.