Process for annealing semiconductors and/or integrated circuits

The present invention relates to semiconductor structures, semiconductor devices and methods of making the same. A method of making a semiconductor structure, includes annealing a structure in a deuterium-containing atmosphere. The structure includes (i) a substrate, (ii) a gate dielectric on the substrate, (iii) a gate on the gate dielectric, (iv) an etch-stop layer on the gate, and (v) an interlayer dielectric on the etch-stop layer.