We report on the growth of thermal quality SiO2 thin films by a high-density plasma process employing an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source driven by radio-frequency (rf) power. A high SiO2 growth rate, with a thickness of 100 Angstrom after 10 min, was obtained at a substrate temperature of 360 degreesC in a He/O-2 (3%) plasma. The observed low-temperature growth and electrical properties of the metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors suggest that the high plasma density and energy and low plasma potential are effective in providing a dense microstructure with low defect concentration and good Si/SiO2 interfacial characteristics. (C) 2004 The Electrochemical Society.