In this work, two approaches of fabricating silicon nitride (SiN) nanodots for nanocrystal memory cells were evaluated. The first method is an adaptation from a standard SiN process in an industrial low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) batch reactor (A400(TM)), whereby dichlorosilane (DCS) and ammonia (NH3) are flowed simultaneously to form SiN nanodots. The second approach is a two-step process, whereby LPCVD was first performed to deposit silicon nanodots, and followed by nitridation with remotely generated nitrogen radicals. Based on morphological results, both approaches have been proven feasible. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.