Radiation-hardened, fluorinated gate oxides have been obtained by rapid thermal processing of silicon in O2 with diluted NF3. Diluted NF3 is used as a source of fluorine and is introduced during the initial stage of rapid thermal processing. It is found that optimum amounts of fluorine incorporated at the Si/SiO2 interface improve resistance against x-ray radiation; however, excessive amounts of fluorine degrade the radiation hardness.