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Electrical characterization of Al/SiNx:H/InP structures shows that ECR nitrogen plasma cleaning of InP surfaces gives rise to a noticeable improvement in the interface quality, whereas insulator and semiconductor bulk properties are maintained at a level sufficient to be used as the gate dielectric in MIS devices. Nitrogen plasma exposure was carried out just before the SiNx plasma deposition without vacuum breaking. To obtain interface state density and to detect deep levels in the semiconductor bulk, deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements were carried out. We have also evaluated the insulator damage density, the so-called disorder-induced gap states (DIGS), by means of conductance transient analysis. Our results show that the plasma exposure in N2 atmospheres is a valuable and simple surface conditioning method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]