A MOSFET having a nitrided gate dielectric and its manufacture are disclosed. The method comprises providing a substrate and depositing a non-high-k dielectric material on the substrate. The non-high-k dielectric comprises two layers. The first layer adjacent the substrate is essentially nitrogen-free, and the second layer includes between about 10.sup.15 atoms/cm.sup.3 to about 10.sup.22 atoms/cm.sup.3 nitrogen. The MOSFET further includes a high-k dielectric material on the nitrided, non-high-k dielectric. The high-k dielectric preferably includes HfSiON, ZrSiON, or nitrided Al.sub.2O.sub.3. Embodiments further include asymmetric manufacturing techniques wherein core and peripheral integrated circuit areas are separately optimized.