The bond strength of plasma-enhanced tetraethyl-orthosilicate (PE-TEOS) oxide, bonded and annealed at low temperatures (300 degrees C and below), is enhanced using a thin layer of high-kappa dielectric at the bonding interface. Before bonding, various thin (similar to 5 nm) capping layers of high-kappa dielectrics (Al2O3, HfO2, and TiO2) are deposited separately on polished PE-TEOS wafers, followed by surface activation. After a 300 degrees C anneal in N-2 ambient for 3 h, the bond strength of wafer pairs bonded with PE-TEOS oxide is enhanced by 97.9, 73.3, and 31.0%, respectively, with TiO2, Al2O3, and HfO2 layers at the interface.