Passivation of sidewall spacers using ozonated water

摘要

Shorting between a transistor gate electrode and associated source/drain regions due to metal silicide formation on the sidewall spacers is prevented by passivating the sidewall spacer surfaces with a mixture of ozone and water. Embodiments of the invention include spraying the wafer with or immersing the wafer in, a saturated solution of ozone in water.