Patent ID: 7550381

Claim:
A method for forming a metal silicide, comprising: positioning a substrate having an at least partially oxidized metal silicide surface disposed thereon in a processing chamber; cleaning one or more oxidized regions of the at least partially oxidized metal silicide surface with reactive species to remove the oxidized regions to provide an altered metal silicide surface; and exposing the altered metal silicide surface to one or more silicon-containing compounds at conditions sufficient to recover the metal silicide surface, wherein the one or more silicon-containing compounds and the reactive species are different, wherein cleaning the one or more oxidized regions comprises: supporting the substrate having the at least partially oxidized metal silicide surface disposed thereon in a vacuum chamber; generating the reactive species from a gas mixture within the chamber; cooling the substrate within the chamber; directing the reactive species to the cooled substrate to react with the native oxides thereon and form a film on the at least partially oxidized metal silicide surface; and heating the substrate within the chamber to vaporize the film.