According to the present invention, a wet chemical oxidation and etch process cycle allows efficient removal of contaminated silicon surface layers prior to the epitaxial growth of raised source and drain regions, thereby effectively reducing the total thermal budget in manufacturing sophisticated field effect transistor elements. The etch recipes used enable a controlled removal of material, wherein other device components are not unduly degraded by the oxidation and etch process.

 
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> Void free interlayer dielectric

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