Equal matching of oxidation rate between sige and si through clustered pre-clean and pre-surface nitridation

A method of processing a substrate, comprising:

• providing the substrate to a processing chamber, the substrate comprising a silicon (Si) layer and a silicon germanium (SiGe) layer;
• performing thermal nitridation on the Si layer and the SiGe layer;
• and
• oxidizing the Si layer and the SiGe layer with atomic oxygen or hydroxyl (OH) radicals.

A system for processing a substrate, comprising:

• a first chamber configured to expose a silicon (Si) layer and a silicon germanium (SiGe) layer of the substrate to dielectric processing;
• a second chamber configured to remove native oxides from the Si layer and the SiGe layer;
• a third chamber configured to perform thermal nitridation on the Si layer and the SiGe layer;
• and
• a fourth chamber configured to oxidize the Si layer and the SiGe layer with atomic oxygen or hydroxyl (OH) radicals.