Abstract: A method for forming a silicide bridge bewteen a diffusion region and an adjacent poly-filled trench separated by a thin dielectric. Silicon is selectively grown over exposed silicon regions under conditions that provide controlled lateral growth over the thin dielectric without also permitting lateral growth over other insulator regions. A refractory metal layer is then deposited and sintered under conditions that limit lateral silicide growth, forming the bridge. This process avoids the random fails produced by previous processes while enhancing the compatibility of bridge formation with shallow junctions, without introducing extra masking steps or other process complexities.