A method of forming a semiconductor device that includes forming a trench adjacent to a gate structure to expose a contact surface of one of a source region and a drain region. A sacrificial spacer may be formed on a sidewall of the trench and on a sidewall of the gate structure. A metal contact may then be formed in the trench to at least one of the source region and the drain region. The metal contact has a base width that is less than an upper surface width of the metal contact. The sacrificial spacer may be removed, and a substantially conformal dielectric material layer can be formed on sidewalls of the metal contact and the gate structure. Portions of the conformally dielectric material layer contact one another at a pinch off region to form an air gap between the metal contact and the gate structure.

A semiconductor structure and a method for forming the same are provided. The semiconductor structure includes a substrate and a fin structure formed over the substrate. The semiconductor structure further includes an isolation structure formed around the fin structure and a gate structure formed across the fin structure. In addition, the gate structure includes a first portion formed over the fin structure and a second portion formed over the isolation structure, and the second portion of the gate structure includes an extending portion extending into the isolation structure.

A semiconductor device includes at least one semiconductor fin on an upper surface of a base substrate. The at least one semiconductor fin includes a strained active semiconductor portion interposed between a protective cap layer and the base substrate. A gate stack wraps around the at least one semiconductor fin. The gate stack includes a metal gate element interposed between a pair of first cap segments of the protective cap layer. The strained active semiconductor portion is preserved following formation of the fin via the protective cap layer.

A method for preserving interlevel dielectric in a gate cut region includes recessing a dielectric fill to expose cap layers of gate structures formed in a device region and in a cut region and forming a liner in the recess on top of the recessed dielectric fill. The liner includes a material to provide etch selectivity to protect the dielectric fill. The gate structures in the cut region are recessed to form a gate recess using the liner to protect the dielectric fill from etching. A gate material is removed from within the gate structure using the liner to protect the dielectric fill from etching. A dielectric gap fill is formed to replace the gate material and to fill the gate recess in the cut region.

In a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, a substrate is provided. A dummy gate is formed on the substrate. A first dielectric layer is formed to peripherally enclose the dummy gate over the substrate. A second dielectric layer is formed to peripherally enclose the first dielectric layer over the substrate. The second dielectric layer and the first dielectric layer are formed from different materials. An implant operation is performed on the first dielectric layer to form a first doped portion in the first dielectric layer. The dummy gate is removed to form a hole in the first dielectric layer. An operation of removing the dummy gate includes removing a portion of the first doped portion to form the hole having a bottom radial opening area and a top radial opening area which is greater than the bottom radial opening area. A metal gate is formed in the hole.

The present disclosure relates to an integrated circuit (IC) that includes a HKMG hybrid non-volatile memory (NVM) device and that provides small scale and high performance, and a method of formation. In some embodiments, the integrated circuit includes a memory region having a NVM device with a pair of control gate electrodes separated from a substrate by corresponding floating gates. A pair of select gate electrodes are disposed at opposite sides of the pair of control gate electrodes comprise polysilicon. A logic region is disposed adjacent to the memory region and has a logic device with a metal gate electrode disposed over a logic gate dielectric and having bottom and sidewall surfaces covered by a high-k gate dielectric layer.

A method of fabricating a semiconductor device is provided as follows. An epitaxial layer is formed on an active fin structure. Metal gate electrodes are formed on the active fin structure. Gate electrode caps are formed on upper surfaces of the metal gate electrodes. Metal gate spacers are formed on sidewalls of the metal gate electrodes. A source/drain electrode is formed on the epitaxial layer. An air spacer region is formed by removing the metal gate electrode caps and the metal gate spacers. An air spacer is formed within the air spacer region.

A stack for a semiconductor device and a method for making the stack are disclosed. The stack includes a plurality of sacrificial layers in which each sacrificial layer has a first lattice parameter; and at least one channel layer that has a second lattice parameter in which the first lattice parameter is less than or equal to the second lattice parameter, and each channel layer is disposed between and in contact with two sacrificial layers and includes a compressive strain or a neutral strain based on a difference between the first lattice parameter and the second lattice parameter.

A method of adjusting work-function metal thickness includes providing a structure having a substrate, the substrate including a longitudinally extending array of fins disposed thereon. Spacers are then formed on sidewalls of fins of the array. Pillars are formed between and adjacent the spacers. A gate having dummy gate material is formed over the structure, the gate extending laterally across the spacers and fins of the array. The dummy gate material and spacers are removed from the gate to form work-function (WF) metal trenches defined by the pillars and fins within the gate. The WF metal trenches have a first trench width. A thickness of the pillars is adjusted to provide a second trench width, different from the first trench width, for the WF metal trenches. A WF metal structure is disposed within the WF metal trenches.

Semiconductor devices and methods for manufacturing the same are provided. An example method may include: forming a sacrificial gate stack on a substrate; forming a gate spacer on sidewalls of the sacrificial gate stack; forming an interlayer dielectric layer on the substrate and planarizing it to expose the sacrificial gate stack; partially etching back the sacrificial gate stack to form an opening; expanding the resultant opening so that the opening is in a shape whose size gradually increases from a side adjacent to the substrate towards an opposite side away from the substrate; and removing a remaining portion of the sacrificial gate stack and forming a gate stack in a space defined by the gate spacer.