Patent ID: 8754527

Claim:
A method of fabricating a semiconductor structure having a borderless contact, the method comprising: providing a first semiconductor device adjacent to a second semiconductor device, the first and second semiconductor devices being formed on a semiconductor substrate; depositing a non-conductive liner on top of the semiconductor substrate and the first and second semiconductor devices; depositing a contact level dielectric layer on top of the non-conductive liner; etching a contact hole in the contact-level dielectric between the first semiconductor device and the second semiconductor device, and selective to the non-conductive liner, to expose a first portion of the non-conductive liner; depositing a nitrogen absorption layer on top of the first portion of the non-conductive liner exposed within the contact hole; and performing a thermal anneal causing the nitrogen absorption layer to absorb nitrogen from the non-conductive liner, and causing an entire thickness of the first portion of the non-conductive liner to change from an insulator to a conductor.