Patent ID: 7772064

Claim:
A method of fabricating a self-aligned contact, comprising: providing a substrate having a source/drain region thereon; forming a first dielectric layer on the substrate, wherein the first dielectric layer is a stress layer; etching the first dielectric layer to form a lower opening corresponding to the source/drain region in the first dielectric layer, wherein the lower opening has a sidewall of the first dielectric layer and a bottom of the first dielectric layer, the sidewall of the first dielectric layer is not etched through the first dielectric layer, and the bottom of the first dielectric layer is not etched through the first dielectric layer; forming a second dielectric layer on the first dielectric layer, wherein the lower opening is filled up with the second dielectric layer; forming an upper opening self-aligned to and communicated with the lower opening in the second dielectric layer, wherein the upper opening and the lower opening constitute a self-aligned contact opening; and filling the self-aligned contact opening with a conductive layer.