Patent ID: 8030712

Claim:
A system configured to protect a resistor on a semiconductor substrate from a removal process, the system comprising: a protection structure formed over a top surface of the resistor and extending beyond side surfaces of the resistor by a distance, the protection structure including: a dielectric auxiliary layer having a first thickness, a first portion of the dielectric auxiliary layer formed to cover the top surface and the side surfaces of the resistor, and a second portion of the dielectric auxiliary layer on a gate electrode formed on the substrate spaced from the resistor; a screening layer having a second thickness, the screening layer formed to cover the entire first portion of the dielectric auxiliary layer configured to protect the resistor from the removal process; a mask formed on the screening layer and configured to define a pattern on the screening layer and the first portion of the dielectric auxiliary layer that corresponds to the protection structure, the pattern configured to extend beyond the side surfaces of the resistor by the distance, the distance being greater than the sum of the first thickness and the second thickness, the pattern configured to expose the second portion of the dielectric auxiliary layer to the removal process to form sidewall spacers and to reexpose the substrate between the sidewalls and the resistor.