Patent ID: 7611962

Claim:
A method for fabricating a semiconductor device comprising: forming a pad insulating layer on a semiconductor substrate defined with an active region and a device isolation region; forming a first trench by etching the pad insulating layer and the semiconductor substrate corresponding to the device isolation region to a predetermined depth; forming polymer on sidewalls of the first trench, wherein the polymer is formed by generating plasma with fluorine gas including carbon; forming a second trench by etching the semiconductor substrate to a predetermined depth using the polymer and the pad insulating layer as a mask; removing the polymer and the pad insulating layer; forming an oxide layer on an entire surface of the semiconductor substrate by thermal-oxidizing the semiconductor substrate; and forming an insulating layer for device isolation in the first and second trenches, wherein forming the insulating layer for device isolation includes steps of: removing the oxide layer forming an insulating layer on the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate to completely fill the first trench and the second trench; and etching the insulating layer by CMP such that the insulating layer remains only inside the first and second trenches.