Patent ID: 8921218

Claim:
A method, comprising: providing a substrate having a fin extending therefrom, wherein a shallow trench isolation (STI) feature is disposed adjacent the fin and the fin extends a fin height above the STI feature; and forming a metal gate structure on the fin, wherein the forming the metal gate structure includes: forming a stress metal layer on the fin such that the stress metal layer extends to a first height above the STI feature, the first height being greater than the fin height, wherein the forming the stress metal layer includes: depositing a stress metal on the substrate including in a trench; forming a layer on the deposited stress metal including a first portion outside the trench and a second potion in the trench; performing a polishing process to remove the first portion of the layer; and etching the deposited stress metal using the second portion of the layer as a masking element; and forming a conduction metal layer on the stress metal layer after etching the deposited stress metal.