Patent ID: 7022567

Claim:
A method of fabricating self-aligned contact structures, comprising: providing a semiconductor substrate having at least two conductive structures formed on a surface thereof sufficiently spaced one from another for the self-aligned contact structures to be formed therebetween, a plurality of masking structures being positioned on the conductive structures, and each masking structure having a top surface and a vertical surface; forming a dielectric layer over the semiconductor substrate to cover the conductive structures and the masking structure; removing a portion of the dielectric layer by etching to expose the top surface of the masking structure and a portion of the vertical surface above a remaining portion of the dielectric layer; forming a plurality of spacers, each spacer being deposited on respective exposed vertical surface and contiguous the remaining portion of the dielectric layer; forming an interlayer dielectric layer over the remaining portion of the dielectric layer, the plurality of spacers and the top surface of the masking structures; forming a patterned mask over the interlayer dielectric layer; and then, forming an opening to expose the surface of the substrate by removing a portion of the interlayer dielectric layer, a portion of the spacers, and a portion of the remaining portion of the dielectric layer in a region between the contact structures, wherein the contact structures are insulated by unremoved portions of the remaining portion of the dielectric layer.