Patent ID: 7977183

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of: (a) forming a plurality of MISFETs including a first MISFET and a second MISFET neighboring each other over a semiconductor substrate; (b) after the step (a), forming a multilayer insulating film over the semiconductor substrate including a first region between a first gate electrode of the first MISFET and a second gate electrode of the second MISFET; (c) after the step (b), forming an interlayer insulating film over the multilayer insulating film; (d) after the step (c), forming a plurality of contact holes that penetrate through the interlayer insulating film and the multilayer insulating film and reach the semiconductor substrate in the first region along a first direction in which the first and second gate electrodes extend in parallel; and (e) after the step (d), forming a plug by embedding a conductive material in the contact holes, wherein the step (b) includes the steps of: (b1) forming a first insulating film having a first film thickness to be formed over the respective gate electrodes of the MISFETs over the semiconductor substrate; and (b2) after the step (b1), forming a second insulating film having a second film thickness greater than the first film thickness to be formed over the respective gate electrodes of the MISFETs over the first insulating film, wherein the multilayer insulating film includes the first insulating film and the second insulating film, wherein the first and second insulating films are formed of the same material, and wherein the interlayer insulating film and the first and second insulating films are formed of a different material.