Preserving channel strain in fin cuts

A method of forming a semiconductor structure, comprising:

• forming a fin cut mask over a region in a fin field-effect transistor (finFET) structure, the finFET structure comprising one or more fins and one or more gates and source/drain regions formed over the one or more fins in active regions of the finFET structure;
• performing a fin cut by removing a portion of at least one of the fins, the portion of the at least one fin being determined by an exposed area of the fin cut mask, the exposed area of the fin cut mask comprising at least a portion of said at least one fin between a first dummy gate and a second dummy gate formed over said at least one fin,
• wherein performing the fin cut comprises etching to remove an oxide layer between a first gate structure and a second gate structure, the first gate structure comprising the first dummy date and a first gate patterning hard mask structure formed over the first dummy gate, the second gate structure comprising the second dummy gate and a second gate patterning hard mask structure formed over the second dummy gate,
• wherein the first gate patterning hard mask and the second gate patterning hard mask each comprise a first sacrificial layer and a second sacrificial layer formed over the first sacrificial layer, and the fin cut comprises performing an etching to remove a portion of each of the second sacrificial layers to expos each of the first sacrificial layers and to remove portions of first spacers formed on sidewalls of the first gate structure and the second gate structure and to remove a poly open CMP layer on an epitaxial layer of the source/drain regions between the first dummy gate and the second dummy gate;
• removing the fin cut mask;
• and
• depositing an oxide to replace the portion of said at least one fin removed during the fin cut.