Line end structures for semiconductor devices

A method of fabricating a semiconductor device structure comprising:

• forming a dielectric stack;
• depositing a layer of masking material on the dielectric stack and patterning the masking material to form a hard mask;
• selectively depositing a metal layer covering the hard mask to form a metal hard mask;
• forming two vias in the dielectric stack using the metal hard mask;
• removing the metal hard mask;
• and
• forming two trenches in the dielectric stack using the hard mask, wherein the hard mask and the metal hard mask are used to define a line end structure separating the two trenches.

A semiconductor device structure comprising:

• a plurality of conductive lines and interconnect vias formed in a dielectric layer having a patterned line end structure;
• the line end structure having an upper and lower sections, wherein the upper section is narrower than the lower section;
• a first and second conductive lines separated by the upper section of the line end structure;
• and
• a first and second interconnect vias separated by the lower section of the line end structure, the first and second interconnect vias having a height determined by the lower section.