Methods of forming contact features in field-effect transistors

A method, comprising:

• etching an interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer to form a first trench exposing a first source/drain (S/D) feature over a first fin, wherein the first S/D feature is disposed adjacent a second S/D feature over a second fin;
• depositing a dielectric material in the first trench to form a dielectric feature;
• and
• replacing the dielectric feature with a conductive feature, wherein the conductive feature directly contacts the first S/D feature and extends over the second S/D feature, and wherein the replacing includes:
• removing a portion of the dielectric feature and a portion of the ILD layer disposed over the second S/D feature to form a second trench, wherein the removing removes the ILD layer at a greater rate than the dielectric feature, and wherein a width of the second trench spans a width of the dielectric feature and over a portion of the second S/D feature;
• removing a remaining portion of the dielectric feature to form a third trench that exposes the first S/D feature;
• and
• forming the conductive feature in the second and the third trench.

A method, comprising:

• forming an interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer over a first epitaxial source/drain (S/D) feature and a second epitaxial S/D feature, wherein the first epitaxial S/D feature is disposed over a first fin and the second epitaxial S/D feature is disposed over a second fin oriented parallel to the first fin;
• forming a dummy contact feature in the ILD layer over the first epitaxial S/D feature;
• performing a first etching process to remove a portion of the dummy contact feature and a portion of the ILD layer disposed above the second epitaxial S/D feature, thereby forming a first trench, wherein outermost sidewalls and a bottommost surface of the first trench are defined by the ILD layer;
• performing a second etching process to selectively remove a remaining portion of the dummy contact feature with respect to the ILD layer, thereby forming a second trench that exposes the first epitaxial S/D feature;
• and
• forming a metal S/D contact in the first and the second trenches, wherein the metal S/D contact is fully embedded in the ILD layer.