Butted contacts and methods of fabricating the same in semiconductor devices

A method, comprising:

• forming a transistor that includes a gate structure over a semiconductor layer and a source/drain (S/D) feature adjacent the gate structure, and a gate spacer disposed between the gate structure and the S/D feature;
• forming an S/D contact over the S/D features;
• recessing the gate structure;
• depositing a gate cap layer over the recessed gate structure;
• forming a dielectric structure over the gate cap layer and the S/D contact;
• performing an etching process to form a first trench in the dielectric structure and the gate gap layer to expose the recessed gate structure and the S/D contact, wherein a top surface of the gate spacer substantially aligns with a bottom surface of the dielectric structure;
• forming a metal layer to fill the first trench, wherein the gate cap layer and the metal layer directly contact a top surface of the recessed gate structure;
• recessing the metal layer to form a second trench;
• forming a first dielectric layer over the recessed metal layer, thereby filling the second trench;
• and
• forming a second dielectric layer over the first dielectric layer.

A method, comprising:

• forming a semiconductor device that includes a metal gate disposed over a semiconductor layer, a gate spacer disposed on a sidewall of the metal gate, and a source/drain (S/D) feature adjacent the gate spacer;
• forming an S/D contact over the S/D feature;
• recessing the metal gate;
• depositing a first dielectric layer over the recessed metal gate, wherein the first dielectric layer is self-aligned with the gate spacer;
• recessing a portion of the S/D contact;
• depositing a second dielectric layer over the recessed S/D contact;
• depositing a first interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer over the recessed metal gate and the recessed S/D contact;
• and
• forming a butted contact, including:
• forming a first opening through the first ILD layer and the first and the second dielectric layers, wherein the first opening extends to below a top surface of the gate spacer, thereby exposing the recessed metal gate and the recessed S/D contact;
• depositing a metal layer to fill the first opening, thereby electrically connecting the recessed metal gate with the recessed S/D contact;
• removing a top portion of the metal layer to form a second opening above the top surface of the gate spacer;
• and
• depositing a third dielectric layer to fill the second opening;
• and
• depositing a second ILD layer over the butted contact.