Semiconductor structure and method for manufacturing the same

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure, comprising:

• forming nanostructures in an active area extending in a first direction and on a substrate;
• forming a dummy gate structure extending in a second direction and across the active area in a top view;
• forming a merged source/drain feature attached to the nanostructures;
• forming a dielectric structure extending in the first direction and in the active area to cut the merged source/drain feature into a first source/drain feature and a second source/drain feature on opposite sides of the dielectric structure in the second direction and to cut the dummy gate structure into a first segment and a second segment by the dielectric structure;
• replacing the first segment and the second segment to form a first gate structure and a second gate structure extending in the second direction, wherein each of the first gate structure and the second gate structure wraps around the nanostructures;
• and
• forming a metal conductor over the dielectric structure,
• wherein the dielectric structure is in contact with sidewalls of the first source/drain feature, the second source/drain feature, the first gate structure, and the second gate structure.

A method, comprising:

• forming a first dummy gate structure extending in a first direction across a cell boundary and a second dummy gate structure extending in the first direction across the cell boundary and offset from the first dummy gate structure;
• replacing a first portion of the second dummy gate structure on a first side of the cell boundary with a dielectric gate structure;
• forming a merged source/drain feature extending in the first direction across the cell boundary and positioned between the first dummy gate structure, the second dummy gate structure, and the dielectric gate structure;
• and
• forming a trench that extends in the first direction along the cell boundary to define:
• a first source/drain feature and a second source/drain feature each formed from the merged source/drain feature,
• a first segment and a second segment each formed from the first dummy gate structure, and
• a third segment formed from a second portion of the second dummy gate structure on a second side of the cell boundary.