Method for forming contact holes in a semiconductor device

A method for forming a semiconductor device, comprising:

• forming a device structure including contact-hole regions and non-contact-hole regions;
• forming a sacrificial layer overlying the contact hole regions in the device structure and exposing the non-contact-hole regions;
• forming an interlayer dielectric layer overlying the sacrificial layer;
• using CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) to remove the inter-layer dielectric layer and the protective layer from above the sacrificial layer;
• and
• removing the sacrificial layer from the contact-hole regions to expose contact holes.

An electronic apparatus, comprising a semiconductor device and an electronic assembly connected to the semiconductor device, wherein the semiconductor device is formed using a method that includes:

• forming a device structure including contact-hole regions and non-contact-hole regions;
• forming a sacrificial layer overlying the contact hole regions in the device structure and exposing the non-contact-hole regions;
• forming an interlayer dielectric layer overlying the sacrificial layer;
• using CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) to remove the inter-layer dielectric layer and the protective layer from above the sacrificial layer;
• and
• removing the sacrificial layer from the contact-hole regions to expose contact holes.