Self-Aligned Insulated Film For High-K Metal Gate Device

An integrated circuit comprising:

• a semiconductor substrate;
• a gate dielectric over the substrate;
• a metal gate structure over the semiconductor substrate and the gate dielectric, the metal gate structure comprising a first portion comprising a first metal and a second portion comprising a second metal that is different than the first metal;
• a seal formed on opposing sidewalls of the metal gate structure;
• a thin dielectric film disposed directly on the metal gate structure, the thin dielectric film comprising metal oxynitride, the thin dielectric film covering a top surface of the metal gate structure without extending over the seal;
• and
• an interlayer dielectric (ILD) on either side of the metal gate structure.

An integrated circuit, comprising:

• a substrate;
• a trench between two sidewall structures;
• a metal gate disposed within the trench, the metal gate comprising a first metal material;
• a thin dielectric layer disposed on a top surface of the metal gate structure such that the thin dielectric layer covers the metal gate structure without extending over the sidewall structures, the thin dielectric layer including a first metal oxynitride comprising the first metal material.