Forming Metal Contacts on Metal Gates

A semiconductor structure, comprising:

• a metal gate structure comprising a U-shaped gate dielectric layer and a gate electrode, wherein the gate electrode includes at least one U-shaped metal layers;
• a conductive layer formed on a top surface of the metal gate structure, wherein a portion of the conductive layer penetrates into the gate electrode such that amount of the conductive layer decreases with an increasing depth of penetration;
• and
• a contact feature disposed on the top surface of the metal gate structure, wherein the contact feature is in direct contact with a top surface of the conductive layer.

A method, comprising:

• forming a metal gate structure, wherein the metal gate structure comprises a gate dielectric layer and a gate electrode, and wherein a top surface of the gate dielectric layer and a top surface of the gate electrode are coplanar;
• selectively depositing a conductive layer on the top surface of the gate electrode by a cyclic deposition technique using two gaseous precursors;
• and
• forming a contact feature over the conductive layer by a continuous deposition technique using a single gaseous precursor.