Residue-Free Metal Gate Cutting For Fin-Like Field Effect Transistor

A method comprising:

• forming a plurality of fins over a substrate and extending along a first direction;
• forming an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer over the plurality of fins;
• forming a first metal gate structure and a second metal gate structure over the plurality of fins and extending along a second direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction;
• forming a patterning layer over the first and second metal gate structures and the ILD layer;
• defining a cut window in the patterning layer for cutting the first and second metal gate structures, wherein the cut window exposes a portion of the first metal gate structure, a portion of the second metal gate structure, and a portion of the ILD layer between and adjacent to the first and second metal gate structures;
• and
• simultaneously etching the exposed portion of the first metal gate structure, the exposed portion of the second metal gate structure, and the exposed portion of the ILD layer.

An integrated circuit (IC) device comprising:

• a substrate;
• a first fin and a second fin disposed over the substrate and extending along a first direction;
• a first metal gate structure and a second metal gate structure disposed over the first and second fins and extending along a second direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction, wherein, for a portion of a distance between the first and second fins in the second direction, a distance between the first and second metal gate structures in the first direction is dividable into three contiguous sections including a first section, a second section, and a third section;
• a first inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer disposed in the first and third sections;
• and
• a second ILD layer disposed in the second section such that the second section does not contain any portion of the first ILD layer, any portion of the first metal gate structure, or any portion of the second metal gate structure.