Tunable w-shaped profile for structures

A semiconductor structure comprising:

• an active region;
• a conductive gate plug overlying the active region, wherein the conductive gate plug includes a first material, and wherein the first material forms an upper surface of the conductive gate plug, the upper surface having a W-shaped profile, the W-shaped profile including a first horn at a first edge of the conductive gate plug, a first valley adjacent the first horn, a middle peak, a second valley adjacent a second horn, and the second horn at a second edge of the conductive gate plug, wherein the middle peak has a height over the active region that is less than a height of the first horn over the active region and a height of the second horn over the active region, and wherein the first valley and the second valley each have a lowest point at a height over the active region that is less than the height of the middle peak over the active region;
• and
• a conductive liner overlying and in contact with the W-shaped profile of the first material.

A method for forming a semiconductor structure, the method comprising:

• forming a conductive gate plug overlying an active region, wherein the conductive gate plug includes a first material forming an upper surface of the conductive gate plug, the upper surface having an uppermost point at a first height over the active region;
• performing an etching process to form the upper surface of the conductive gate plug with a W-shaped profile, wherein after the etching process, the W-shaped profile is formed by the first material, and wherein the W-shaped profile has an uppermost point at a second height over the active region, the second height being not greater than the first height;
• and
• forming a conductive liner over the W-shaped profile.