Gate cut critical dimension shrink and active gate defect healing using selective deposition

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to techniques for providing a gate cut critical dimension (CD) shrink and active gate defect healing using selective deposition. The selective silicon on silicon deposition described herein effectively shrinks the gate cut CD to below lithographic limits and repairs any neighboring active gate damage resulting from a processing window misalignment by refilling the inadvertently removed sacrificial material. In a non-limiting embodiment of the invention, a sacrificial gate is formed over a shallow trench isolation region. A portion of the sacrificial gate is removed to expose a surface of the shallow trench isolation region. A semiconductor material is selectively deposited on exposed sidewalls of the sacrificial gate. A gate cut dielectric is formed on a portion of the shallow trench isolation between sidewalls of the semiconductor material.