US Patent 10497798 Vertical field effect transistor with self-aligned contacts

A vertical FinFET includes a semiconductor fin formed over a semiconductor substrate. A self-aligned first source/drain contact is electrically separated from a second source/drain contact by a sidewall spacer that is formed over an endwall of the fin. The sidewall spacer, which comprises a dielectric material, allows the self-aligned first source/drain contact to be located in close proximity to an endwall of the fin and the associated second source/drain contact without risk of an electrical short between the adjacent contacts.