A transistor having a discontinuous contact etch stop layer comprising: a
substrate having a surface, a gate dielectric on said surface of said
substrate, a gate electrode on said gate dielectric, a spacer along a
sidewall of said gate dielectric and gate electrode, a source and a drain
formed on opposite sides, respectively, of said gate dielectric and said
gate electrode, the source and drain defining a channel region having a
channel length extending substantially from said source to said drain, in
the substrate therebetween, and a contact etch stop layer on said gate
and said spacers, and said source and drain. The contact etch stop layer
is substantially locally continuous in a direction perpendicular to the
channel region length and substantially locally discontinuous in a
direction parallel to the channel region length.