The specifics of the exclusive rights described herein are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features and advantages of the embodiments of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1-12 illustrate a process flow for fabricating a semiconductor device according to embodiments of the invention, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts cross-sectional side view of the semiconductor device including a metal interconnect arranged in a dielectric layer;

FIG. 2 depicts a cross-sectional side view of the semiconductor device subsequent to forming a metal connector on the metal interconnect;

FIG. 3 depicts a cross-sectional side view of the semiconductor device subsequent to depositing a first electrode (bottom electrode) on the metal connector;

FIG. 4 depicts a cross-sectional side view of the semiconductor device subsequent to depositing a film on the bottom electrode;

FIG. 5 depicts a cross-sectional side view of the semiconductor device subsequent to etching the film to form an alignment assisting marker;

FIG. 6 depicts a cross-sectional side view of the semiconductor device subsequent to depositing a dielectric layer on the bottom electrode as well as on the alignment assisting marker;