The present disclosure provides one embodiment of a semiconductor structure. The semiconductor structure includes a fin-type active region extruded from a semiconductor substrate; a gate stack disposed on the fin-type active region; a source/drain feature formed in the fin-type active region and disposed on a side of the gate stack; an elongated contact feature landing on the source/drain feature; and a dielectric material layer disposed on sidewalls of the elongated contact feature and free from ends of the elongated contact feature.