Semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same

1. A method for fabricating a semiconductor device, comprising:

forming a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) on a substrate;

forming a first spin orbit torque (SOT) layer on the MTJ;

forming an inter-metal dielectric (IMD) layer around the first SOT layer;

forming a second SOT layer on the IMD layer;

forming a first hard mask on the second SOT layer;

forming a third hard mask on the second SOT layer;

patterning the first hard mask along a first direction for forming a first opening;

patterning the first hard mask along a second direction after patterning the first hard mask along the first direction for forming a second opening; and

etching the third hard mask and the second SOT layer through the first opening and the second opening.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

forming a second hard mask on the first SOT layer;

forming a spacer adjacent to the first SOT layer;

forming the IMD layer around the spacer; and

forming the second SOT layer on the first SOT layer, the spacer, and the IMD layer.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second hard mask comprises ruthenium (Ru).

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the third hard mask comprises metal.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the top surfaces of the second hard mask and the IMD layer are coplanar.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first direction is orthogonal to the second direction.