Embodiments of the invention include a method for fabricating a semiconductor device and the resulting structure. A substrate having an embedded memory area interconnect structure and an embedded non-memory area interconnect structure is provided, the memory area interconnect structure comprising metal interconnects formed in dielectric material. A dielectric cap layer is formed on exposed surfaces of the memory area and the non-memory area. A bottom metal contact is formed on a first metal interconnect of the memory area interconnect structure, the bottom metal contact in a trench in the dielectric cap layer. A memory element stack pillar is formed on the bottom metal contact. A dielectric layer is formed on exposed surfaces of the memory area and the non-memory area utilizing a non-conformal deposition process. The dielectric layer is removed from sidewalls of the memory element stack pillar.