A method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes the steps of forming a contact hole in an insulator layer, filling the contact hole by a conductor material, removing the conductor material from the upper major surface of the insulator layer to form a conductive plug such that the conductive plug fills the contact hole, applying an anisotropic etching process upon the insulator layer, such that the anisotropic etching process acts substantially vertically and selectively to the insulator layer, with an etching rate substantially larger than an etching rate for the conducive plug.