tapered source and drain contacts for use in an epitaxial finfet prevent short circuits and damage to parts of the finfet during contact processing , thus improving device reliability . the inventive contacts feature tapered sidewalls and a pedestal where electrical contact is made to fins in the source and drain regions . the pedestal also provides greater contact area to the fins , which are augmented by extensions . raised isolation regions define a valley around the fins . during source / drain contact formation , the valley is lined with a conformal barrier that also covers the fins themselves . the barrier protects underlying local oxide and adjacent isolation regions against gouging while forming the contact . the valley is filled with an amorphous silicon layer that protects the epitaxial fin material from damage during contact formation . a simple tapered structure is used for the gate contact .