Patent ID: 7537998

Claim:
A method for forming salicide in a semiconductor device, the method comprising the steps of: (1) forming a first gate oxide film and a second gate oxide film in a non-salicide region and a salicide region of a silicon substrate, respectively, the first gate oxide film being thicker than the second gate oxide film; (2) forming a conductive layer and a nitride based hard mask layer on an upper surface of a first resultant structure obtained through step (1), and then selectively removing the conductive layer, the hard mask layer, the first gate oxide film, and the second gate oxide film, thereby forming gate electrodes respectively in the non-salicide region and the salicide region and simultaneously exposing an active region of the salicide region; (3) forming a spacer oxide film on an upper surface, except for the hard mask layer, of a second resultant structure obtained through steps (1) to (2); (4) selectively removing the spacer oxide film, thereby forming a spacer on one side of each of the gate electrodes and simultaneously exposing the active region of the salicide region; (5) removing the hard mask layer remaining on upper surfaces of the gate electrodes in the non-salicide region and the salicide region; and (6) forming a salicide film on the upper surfaces of the gate electrodes formed in the non-salicide region and the salicide region, and on the surface of the active region in the salicide region.