Patent ID: 7098114

Claim:
A method for forming complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices on a semiconductor substrate comprising: forming gate structures within a first region and within a second region of said semiconductor substrate, said gate structures including a first dielectric layer, a conductive layer that overlies said dielectric layer and a hard mask that overlies said conductive layer; removing said hard mask from said gate structures in said second region of said semiconductor substrate; forming a protective layer that extends over all of said first region; performing a salicide process so as to form a plurality of silicide segments in said second region of said semiconductor substrate, said protective layer preventing salicidation in said first region; forming a second dielectric layer that extends over said first region of said semiconductor substrate; forming a pre-metal dielectric film that extends over said first region and said second region of said semiconductor substrate; and forming self-aligned contacts within said first region of said semiconductor substrate.