Process for fabricating a strained channel MOSFET device

A method of forming a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) device on a semiconductor substrate, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a gate insulator layer on said semiconductor substrate;
• forming a conductive gate structure and an overlying hard mask shape;
• forming first insulator spacers on sides of said conductive gate structure and on sides of said hard mask shape;
• forming doped silicon shapes on first areas of said semiconductor substrate, wherein said first areas of said semiconductor substrate are not covered by said conductive gate structure or by said first insulator shapes;
• removing said first insulator spacers exposing second areas of said semiconductor substrate;
• performing an ion implantation procedure to place ions in a portion of a third area of said semiconductor substrate underlying said conductive gate structure;
• annealing said substrate, the annealing causing heavily doped source/drain regions to be formed in the underlying semiconductor substrate;
• removing said insulator hard mask shape;
• forming a lightly doped source/drain region in top portions of a second region of said semiconductor substrate, wherein said second region of said semiconductor substrate is located between said heavily doped source/drain region and said conductive gate structure;
• and
• forming second insulator spacers on sides of said conductive gate structure, overlying said second areas of said semiconductor substrate.