Method for removing hard masks on gates in semiconductor manufacturing process

A method, comprising:

• forming a first PMOS transistor comprising a first gate and silicon-germanium (SiGe) source/drain regions on a substrate;
• forming a second PMOS transistor comprising a second gate and silicon-germanium (SiGe) source/drain regions on the substrate, wherein the second gate is larger than the first gate;
• forming a first hard mask and a second hard mask on the top of the first gate and the top of the second gate, respectively;
• forming a single photoresist layer over the substrate, the first hard mask and a portion of the second hard mask, wherein the single photoresist layer has an opening exposing a central portion of the second hard mask;
• removing the single photoresist layer from the first hard mask and the second hard mask;
• and
• removing the first hard mask and the second hard mask.

A method, comprising the steps of:

• forming a first polysilicon gate and a second polysilicon gate on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the second polysilicon gate is larger than the first polysilicon gate;
• forming a first hard mask on the top of the first polysilicon gate, and a second hard mask on the top of the second polysilicon gate;
• forming a single photoresist layer over the semiconductor substrate, the first hard mask and a portion of the second hard mask, wherein the single photoresist layer has an opening exposing a central portion of the second hard mask;
• removing the single photoresist layer from the first hard mask and the second hard mask;
• removing the first hard mask and the second hard mask;
• removing the single photoresist layer;
• and
• replacing the first polysilicon gate with a first metal gate, and replacing the second polysilicon gate with a second metal gate.