Methods of forming semiconductor device with self-aligned contact elements and the resulting devices

A method of forming a transistor, said transistor having a gate structure comprised of a conductive material and a source/drain region, comprising:

• forming at least one layer of insulating material above said source/drain region;
• performing at least one first etching process to form a contact opening in said at least one layer of insulating material above at least a portion of said source/drain region, wherein, after the completion of said first etching process, at least an upper surface portion of said gate structure is exposed;
• performing a second etching process on said exposed portion of said gate structure to thereby define a gate recess in said gate structure, said recess having a bottom surface that is below an upper surface of said gate structure;
• selectively forming an oxidizable material on any conductive materials in said gate recess;
• after selectively forming the oxidizable material, performing an oxidation process to convert at least a portion of said oxidizable material to an oxide material, wherein said oxide material has an upper surface that extends above said upper surface of said gate structure;
• and
• forming a conductive contact in at least said contact opening that is conductively coupled to said source/drain region.