A process is provided for forming a transistor gate conductor having an etch stop arranged at a depth below its upper surface such that the lateral width of the gate conductor above the etch stop may be exclusively narrowed to provide for reduction of transistor channel length. A masking layer, i.e., photoresist, patterned above the gate conductor is isotropically etched so as to minimize its lateral width prior to etching the gate conductor. Portions of the gate conductor not protected by the photoresist may be etched from above the etch stop to define a new pair of opposed sidewall surfaces for the upper portion of the gate conductor. The lateral width of the upper portion of the gate conductor thus may be reduced to a smaller dimension than that of conventional gate conductors. The gate conductor is subjected to an anisotropic etch in which portions of the gate conductor not protected by the narrowed photoresist are etched down to the etch stop. The presence of the etch stop ensures that substantial portions of the etch stop and underlying portions of the gate conductor are not removed before etching is completely terminated. As a result, a lower portion of the multi-layered gate conductor is wider than an upper portion of the gate conductor.