Disclosed is a complementary CMOS device having a first FET with sidewall channels and a second FET with a planar channel. The first FET can be a p-FET and the second FET can be an n-FET or vice versa. The conductor used to form the gate electrodes of the different type FETs is different and is pre-selected to optimize performance. For example, a p-FET gate electrode material can have a work function near the valence band and an n-FET gate electrode material can have a work function near the conduction band. The first gate electrodes of the first FET are located adjacent to the sidewall channels and the second gate electrode of the second FET is located above the planar channel. However, the device structure is unique in that the second gate electrode extends laterally above the first FET and is electrically coupled to the first gate electrodes.