Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a gate structure over the substrate, a first sidewall spacer on a sidewall of the gate structure, a first diffusion region in the substrate and adjacent to the gate structure, the first sidewall spacer and the first diffusion region being on one side of the gate structure, and a first conductive layer in the first diffusion region, the first conductive layer being spaced apart from the first sidewall spacer.

Abstract: A preferred embodiment of the invention provides a semiconductor fabrication method. An embodiment comprises forming a MOS device having sidewall spacers. A highly stressed layer is deposited over the device. The stress is selectively adjusted in that portion of the layer over the gate electrode and the sidewall spacers. Preferably, the stress layer over the gate electrode and over the sidewall spacers is adjusted from a first stress to a second stress, wherein the first stress is one of tensile and compressive, and the second stress is the other of tensile and compressive. Preferred embodiments selectively induce a suitable stress within PMOS and NMOS channel regions for improving their respective carrier mobility. Still other embodiments of the invention comprise a field effect transistor (FET) having a overlying stressed layer, the stressed layer being comprised of different stress regions.

Abstract: A metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFET) having localized stressors is provided. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a transistor comprises a high-stress film over the source/drain regions, but not over the gate electrode. The high-stress film may be a tensile-stress film for use with n-channel devices or a compressive-stress film for use with p-channel devices. A method of fabricating a MOSFET with localized stressors over the source/drain regions comprises forming a transistor having a gate electrode and source/drain regions, forming a high-stress film over the gate electrode and the source/drain regions, and thereafter removing the high-stress film located over the gate electrode, thereby leaving the high-stress film located over the source/drain regions. A contact-etch stop layer may be formed over the transistor.