Abstract: A semiconductor device and a method of making the device are provided. The method can include forming a gate conductor overlying a major surface of a monocrystalline semiconductor region and forming first spacers on exposed walls of the gate conductor. Using the gate conductor and the first spacers as a mask, at least extension regions are implanted in the semiconductor region and dummy spacers are formed extending outward from the first spacers. Using the dummy spacers as a mask, the semiconductor region is etched to form recesses having at least substantially straight walls extending downward from the major surface to a bottom surface, such that a substantial angle is defined between the bottom surface and the walls. Subsequently, the process is continued by epitaxially growing regions of stressed monocrystalline semiconductor material within the recesses.

Abstract: A semiconductor device and a method of making the device are provided. The method can include forming a gate conductor overlying a major surface of a monocrystalline semiconductor region and forming first spacers on exposed walls of the gate conductor. Using the gate conductor and the first spacers as a mask, at least extension regions are implanted in the semiconductor region and dummy spacers are formed extending outward from the first spacers. Using the dummy spacers as a mask, the semiconductor region is etched to form recesses having at least substantially straight walls extending downward from the major surface to a bottom surface, such that a substantial angle is defined between the bottom surface and the walls. Subsequently, the process is continued by epitaxially growing regions of stressed monocrystalline semiconductor material within the recesses.

Abstract: A stress-transmitting dielectric layer is formed on the at least one PFET and the at least one NFET. A tensile stress generating film, such as a silicon nitride, is formed on the at least one NFET by blanket deposition and patterning. A compressive stress generating film, which may be a refractive metal nitride film, is formed on the at least one PFET by a blanket deposition and patterning. An encapsulating dielectric film is deposited over the compress stress generating film. The stress is transferred from both the tensile stress generating film and the compressive stress generating film into the underlying semiconductor structures. The magnitude of the transferred compressive stress from the refractory metal nitride film may be from about 5 GPa to about 20 GPa. The stress is memorized during an anneal and remains in the semiconductor devices after the stress generating films are removed.

Abstract: Disclosed are embodiments of a hybrid-orientation technology (HOT) wafer and a method of forming the HOT wafer with improved shallow trench isolation (STI) structures for patterning devices in both silicon-on-insulator (SOI) regions, having a first crystallographic orientation, and bulk regions, having a second crystallographic orientation. The improved STI structures are formed using a non-selective etch process to ensure that all of the STI structures and, particularly, the STI structures at the SOI-bulk interfaces, each extend to the semiconductor substrate and have an essentially homogeneous (i.e., single material) and planar (i.e., divot-free) bottom surface that is approximately parallel to the top surface of the substrate. Optionally, an additional selective etch process can be used to extend the STI structures a predetermined depth into the substrate.

Abstract: A stress-transmitting dielectric layer is formed on the at least one PFET and the at least one NFET. A tensile stress generating film, such as a silicon nitride, is formed on the at least one NFET by blanket deposition and patterning. A compressive stress generating film, which may be a refractive metal nitride film, is formed on the at least one PFET by a blanket deposition and patterning. An encapsulating dielectric film is deposited over the compress stress generating film. The stress is transferred from both the tensile stress generating film and the compressive stress generating film into the underlying semiconductor structures. The magnitude of the transferred compressive stress from the refractory metal nitride film may be from about 5 GPa to about 20 GPa. The stress is memorized during an anneal and remains in the semiconductor devices after the stress generating films are removed.

Abstract: A stress-transmitting dielectric layer is formed on the at least one PFET and the at least one NFET. A tensile stress generating film, such as a silicon nitride, is formed on the at least one NFET by blanket deposition and patterning. A compressive stress generating film, which may be a refractive metal nitride film, is formed on the at least one PFET by a blanket deposition and patterning. An encapsulating dielectric film is deposited over the compress stress generating film. The stress is transferred from both the tensile stress generating film and the compressive stress generating film into the underlying semiconductor structures. The magnitude of the transferred compressive stress from the refractory metal nitride film may be from about 5 GPa to about 20 GPa. The stress is memorized during an anneal and remains in the semiconductor devices after the stress generating films are removed.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the invention is a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor device with an embedded stressor. One embodiment of a field effect transistor includes a silicon on insulator channel, a gate electrode coupled to the silicon on insulator channel, and a stressor embedded in the silicon on insulator channel and spaced laterally from the gate electrode, where the stressor is formed of a silicon germanide alloy whose germanium content gradually increases in one direction.

Abstract: Disclosed are embodiments of a hybrid-orientation technology (HOT) wafer and a method of forming the HOT wafer with improved shallow trench isolation (STI) structures for patterning devices in both silicon-on-insulator (SOI) regions, having a first crystallographic orientation, and bulk regions, having a second crystallographic orientation. The improved STI structures are formed using a non-selective etch process to ensure that all of the STI structures and, particularly, the STI structures at the SOI-bulk interfaces, each extend to the semiconductor substrate and have an essentially homogeneous (i.e., single material) and planar (i.e., divot-free) bottom surface that is approximately parallel to the top surface of the substrate. Optionally, an additional selective etch process can be used to extend the STI structures a predetermined depth into the substrate.

Abstract: A stress-transmitting dielectric layer is formed on the at least one PFET and the at least one NFET. A tensile stress generating film, such as a silicon nitride, is formed on the at least one NFET by blanket deposition and patterning. A compressive stress generating film, which may be a refractive metal nitride film, is formed on the at least one PFET by a blanket deposition and patterning. An encapsulating dielectric film is deposited over the compress stress generating film. The stress is transferred from both the tensile stress generating film and the compressive stress generating film into the underlying semiconductor structures. The magnitude of the transferred compressive stress from the refractory metal nitride film may be from about 5 GPa to about 20 GPa.

Abstract: A stressed liner for improving carrier mobility in a transistor and a method for fabricating the same is disclosed. The stressed liner includes an intrinsically stressed conductive film encapsulated between two insulating layers such as silicon nitride, silicon oxide, or oxynitride. The stressed liner may be compressively-stressed or tensile-stressed depending on whether an n-FET or p-FET is required.

Abstract: A semiconductor structure and method that is capable of generating a local mechanical gate stress for channel mobility modification are provided. The semiconductor structure includes at least one NFET and at least one PFET on a surface of a semiconductor substrate. The at least one NFET has a gate stack structure comprising a gate dielectric, a first gate electrode layer, a barrier layer, a Si-containing second gate electrode layer and a compressive metal, and the at least one PFET has a gate stack structure comprising a gate dielectric, a first gate electrode layer, a barrier layer and a tensile metal or a silicide.

Abstract: The present invention provides an integrated semiconductor circuit containing a planar single gated FET and a FinFET located on the same SOI substrate. Specifically, the integrated semiconductor circuit includes a FinFET and a planar single gated FET located atop a buried insulating layer of an silicon-on-insulator substrate, the planar single gated FET is located on a surface of a patterned top semiconductor layer of the silicon-on-insulator substrate and the FinFET has a vertical channel that is perpendicular to the planar single gated FET. A method of forming a method such an integrated circuit is also provided. In the method, resist imaging and a patterned hard mask are used in trimming the width of the FinFET active device region and subsequent resist imaging and etching are used in thinning the thickness of the FET device area. The trimmed active FinFET device region is formed such that it lies perpendicular to the thinned planar single gated FET device region.

Abstract: Described is a method for making thin channel silicon-on-insulator structures. The inventive method comprises forming a set of thin spacer abutting a gate region in a first device and a second device region; forming a raised source/drain region on either side of the gate region in the first device region and the second device region, implanting dopants of a first conductivity type into the raised source drain region in the first device region to form a first dopant impurity region, where the second device region is protected by a second device region block mask; implanting dopants of a second conductivity type into the raised source/drain region in the second device region to form a second dopant impurity region, where the first device region is protected by a first device region block mask; and activating the first dopant impurity region and the second dopant impurity region to provide a thin channel MOSFET.

Abstract: A semiconductor structure and method that is capable of generating a local mechanical gate stress for channel mobility modification are provided. The semiconductor structure includes at least one NFET and at least one PFET on a surface of a semiconductor substrate. The at least one NFET has a gate stack structure comprising a gate dielectric, a first gate electrode layer, a barrier layer, a Si-containing second gate electrode layer and a compressive metal, and the at least one PFET has a gate stack structure comprising a gate dielectric, a first gate electrode layer, a barrier layer and a tensile metal or a silicide.

Abstract: A high-performance recessed channel CMOS device including an SOI layer having a recessed channel region and adjoining extension implant regions and optional halo implant regions; and at least one gate region present atop the SOI layer and a method for fabricating the same are provided. The adjoining extension and optional halo implant regions have an abrupt lateral profile and are located beneath said gate region.

Abstract: Thin silicon channel SOI devices provide the advantage of sharper sub-threshold slope, high mobility, and better short-channel effect control but exhibit a typical disadvantage of increased series resistance. This high series resistance is avoided by using a raised source-drain (RSD), and expanding the source drain on the pFET transistor in the CMOS pair using selective epitaxial Si growth which is decoupled between nFETs and pFETs. By doing so, the series resistance is improved, the extensions are implanted after RSD formation and thus not exposed to the high thermal budget of the RSD process while the pFET and nFET can achieve independent effective offsets.

Abstract: Described is a method for making thin channel silicon-on-insulator structures. The inventive method comprises forming a set of thin spacer abutting a gate region in a first device and a second device region; forming a raised source/drain region on either side of the gate region in the first device region and the second device region, implanting dopants of a first conductivity type into the raised source drain region in the first device region to form a first dopant impurity region, where the second device region is protected by a second device region block mask; implanting dopants of a second conductivity type into the raised source/drain region in the second device region to form a second dopant impurity region, where the first device region is protected by a first device region block mask; and activating the first dopant impurity region and the second dopant impurity region to provide a thin channel MOSFET.

Abstract: The present invention provides an integrated semiconductor circuit containing a planar single gated FET and a FinFET located on the same SOI substrate. Specifically, the integrated semiconductor circuit includes a FinFET and a planar single gated FET located atop a buried insulating layer of an silicon-on-insulator substrate, the planar single gated FET is located on a surface of a patterned top semiconductor layer of the silicon-on-insulator substrate and the FinFET has a vertical channel that is perpendicular to the planar single gated FET. A method of forming a method such an integrated circuit is also provided. In the method, resist imaging and a patterned hard mask are used in trimming the width of the FinFET active device region and subsequent resist imaging and etching are used in thinning the thickness of the FET device area. The trimmed active FinFET device region is formed such that it lies perpendicular to the thinned planar single gated FET device region.

Abstract: A method for preventing polysilicon stringer formation under the active device area of an isolated ultra-thin Si channel device is provided. The method utilizes a chemical oxide removal (COR) processing step to prevent stinger formation, instead of a conventional wet etch process wherein a chemical etchant such as HF is employed. A silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure is also provided. The structure includes at least a top Si-containing layer located on a buried insulating layer; and an oxide filled trench isolation region located in the top Si-containing layer and a portion of the buried insulating layer. No undercut regions are located beneath the top Si-containing layer.

Abstract: Methods of forming complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices having multiple-threshold voltages which are easily tunable are provided. Total salicidation with a metal bilayer (representative of the first method of the present invention) or metal alloy (representative of the second method of the present invention) is provided. CMOS devices having multiple-threshold voltages provided by the present methods are also described.