Mechanical Stress in Silicon Based Materials: Evolution Upon Annealing and Impact on Devices Performances

An overview of the mechanical stress mechanisms observed within as deposited silicon oxide and nitride films deposited by the different techniques used for the CMOS transistors integration is presented in this paper. The evolution of the stress along the integration flow is described, with emphasize in the annealing steps. The impact of the film stress on the device is finally discussed especially in the case of integration of the shallow trench insulators and of the stress memorization technique