Method and apparatus to increase strain effect in a transistor channel

A method of enhancing stress in a semiconductor device, comprising:

• depositing a layer of nitride film over a gate stack and a surface of a substrate;
• removing the nitride film on the gate stack to provide enhanced stress in a transistor channel under the gate stack;
• and
• depositing a salicide gate region on top of the gate stack,
• wherein a gate is about 60 nm wide, a spacer is about 50 nm wide, and the nitride film provides a stress of about 2.0 GPa, the enhanced stress in the transistor channel is greater than approximately 4.5×109 dynes/cm2 at about 5 nm below a gate oxide.

A method of enhancing stress in a semiconductor device, comprising:

• depositing a layer of nitride film over a gate stack and a surface of a substrate;
• and
• removing the nitride film on the gate stack to provide enhanced stress in a transistor channel under the gate stack,
• wherein a gate is about 60 nm wide, a spacer is about 50 nm wide, and the nitride film provides a stress of about 2.0 GPa, the enhanced stress in the transistor channel is greater than approximately 4.5×109 dynes/cm2 at about 5 nm below a gate oxide, and
• wherein the substrate remains covered by the nitride film after the nitride film is removed from an upper portion of the gate stack.