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US 8,803,240 B2Granted
Electronic device with asymmetric gate strain
AssigneeMicron Technology, Inc.
InventorsGurtej S. Sandhu, Kunal R. Parekh
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The use of strained gate electrodes in integrated circuits results in a transistor having improved carrier mobility, improved drive characteristics, and reduced source drain junction leakage. The gate electrode strain can be obtained through non symmetric placement of stress inducing structures as part of the gate electrode.
Claims14
An electronic device comprising:
- a substrate;
- a source region and a drain region of a transistor disposed in the substrate;
- a channel region disposed between the source region and the drain region;
- a dielectric disposed above the channel region;
- a gate electrode disposed upon the dielectric above the channel region, the gate electrode configured with a step above the dielectric and comprising a combination of a plurality of refractory materials, wherein the gate electrode comprises a stacked gate electrode such that a conductive etch stop material is between a bottom layer and a top layer of the gate electrode;
- and
- a first gate spacer contacting the gate electrode and a second gate spacer contacting the gate electrode, the first gate spacer separated from the second gate spacer by the gate electrode, the first and second gate spacer with the gate electrode configured such that a stress condition in a thicker side of the step is different from a stress condition in a thinner side of the step.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.