Mechanical Stress Evaluation of Si Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor Structure Using Polarized Ultraviolet Raman Spectroscopy Measurements and Calibrated Technology-Computer-Aided-Design Simulations

The mechanical stresses in Si metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) were evaluated by polarized UV Raman spectroscopy measurements and stress simulations. To calibrate stress parameters of the materials used in the Si MOSFETs, we compared measured and simulated Raman frequency shifts on the cleaved Si(110) surfaces of the MOSFETs. Consequently, we extracted intrinsic stress values of -400 MPa for a SiO₂, -200 MPa for polycrystalline Si (poly-Si), 700 MPa for Ni silicide, 1250 MPa for a SiN tensile stress liner, and -3500 MPa for a SiN compressive stress liner by finding good agreement between the measured and simulated Raman shift distributions. To verify our stress simulation, we investigated the source/drain width dependences of Raman frequency shifts near the channel regions of Si MOSFETs by top-view Raman measurements. The calculated Raman frequency shifts agreed well with the results of polarized Raman measurements in terms of not only relative tendencies but also absolute Raman shift values.