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Direct measurement of MOSFET channel strain by means of backside etching and Raman spectroscopy on long-channel devices

Strain engineering has been used to increase device speed in commercial CMOS since the 90nm technology node. This paper describes the first technique to measure strain directly in device channels of both industrial ‘process-induced’ and research ‘wafer-level’ strained devices using Raman spectroscopy. This allows academic/industrial characterisation of strain enhanced performance. The work was supported through an EPSRC first grant £121,568 and platform grant £434,182 with additional funding from EUFP7 NANOSIL £52,823, attracting collaboration with IMEC, the European consortium of semiconductor manufacturers. Sample preparation utilised a £130K polisher donated from Atmel (2008). INEX, the university’s microfabrication facility, provided deep etching.