A semiconductor device comprises a first semiconductor fin having a first width, the first semiconductor fin is arranged on a first portion of the strain relaxation buffer layer, where the first portion of the strain relaxation buffer layer has a second width and a second semiconductor fin having a width substantially similar to the first width, the second semiconductor fin is arranged on a second portion of the strain relaxation buffer layer, where the second portion of the strain relaxation buffer layer has a third width. A gate stack is arranged over a channel region of the first fin and a channel region of the second fin.

A method for forming a group III-V semiconductor channel region in a transistor is provided herein. The method includes exposing a substrate including an oxide layer to a first plasma to treat the oxide layer, exposing the treated oxide layer to a second plasma to convert the oxide layer to an evaporable layer, evaporating the evaporable layer to expose a group III-V semiconductor material surface, and exposing the group III-V semiconductor material surface to an oxygen containing gas to oxidize the group III-V semiconductor material. The processes may be repeated until a recessed depth having a predetermined depth is formed. A group III-V semiconductor channel is then formed in the predetermined recessed depth. The control of the height of the group III-V semiconductor channel is improved.

A system and method for a channel region is disclosed. An embodiment comprises a channel region with multiple bi-layers comprising alternating complementary materials such as layers of InAs and layers of GaSb. The alternating layers of complementary materials provide desirable band gap characteristics for the channel region as a whole that individual layers of material may not.

A method of forming a finFET transistor device includes forming a crystalline, compressive strained silicon germanium (cSiGe) layer over a substrate; masking a first region of the cSiGe layer so as to expose a second region of the cSiGe layer; subjecting the exposed second region of the cSiGe layer to an implant process so as to amorphize a bottom portion thereof and transform the cSiGe layer in the second region to a relaxed SiGe (rSiGe) layer; performing an annealing process so as to recrystallize the rSiGe layer; epitaxially growing a tensile strained silicon layer on the rSiGe layer; and patterning fin structures in the tensile strained silicon layer and in the first region of the cSiGe layer.

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a first semiconductor layer on a substrate having a {100} crystallographic surface orientation, forming a second semiconductor layer on the substrate, patterning the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer into a first plurality of fins and a second plurality of fins, respectively, wherein the first and second plurality of fins extend vertically with respect to the substrate, covering the first plurality of fins and a portion of the substrate corresponding to the first plurality of fins, and epitaxially growing semiconductor layers on exposed portions of the second plurality of fins and on exposed portions of the substrate, wherein the epitaxially grown semiconductor layers on the exposed portions of the second plurality of fins increase a critical dimension of each of the second plurality of fins.

A method to form a semiconductor structure with an active region and a compatible dielectric layer is described. In one embodiment, a semiconductor structure has a dielectric layer comprised of an oxide of a first semiconductor material, wherein a second (and compositionally different) semiconductor material is formed between the dielectric layer and the first semiconductor material. In another embodiment, a portion of the second semiconductor material is replaced with a third semiconductor material in order to impart uniaxial strain to the lattice structure of the second semiconductor material.

Various strained channel transistors are disclosed herein. An exemplary semiconductor device includes a substrate and a fin structure disposed over the substrate. The fin structure includes a first epitaxial layer disposed on the substrate, a second epitaxial layer disposed on the first epitaxial layer, and a third epitaxial layer disposed on the second epitaxial layer. The second epitaxial layer includes a relaxed transversal stress component and a longitudinal compressive stress component, and the third epitaxial layer has uni-axial strain. A gate structure is disposed on a channel region of the fin structure, such that the gate structure interposes a source region and a drain region of the fin structure.

A method for forming strained fins includes etching trenches in a bulk substrate to form fins, filling the trenches with a dielectric fill and recessing the dielectric fill into the trenches to form shallow trench isolation regions. The fins are etched above the shallow trench isolation regions to form a staircase fin structure with narrow top portions of the fins. Gate structures are formed over the top portions of the fins. Raised source ad drain regions are epitaxially grown on opposite sides of the gate structure. A pre-morphization implant is performed to generate defects in the substrate to couple strain into the top portions of the fins.

A device includes a substrate and insulation regions over a portion of the substrate. A first semiconductor region is between the insulation regions and having a first conduction band. A second semiconductor region is over and adjoining the first semiconductor region, wherein the second semiconductor region includes an upper portion higher than top surfaces of the insulation regions to form a semiconductor fin. The semiconductor fin has a tensile strain and has a second conduction band lower than the first conduction band. A third semiconductor region is over and adjoining a top surface and sidewalls of the semiconductor fin, wherein the third semiconductor region has a third conduction band higher than the second conduction band.

An integrated circuit die includes a silicon substrate. PMOS and NMOS transistors are formed on the silicon substrate. The carrier mobilities of the PMOS and NMOS transistors are increased by introducing tensile stress into the channel regions of the NMOS transistors and compressive stress into the channel regions of the PMOS transistors. Tensile stress is introduced by including a region of SiGe below the channel region of the NMOS transistors. Compressive stress is introduced by including regions of SiGe in the source and drain regions of the PMOS transistors.