A semiconductor structure includes a layer arrangement consisting of, in sequence, a semiconductor-on-insulator layer (SOI) over a buried oxide (BOX) layer over a buried stressor (BS) layer with a silicon bonding layer (BL) intervening between the BOX and the BS layers. The semiconductor structure may be created by forming the BS layer on a substrate of a first wafer; growing the BL layer at the surface of the BS layer; wafer bonding the first wafer to a second wafer having a silicon oxide layer formed on a silicon substrate such that the silicon oxide layer of the second wafer is bonded to the BL layer of the first wafer, and thereafter removing a portion of the silicon substrate of the second wafer.

Embodiments of the disclosure are in the field of advanced integrated circuit structure fabrication and, in particular, 10 nanometer node and smaller integrated circuit structure fabrication and the resulting structures. In an example, an integrated circuit structure includes a fin. A first isolation structure separates a first end of a first portion of the fin from a first end of a second portion of the fin, the first end of the first portion of the fin having a depth. A gate structure is over the top of and laterally adjacent to the sidewalls of a region of the first portion of the fin. A second isolation structure is over a second end of a first portion of the fin, the second end of the first portion of the fin having a depth different than the depth of the first end of the first portion of the fin.

Semiconductor structures and processes for forming the same provided. A semiconductor structure according to the present disclosure includes an insolation feature, a first base fin and a second base fin extending through and rising above the isolation feature, a first active region disposed over the first base fin, a second active region disposed over the second base fin, a gate structure disposed over the first active region, the second active region, and the isolation feature, and a protection layer sandwiched between the gate structure and the isolation feature.

Techniques are provided herein to form semiconductor devices that include one or more gate cuts having materials that impose either a compressive or tensile stress on the adjacent semiconductor devices to improve performance. A semiconductor device includes a gate structure around or otherwise on a semiconductor region. The gate structure may be interrupted, for example, between two transistors with a gate cut that extends through an entire thickness of the gate structure and includes dielectric material to electrically isolate the portions of the gate structure on either side of the gate cut. The gate cut is confined within the gate trench. A first gate cut is arranged between adjacent NMOS devices and includes a dielectric material that imposes a tensile stress on the NMOS devices, and a second gate cut is arranged between adjacent PMOS devices and includes a dielectric material that imposes a compressive stress on the PMOS devices.

Integrated circuit structures having stress-inducing gate cut plugs are described. For example, a structure includes a first vertical stack of horizontal nanowires or fin over a first sub-fin. A first gate structure is over the first vertical stack of horizontal nanowires or fin. A second vertical stack of horizontal nanowires or fin is over a second sub-fin. A second gate structure is over the second fin. A gate cut separates a first gate electrode of the first gate structure from a second gate electrode of the second gate structure. A gate cut fill structure is in the gate cut, the gate cut fill structure including a first dielectric material portion in contact with the first gate electrode, a conductive via portion, and a second dielectric material portion in contact with the second gate electrode. The conductive via portion separates the first dielectric material portion from the second dielectric material portion.

Disclosed is a semiconductor structure and method of forming the semiconductor structure. Specifically, the semiconductor structure can include a first semiconductor fin extending from a semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor structure can further include an isolation region on the semiconductor substrate adjacent to a lower portion of the first semiconductor fin. The first semiconductor fin can, for example, be incorporated into a single-fin fin-type semiconductor device, such as a single-fin fin-type field effect transistor (FINFET). The isolation region can include at least one shallow trench isolation (STI) structure positioned laterally between and immediately adjacent to sections of a deep trench isolation (DTI) structure. With this alternating DTI-STI-DTI configuration, overall shrinkage of isolation material of the isolation region during anneals is reduced and, thus, so are stress-induced crystalline defects in the first semiconductor fin. Also disclosed are methods for forming such a semiconductor structure.

Embodiments of the disclosure are in the field of advanced integrated circuit structure fabrication and, in particular, 10 nanometer node and smaller integrated circuit structure fabrication and the resulting structures. In an example, an integrated circuit structure includes a first plurality of semiconductor fins having a longest dimension along a first direction. Adjacent individual semiconductor fins of the first plurality of semiconductor fins are spaced apart from one another by a first amount in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. A second plurality of semiconductor fins has a longest dimension along the first direction. Adjacent individual semiconductor fins of the second plurality of semiconductor fins are spaced apart from one another by the first amount in the second direction, and closest semiconductor fins of the first plurality of semiconductor fins and the second plurality of semiconductor fins are spaced apart by a second amount in the second direction.

Embodiments of the disclosure are in the field of advanced integrated circuit structure fabrication and, in particular, 10 nanometer node and smaller integrated circuit structure fabrication and the resulting structures. In an example, an integrated circuit structure includes a first plurality of semiconductor fins having a longest dimension along a first direction. Adjacent individual semiconductor fins of the first plurality of semiconductor fins are spaced apart from one another by a first amount in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. A second plurality of semiconductor fins has a longest dimension along the first direction. Adjacent individual semiconductor fins of the second plurality of semiconductor fins are spaced apart from one another by the first amount in the second direction, and closest semiconductor fins of the first plurality of semiconductor fins and the second plurality of semiconductor fins are spaced apart by a second amount in the second direction.

An SOI wafer contains a compressively stressed buried insulator structure. In one example, the stressed buried insulator (BOX) may be formed on a host wafer by forming silicon oxide, silicon nitride and silicon oxide layers so that the silicon nitride layer is compressively stressed. Wafer bonding provides the surface silicon layer over the stressed insulator layer. Preferred implementations of the invention form MOS transistors by etching isolation trenches into a preferred SOI substrate having a stressed BOX structure to define transistor active areas on the surface of the SOI substrate. Most preferably the trenches are formed deep enough to penetrate through the stressed BOX structure and some distance into the underlying silicon portion of the substrate. The overlying silicon active regions will have tensile stress induced due to elastic edge relaxation.

Embodiments of the disclosure are in the field of advanced integrated circuit structure fabrication and, in particular, 10 nanometer node and smaller integrated circuit structure fabrication and the resulting structures. In an example, an integrated circuit structure includes a fin. An insulating structure is directly adjacent sidewalls of the lower fin portion of the fin. A first gate electrode is over the upper fin portion and over a first portion of the insulating structure. A second gate electrode is over the upper fin portion and over a second portion of the insulating structure. A first dielectric spacer is along a sidewall of the first gate electrode. A second dielectric spacer is along a sidewall of the second gate electrode, the second dielectric spacer continuous with the first dielectric spacer over a third portion of the insulating structure between the first gate electrode and the second gate electrode.