Mechanical strain altered gate and substrate currents in n and p-channel MOSFETs

In this study, we experimentally examine the change of gate currents (I_g) and substrate currents (I_sub) in n and pMOSFETs under different types mechanically applied stress. It is found that, under the uniaxial tensile stress, both I_g and I_sub of pMOSFETs increase with the increase of the stress under the inversion condition. However, an opposite stress dependence in nMOSFETs could be observed for I_g and I_sub. Similar changes were found for I_g and I_sub of nMOSFETs under biaxial tensile stress. Furthermore, the results are explained by the strain altered band structure and the repopulation of carrier.