Strained silicon: engineered substrates and device integration

Strained Si is emerging as a technology vital to the continued progression of transistor performance laid out in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors. Strained Si fundamentals are reviewed, as is the structure of optimized strained Si substrates. Substrate fabrication guidelines that emphasize material quality and economic processing are discussed. The impact of the substrate structure on strained Si device performance and integration is described. Strained-Si-on-Insulator, an advanced structure derived from strained Si substrates, is also introduced.