Patent ID: 8084787

Claim:
A semiconductor device, comprising: an NMOS transistor comprising an NMOS channel region of a semiconductor body; a PMOS transistor comprising a PMOS channel region of the semiconductor body; and a nitride layer over the NMOS and PMOS transistors, wherein the nitride layer imparts a tensile stress in the NMOS transistor with little adverse effect on the PMOS transistor, wherein the nitride layer has an initial hydrogen content of 20 percent or more and a subsequent hydrogen content in the range of 15 to 20 percent after thermal treatment and wherein the initial hydrogen content is associated with a first tensile stress in at least a portion of the NMOS region and said subsequent hydrogen content is associated with a second tensile stress in the portion of the NMOS region, the second tensile stress being 1 GPa or more and greater than the first tensile stress.