Patent ID: 7492014

Claim:
A semiconductor device, comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a first gate electrode formed on a first active region of the semiconductor substrate with a first gate oxide film placed therebetween; a first diffusion layer formed generally at a position of the first gate electrode; a first gate electrode sidewall insulating film covering a sidewall of the first gate electrode; a first silicon nitride film directly covering the first active region, the first gate electrode, and the first gate electrode sidewall insulating film; a second gate electrode formed on a second active region of the semiconductor substrate through a second gate oxide film; a second diffusion layer formed generally at a position of the second gate electrode; and a second silicon nitride film directly formed on the second active region and a sidewall of the second gate electrode, and having a stress different from a stress of the first silicon nitride film; wherein the first gate electrode and the second gate electrode are formed of metal gate electrodes at the same time.