US Patent 7442597 Systems and methods that selectively modify liner induced stress

The present invention facilitates semiconductor fabrication by providing methods of fabrication that selectively apply strain to multiple regions of a semiconductor device. A semiconductor device having one or more regions is provided (102). A strain inducing liner is formed over the semiconductor device (104). A selection mechanism, such as a layer of photoresist or UV reflective coating is applied to the semiconductor device to select a region (106). The selected region is treated with a stress altering treatment that alters a type and/or magnitude of stress produced by the selected region (108).