Energy band structure of silicon under uniaxial stress in the (110) plane along an arbitrary direction

The strain tensors arising from a uniaxial stress along an arbitrary direction in the (110) plane are calculated. With these uniaxial strain tensors, the energy band structure of the silicon material under arbitrary uniaxial stress in the (110) plane is modeled using deformation potential theory and six-band k.p perturbation theory. The relation between the energy band structure and the stress (type, direction, and magnitude of stress) is obtained. The effects of the uniaxial stress on the band structure (such as the conduction band (CB) and valence band (VB) edge energy levels, the CB and VB splitting energies, and the bandgap) are clarified. The calculated band structure suggests that the uniaxial stress along the < 001 > direction for electrons, and along the < 110 > direction for holes, can induce a large carrier mobility change. These band structure results can be used as a guide for the design and the selection of the optimum stress/channel configuration of uniaxial strained silicon devices.