The local strains in Si pillars induced by SiN stressors were quantitatively investigated as a function of geometry by micro-Raman scattering spectroscopy. Raman shifts of a cantilever microstructure were twice as large as those of a bridge microstructure. This difference was due to the different dimensions of the strains, i.e., biaxial strains in the cantilever type and uniaxial strains in bridge type. The thermal stability of the SiN stressor was also investigated. The results showed induced strains were stable after post-annealing at high temperature (similar to 1000 degrees C). (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.