Non-volatile semiconductor memories and methods of fabricating the same to improve performance thereof are provided. In one embodiment, the method includes: (i) forming a gate for a non-volatile memory transistor on a surface of a substrate overlaying a channel region formed therein, the gate including a charge trapping layer; and (ii) forming a strain inducing structure over the gate of the non-volatile memory transistor to increase charge retention of the charge trapping layer. Preferably, the memory transistor is a silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) transistor comprising a SONOS gate stack. More preferably, the memory also includes a logic transistor on the substrate, and the step of forming a strain inducing structure comprises the step of forming the strain inducing structure over the logic transistor. Other embodiments are also disclosed.