Device layer thin-film transfer to thermally conductive substrate

• US 10,243,091 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2018
• Issued: 03/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dang, Bing, Knickerbocker, John U., Wright, Steven Lorenz, Tsang Yang, Cornelia
• Primary Examiner(s): Nikmanesh, Seahvosh
• Application Number:
  US15/944,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20180226516A1
• Time in Patent Office: 357 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 1/30 Cold cathodes, e.g. field-emissive cathode
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/024 Arrangements for cooling, heating, ventilating or temperature compensation for photovoltaic devices H01L31/052
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/1892 methods involving the use of temporary, removable substrates
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/1896 for thin-film semiconductors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/50 Photovoltaic [PV] energy

Abstract

A semiconductor structure includes a thin-film device layer, an optoelectronic device disposed in the thin-film device layer, and a surrogate substrate permanently attached to the thin film device layer. The surrogate substrate is optically transparent and has a thermal conductivity of at least 300 W/m-K. The optoelectronic device excitable by visible light transmitted through the surrogate substrate.

Claims

1. A semiconductor structure, comprising:

a thin-film device layer;

an optoelectronic device disposed in the thin-film device layer, the optoelectronic device excitable by light at an application wavelength; and

a surrogate substrate permanently attached to the thin film device layer, wherein the surrogate substrate is optically transparent at the application wavelength and has a thermal conductivity of at least 300 W/m-K.

2. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein the thin-film device layer is silicon carbide.

3. The semiconductor structure of claim 2, wherein the surrogate substrate is permanently attached to the thin film device layer by a polymeric thermal interface material that is optically transparent at the application wavelength and has a thermal conductivity of at least 300 W/m-K.

4. The semiconductor structure of claim 3, wherein the surrogate substrate is permanently attached to the thin film device layer by polyimide with aluminum nitride nanoparticles.

5. The semiconductor structure of claim 3, wherein the surrogate substrate is permanently attached to the thin film device layer by a layer of a metal, wherein the layer of the metal has a thickness such that the layer is effectively transparent at the application wavelength.

6. The semiconductor structure of claim 2, wherein the surrogate substrate is silicon carbide.

7. The semiconductor structure of claim 2, wherein the surrogate substrate is one of diamond, sapphire, zinc oxide, magnesium oxide and polycrystalline silicon carbide.

8. The semiconductor structure of claim 2, wherein surrogate substrate is one of diamond, sapphire, zinc oxide, magnesium oxide and polycrystalline silicon carbide with an epitaxial layer of silicon carbide on a surface of the surrogate substrate that bonds with the thin-film device layer.

9. The semiconductor structure of claim 2, wherein the surrogate substrate includes a via that extends at least partly through the surrogate substrate, wherein a location of the via in the surrogate substrate is selected to coincide with a location of the optoelectronic device in the thin-film device layer to facilitate light reaching the optoelectronic device.

10. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein the application wavelength is between 500nm and 800nm.