Device layer thin-film transfer to thermally conductive substrate

• US 10,396,220 B2
• Filed: 01/14/2019
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• 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:
  US16/246,637
• Publication Number:
  US 20190148564A1
• Time in Patent Office: 225 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 optoelectronic device is excitable by light at an application wavelength. The surrogate substrate is optically transparent and has a thermal conductivity of at least 300 W/m-K. The surrogate substrate has a volume of substrate removed therefrom to form a via. Light passes through the via and at least some of the surrogate substrate prior to reaching the optoelectronic device.

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 has a volume of substrate removed therefrom to form a via, the via aligned with a location of the optoelectronic device, a cross-sectional area of the via being about equal to an active area of the optoelectronic device, and a depth of the via being substantially less than a thickness of the surrogate substrate,

wherein the light passes through the via and at least some of the surrogate substrate prior to reaching the optoelectronic device.

2. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein:

the surrogate substrate includes a plurality of small vias aligned with the via, wherein a combined depth of the via and the small vias is equal to, or virtually equal to, the thickness of the surrogate substrate such that the light passes through none or virtually none of the surrogate substrate prior to reaching the optoelectronic device.

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

4. The semiconductor structure of claim 3, 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.

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

6. The semiconductor structure of claim 4, wherein the surrogate substrate is permanently attached to the thin film device layer by a layer of a metal, wherein the layer has a thickness such that the layer is effectively transparent at the application wavelength.

7. The semiconductor structure of claim 3, wherein the surrogate substrate is silicon carbide.

8. The semiconductor structure of claim 3, wherein the surrogate substrate is one of diamond, sapphire, zinc oxide, magnesium oxide and polycrystalline silicon carbide.

9. The semiconductor structure of claim 3, 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.

10. The semiconductor structure of claim 3, 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.

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

12. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein an area of the optical via is about equal to an active area of the optoelectronic device.

13. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein a diameter of the optical via is at least 1 μ

m.

14. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein a diameter of the optical via is not more than 35 μ

m.