Process for restoring rejected wafers in line for reuse as new
First Claim
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1. A method of forming a substrate portion comprising the steps of:
- providing a wafer comprising a substrate, said substrate having at least one of a metal portion and an oxide portion and at least a diffusion region;
removing the at least one of the metal portion and the oxide portion;
implanting ions into said substrate to form a buried layer therein, said buried layer being deeper than said diffusion region;
heating said wafer to a temperature; and
separating said wafer along said buried layer to remove a top surface layer of said wafer,whereby underlying portions of said wafer remain to form said substrate portion.
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Abstract
A process applicable to the restoration of defective or rejected semiconductor wafers to a defect-free form uses etchants and a variation of the Smart-Cut® process. Because of the use of the variation on the Smart-Cut® process, diffusion regions are removed without significantly affecting the specifications of the semiconductor wafer. Therefore, a defective or rejected wafer can be restored to near original condition for use in semiconductor manufacturing.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method of forming a substrate portion comprising the steps of:
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providing a wafer comprising a substrate, said substrate having at least one of a metal portion and an oxide portion and at least a diffusion region; removing the at least one of the metal portion and the oxide portion; implanting ions into said substrate to form a buried layer therein, said buried layer being deeper than said diffusion region; heating said wafer to a temperature; and separating said wafer along said buried layer to remove a top surface layer of said wafer, whereby underlying portions of said wafer remain to form said substrate portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of forming a semiconductor substrate portion upon which semiconductor structures can be subsequently formed, comprising the steps of:
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providing a wafer comprising a semiconductor substrate, said semiconductor substrate having at least one of a metal portion and an oxide portion and at least a diffusion region; removing the at least one of the metal portion and the oxide portion; planarizing the semiconductor wafer; implanting hydrogen ions into said semiconductor substrate to form a buried layer therein, said buried layer being deeper than said diffusion region; heating said wafer to a temperature; separating said wafer along said buried layer to remove a top surface layer of said wafer; and polishing said semiconductor substrate portion after the step of separating, whereby underlying portions of said wafer remain to form said semiconductor substrate portion.
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Specification