Gettering technique for silicon-on-insulator wafers

• US 6,083,324 A
• Filed: 02/19/1998
• Issued: 07/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Silicon Genesis
• Original Assignee: Silicon Genesis
• Inventors: Henley, Francois J., Cheung, Nathan W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bowers, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHRISTIANSON, KEITH ALAN
• Application Number:
  US09/025,964
• Time in Patent Office: 866 Days
• Field of Search: 438/471, 438/473, 438/474, 438/475, 438/455, 438/458, 438/459, 148/33, 148/33.2, 148/33.3, 148/33.4, 257/347, 257/349, 257/352
• US Class Current: 148/33.2
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/2007 Bonding of semiconductor wafers to insulating substrates or to semiconducting substrates using an intermediate insulating layer H01L21/2011 takes precedence; bonding of semiconductor wafers to semiconductor wafers for junction formation H01L21/187
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/26506 in group IV semiconductors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/26533 of electrically inactive species in silicon to make buried insulating layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/2658 of a molecular ion, e.g. decaborane
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/3223 using cavities formed by hydrogen or noble gas ion implantation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/3226 of silicon on insulator
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76254 with separation/delamination along an ion implanted layer, e.g. Smart-cut, Unibond

Abstract

A gettering layer in a silicon-on-insulator wafer. The gettering layer may be formed by implanting gas-forming particles or precipitate-forming particles beneath the active region of the silicon layer and thermally treating the gas-forming ions to produce microbubbles or precipitates within the silicon layer. The microbubbles an/or precipitates create trapping sites for mobile impurity species, thus gettering the impurities. In another embodiment, a polysilicon layer is formed on a donor silicon wafer prior to separating a thin layer of silicon from the donor wafer. The thin layer of silicon is bonded to a backing wafer, the polysilicon layer provides a gettering layer between the active silicon and the backing wafer.

Claims

1. A wafer comprising:

a substrate;

a cleaved semiconductor layer disposed on the substrate, the semiconductor layer having a top surface, the semiconductor layer being bonded to the substrate to form a multilayered substrate structure; and

a gettering layer disposed between the substrate and the top surface of the semiconductor layer wherein the gettering layer provides trapping sites for a plurality of mobile impurity species;

wherein the gettering layer comprises microbubbles or precipitates to trap a portion of said mobile impurity species.

2. The wafer of claim 1 wherein the semiconductor layer comprises monocrystalline silicon and the gettering layer comprises polycrystalline silicon.

3. The wafer of claim 1 wherein the gettering layer comprises silicon alloy.

4. The wafer of claim 1 wherein the semiconductor layer comprises germanium.

5. The wafer of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises silicon.

6. The wafer of claim 1 wherein the microbubbles were formed by implanting gas-forming particles into the semiconductor layer.

7. The wafer of claim 6 wherein the gas-forming particles comprise hydrogen ions.

8. The wafer of claim 6 wherein the gas-forming particles are implanted into the semiconductor layer using a plasma immersion ion implantation technique.

9. The wafer of claim 1 wherein the precipitates are within the semiconductor layer.

10. The wafer of claim 9 wherein the precipitates were formed by implanting precipitate-forming particles into the semiconductor layer.

11. The wafer of claim 10 wherein the precipitate-forming particles comprise oxygen.

12. The wafer of claim 1 wherein the semiconductor layer was separated from a donor wafer by an implantation blister process.

13. The wafer of claim 12 wherein the implantation blister process included ion beam implantation.

14. The wafer of claim 12 wherein the implantation blister process included plasma immersion ion implantation.

15. A wafer comprising:

a first region of cleaved semiconductor material;

a second region of semiconductor material having a top surface;

an insulative layer disposed between the first region of semiconductor material and the second region of semiconductor material, the insulating layer being bonded to the first region of semiconductor material; and

a gettering layer disposed within the second region of semiconductor material between the top surface and the insulative layer;

wherein the gettering layer comprises microbubbles or precipitates.

16. The wafer of claim 15 wherein the insulative layer is formed by implanting oxygen into the wafer.

17. The wafer of claim 15 wherein the oxygen is implanted by a plasma immersion ion implantation process.

18. The wafer of claim 15 wherein the semiconductor material is silicon.

19. The wafer of claim 15 wherein the microbubbles were formed by implanting gas-forming particles into the second region of semiconductor material.

20. The wafer of claim 19 wherein the gas-forming particles comprise hydrogen ions.

21. The wafer of claim 19 wherein the gas-forming particles were implanted by a plasma immersion ion implantation process.

22. A semiconductor device comprising:

an active region comprising a cleaved substrate region;

an insulative layer bonded to the active region; and

a first gettering layer disposed between the active region and the insulative layer; and

a second gettering layer of microbubbles disposed between the active region and the first gettering layer.

23. The device of claim 22 wherein the active region comprises monocrystalline silicon, the insulative layer comprises silicon oxide, and the first gettering layer comprises polysilicon.

24. The device of claim 22 wherein the first gettering layer comprises microbubbles.

25. A semiconductor-on-insulator wafer comprising:

a cleaved semiconductor layer;

an insulating layer disposed adjacent to and bonded to the semiconductor layer; and

a gettering layer disposed below the insulating layer;

wherein the gettering layer comprises microbubbles or precipitates to trap mobile ions from the semiconductor layer.

26. A semiconductor-on-insulator wafer comprising:

a semiconductor layer;

an insulating region disposed adjacent to and bonded to the semiconductor layer such that impurities from the semiconductor layer are gettered by the insulating region;

wherein the insulating region comprises microbubbles or precipitates to trap mobile impurities from the semiconductor layer.