Method for producing a light-emitting component

• US 6,221,683 B1
• Filed: 11/29/1999
• Issued: 04/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH (Ams-Osram AG)
• Original Assignee: Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH (Ams-Osram AG)
• Inventors: Nirschl, Ernst, Schönfeld, Olaf
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Vu A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SMITH, BRADLEY
• Application Number:
  US09/450,398
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: 438/47, 438/46, 438/22, 438/23, 438/28
• US Class Current: 438/47
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/0093 Wafer bonding; Removal of the growth substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/40 Materials therefor

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing a light-emitting component. A sequence of layers including at least one active layer is formed on the front face of a basic substrate consisting of semiconductor material. Subsequently, the basic substrate is at least partially removed and the sequence of layers is connected to an external substrate. The basic substrate is removed by wet-chemical etching in an etching agent that acts selectively on the material of the basic substrate. A first metallic contact layer is then applied to an end surface of the sequence of layers, and a second metallic contact layer is applied to an end surface of the external substrate. The sequence of layers is connected to the external substrate by connecting the first metallic contact layer to the second metallic contact layer using heat, by means of eutectic bonding.

Claims

1. A method for producing a light-emitting component, which comprises:

providing a base substrate as a wafer with a diameter of at least two inches;

forming a sequence of layers on the base substrate in which the sequence of layers includes at least one active layer;

at least partially removing the base substrate from the sequence of layers;

patterning a metallic contact layer, defining a first contact layer, on a surface of the sequence of layers;

patterning a metallic contact layer, defining a second contact layer, on a surface of a foreign substrate;

providing at least one solder layer between the first contact layer and the second contact layer; and

joining the sequence of layers to the foreign substrate only by eutectically bonding the first contact layer to the second contact layer.

2. The method according to claim 1, which comprises using a solder layer that includes gold as the at least one solder layer.

3. The method according to claim 1, which comprises providing a transparent material as the foreign substrate.

4. The method according to claim 1, which comprises:

providing the base substrate as a GaAs base substrate;

providing the active layer with a layer selected from the group consisting of InGaAlP, GaAs, and AlGaAs; and

performing the step of forming the sequence of layers by epitaxially depositing the sequence of layers on the base substrate.

5. The method according to claim 1, which comprises performing the step of forming the sequence of layers by epitaxially depositing the sequence of layers on the base substrate such that, proceeding from the base substrate, the sequence of layers includes a first cladding layer, an active layer, a second cladding layer, and a coupling-out layer.

6. The method according to claim 1, which comprises

producing a plurality of light-emitting components.

7. The method according to claim 1, which comprises:

fabricating a coupling-out layer on an opposite surface of the sequence of layers, the opposite surface being remote from the surface of the sequence of layers; and

depositing a patterned metallic electrode layer on the coupling-out layer.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of at least partially removing the base substrate from the sequence of layers is performed by wet-chemically etching the base substrate using an etchant that is selective for the base substrate.

9. The method according to claim 8, which comprises mechanically thinning the base substrate before performing the step of wet-chemically etching.