Method of producing an optically transparent substrate and method of producing a light-emitting semiconductor chip

• US 6,607,931 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2001
• Issued: 08/19/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH (Ams-Osram AG)
• Original Assignee: Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH (Ams-Osram AG)
• Inventors: Streubel, Klaus
• Primary Examiner(s): Mulpuri, Savitri
• Application Number:
  US09/793,342
• Publication Number:
  US 20010024837A1
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• Field of Search: 438/22-47, 438/479, 438/481, 438/483, 438/455-459, 438/477
• US Class Current: 438/22
• 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 33/0062 for devices with an active region comprising only III-V compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/0093 Wafer bonding; Removal of the growth substrate
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 438/977 Thinning or removal of substrate

Abstract

A light-emitting semiconductor chip is produced by applying an epitaxially produced light-emitting semiconductor structure on a transparent substrate. First, a substrate layer is epitaxially grown on a lattice-matched substrate. The substrate layer is bonded, on a side facing away from the lattice-matched substrate, to the transparent substrate through the use of a wafer bonding process. Subsequently, the lattice-matched substrate is removed from the composite formed of the substrate layer and the transparent substrate. The light-emitting semiconductor structure is then epitaxially grown onto the exposed side of the substrate layer. The method is suitable, in particular, for producing light-emitting diode chips with active light-emitting diode structures, for which no optically transparent lattice-matched substrate material is available.

Claims

1. A method of producing a light-emitting semiconductor chip structure with an optically transparent substrate, the method which comprises:

providing a lattice-matched substrate;

epitaxially growing a substrate layer on the lattice-matched substrate;

connecting the substrate layer to an optically transparent layer at a side of the substrate layer facing away from the lattice-matched substrate by using a wafer-bonding process;

removing the lattice-matched substrate from a composite formed of the substrate layer and the optically transparent layer; and

then

epitaxially growing a light-emitting semiconductor structure onto the substrate layer.

2. The method according to claim 1, which comprises providing the substrate layer as an optically transparent substrate layer.

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

producing a light-emitting diode chip with an active light-emitting diode structure based on a material selected from the group consisting of (AlGa)InP and AlGaAs;

using a GaAs substrate as the lattice-matched substrate;

using an epitaxially grown layer selected from the group consisting of an (AlGa)InP layer and a AlGaAs layer as the substrate layer;

using a GaP substrate as the optically transparent layer; and

growing the active light-emitting diode structure onto the substrate layer after the step of removing the lattice-matched substrate.

4. The method according to claim 2, which comprises:

producing a light-emitting diode chip with an active light-emitting diode structure based on a material selected from the group consisting of (AlGa)InP and AlGaAs;

using a GaAs substrate as the lattice-matched substrate;

using an epitaxially grown layer selected from the group consisting of an (AlGa) InP layer and a AlGaAs layer as the substrate layer;

using a GaP substrate as the optically transparent layer; and

growing the active light-emitting diode structure onto the substrate layer after the step of removing the lattice-matched substrate.

5. The method according to claim 3, which comprises epitaxially applying an electrically conductive optically transparent window layer onto the active light-emitting diode structure.

6. The method according to claim 3, which comprises applying an electrically conductive optically transparent window layer onto the active light-emitting diode structure by using a wafer bonding process.