Device layer thin-film transfer to thermally conductive substrate

• US 10,032,943 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2015
• Issued: 07/24/2018
• 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, Yang, Cornelia Tsang
• Primary Examiner(s): Nikmanesh, Seahvosh
• Application Number:
  US14/974,643
• Publication Number:
  US 20170179307A1
• Time in Patent Office: 949 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 surrogate substrate is optically transparent and has a thermal conductivity of at least 300 W/m-K. The optoelectronic device excitable by visible light transmitted through the surrogate substrate. A method of fabricating the semiconductor structure includes fabricating the optoelectronic device in a device layer thin-film of SiC on a silicon wafer of a first diameter, transferring the device layer thin-film of SiC from the silicon wafer, and permanently bonding the device layer thin-film to a SiC surrogate substrate of a second diameter.

Claims

1. A method of fabricating a semiconductor structure, comprising the steps of:

providing a substrate in a form of a first wafer;

growing an epitaxial layer of a material that is optically transparent and thermally conductive on the substrate;

building at least one microelectronic device in the epitaxial layer;

temporarily attaching the substrate to a handler using a removable/degradable adhesive;

removing substantially all the substrate;

applying a permanent adhesive to one of;

the epitaxial layer, and

a wafer of a surrogate substrate that is optically transparent and thermally conductive;

permanently bonding together the epitaxial layer and the surrogate substrate, thereby forming an intermediate structure; and

removing the handler and the removable/degradable adhesive from the intermediate structure, thereby forming the semiconductor structure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wafer has a first diameter and the wafer of the surrogate substrate has a second diameter, and wherein the first diameter is substantially larger than the second diameter.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first wafer is silicon.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the epitaxial layer is silicon carbide.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one microelectronic device is an optoelectronic device that is excitable by light of an application wavelength.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the wafer of the surrogate substrate is optically transparent in the application wavelength and has a thermal conductivity of at least 300 W/m-K.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the wafer of the surrogate substrate is silicon carbide.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the epitaxial layer and the surrogate substrate are permanently bonded together by a material that is optically transparent in the application wavelength and has a thermal conductivity of at least 300 W/m-K.