Abstract: A cleaving tool provides pressurized gas to the edge of a substrate to cleave the substrate at a selected interface. A substrate, such as a bonded substrate, is loaded into the cleaving tool, and two halves of the tool are brought together to apply a selected pressure to the substrate. A compliant pad of selected elastic resistance provides support to the substrate while allowing the substrate to expand during the cleaving process. Bringing the two halves of the tool together also compresses an edge seal against the perimeter of the substrate. A thin tube connected to a high-pressure gas source extends through the edge seal and provides a burst of gas to separate the substrate into at least two sheets. In a further embodiment, the perimeter of the substrate is struck with an edge prior to applying the gas pressure.

Abstract: A technique for forming a gettering layer in a wafer made using a controlled cleaving process. The gettering layer can be made by implanting using beam line or plasma immersion ion implantation, or made by forming a film of material such as polysilicon by way of chemical vapor deposition. A controlled cleaving process is used to form the wafer, which is a multilayered silicon on insulator substrate. The gettering layer removes and/or attracts impurities in the wafer, which can be detrimental to the functionality and reliability of an integrated circuit device made on the wafer.

Abstract: A method of forming substrates. The method includes providing a donor substrate; and forming a particle accumulation region at a selected depth in the donor substrate. The method includes diffusing a plurality of particles into the particle accumulation region to add stress to the particle accumulation region; and separating a thickness of material above the selected depth in the donor substrate.

Abstract: A method for forming a multi-layered substrate. The method includes forming a compliant layer on a face of a first substrate (10). Joining the compliant layer against a face of a second substrate (20), where the compliant layer forms around a surface non-uniformity on the second substrate face.

Abstract: A technique for forming a film of material (12) from a donor substrate (10). The technique has a step of introducing energetic particles (22) in a selected manner through a surface of a donor substrate (10) to a selected depth (20) underneath the surface, where the particles have a relatively high concentration to define a donor substrate material (12) above the selected depth and the particles for a pattern at the selected depth. An energy source is directed to a selected region of the donor substrate to initiate a controlled cleaving action of the substrate (10) at the selected depth (20), whereupon the cleaving action provides an expanding cleave front to free the donor material from a remaining portion of the donor substrate.

Abstract: A cleaving tool provides pressurized gas to the edge of a substrate in combination with a sharpened edge to cleave the substrate at a selected interface. The edge of the tool is tapped against the perimeter of a substrate, such as a bonded substrate, and a burst of gas pressure is then applied at approximately the point of contact with the edge of the tool. The combination of mechanical force and gas pressure separates the substrate into two halves at a selected interface, such as a weakened layer in a donor wafer.

Abstract: A method for implanting a substrate face using a plasma processing apparatus (10). The method includes providing a substrate (e.g., wafer, panel) (22) on a face of a susceptor. The substrate has an exposed face, which has a substrate diameter that extends from a first edge of the substrate to a second edge of the substrate across a length of the substrate. The method also includes forming a plasma sheath (26) around the face of the substrate. The plasma sheath has a dark space distance “D” that extends in a normal manner from the exposed face to an edge of the plasma sheath. The dark space distance and the substrate diameter comprise a ratio between the dark space distance and the substrate diameter. The ratio is about one half and less, which provides a substantially uniform implant.

Abstract: A technique for forming a film of material (12) from a donor substrate (10). The technique has a step of introducing energetic particles (22) in a selected manner through a surface of a donor substrate (10) to a selected depth (20) underneath the surface, where the particles have a relatively high concentration to define a donor substrate material (12) above the selected depth and the particles for a pattern at the selected depth. An energy source such as pressurized fluid is directed to a selected region of the donor substrate to initiate a controlled cleaving action of the substrate (10) at the selected depth (20), whereupon the cleaving action provides an expanding cleave front to free the donor material from a remaining portion of the donor substrate.

Abstract: A method for treating a film of material, which can be defined on a substrate, e.g., silicon. The method includes providing a substrate comprising a cleaved surface, which had a porous silicon layer thereon. The substrate may have a distribution of hydrogen bearing particles defined from the cleaved surface to a region underlying said cleaved surface. The method also includes increasing a temperature of the cleaved surface to greater than about 1,000 Degrees Celsius while maintaining the cleaved surface in a etchant bearing environment to reduce a surface roughness value by about fifty percent and greater. Preferably, the value can be reduced by about eighty or ninety percent and greater, depending upon the embodiment.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for achieving a high strength bond between two substrates includes igniting a plasma using a source RF signal. The substrates are biased with a bias RF signal during surface treatment by the plasma. The treated surfaces are brought into contact. The resulting bonded substrates show an improvement over bonds attained using conventional bonding techniques.

Abstract: A method of forming substrates. The method includes providing a donor substrate; and forming a cleave layer comprising a cleave plane on the donor substrate. The cleave plane extends from a periphery of the donor substrate through a center region of the substrate. The method also includes forming a device layer on the cleave layer. The method also includes selectively introducing a plurality of particles along the periphery of the cleave plane to form a higher concentration region at the periphery and a lower concentration region in the center region. Selected energy is provided to the donor substrate to initiate a cleaving action at the higher concentration region at the periphery of the cleave plane to cleave the device layer at the cleave plane.

Abstract: A method for cleaning objects (e.g., wafers, integrated circuits, photonic devices, opto-electronic devices, piezoelectronic devices, microelectromechanical systems (“MEMS”), sensors, actuators, solar cells, flat panel displays (e.g., LCD, AMLCD), biological and biomedical devices) of particles (e.g., particulate contamination) that attach themselves to surfaces of the objects. The method includes applying a high energy laser source on a surface of a substrate to release one or more particles from the surface of the substrate while maintaining the substrate in a vacuum environment; and applying an electrostatic source directed to the substrate to attract the released one or more particles from the substrate to remove the one or more particles from the surface of the substrate. The method also removes the substrate from the vacuum environment.

Abstract: A method of smoothing a silicon surface formed on a substrate. According to the present invention a substrate having a silicon surface is placed into a chamber and heated to a temperature of between 1000°-1300° C. While the substrate is heated to a temperature between 1000°-1300° C., the silicon surface is exposed to a gas mix comprising H2 and HCl in the chamber to smooth the silicon surface.

Abstract: A technique for forming a film of material (12) from a donor substrate (10). The technique has a step of forming a stressed region in a selected manner at a selected depth (20) underneath the surface. An energy source such as pressurized fluid is directed to a selected region of the donor substrate to initiate a controlled cleaving action of the substrate (10) at the selected depth (20), whereupon the cleaving action provides an expanding cleave front to free the donor material from a remaining portion of the donor substrate.

Abstract: A computer-readable memory product containing a program suitable for controlling a substrate surface finishing apparatus. In one embodiment, the computer-readable memory product contains program code suitable for re-configuring, with appropriate apparatus component changes, a double-brush scrubber into a touch polish surface finishing system. In another embodiment, the computer-readable memory product contains program code suitable for controlling a substrate surface finishing system to selectively process a portion or portions of the substrate, such as removing a ridge of material from a perimeter portion of the substrate, or smoothing a step between a thin film layer bonded to a handle wafer.

Abstract: An ion implantation apparatus and method. The apparatus has a vacuum chamber and an ion beam generator to generate an ion beam in the vacuum chamber. The apparatus also has an implant wheel (10), in the vacuum chamber, having a plurality of circumferentially distributed substrate holding positions. Each of the substrate holding positions comprises a substrate holder (17), which includes an elastomer overlying the substrate holder (17) and a thermal insulating material (71) (e.g., quartz, silicon, ceramics, and other substantially non-compliant materials) overlying the elastomer (72). The present thermal insulating material increases a temperature of a substrate as it is implanted.

Abstract: A method for forming a film of material (12) from a donor substrate (10). The technique has a step of introducing energetic particles (22) through a surface of a donor substrate (10) to a selected depth (20) underneath the surface, where the particles have a relatively high concentration to define a donor substrate material (12) above the selected depth. An energy source is directed to a selected region of the donor substrate to initiate a controlled cleaving action of the substrate (10) at the selected depth (20), whereupon the cleaving action provides an expanding cleave front to free the donor material from a remaining portion of the donor substrate. A step of increasing a built-in energy state of the substrate is also included.

Abstract: In a specific embodiment, the present invention provides a novel process for smoothing a surface of a separated film. The present process is for the preparation of thin semiconductor material films. The process includes a step of implanting by ion bombardment of the face of the wafer by means of ions creating in the volume of the wafer at a depth close to the average penetration depth of the ions, where a layer of gaseous microbubbles defines the volume of the wafer a lower region constituting a majority of the substrate and an upper region constituting the thin film. A temperature of the wafer during implantation is kept below the temperature at which the gas produced by the implanted ions can escape from the semiconductor by diffusion. The process also includes contacting the planar face of the wafer with a stiffener constituted by at least one rigid material layer.

Abstract: A method for generating a plurality of donor wafers and handle wafers prior to an order being placed by a customer. For example, a plurality of donor wafers with different silicon layer thicknesses along with a plurality of handle wafers with different oxide layer thicknesses are fabricated. Subsequently, a customer may place an order for silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers which share defined parameters. Therefore, a prefabricated donor wafer and handle wafer are selected based on the customer's defined parameters and then bonded together. Next, the donor wafer is cleaved from the handle wafer wherein the handle wafer retains the silicon layer of the donor wafer. The silicon layer thickness of the handle wafer may be altered to meet the customer's parameters. For example, an epitaxial smoothing process may decrease the silicon layer thickness while an epitaxial thickening process may increase the silicon layer thickness.

Abstract: A process for forming an integrated circuit device structure. The process includes forming a first gate layer on a thickness of material on a donor substrate. The donor substrate has a cleave region underlying the gate layer. The process also includes joining the donor substrate to a handle substrate where the gate layer face the handle substrate; and separating the thickness of material at the cleave region from the donor substrate to define a handle substrate comprising the gate layer and an overlying thickness of material. The process forms a plurality of second gate structures on the thickness of material, where at least one of the first gate structures facing one of the second gate structures forming a channel region therebetween.