HIGH RESISTIVITY SILICON-ON-INSULATOR WAFER MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR REDUCING SUBSTRATE LOSS

Abstract

A multilayer composite structure and a method of preparing a multilayer composite structure are provided. The multilayer composite structure comprises a semiconductor handle substrate having a minimum bulk region resistivity of at least about 500 ohm-cm; a Group IVA nitride layer in contact with the semiconductor handle substrate, the Group IVA nitride layer selected from the group consisting of carbon nitride, silicon carbon nitride, and a combination thereof; a dielectric layer in contact with the Group IVA nitride layer; and a semiconductor device layer in contact with the dielectric layer.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/233,306, filed Dec. 27, 2018, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in its entirety. U.S. application Ser. No. 16/233,306 is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/835,093, filed Aug. 25, 2015, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in its entirety. U.S. application Ser. No. 14/835,093 claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 62/045,603, filed Sep. 4, 2014, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the field of semiconductor wafer manufacture. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for producing a semiconductor-on-insulator (e.g., silicon-on-insulator) structure, and more particularly to a method for producing a charge trapping layer in the handle wafer of the semiconductor-on-insulator structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Semiconductor wafers are generally prepared from a single crystal ingot (e.g., a silicon ingot) which is trimmed and ground to have one or more flats or notches for proper orientation of the wafer in subsequent procedures. The ingot is then sliced into individual wafers. While reference will be made herein to semiconductor wafers constructed from silicon, other materials may be used to prepare semiconductor wafers, such as germanium, silicon carbide, silicon germanium, or gallium arsenide.

Semiconductor wafers (e.g., silicon wafers) may be utilized in the preparation of composite layer structures. A composite layer structure (e.g., a semiconductor-on-insulator, and more specifically, a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure) generally comprises a handle wafer or layer, a device layer, and an insulating (i.e., dielectric) film (typically an oxide layer) between the handle layer and the device layer. Generally, the device layer is between 0.01 and 20 micrometers thick. In general, composite layer structures, such as silicon-on-insulator (SOI), silicon-on-sapphire (SOS), and silicon-on-quartz, are produced by placing two wafers in intimate contact, followed by a thermal treatment to strengthen the bond.

After thermal anneal, the bonded structure undergoes further processing to remove a substantial portion of the donor wafer to achieve layer transfer. For example, wafer thinning techniques, e.g., etching or grinding, may be used, often referred to as back etch SOI (i.e., BESOI), wherein a silicon wafer is bound to the handle wafer and then slowly etched away until only a thin layer of silicon on the handle wafer remains. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,500, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in its entirety. This method is time-consuming and costly, wastes one of the substrates and generally does not have suitable thickness uniformity for layers thinner than a few microns.

Another common method of achieving layer transfer utilizes a hydrogen implant followed by thermally induced layer splitting. Particles (e.g., hydrogen atoms or a combination of hydrogen and helium atoms) are implanted at a specified depth beneath the front surface of the donor wafer. The implanted particles form a cleave plane in the donor wafer at the specified depth at which they were implanted. The surface of the donor wafer is cleaned to remove organic compounds deposited on the wafer during the implantation process.

The front surface of the donor wafer is then bonded to a handle wafer to form a bonded wafer through a hydrophilic bonding process. Prior to bonding, the donor wafer and/or handle wafer are activated by exposing the surfaces of the wafers to plasma containing, for example, oxygen or nitrogen. Exposure to the plasma modifies the structure of the surfaces in a process often referred to as surface activation, which activation process renders the surfaces of one or both of the donor water and handle wafer hydrophilic. The wafers are then pressed together, and a bond is formed there between. This bond is relatively weak, and must be strengthened before further processing can occur.

In some processes, the hydrophilic bond between the donor wafer and handle wafer (i.e., a bonded wafer) is strengthened by heating or annealing the bonded wafer pair. In some processes, wafer bonding may occur at low temperatures, such as between approximately 300° C. and 500° C. In some processes, wafer bonding may occur at high temperatures, such as between approximately 800° C. and 1100° C. The elevated temperatures cause the formation of covalent bonds between the adjoining surfaces of the donor wafer and the handle wafer, thus solidifying the bond between the donor wafer and the handle wafer. Concurrently with the heating or annealing of the bonded wafer, the particles earlier implanted in the donor wafer weaken the cleave plane.

A portion of the donor wafer is then separated (i.e., cleaved) along the cleave plane from the bonded wafer to form the SOI wafer. Cleaving may be carried out by placing the bonded wafer in a fixture in which mechanical force is applied perpendicular to the opposing sides of the bonded wafer in order to pull a portion of the donor wafer apart from the bonded wafer. According to some methods, suction cups are utilized to apply the mechanical force. The separation of the portion of the donor wafer is initiated by applying a mechanical wedge at the edge of the bonded wafer at the cleave plane in order to initiate propagation of a crack along the cleave plane. The mechanical force applied by the suction cups then pulls the portion of the donor wafer from the bonded wafer, thus forming an SOI wafer.

According to other methods, the bonded pair may instead be subjected to an elevated temperature over a period of time to separate the portion of the donor wafer from the bonded wafer. Exposure to the elevated temperature causes initiation and propagation of a crack along the cleave plane, thus separating a portion of the donor wafer. This method allows for better uniformity of the transferred layer and allows recycle of the donor wafer, but typically requires heating the implanted and bonded pair to temperatures approaching 500° C. The use of high resistivity semiconductor-on-insulator (e.g., silicon-on-insulator) wafers for RF related devices such as antenna switches offers benefits over traditional substrates in terms of cost and integration. To reduce parasitic power loss and minimize harmonic distortion inherent when using conductive substrates for high frequency applications it is necessary, but not sufficient, to use substrate wafers with a high resistivity. Accordingly, the resistivity of the handle wafer for an RF device is generally greater than about 500 Ohm-cm. With reference now to FIG. 1, a silicon on insulator structure 2 comprising a very high resistivity silicon wafer 4, a buried oxide (BOX) layer 6, and a silicon device layer 10. Such a substrate is prone to formation of high conductivity charge inversion or accumulation layers 12 at the BOX/handle interface causing generation of free carriers (electrons or holes), which reduce the effective resistivity of the substrate and give rise to parasitic power losses and device nonlinearity when the devices are operated at RF frequencies. These inversion/accumulation layers can be due to BOX fixed charge, oxide trapped charge, interface trapped charge, and even DC bias applied to the devices themselves.

A method is required therefore to trap the charge in any induced inversion or accumulation layers so that the high resistivity of the substrate is maintained even in the very near surface region. It is known that charge trapping layers (CTL) between the high resistivity handle substrates and the buried oxide (BOX) may improve the performance of RF devices fabricated using SOI wafers. A number of methods have been suggested to form these high interface trap layers. For example, with reference now to FIG. 2, one of the method of creating a semiconductor-on-insulator 20 (e.g., a silicon-on-insulator, or SOI) with a CTL for RF device applications is based on depositing an undoped polycrystalline silicon film 28 on a silicon substrate having high resistivity 22 and then forming a stack of oxide 24 and top silicon layer 26 on it. A polycrystalline silicon layer 28 acts as a high defectivity layer between the silicon substrate 22 and the buried oxide layer 24. See FIG. 2, which depicts a polycrystalline silicon film for use as a charge trapping layer 28 between a high resistivity substrate 22 and the buried oxide layer 24 in a silicon-on-insulator structure 20. An alternative method is the implantation of heavy ions to create a near surface damage layer. Devices, such as radiofrequency devices, are built in the top silicon layer 26.

It has been shown in academic studies that the polycrystalline silicon layer in between of the oxide and substrate improves the device isolation, decreases transmission line losses and reduces harmonic distortions. See, for example: H. S. Gamble, et al.“Low-loss CPW lines on surface stabilized high resistivity silicon,” Microwave Guided Wave Lett., 9(10), pp. 395-397, 1999; D. Lederer, R. Lobet and J.-P. Raskin, “Enhanced high resistivity SOI wafers for RF applications,” IEEE Intl. SOI Conf. pp. 46-47, 2004; D. Lederer and J.-P. Raskin, “New substrate passivation method dedicated to high resistivity SOI wafer fabrication with increased substrate resistivity,” IEEE Electron Device Letters, vol. 26, no. 11, pp. 805-807, 2005; D. Lederer, B. Aspar, C. Laghae and J.-P. Raskin, “Performance of RF passive structures and SOI MOSFETs transferred on a passivated HR SOI substrate,” IEEE International SOI Conference, pp. 29-30, 2006; and Daniel C. Kerret al. “Identification of RF harmonic distortion on Si substrates and its reduction using a trap-rich layer”, Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, 2008. SiRF 2008 (IEEE Topical Meeting), pp. 151-154, 2008.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Among the provisions of the present invention may be noted a multilayer structure comprising: a semiconductor handle substrate comprising two major, generally parallel surfaces, one of which is a front surface of the semiconductor handle substrate and the other of which is a back surface of the semiconductor handle substrate, a circumferential edge joining the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor handle substrate, and a bulk region between the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor handle substrate, wherein the semiconductor handle substrate has a minimum bulk region resistivity of at least about 500 ohm-cm; a Group IVA nitride layer in contact with the front surface of the semiconductor handle substrate, the Group IVA nitride layer selected from the group consisting of carbon nitride, silicon carbon nitride, and a combination thereof; a dielectric layer in contact with the nitride layer; and a semiconductor device layer in contact with the dielectric layer.

The present invention is further directed to a method of forming a multilayer structure, the method comprising: forming a Group IVA nitride layer on a front surface of a semiconductor handle substrate, wherein the Group IVA nitride layer is selected from the group consisting of carbon nitride, silicon carbon nitride, and a combination thereof and wherein the semiconductor handle substrate comprises two major, generally parallel surfaces, one of which is the front surface of the semiconductor handle substrate and the other of which is a back surface of the semiconductor handle substrate, a circumferential edge joining the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor handle substrate, and a bulk region between the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor handle substrate, wherein the semiconductor handle substrate has a minimum bulk region resistivity of at least about 500 ohm-cm; and bonding a front surface of a semiconductor donor substrate to the Group IVA nitride layer to thereby form a bonded structure, wherein the semiconductor donor substrate comprising two major, generally parallel surfaces, one of which is the front surface of the semiconductor donor substrate and the other of which is a back surface of the semiconductor donor substrate, a circumferential edge joining the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor donor substrate, and a central plane between the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor donor substrate, and further wherein the front surface of the semiconductor donor substrate comprises a dielectric layer.

Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a depiction of a silicon-on-insulator wafer comprising a high resistivity substrate and a buried oxide layer.

FIG. 2 is a depiction of a silicon-on-insulator wafer according to the prior art, the SOI wafer comprising a polysilicon charge trapping layer between a high resistivity substrate and a buried oxide layer.

FIG. 3 is a depiction of a high resistivity silicon-on-insulator composite structure with an embedded Group IVA nitride layer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S) OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, a method is provided for preparing a semiconductor-on-insulator composite structure comprising a Group IVA nitride layer on a semiconductor handle substrate, e.g., a single crystal semiconductor handle wafer, such as a single crystal silicon wafer. The Group IVA nitride layers are nitrides comprising Group IVA elements, including carbon, silicon, or a combination thereof. The present invention is further directed to a semiconductor handle wafer comprising a Group IVA nitride layer on a surface thereof. The single crystal semiconductor handle wafer comprising the Group IVA nitride layer is useful in the production of a semiconductor-on-insulator (e.g., silicon-on-insulator) structure. The present invention is thus further directed to a semiconductor-on-insulator composite structure comprising a semiconductor handle wafer comprising a Group IVA nitride layer. The Group IVA nitride layer is located at the interface of the semiconductor handle wafer and the dielectric layer, e.g., a buried oxide, or BOX layer, which itself interfaces with a semiconductor device layer.

According to the present invention, the Group IVA nitride layer is formed on a surface of a semiconductor handle substrate, e.g., a single crystal silicon wafer, at the region near the oxide interface. The incorporation of a Group IVA nitride layer at the region near the high resistivity semiconductor wafer-buried oxide interface is advantageous since defects in the Group IVA nitride layer tend to have deep energy levels. The carriers that are trapped deep in the bandgap require more energy to be released, which enhances the effectiveness of a nitride layer as a charge trapping layer. The Group IVA nitride layer may be selected from among carbon nitride, silicon carbon nitride, and a combination thereof.

The substrates for use in the present invention include a semiconductor handle substrate, e.g., a single crystal semiconductor handle wafer, and a semiconductor donor substrate, e.g., a single crystal semiconductor donor wafer. FIG. 3 is a depiction of an exemplary, non-limiting high resistivity silicon-on-insulator composite structure with an embedded wide bandgap layer. The semiconductor device layer 106 in a semiconductor-on-insulator composite structure 100 is derived from the single crystal semiconductor donor wafer. The semiconductor device layer 106 may be transferred onto the semiconductor handle substrate 102 by wafer thinning techniques such as etching a semiconductor donor substrate or by cleaving a semiconductor donor substrate comprising a damage plane. In general, the single crystal semiconductor handle wafer and single crystal semiconductor donor wafer comprise two major, generally parallel surfaces. One of the parallel surfaces is a front surface of the substrate, and the other parallel surface is a back surface of the substrate. The substrates comprise a circumferential edge joining the front and back surfaces, and a central plane between the front and back surfaces. The substrates additionally comprise an imaginary central axis perpendicular to the central plane and a radial length that extends from the central axis to the circumferential edge. In addition, because semiconductor substrates, e.g., silicon wafers, typically have some total thickness variation (TTV), warp, and bow, the midpoint between every point on the front surface and every point on the back surface may not precisely fall within a plane. As a practical matter, however, the TTV, warp, and bow are typically so slight that to a close approximation the midpoints can be said to fall within an imaginary central plane which is approximately equidistant between the front and back surfaces.

Prior to any operation as described herein, the front surface and the back surface of the substrate may be substantially identical. A surface is referred to as a “front surface” or a “back surface” merely for convenience and generally to distinguish the surface upon which the operations of method of the present invention are performed. In the context of the present invention, a “front surface” of a single crystal semiconductor handle substrate 102, e.g., a single crystal silicon handle wafer, refers to the major surface of the substrate that becomes an interior surface of the bonded structure. It is upon this front surface that the Group IVA nitride layer 108 is formed. Accordingly, a “back surface” of a single crystal semiconductor handle substrate, e.g., a handle wafer, refers to the major surface that becomes an exterior surface of the bonded structure. Similarly, a “front surface” of a single crystal semiconductor donor substrate, e.g., a single crystal silicon donor wafer, refers to the major surface of the single crystal semiconductor donor substrate that becomes an interior surface of the bonded structure, and a “back surface” of a single crystal semiconductor donor substrate, e.g., a single crystal silicon donor wafer, refers to the major surface that becomes an exterior surface of the bonded structure. Upon completion of conventional bonding and wafer thinning steps, the single crystal semiconductor donor substrate forms the semiconductor device layer 106 of the semiconductor-on-insulator (e.g., silicon-on-insulator) composite structure.

The single crystal semiconductor handle substrate and the single crystal semiconductor donor substrate may be single crystal semiconductor wafers. In preferred embodiments, the semiconductor wafers comprise a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, silicon germanium, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, indium phosphide, indium gallium arsenide, germanium, and combinations thereof. The single crystal semiconductor wafers, e.g., the single crystal silicon handle wafer and single crystal silicon donor wafer, of the present invention typically have a nominal diameter of at least about 150 mm, at least about 200 mm, at least about 300 mm, at least about 450 mm, or more. Wafer thicknesses may vary from about 250 micrometers to about 1500 micrometers, suitably within the range of about 500 micrometers to about 1000 micrometers.

In particularly preferred embodiments, the single crystal semiconductor wafers comprise single crystal silicon wafers which have been sliced from a single crystal ingot grown in accordance with conventional Czochralski crystal growing methods or float zone growing methods. Such methods, as well as standard silicon slicing, lapping, etching, and polishing techniques are disclosed, for example, in F. Shimura, Semiconductor Silicon Crystal Technology, Academic Press, 1989, and Silicon Chemical Etching, (J. Grabmaier ed.) Springer-Verlag, N.Y., 1982 (incorporated herein by reference). Preferably, the wafers are polished and cleaned by standard methods known to those skilled in the art. See, for example, W. C. O'Mara et al., Handbook of Semiconductor Silicon Technology, Noyes Publications. If desired, the wafers can be cleaned, for example, in a standard SC1/SC2 solution. In some embodiments, the single crystal silicon wafers of the present invention are single crystal silicon wafers which have been sliced from a single crystal ingot grown in accordance with conventional Czochralski (“Cz”) crystal growing methods, typically having a nominal diameter of at least about 150 mm, at least about 200 mm, at least about 300 mm, at least about 450 mm, or more. Preferably, both the single crystal silicon handle wafer and the single crystal silicon donor wafer have mirror-polished front surface finishes that are free from surface defects, such as scratches, large particles, etc. Wafer thickness may vary from about 250 micrometers to about 1500 micrometers, suitably within the range of about 500 micrometers to about 1000 micrometers. In some specific embodiments, the wafer thickness may be about 725 micrometers.

In some embodiments, the single crystal semiconductor wafers, i.e., handle wafer and donor wafer, comprise interstitial oxygen in concentrations that are generally achieved by the Czochralski-growth method. In some embodiments, the semiconductor wafers comprise oxygen in a concentration between about 4 PPMA and about 18 PPMA. In some embodiments, the semiconductor wafers comprise oxygen in a concentration between about 10 PPMA and about 35 PPMA. Interstitial oxygen may be measured according to SEMI MF 1188-1105.

In some embodiments, the semiconductor handle substrate 102, e.g., a single crystal semiconductor handle substrate, such as a single crystal silicon handle wafer, has a relatively high minimum bulk resistivity. High resistivity wafers are generally sliced from single crystal ingots grown by the Czochralski method or float zone method. Cz-grown silicon wafers may be subjected to a thermal anneal at a temperature ranging from about 600° C. to about 1000° C. in order to annihilate thermal donors caused by oxygen that are incorporated during crystal growth. In some embodiments, the single crystal semiconductor handle wafer has a minimum bulk resistivity of at least 100 Ohm-cm, such as between about 100 Ohm-cm and about 100,000 Ohm-cm, or between about 500 Ohm-cm and about 100,000 Ohm-cm, or between about 1000 Ohm-cm and about 100,000 Ohm-cm, or between about 500 Ohm-cm and about 10,000 Ohm-cm, or between about 750 Ohm-cm and about 10,000 Ohm-cm, between about 1000 Ohm-cm and about 10,000 Ohm-cm, between about 2000 Ohm-cm and about 10,000 Ohm-cm, between about 3000 Ohm-cm and about 10,000 Ohm-cm, or between about 3000 Ohm cm and about 5,000 Ohm-cm. Methods for preparing high resistivity wafers are known in the art, and such high resistivity wafers may be obtained from commercial suppliers, such as SunEdison Semiconductor Ltd. (St. Peters, Mo.; formerly MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc.).

In some embodiments, the front surface of the semiconductor handle substrate 102 is cleaned to remove all oxide prior to formation of the wide bandgap layer such that the front surface of the wafer lacks even a native oxide layer. The native oxide may be removed by standard etching techniques. In some embodiments, the semiconductor wafer may be subjected to a vapor phase HCl etch process in a horizontal flow single wafer epitaxial reactor using H₂ as a carrier gas.

In some embodiments, a Group IVA nitride layer 108 is deposited on the front surface of the semiconductor handle wafer 102. The Group IVA nitride layer 108 may comprise carbon nitride, silicon carbon nitride, or a combination thereof. The Group IVA nitride layer 108 may comprise multilayers, e.g., two layers, three layers, four layers, or more of carbon nitride and silicon carbon nitride. The multilayers may comprise the same or different materials. The Group IVA nitride layer 108 may be crystalline or amorphous. The Group IVA nitride layer 108 of the present invention may be deposited by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), or molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). In some preferred embodiments, the Group IVA nitride layer 108 of the present invention may be deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The Group IVA nitride layer 108 may be deposited in a commercially available instrument suitable for PECVD, such as SAMCO's PD-3800 PECVD system. In PECVD, gaseous precursors are injected into a reactor, and chemical reaction within a plasma between the precursors deposit a layer of atoms onto a semiconductor wafer. Surface reaction of silicon and/or carbon precursors and nitrogen precursors create conditions for growth. Silicon precursors for PECVD include methyl silane, silicon tetrahydride (silane), disilane, trisilane, pentasilane, neopentasilane, tetrasilane, dichlorosilane (SiH₂Cl₂), silicon tetrachloride (SiCl₄), among others. Suitable carbon precursors for PECVD include methylsilane, methane, ethane, ethylene, among others. Suitable nitrogen precursors suitable for PECVD include phenyl hydrazine, dimethyl hydrazine, tertiary butyl amine, nitrogen and ammonia. An exemplary recipe for forming carbon nitride is to inject methane and nitrogen into the reactive plasma. An exemplary recipe for forming silicon carbon nitride is to inject methane, silane, and nitrogen into the reactive plasma. Nitride layers of carbon nitride or silicon carbon nitride are particularly advantageous charge trapping layers since carbon and nitrogen are not electrically active dopant in silicon. Accordingly, high temperature diffusion of carbon or nitrogen from the charge trapping layer into the high resistivity substrate or the device layer will not affect the electrical properties of these layers.

A PECVD reactor comprises a chamber comprising reactor walls, liner, a susceptor, gas injection units, and temperature control units. The parts of the reactor are made of materials resistant to and non-reactive with the precursor materials. To prevent overheating, cooling water may be flowing through the channels within the reactor walls. A substrate sits on a susceptor which is at a controlled temperature. The susceptor is made from a material resistant to the metal organic compounds used, such as graphite. For growing nitrides and related materials, a special coating on the graphite susceptor may be used to prevent corrosion by ammonia (NH₃) gas. Reactive gas is introduced by an inlet that controls the ratio of precursor reactants. Chemical reactions are involved in the process, which occur after creation of a plasma of the reacting gases. The plasma is generally created by RF (AC) frequency discharge between two electrodes, the space between which is filled with the reacting gases. A Group IVA nitride layer may be deposited to a thickness between about 1 nanometer and about 2000 nanometers, or between about 5 nanometers and about 2000 nanometers, or between about 5 nanometers and about 1000 nanometers, or between about 5 nanometers and about 500 nanometers, or between about 100 nanometers and about 500 nanometers, such as between about 200 nanometers and about 500 nanometers by PECVD on a high resistivity semiconductor handle substrate. The growth temperature may be between about 25° C. and about 1200° C., such as between about 100° C. and about 1100° C., preferably between about 100° C. and about 1000° C. The Group IVA nitride layer may be formed under reduced pressure, such as between about 10⁻¹¹ Torr (about 1×10⁻⁹ Pa) to about 760 Torr (about 101 kPa), or between about 10⁻⁵ Torr (about 0.0013 kPa) and about 10 Torr (about 1.33 kPa).

After deposition of the Group IVA nitride layer 108, optionally a dielectric layer may be formed on top of the Group IVA nitride layer. In some embodiments, the dielectric layer comprises an oxide film or a nitride film. Suitable dielectric layers may comprise a material selected from among silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, hafnium oxide, titanium oxide, zirconium oxide, lanthanum oxide, barium oxide, and a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the dielectric layer comprises an oxide film. Such an oxide film may serve as a bonding surface with an optionally oxidized semiconductor device substrate and thus may be incorporated into the dielectric layer 104 in the final semiconductor-on-insulator composite structure 100. In some embodiments, the dielectric layer comprises silicon dioxide, which may be deposited by means known in the art, such CVD oxide deposition. In some embodiments, the silicon dioxide layer thickness can be between about 100 nanometers to about 5 micrometers, such as between about 500 nanometers and about 2 micrometers, or between about 700 nanometers and about 1 micrometer.

After oxide deposition, wafer cleaning is optional. If desired, the wafers can be cleaned, for example, in a standard SC1/SC2 solution. Additionally, the wafers may be subjected to chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) to reduce the surface roughness, preferably to the level of RMS_{2x2 um2} is less than about 50 angstroms, even more preferably less than about 5 angstroms, wherein root mean squared—

$R_q=\sqrt{\frac{1}{n}\sum _{i=1}^ny_i^2},$

the roughness profile contains ordered, equally spaced points along the trace, and y_i is the vertical distance from the mean line to the data point.

The semiconductor handle substrate 102, e.g. a single crystal semiconductor handle wafer such as a single crystal silicon handle wafer, prepared according to the method described herein to comprise a Group IVA nitride layer 108 and, optionally, an oxide film, is next bonded a semiconductor donor substrate, e.g., a single crystal semiconductor donor wafer, which is prepared according to conventional layer transfer methods. That is, the single crystal semiconductor donor wafer may be subjected to standard process steps including oxidation, implant, and post implant cleaning. Accordingly, a semiconductor donor substrate, such as a single crystal semiconductor wafer of a material that is conventionally used in preparation of multilayer semiconductor structures, e.g., a single crystal silicon donor wafer, that has been etched and polished and optionally oxidized, is subjected to ion implantation to form a damage layer in the donor substrate. In some embodiments, the semiconductor donor substrate comprises a dielectric layer. Suitable dielectric layers may comprise a material selected from among silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, hafnium oxide, titanium oxide, zirconium oxide, lanthanum oxide, barium oxide, and a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the dielectric layer comprises an oxide layer having a thickness from about 10 nanometers to about 500 nanometers, such as between about 100 nanometers and about 400 nanometers.

Ion implantation may be carried out in a commercially available instrument, such as an Applied Materials Quantum II. Implanted ions include He, H, H₂, or combinations thereof. Ion implantation is carried out as a density and duration sufficient to form a damage layer in the semiconductor donor substrate. Implant density may range from about 10¹² ions/cm² to about 10¹⁶ ions/cm². Implant energies may range from about 1 keV to about 3,000 keV. In some embodiments it may be desirable to subject the single crystal semiconductor donor wafers, e.g., single crystal silicon donor wafers, to a clean after the implant. In some preferred embodiments, the clean could include a Piranha clean followed by a DI water rinse and SC1/SC2 cleans.

In some embodiments, the ion-implanted and optionally cleaned single crystal semiconductor donor substrate is subjected to oxygen plasma and/or nitrogen plasma surface activation. In some embodiments, the oxygen plasma surface activation tool is a commercially available tool, such as those available from EV Group, such as EVG®810LT Low Temp Plasma Activation System. The ion-implanted and optionally cleaned single crystal semiconductor donor wafer is loaded into the chamber. The chamber is evacuated and backfilled with O₂ to a pressure less than atmospheric to thereby create the plasma. The single crystal semiconductor donor wafer is exposed to this plasma for the desired time, which may range from about 1 second to about 120 seconds. Oxygen plasma surface oxidation is performed in order to render the front surface of the single crystal semiconductor donor substrate hydrophilic and amenable to bonding to a single crystal semiconductor handle substrate prepared according to the method described above.

The hydrophilic front surface layer of the single crystal semiconductor donor substrate and the front surface of the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate, which is optionally oxidized, are next brought into intimate contact to thereby form a bonded structure. Since the mechanical bond is relatively weak, the bonded structure is further annealed to solidify the bond between the donor wafer and the handle wafer. In some embodiments of the present invention, the bonded structure is annealed at a temperature sufficient to form a thermally activated cleave plane in the single crystal semiconductor donor substrate. An example of a suitable tool might be a simple Box furnace, such as a Blue M model. In some preferred embodiments, the bonded structure is annealed at a temperature of from about 200° C. to about 350° C., from about 225° C. to about 325° C., preferably about 300° C. Thermal annealing may occur for a duration of from about 0.5 hours to about 10 hour, preferably a duration of about 2 hours. Thermal annealing within these temperatures ranges is sufficient to form a thermally activated cleave plane. After the thermal anneal to activate the cleave plane, the bonded structure may be cleaved.

After the thermal anneal, the bond between the single crystal semiconductor donor substrate and the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate is strong enough to initiate layer transfer via cleaving the bonded structure at the cleave plane. Cleaving may occur according to techniques known in the art. In some embodiments, the bonded structure may be placed in a conventional cleave station affixed to stationary suction cups on one side and affixed by additional suction cups on a hinged arm on the other side. A crack is initiated near the suction cup attachment and the movable arm pivots about the hinge cleaving the wafer apart. Cleaving removes a portion of the semiconductor donor wafer, thereby leaving a semiconductor device layer, preferably a silicon device layer, on the semiconductor-on-insulator composite structure.

After cleaving, the cleaved structure is subjected to a high temperature anneal in order to further strengthen the bond between the transferred device layer and the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate. An example of a suitable tool might be a vertical furnace, such as an ASM A400. In some preferred embodiments, the bonded structure is annealed at a temperature of from about 1000° C. to about 1200° C., preferably at about 1000° C. Thermal annealing may occur for a duration of from about 0.5 hours to about 8 hours, preferably a duration of about 4 hours. Thermal annealing within these temperatures ranges is sufficient to strengthen the bond between the transferred device layer and the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate.

After the cleave and high temperature anneal, the bonded structure may be subjected to a cleaning process designed to remove thin thermal oxide and clean particulates from the surface. In some embodiments, the single crystal semiconductor donor wafer may be brought to the desired thickness and smoothness by subjecting to a vapor phase HCl etch process in a horizontal flow single wafer epitaxial reactor using H₂ as a carrier gas. In some embodiments, an epitaxial layer may be deposited on the transferred device layer. The finished SOI wafer comprises the semiconductor handle substrate, the Group IVA nitride layer, the dielectric layer (e.g., buried oxide layer), and the semiconductor device layer, may then be subjected to end of line metrology inspections and cleaned a final time using typical SC1-SC2 process.

According to the present invention, and with reference to FIG. 3, a semiconductor-on-insulator composite structure 100 is obtained with the Group IVA nitride layer 108 forming an interface with a high resistivity substrate 102 and with a dielectric layer 104. The dielectric layer 104 is in interface with a semiconductor device layer 106. The dielectric layer 104 may comprise a buried oxide, or BOX. The Group IVA nitride layer 108 can be effective for preserving charge trapping efficiency of the films during high temperature treatments.

Having described the invention in detail, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

EXAMPLES

The following non-limiting examples are provided to further illustrate the present invention.

Example 1. Silicon-On-Insulator Structure Comprising Group IVA Nitride Charge Trapping Layer

A semiconductor on insulator composite structure 100 of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 3. The SOI structure 100 comprises a high resistivity silicon substrate 102, a buried oxide layer 104, and a silicon device layer 106. At the interface of the high resistivity silicon substrate 102 and the buried oxide layer 104 is a Group IVA nitride layer 108 comprising one of carbon nitride or silicon carbon nitride layer. The Group IVA nitride layer 108 is deposited in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system. After deposition of the Group IVA nitride layer 108, the Group IVA nitride layer is capped by a thick insulator (called box) layer 104. The insulator layer 104 can be SiO₂ deposited in the same PECVD system or a LPCVD system, or grown in a thermal oxidation furnace. The total thickness of the insulator layer 104 is about 7600 angstroms. A conventional donor wafer with about 2400 angstroms SiO₂ can then be implanted and bonded to the handle substrate 102 with conventional method. The SOI structure 100 is then heat treated, cleaved, and gone through multiple thermal processes to reach the end of line with standard process flow.

When introducing elements of the present invention or the preferred embodiments(s) thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising”, “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above products and methods without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Claims

1. A multilayer structure comprising:

a silicon wafer handle substrate comprising two major, generally parallel surfaces, one of which is a front surface of the silicon wafer handle substrate and the other of which is a back surface of the silicon wafer handle substrate, a circumferential edge joining the front and back surfaces of the silicon wafer handle substrate, and a bulk region between the front and back surfaces of the silicon wafer handle substrate, wherein the silicon wafer handle substrate has a bulk region resistivity between 2000 Ohm-cm and about 100,000 Ohm-cm;

a charge trapping layer comprising a Group IVA nitride layer, wherein the Group IVA nitride layer comprises silicon carbon nitride;

a dielectric layer in contact with the Group IVA nitride layer, wherein the dielectric layer comprises a material selected from the group consisting of silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, hafnium oxide, titanium oxide, zirconium oxide, lanthanum oxide, barium oxide, and a combination thereof; and

a semiconductor device layer in contact with the dielectric layer.

2. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the silicon wafer handle substrate has a bulk resistivity between about 2000 Ohm-cm and about 10,000 Ohm-cm.

3. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the silicon wafer handle substrate has a bulk resistivity between about 3000 Ohm-cm and about 10,000 Ohm-cm.

4. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the silicon wafer handle substrate has a bulk resistivity between about 3000 Ohm-cm and about 5,000 Ohm-cm.

5. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the charge trapping layer is in interfacial contact with an oxide free front surface of the silicon wafer handle substrate.

6. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the charge trapping layer comprising the Group IVA nitride layer comprises crystalline silicon carbon nitride.

7. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the charge trapping layer comprising the Group IVA nitride layer comprises amorphous silicon carbon nitride.

8. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the charge trapping layer comprising the Group IVA nitride layer has an average thickness of between about 1 nanometer and about 2000 nanometers.

9. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the charge trapping layer comprising the Group IVA nitride layer has an average thickness of between about 5 nanometers and about 2000 nanometers.

10. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the charge trapping layer comprising the Group IVA nitride layer has an average thickness of between about 5 nanometers and about 1000 nanometers.

11. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the charge trapping layer comprising the Group IVA nitride layer has an average thickness of between about 5 nanometers and about 500 nanometers.

12. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the charge trapping layer comprising the Group IVA nitride layer has an average thickness of between about 200 nanometers and about 500 nanometers.