Integration of compound semiconductor thin film structures on large-diameter substrates with wafer bonding and substrate removal

Abstract

The present invention provides scalable manufacturing approaches to add compound semiconductor (CS) materials and devices to large-diameter substrate platforms. The method includes forming a CS buffer layer overlying the large-diameter substrate wafer, then a stop etch layer, and finally a device layer structure for high carrier mobility, optical gain or absorption, or optical nonlinearity. This device wafer is then bonded, topside down, to a photonics substrate platform. The underlying substrate is removed with grinding, polishing, or etching processes. Some of the CS layers, including the buffer and the stop etch layer, may be removed thereby leaving only the final device layer. This final layer may be patterned to form waveguides or device structures; may be exposed to ion implantation steps to form p-n junctions; and may be subjected to other common fabrication steps to form devices. These device structures may also be encapsulated and addressed through top-level metal contacts and vias.

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