Method of preparing an isolation region in a high resistivity silicon-on-insulator substrate

A method of preparing a multilayer structure, the method comprising:

• epitaxially depositing an epitaxial arsenic-doped silicon layer on a front surface of a single crystal semiconductor handle substrate, wherein the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate comprises two major, generally parallel surfaces, one of which is the front surface of the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate and the other of which is a back surface of the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate, a circumferential edge of the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate joining the front and back surfaces of the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate, a central plane of the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate between the front surface of the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate and the back surface of the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate, and a bulk region between the front and back surfaces of the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate, wherein the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate has a bulk resistivity of at least about 500 ohm-cm;
• epitaxially depositing an epitaxial silicon layer on the arsenic-doped silicon layer;
• depositing a dielectric layer on the silicon layer;
• and
• bonding a front surface of a single crystal semiconductor donor substrate to the dielectric layer of the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate to thereby form a bonded multilayer structure comprising the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate, the epitaxial arsenic-doped silicon layer, the epitaxial silicon layer, the dielectric layer, and the single crystal semiconductor donor substrate, wherein the single crystal semiconductor donor substrate comprises two major, generally parallel surfaces, one of which is the front surface of the single crystal semiconductor donor substrate and the other of which is a back surface of the single crystal semiconductor donor substrate, a circumferential edge joining the front and back surfaces of the single crystal semiconductor donor substrate, and a central plane between the front and back surfaces of the single crystal semiconductor donor substrate, and further wherein the semiconductor donor substrate comprises a cleave plane.