Modified Gold-Tin System With Increased Melting Temperature for Wafer Bonding
AssigneeCree, Inc.
InventorsDavid B. Slater, John A. Edmond, Hua-Shuang Kong
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Abstract
A semiconductor structure and a bonding method are disclosed that includes a device wafer, a substrate wafer, and a metal bonding system between the device wafer and the substrate wafer. The metal bonding system includes gold, tin, and nickel, and includes at least one discrete layer of gold and tin that is at least about 88 percent gold by weight.
Claims43
A semiconductor structure comprising:
- a device wafer;
- a substrate wafer;
- and
- a metal bonding system between said device wafer and said substrate wafer;
- said metal bonding system comprising gold, tin, and nickel, and including at least one discrete layer of gold and tin that is at least about 88 percent gold by weight.
A semiconductor structure comprising:
- a device wafer;
- a substrate wafer;
- and
- a metal bonding system between said device wafer and said substrate wafer, said metal bonding system comprising a discrete layer of gold and tin that predominates in gold by weight and that demonstrates melting temperatures exceeding 350° C.
A method of bonding substrate wafers and device wafers to one another comprising annealing a gold-tin alloy that predominates by weight in gold in the presence of an adjacent layer of nickel until the nickel and tin react to an extent sufficient to increase the weight percentage of gold in the gold-tin alloy to at least about 88 percent.
A method of bonding substrate wafers and device wafers comprising annealing a gold-tin alloy that predominates in weight in gold in the presence of an adjacent layer of nickel until the nickel and tin react to an extent sufficient to increase the melting temperature of the gold-tin alloy to more than 350° C.
A method of bonding substrate wafers and device wafers comprising depositing a layer of nickel on at least the device wafer and thereafter depositing a layer of gold-tin alloy on the nickel layer characterized by applying a relative thickness of each layer that provides upon annealing at least one discrete gold-tin layer that includes at least about 88 percent by weight gold.
A light emitting diode comprising:
- a device portion;
- a substrate portion;
- and
- a metal bonding system between said device portion and said substrate portion, said metal bonding system including at least one layer of gold-tin alloy in which gold is present in an amount of at least about 88 percent by weight.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.