Methods and structures for bonding elements

#This application is a utility conversion of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/226,353, filed Jul. 17, 2009, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by this reference.

#The various embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods and structures for fabricating semiconductor structures, and more particularly, to methods and structures for forming bonding layers for attaching two or more elements to one another during fabrication of semiconductor structures.

#Numerous semiconductor structures are produced by the attachment of two or more elements to one another to produce a desired structure. Such attachment methods may be utilized when the elements comprising the desired structure may not be readily fabricated by conventional means such as, for example, direct growth or deposition.

#The present invention may be understood more fully by reference to the following detailed description of example embodiments of the present invention, which are illustrated in the appended figures in which:

#FIGS. 1A-1D schematically illustrate embodiments of the invention for use in bonding a number of elements to one another utilizing a bonding layer;

#FIGS. 2A and 2B schematically illustrate further embodiments of the invention for use in bonding a number of elements to one another utilizing two or more bonding layers;

#The illustrations presented herein are not meant to be actual views of any particular material, apparatus, system, or method, but are merely idealized representations that are employed to describe the present invention.

#Headings are used herein for clarity only and without any intended limitation. A number of references are cited herein, and the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein, in their entirety, by this reference for all purposes. Further, none of the cited references, regardless of how characterized above, is admitted as prior art relative to the invention of the subject matter claimed herein.

#An example embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to FIGS. 1A-1D. FIG. 1A illustrates a semiconductor structure 100 that comprises a first element 102. The first element 102 may comprise a multitude of structures and materials. For example, the first element 102 may comprise at least one of a layer structure, a device structure and a bonded structure (e.g., a structure that includes two or more layers, devices, or layers and devices bonded to one another).