The present invention provides an aluminum nitride wafer and a method for making the same. The method includes forming at least one alignment notch in or at least one flat alignment edge on a periphery of the aluminum nitride wafer. The alignment notch and the flat alignment edge can prevent the aluminum nitride wafer from being in a poor state during the semiconductor manufacturing process and makes it possible to position the aluminum nitride wafer precisely so that the fraction defective can be lowered. The aluminum nitride wafer of the present invention has advantages of effective insulation, efficient heat dissipation, and a high dielectric constant, and can be used in semiconductor manufacturing processes, electronic products, and semiconductor equipment.

Aspects of the disclosure provide for mechanisms for producing group III-nitride substrates. In accordance with some embodiments, a method for producing a group III-nitride substrate is provided. The method may include: providing a growth template comprising a semiconductor layer of a group III-nitride material with a nonpolar orientation or a semipolar orientation; fabricating a mask on the semiconductor layer for preventing defects in the growth template from propagating into group III-nitride materials grown on the growth template; and forming, on the mask, an epitaxial layer of the group III-nitride with the nonpolar orientation or semipolar orientation. The mask may include a stripe pattern comprising SiO.sub.2 and/or SiN. Forming the epitaxial layer of the group III-nitride material may include growing the group III-nitride material in the semipolar orientation or the nonpolar orientation in nitrogen carrier gas.

The invention relates to a method for separating solid-body slices (1) from a donor substrate (2). The method comprises the following steps: providing a donor substrate (2), producing at least one modification (10) within the donor substrate (2) by means of at least one LASER beam (12), wherein the LASER beam (12) penetrates the donor substrate (2) via a planar surface (16) of the donor substrate (2), wherein the LASER beam (12) is inclined with respect to the planar surface (16) of the donor substrate (2) such that it penetrates the donor substrate at an angle of not equal to 0° or 180° relative to the longitudinal axis of the donor substrate, wherein the LASER beam (12) is focused in order to produce the modification (10) in the donor substrate (2) and the solid-body slice (1) detaches from the donor substrate (2) as a result of the modifications (10) produced or a stress-inducing layer (14) is produced or arranged on the planar surface (16) of the donor substrate (2) and mechanical stresses are produced in the donor substrate (2) by a thermal treatment of the stress-inducing layer (14), wherein the mechanical stresses produce a crack (20) for separating a solid-body layer (1), which crack propagates along the modifications (10).

A method for producing a silicon wafer for an electronic component, having the method step of epitaxially growing of a silicon layer on a carrier substrate and removing the silicon layer as a silicon wafer from the carrier substrate, in which at least one p-dopant and at least one n-dopant are introduced into the silicon layer during the epitaxial growth. The dopants are introduced into the silicon layer such that the silicon layer is formed having an electrically active p-doping and an electrically active n-doping, each greater than 1×10.sup.14 cm.sup.−3.

To provide a technique of increasing a radius of curvature of (0001) plane, and narrowing an off-angle distribution, there is provided a nitride semiconductor substrate containing a group III nitride semiconductor crystal and having a main surface in which a nearest low index crystal plane is (0001) plane, wherein (0001) plane in one of a direction along <1-100> axis and a direction along <11-20> axis orthogonal to the <1-100> axis, is curved in a concave spherical shape with respect to the main surface, and a radius of curvature of the (0001) plane in one of the direction along the <1-100> axis and the direction along the <11-20> axis orthogonal to the <1-100> axis is different from a radius of curvature of at least a part of the (0001) plane in the other direction.

A manufacturing method of a semiconductor substrate includes forming a sacrificial layer on an upper surface of a base substrate, etching the sacrificial layer to form a plurality of concave portions and a plurality of convex portions, forming a growth suppression layer on the sacrificial layer, removing a portion of the growth suppression layer to expose an upper surface of the convex portion of the sacrificial layer, growing a semiconductor layer on the sacrificial layer, and separating the semiconductor layer from the sacrificial layer. The convex portions as a whole have a honeycomb shape, and the concave portion has a hexagonal shape, when viewed in a plan view.

An SiC substrate processing method includes a separation layer forming step of setting a focal point of a laser beam having a transmission wavelength to SiC inside an SiC substrate and next applying the laser beam to the SiC substrate to thereby form a separation layer inside the SiC substrate, the SiC substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; a first plate attaching step of attaching a first plate to the first surface of the SiC substrate; a second plate attaching step of attaching a second plate to the second surface of the SiC substrate; and a separating step of applying an external force to the separation layer after performing the first plate attaching step and the second plate attaching step, thereby separating the SiC substrate into a first SiC substrate and a second SiC substrate along the separation layer.

A SiC wafer is produced from a single crystal SiC ingot. A modified layer is formed by setting a focal point of a pulsed laser beam inside the ingot at a predetermined depth from the upper surface of the ingot, the predetermined depth corresponding to the thickness of the wafer to be produced. The pulsed laser beam is applied to the ingot while moving the ingot in a first direction perpendicular to a second direction where an off angle is formed, thereby forming a modified layer in the first direction inside the ingot and cracks propagating from the modified layer along a c-plane. A separation surface is formed by indexing the ingot in the second direction and applying the laser beam plural times to thereby form a separation surface inside the ingot. Part of the ingot is separated along the separation surface to thereby produce the wafer.

The present invention therefore relates to a method for separating at least one solid body layer (2) from a donor substrate (1). According to the invention, the method preferably comprises at least the steps of: providing the donor substrate (1), wherein the donor substrate (1) has crystal lattice planes (6) which are inclined in relation to a planar main surface (8), wherein the main surface (8) delimits the donor substrate (1) in the longitudinal direction of the donor substrate (1) on one side, wherein a crystal lattice plane normal is inclined in relation to a main surface normal in a first direction, providing at least one laser, introducing laser radiation of the laser into the interior of the donor substrate (1) via the main surface (8) for changing the material properties of the donor substrate (1) in the region of at least one laser focus, wherein the laser focus is formed by laser beams of the laser which are emitted by the laser, wherein the change in the material property by changing the point of entry of the laser radiation into the donor substrate (1) forms a linear shape (103), wherein the changes in the material property are generated on at least one generating plane (4), wherein the crystal lattice planes (6) of the donor substrate (1) are oriented in an inclined manner in relation to the generating plane (4), wherein the linear design (103) is inclined in relation to a sectional line (10) which is produced at the interface between the generating plane (4) and the crystal lattice plane (6), wherein, owing to the changed material property, the donor substrate (1) tears in the form of subcritical cracks, separating the solid body layer (2) by introducing an external force into the donor substrate (1) for connecting the subcritical crack or so much material on the generating plane (4) being changed by means of the laser radiation that the solid body layer (2) becomes detached from the donor substrate (1) with connection of the subcritical crack.

A method for processing a crystalline substrate to form multiple patterns of subsurface laser damage facilitates subsequent fracture of the substrate to yield first and second substrate portions of reduced thickness. Multiple (e.g., two, three, or more) groups of parallel lines of multiple subsurface laser damage patterns may be sequentially interspersed with one another, with at least some lines of different groups not crossing one another. Certain implementations include formation of multiple subsurface laser damage patterns including groups of parallel lines that are non-parallel to one another, but with each line remaining within 5 degrees of perpendicular to the <1120> direction of a hexagonal crystal structure of a material of the substrate. Further methods involve formation of initial and subsequent subsurface laser damage patterns that are centered at different depths within an interior of a substrate, with the subsurface laser damage patterns being registered with one another and having vertical extents that are overlapping.