Improved bonding surfaces for microelectronics are provided. An example method of protecting a dielectric surface for direct bonding during a microelectronics fabrication process includes overfilling cavities and trenches in the dielectric surface with a temporary filler that has an approximately equal chemical and mechanical resistance to a chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) process as the dielectric bonding surface. The CMP process is applied to the temporary filler to flatten the temporary filler down to the dielectric bonding surface. The temporary filler is then removed with an etchant that is selective to the temporary filler, but nonreactive toward the dielectric surface and toward inner surfaces of the cavities and trenches in the dielectric bonding surface. Edges of the cavities remain sharp, which minimizes oxide artifacts, strengthens the direct bond, and reduces the bonding seam.

Semiconductor devices are provided in which a first semiconductor device is bonded to a second semiconductor device. The bonding may occur at a gate level, a gate contact level, a first metallization layer, a middle metallization layer, or a top metallization layer of either the first semiconductor device or the second semiconductor device.

Semiconductor devices are provided in which a first semiconductor device is bonded to a second semiconductor device. The bonding may occur at a gate level, a gate contact level, a first metallization layer, a middle metallization layer, or a top metallization layer of either the first semiconductor device or the second semiconductor device.

A semiconductor device is disclosed including a memory module formed from a pair of semiconductor dies mounted face to face to each other at the wafer level. These die pairs are formed using wafer-to-wafer bonding technology, where the wafers may be bonded to each other when they are of full thickness. Once bonded, respective inactive surfaces of the wafers may be thinned and then the die pairs diced from the wafers to form a completed memory module. When the wafers are bonded face to face, they compensate each other, mechanically resulting in the die pair having a minimum warpage.

A method is presented for fabricating a substrate comprised of a compound semiconductor. The method includes: growing a sacrificial layer onto a parent substrate; growing an epitaxial template layer on the sacrificial layer; removing the template layer from the parent substrate using an epitaxial lift-off procedure; and bonding the removed template layer to a host substrate using Van der Waals forces and thereby forming a compound semiconductor substrate.

A semiconductor structure and the manufacturing method thereof are provided. A semiconductor structure includes a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of interconnecting layers, a first connector, and a second connector. The semiconductor substrate includes a plurality of semiconductor devices therein. The interconnecting layers are disposed over the semiconductor substrate and electrically coupled to the semiconductor devices. The first connector is disposed over the plurality of interconnecting layers and extends to be in contact with a first level of the plurality of interconnecting layers. The second connector is disposed over the plurality of interconnecting layers and substantially leveled with the first connector. The second connector extends further than the first connector to be in contact with a second level of the plurality of interconnecting layers between the first level of the plurality of interconnecting layers and the semiconductor substrate, and the first connector is wider than the second connector.

A substrate positioning apparatus includes a holder and a rotating device. The holder is configured to hold a substrate. The rotating device is configured to rotate the holder. The rotating device includes a rotation shaft, a bearing member, a base member, a driving unit and a damping device. The rotation shaft is fixed to the holder. The bearing member is configured to support the rotation shaft in a non-contact state. The bearing member is fixed on the base member. The driving unit is configured to rotate the rotation shaft. The damping device includes a rail connected to the base member and a slider connected to the rotation shaft, and is configured to produce a damping force against a relative operation between the rotation shaft and the base member by a resistance generated between the rail and the slider.

A substrate positioning apparatus includes a holder and a rotating device. The holder is configured to hold a substrate. The rotating device is configured to rotate the holder. The rotating device includes a rotation shaft, a bearing member, a base member, a driving unit and a damping device. The rotation shaft is fixed to the holder. The bearing member is configured to support the rotation shaft in a non-contact state. The bearing member is fixed on the base member. The driving unit is configured to rotate the rotation shaft. The damping device includes a rail connected to the base member and a slider connected to the rotation shaft, and is configured to produce a damping force against a relative operation between the rotation shaft and the base member by a resistance generated between the rail and the slider.

A semiconductor device is disclosed including a memory module formed from a pair of semiconductor dies mounted face to face to each other at the wafer level, mechanically resulting in the die pair having a minimum warpage. An electronic component may be bonded to an exposed surface of one of the semiconductor dies.

A package includes a carrier substrate, a first die, and a second die. The first die includes a first bonding layer, a second bonding layer opposite to the first bonding layer, and an alignment mark embedded in the first bonding layer. The first bonding layer is fusion bonded to the carrier substrate. The second die includes a third bonding layer. The third bonding layer is hybrid bonded to the second bonding layer of the first die.