Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate include sputtering a first seed layer having a first thickness on the substrate, the first seed layer comprising a thermal interface material having a tilted crystallographic orientation with respect to the substrate; sputtering a second layer having a second thickness on the first seed layer, the second layer comprising the thermal interface material; and polishing the second layer until a surface roughness of the second layer is suitable for at least one of fusion bonding, thermal compression bonding, or hybrid bonding.

Capacitive couplings in a direct-bonded interface for microelectronic devices are provided. In an implementation, a microelectronic device includes a first die and a second die direct-bonded together at a bonding interface, a conductive interconnect between the first die and the second die formed at the bonding interface by a metal-to-metal direct bond, and a capacitive interconnect between the first die and the second die formed at the bonding interface. A direct bonding process creates a direct bond between dielectric surfaces of two dies, a direct bond between respective conductive interconnects of the two dies, and a capacitive coupling between the two dies at the bonding interface. In an implementation, a capacitive coupling of each signal line at the bonding interface comprises a dielectric material forming a capacitor at the bonding interface for each signal line. The capacitive couplings result from the same direct bonding process that creates the conductive interconnects direct-bonded together at the same bonding interface.

An apparatus comprising a first substrate, a dam structure disposed on a first side of the first substrate, and an integrated circuit (IC) memory chip coupled to the first side of the first substrate by a plurality of first conductive members. A second substrate is coupled to a second side of the first substrate by a plurality of second conductive members. A lid coupled to the second substrate encloses the IC memory chip and the first substrate. A thermal interface material (TIM) is coupled between the lid and the dam structure.

A method includes forming a transistor over a front side of a substrate, in which the transistor comprises a channel region, a gate region over the channel region, and source/drain regions on opposite sides of the gate region; forming a front-side interconnect structure over the transistor, wherein the front-side interconnect structure includes a dielectric layer and conductive features; and bonding the front-side interconnect structure to a carrier substrate via a bonding layer, in which the bonding layer is between the front-side interconnect structure and the carrier substrate, and the bonding layer has a higher thermal conductivity than the dielectric layer of the front-side interconnect structure.

An electronic component embedded substrate may include at least an electronic component including a first terminal surface and a first terminal electrode, the first terminal electrode being on the first terminal surface, a first conductive layer facing the first terminal surface, an insulating layer between the first conductive layer and the first terminal surface, the insulating layer including a via hole penetrating therethrough, the first conductive layer filling the via hole and being connected to the first terminal electrode, and a seed layer in the via hole, the seed layer including a conductive film and an adhesive film, the adhesive film being between the conductive film and a boundary of the via hole.

A semiconductor package includes a substrate, a device die, an encapsulating material, a thermal conductive layer, a filling material, and a carrier. The device die is disposed over the substrate. The encapsulating material is disposed over the substrate and laterally encapsulates the device die. The thermal conductive layer conformally covers the device die and the encapsulating material, wherein a profile of the thermal conductive layer comprises a valley portion. The filling material is disposed over the thermal conductive layer and fills the valley portion, wherein a thermal conductivity of the thermal conductive layer is higher than a thermal conductivity of the filling material. The carrier is bonded to the thermal conductive layer and the filling material.

A method of forming a bonded device. The method may include providing a carrier substrate, forming, on a first surface of the carrier substrate, a first bonding layer for bonding to a device substrate, and annealing the first bonding layer at a temperature of greater than 600 C.

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure includes: forming a first bonding layer on a device substrate, the first bonding layer including a first bonding sub-layer and a second bonding sub-layer, the first bonding sub-layer including a first metal oxide material in an amorphous state and a plurality of metal nanoparticles, the second bonding sub-layer including a second metal oxide material in an amorphous state; forming a second bonding layer on a carrier substrate, the second bonding layer including a third metal oxide material in an amorphous state; conducting a surface modification process on the first and second bonding layers; bonding the device and carrier substrates to each other through the first and second bonding layers; and annealing the first and second bonding layers to convert the first, second, and third metal oxide materials from the amorphous state to a crystalline state.