COMPOSITE SUBSTRATE AND PRODUCTION METHOD THEREFOR
20230175170 · 2023-06-08
Inventors
Cpc classification
C23C16/30
CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
C23C16/0254
CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
H01L21/76254
ELECTRICITY
International classification
Abstract
A composite substrate is resistant to the development of cracks, thereby not having deteriorating properties even when exposed to high-temperatures or low temperatures, and a method is provided for producing the composite substrate. The composite substrate 10 of the present invention has a supporting substrate 2, a stress relaxing interlayer 3, and an oxide single-crystal thin film 1 stacked in the listed order. The stress relaxing interlayer 3 has a thermal expansion coefficient between that of the supporting substrate 2 and that of the oxide single-crystal thin film 1.
Claims
1. A method for producing a composite substrate having a supporting substrate, a stress relaxing interlayer, and an oxide single-crystal thin film stacked in the listed order, comprising the steps of: forming a stress relaxing interlayer between a supporting substrate and an oxide single-crystal substrate, the stress relaxing interlayer having a thermal expansion coefficient between that of the supporting substrate and that of the oxide single-crystal substrate; bonding the supporting substrate and the oxide single-crystal substrate to each other with the stress relaxing interlayer therebetween to obtain a laminate; and thinning the oxide crystal substrate of the laminate into an oxide crystal thin film.
2. A method for producing a composite substrate having a supporting substrate, an interlayer, a stress relaxing interlayer, and an oxide single-crystal thin film stacked in the listed order, comprising using a bonding method to satisfy the following inequation in comparison of a thermal expansion efficient: the interlayer<the stress relaxing interlayer<the oxide single-crystal thin film.
3. The method for producing a composite substrate according to claim 2, wherein the interlayer comprises SiO.sub.2, SiON, or SiN.
4. The method for producing a composite substrate according to claim 2, wherein the interlayer is formed by a chemical vapor deposition method (CVD method) or a physical vapor deposition method (PVD method).
5. The method for producing a composite substrate according to claim 1, wherein the stress relaxing interlayer comprises SiN, SiC, AlN, Al.sub.2O.sub.3, Y.sub.2O.sub.3, TiO.sub.2, or ZrO.sub.2.
6. The method for producing a composite substrate according to claim 1, wherein the oxide single-crystal substrate comprises lithium tantalate (LT) or lithium niobate (LN).
7. The method for producing a composite substrate according to claim 1, wherein the stress relaxing interlayer is formed by a chemical vapor deposition method (CVD method) or a physical vapor deposition method (PVD method).
8. The method for producing a composite substrate according to claim 1, wherein the oxide crystal substrate of the laminate is thinned by grinding, polishing, or a combination thereof.
9. The method for producing a composite substrate according to claim 1, further comprising subjecting a surface of the oxide single-crystal substrate to be bonded to an ion implantation treatment to form an ion implantation layer in the oxide single-crystal substrate, wherein the oxide crystal substrate of the laminate is thinned by leaving the ion implantation layer as an oxide single-crystal thin film and releasing, from the laminate, a remaining portion of the oxide single-crystal substrate.
10. A composite substrate having a supporting substrate, a stress relaxing interlayer, and an oxide single-crystal thin film stacked in the listed order, wherein the stress relaxing interlayer has a thermal expansion coefficient between that of the supporting substrate and that of the oxide single-crystal thin film.
11. A composite substrate having a supporting substrate, an interlayer, a stress relaxing interlayer, and an oxide single-crystal thin film stacked in the listed order, wherein the stress relaxing interlayer has a thermal expansion coefficient between that of the interlayer and that of the oxide single-crystal thin film.
12. The composite substrate according to claim 11, wherein the interlayer comprises SiO.sub.2, SiON, or SiN.
13. The composite substrate according to claim 10, wherein the stress relaxing interlayer comprises SiN, SiC, AlN, Al.sub.2O.sub.3, Y.sub.2O.sub.3, TiO.sub.2, or ZrO.sub.2.
14. The composite substrate according to claim 10, wherein the oxide single-crystal substrate comprises lithium tantalate (LT) or lithium niobate (LN).
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021]
[0022]
[0023]
[0024]
[0025]
[0026]
MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0027] The embodiments of the composite substrate and production method therefor according to the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the attached drawings, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.
[0028] A composite substrate 10 of the present embodiment has, as shown in
[0029] As the oxide single-crystal thin film 1, a piezoelectric single-crystal is preferred and, for example, a compound composed of lithium and tantalum or niobium, each a metallic element, and oxygen is preferred. Examples of such a compound include lithium tantalate (LiTaO.sub.3 abbreviated as “LT”) and lithium niobate (LiNbO.sub.3 abbreviated as “LN”). The thickness of the oxide single-crystal thin film 1 is, for example, preferably 0.1 to 30 μm.
[0030] The supporting substrate 2 is not particularly limited as long as it is an insulating substrate ordinarily used for a composite substrate. Examples thereof include a silicon substrate, a glass substrate, and a sapphire substrate. The supporting substrate 2 may be used in the form of a wafer. The size of the wafer is, for example, preferably 2 to 12 inches in diameter and 100 to 2,000 μm in wafer thickness.
[0031] For the stress relaxing interlayer 3, a material having a thermal expansion coefficient less than that of the oxide single-crystal thin film 1 and greater than that of the supporting substrate 2 is used. This layer is called a “stress relaxing interlayer” in the present invention because interposition of a layer of a material having such a thermal expansion coefficient between the oxide single-crystal thin film 1 and the supporting substrate 2 makes it possible to reduce stress imposed on the interface of the oxide single-crystal thin film 1 and prevent deterioration thereof when temperature changes.
[0032] The respective thermal expansion coefficients of typical materials used for the composite substrate are shown in
[0033] The structure of the composite substrate in the present invention is not limited to that of the composite substrate 10, but may be, for example, that shown in
[0034] A material for the interlayer 4 may be that ordinarily used for an interlayer of a composite substrate and a material having a thermal expansion coefficient less than that of the oxide single-crystal thin film 1 and greater than that of the stress relaxing interlayer 3 is used. Examples of such a material include SiO.sub.2, SiON, and SiN. When the interlayer 4 is composed of such a material, a stress on the interface of the oxide single-crystal thin film 1 which will otherwise occur by temperature change can be reduced and deterioration can be prevented as described above by the stress relaxing interlayer 3. In other words, in the composite substrate 20 of another embodiment, a material having a thermal expansion coefficient less than that of the oxide single-crystal thin film 1 and greater than that of the interlayer 4 is used for the stress relaxing interlayer 3.
[0035] Next, a method for producing a composite substrate according to the present embodiment will be described. As shown in
[0036] The oxide single-crystal substrate 1A prepared in the step (a) is a substrate which will be the oxide single-crystal thin film 1 of the composite substrate 10 shown in
[0037] The supporting substrate 2 to be prepared in the step (b) is the supporting substrate 2 of the composite substrate 10 shown in
[0038] The surface of the oxide single-crystal substrate 1 to be bonded, or the surface of the supporting substrate 2 to be bonded, is not necessarily a mirrored surface because the surface of the oxide single-crystal substrate 1 and the surface of the supporting substrate 2 to be bonded are bonded to each other via the stress relaxing interlayer 3.
[0039] Next, as shown in the step (c) in
[0040] Examples of a method for forming the stress relaxing interlayer 3 include a chemical vapor deposition method (CVD method) and a physical vapor deposition method (PVD method). Examples of the CVD method include a thermal CVD method, a plasma CVD method, and a photo-CVD method. Examples of the PVD method include a vapor deposition method, an ion plating method, and a sputtering method. By using such a CVD or PVD method under known conditions for forming a film such as a silicon nitride film, the stress relaxing interlayer 3 can be formed on the surface of the oxide single-crystal substrate 1 or the supporting substrate 2 to be bonded.
[0041] According to the description in the step (c) in
[0042] Then, as shown in the step (d) in
[0043] The laminate 4 thus obtained by bonding the oxide single-crystal substrate 1 and the supporting substrate 2 to each other via the stress relaxing interlayer 3 may be subjected to thermal treatment. The bond strength between them can be increased by this treatment.
[0044] Then, as shown in the step (e) in
[0045] The method for producing the composite substrate 10 was described referring to
[0046] As shown in
[0047] In the step (a1), the surface of the oxide single-crystal substrate 1A to be bonded is subjected to ion implantation treatment A. By this treatment, as shown in the step (a2), an ion implantation layer 1X is formed on the surface of the oxide single-crystal substrate 1A to be bonded. The conditions of the ion implantation treatment follow. For example, when hydrogen atomic ions (H.sup.+) are used, the dosage is preferably 5.0×10.sup.16 atom/cm.sup.2 to 2.75×10.sup.17 atoms/cm.sup.2. When the dosage is less than 5.0×10.sup.16 atoms/cm.sup.2, embrittlement of the ion implantation layer does not easily occur in later steps. When the dosage exceeds 2.75×10.sup.17 atoms/cm.sup.2, microcavities may appear on the ion-implanted surface at the time of ion implantation, and the wafer surface becomes irregular, making it difficult to obtain a desired surface roughness. When hydrogen molecular ions (H.sub.2.sup.+) are used, the dosage is preferably 2.5×10.sup.16 atoms/cm.sup.2 to 1.37×10.sup.17 atoms/cm.sup.2.
[0048] The accelerating voltage of ions is preferably 50 KeV to 200 KeV. The depth of ion implantation can be changed by adjusting the accelerating voltage. The thickness of the ion implantation layer 1X is preferably adjusted to 100 nm to 2,000 nm. The thickness of this ion implantation layer 1X almost corresponds to the thickness of the oxide single-crystal thin film 1 of the composite substrate 10 to be obtained.
[0049] Then, in the step (e) in
[0050] In addition, one embodiment of a method for producing the composite substrate 20 shown in
[0051] As shown in the step (b1) in
EXAMPLES
[0052] Examples and comparative examples will hereinafter be described, but the present invention is not limited to them.
Example 1
[0053] A silicon substrate having a diameter of 150 mm and a lithium tantalate (LT) substrate were bonded to each other while interposing a stress relaxing interlayer composed of each of SiN, SiC, AlN, Al.sub.2O.sub.3, Y.sub.2O.sub.3, TiO.sub.2, and ZrO.sub.2 between the silicon substrate and the lithium tantalate substrate to obtain a laminate. The stress relaxing interlayer was formed on the silicon substrate by a CVD method. The respective surfaces of the silicon substrate and the LT substrate were subjected to plasma activation treatment in advance. The LT substrate of the resulting laminate was then thinned to 6 μm by grinding or polishing to obtain a composite substrate.
[0054] A thermal shock test was carried out on the composite substrates thus obtained under the following conditions. The substrates were each moved between a low temperature chamber of −60° C. and a high temperature chamber of 170° C. and residence time at each temperature was 10 minutes. In the test, a thermal shock chamber (“TSE-12-A”, product of ESPEC CORP.) was used. Moving between two chambers was performed for 10 cycles, and then, the resulting composite substrate was taken out from the chamber and was examined for cracks by an exterior inspection system (“BB-Master”, product of Kurabo Industries Ltd.). When the composite substrate was examined at five places thereof and a crack was found even at one place, the test on the composite substrate was stopped. When no crack was found, the thermal shock test was continued. The number of cycles at which a crack was found is shown in Table 1 as a test result (LT on Si). In Table 1, the numbers in the parentheses after each material in the column of the stress relaxing interlayer indicate the thermal expansion coefficient (ppm) of the material.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Stress relaxing interlayer LT on Si LT on sapphire LT on glass None 20 50 10 SiN (2.8) 90 30 50 SiC (3.7) 120 40 70 AlN (4.6) 160 40 80 Al.sub.2O.sub.3 (7.2) 140 50 80 Y.sub.2O.sub.3 (7.2) 160 50 80 TiO.sub.2 (9.0) 270 280 160 ZrO.sub.2 (10.5) >300 >300 170
[0055] The above results have revealed that any of the composite substrates having a stress relaxing interlayer interposed therein have improved reliability compared with those having no stress relaxing interlayer therein. This improvement is presumed to be due to the stress relaxation effect because any of the materials used for the stress relaxing interlayer has a thermal expansion coefficient greater than that (2.5 ppm) of silicon of the supporting substrate and less than that (15 ppm) of LT.
Example 2
[0056] In a manner similar to that of Example 1, except for the use of a sapphire substrate instead of the silicon substrate, a composite substrate was produced, and under conditions similar to those of Example 1, a thermal shock test was carried out. The results are shown in Table 1 (LT on sapphire). These results have revealed that the composite substrate having a stress relaxing interlayer interposed therein has improved reliability only when the thermal expansion coefficient of the stress relaxing interlayer is greater than that (7.5 ppm) of the sapphire.
Example 3
[0057] In a manner similar to that of Example 1 except for the use of a glass substrate instead of the silicon substrate, a composite substrate was produced, and under conditions similar to those of Example 1, a thermal shock test was carried out. The results are shown in Table 1 (LT on glass). These results have revealed that any of the composite substrates having a stress relaxing interlayer interposed therein has improved reliability, which is presumed to be due to the stress relaxation effect because the thermal expansion coefficient of each material of the stress relaxing interlayer is greater than that (0.5 ppm) of the glass and less than that of LT.
Example 4
[0058] In a manner similar to that of Example 1, except that an interlayer having a thickness of about 1.0 μm and composed of SiO.sub.2, was placed between the silicon substrate and the stress relaxing interlayer, a composite substrate was produced and under conditions similar to those of Example 1, a thermal shock test was carried out. The interlayer was formed on the silicon substrate by a CVD method and the stress relaxing interlayer was formed on the interlayer. The results are shown in Table 2 (LT on SiO.sub.2 on Si).
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Stress relaxing interlayer LT on SiO.sub.2 on Si LT on SiO.sub.2 on sapphire None 20 50 SiN (2.8) 80 30 SiC (3.7) 110 40 AlN (4.6) 160 40 Al.sub.2O.sub.3 (7.2) 150 50 Y.sub.2O.sub.3 (7.2) 160 50 TiO.sub.2 (9.0) 210 90 ZrO.sub.2 (10.5) 300 100
[0059] The results have revealed that any of the composite substrates having the stress relaxing interlayer between the interlayer and the LT thin film have improved reliability compared with the composite substrate having no stress relaxing interlayer. These results are presumed to be due to the stress relaxation effect, because the thermal expansion coefficient of each of the materials of the stress relaxing interlayer is greater than that (0.6 ppm) of SiO.sub.2 as an interlayer and less than that of LT.
Example 5
[0060] In a manner similar to that of Example 4 except for the use of a sapphire substrate instead of the silicon substrate, a composite substrate was produced and under conditions similar to those in Example 1, a thermal shock test was carried out. The results are shown in Table 2 (LT on SiO.sub.2 on sapphire). These results have revealed that a composite substrate having the stress relaxing interlayer between the interlayer and the LT thin film has improved reliability only when the material of the stress relaxing interlayer has a thermal expansion coefficient greater than that of sapphire.
Example 6
[0061] In a manner similar to that of Examples 1 to 5, except for the use of a lithium niobate (LN) substrate instead of the LN substrate as the oxide single-crystal substrate, a composite substrate was produced, and under conditions similar to those of Example 1, a thermal shock test was carried out. The thermal expansion coefficient of LN was 16 ppm and that of LN was 15 ppm. As a result, the composite substrate having the LN thin film and the composite substrate having the LT thin film showed the same tendency results.
Example 7
[0062] In a manner similar to that of Examples 4 and 5 except for the use of SiON and SiN instead of SiO.sub.2 as the material of the interlayer, a composite substrate was produced and under conditions similar to those of Example 1, a thermal shock test was carried out. The thermal expansion coefficient of SiON is about 2.0 ppm and that of SiN is 2.8 ppm. As a result, it has been found that as long as the stress relaxing interlayer was composed of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient greater than that of the interlayer, it was effective for providing a composite substrate having improved reliability, although the improvement degree varied.
Example 8
[0063] In a manner similar to that of Examples 1 to 5 except that as the treatment for surfaces to be bonded, each of a vacuum ion beam method, an ozone water treatment method, and a UV ozone treatment method was performed instead of the plasma activation treatment, a composite substrate was produced and under conditions similar to those of Example 1, a thermal shock test was carried out. It has been revealed that the results were almost the same as those of Examples 1 to 5 and the stress relaxation effect did not depend on the treatment method for surfaces to be bonded.
Example 9
[0064] In a manner similar to that of Examples 1 and 2 except that the LT substrate was thinned by implanting hydrogen ions in advance to the surface of the LT substrate to be bonded and releasing the laminate, which had been obtained by the bonding, along the implanted interface instead of grinding or polishing the laminate, a composite substrate was produced, and under conditions similar to those of Example 1, a thermal shock test was carried out. The LT thin film had a thickness of 0.8 μm. It was found that the results had the same tendency as those of Examples 1 and 2 and the stress relaxation effect did not depend on the thinning method of the LT substrate.
Example 10
[0065] In a manner similar to that of Examples 1 and 4 except for the use of a PVD method instead of a CVD method as the method of forming the interlayer and the stress relaxing interlayer, a composite substrate was produced, and under conditions similar to those of Example 1, a thermal shock test was carried out. It was found that the results had the same tendency as those of Examples 1 and 4, and the stress relaxation effect did not depend on the method of forming the interlayer and the stress relaxing interlayer.
REFERENCE SYMBOL LIST
[0066] 1 Oxide single-crystal thin film [0067] 1A Oxide single-crystal substrate [0068] 1X Ion implantation layer [0069] 2 Supporting substrate [0070] 3 Stress relaxing interlayer [0071] 4 Interlayer [0072] 10, 20 Composite substrate