Thesis presented December 11, 2015

Abstract:
The Smart Cut™ technology is a generic way of transferring very thin layers of crystalline material onto a mechanical substrate. It is currently the industrial standard for Silicon On Insulator (SOI) manufacturing. The implantation of relatively high doses of gas ions in a thermally oxidized silicon substrate leads to the formation of a buried weakened layer in the crystal. The implanted wafer is then bonded onto a host substrate using direct wafer bonding. Under annealing, the implanted species evolve into microcracks lying parallel to the surface, and a controlled fracture process finally occurs along the implanted layer. The aim of this thesis is to study the dynamics of this fracture step.First of all, the fracture velocity and the deformation profile behind the crack tip have been measured using an original optical setup, which has been extended to full wafer studies. A model has been established to explain these data. Then, the interaction of the fracture front with self-generated acoustic waves has been studied. This interaction leads to the appearance of a macroscopic periodic pattern on post-split SOI wafers which is made of small variations of the SOI roughness on very large periods (mm). Experimental studies are first carried out to look at the fracture acoustic emission for different experimental conditions. Numerical simulations based on acoustic phase calculations are then performed to recover the typical pattern shape, with results consistent with experimental data. Finally, technologic solutions are proposed to prevent the pattern formation on the post-split SOI wafers.

Keywords:
Smart Cut™, Fracture dynamics, Acoustic emission, Silicon on Insulator (SOI)

On-line thesis.