Surface activated bonding

Surface activated bonding (SAB) is a low temperature wafer bonding technology with atomically clean and activated surfaces. Surface activation prior to bonding by using fast atom bombardment is typically employed to clean the surfaces. High strength bonding of semiconductor, metal, and dielectric can be obtained even at room temperature. Surface activated bonding (SAB) is a low temperature wafer bonding technology with atomically clean and activated surfaces. Surface activation prior to bonding by using fast atom bombardment is typically employed to clean the surfaces. High strength bonding of semiconductor, metal, and dielectric can be obtained even at room temperature. In the standard SAB method, wafer surfaces are activated by argon fast atom bombardment in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) of 10−4–10−7 Pa. The bombardment removes adsorbed contaminants and native oxides on the surfaces. The activated surfaces are atomically clean and reactive for formation of direct bonds between wafers when they are brought into contact even at room temperature.