Wafer bonding of (211) Cd0.96Zn0.04Te on (001) silicon

We have successfully bonded (211) cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) substrates onto (001) Si substrates for subsequent epitaxial-layer deposition of mercury cadmium telluride device layers. Silicon-nitride intermediate layers were employed as they provide both low surface roughness, which is necessary for bonding, and low absorption in the 1–10-µm range. Prior to bonding, the SiN layers were activated using oxygen plasma. Transmission infrared (IR) imaging showed >70% bonded area of a 10 mm×10 mm CdZnTe substrate onto a Si substrate. After the initial bond, the structure was exposed to a low-temperature anneal (150°C) for extended periods of time (22 h) to increase the bond strength. This process was sufficient to produce a CdZnTe on silicon structure that was able to withstand subsequent chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) of the CZT substrate. We also investigated CMP of the transferred CdZnTe to improve the surface for subsequent epitaxial deposition. A Br/ethylene glycol/methanol solution produced the lowest damage levels, as determined by triple axis x-ray diffraction (TAD) while a standard silica/NaOH treatment produced a surface with <0.5-nm root mean square (RMS) roughness.