Surface impurities encapsulated by silicon wafer bonding

Wafer bonding techniques are shown to provide an important addition to methods used for the detection of residual impurities on the surfaces of polished and cleaned silicon wafers. Impurities were encapsulated in the interface made by wafer bonding, and analyzed by SIMS depth profiling. Significant concentrations of H, C, N, O, F and Cl were detected. The concentration of these elements did not change after two hour wafer bonding anneals in the range of 200°C to 800°C. For anneals at 1000°C and above both the diffusion of H and C from the bonded interface, and the aggregation of N and O were observed. It was confirmed by IR absorption and HR-TEM that oxygen in CZ crystals outdiffuses into the bonded interface and produces an SiO 2 layer. Low-oxygen FZ wafers were used as a reference comparison. Elements such as F and Cl contained in the chemicals used to clean the wafers remained fixed at the bonded interface for the entire temperature range tested.