A comparison study: Direct wafer bonding of SiC-SiC by standard surface-activated bonding and modified surface-activated bonding with Si-containing Ar ion beam

In this study, the results of direct wafer bonding of SiC-SiC at room temperature by standard surface-activated bonding (SAB) and modified SAB with a Si-containing Ar ion beam were compared, in terms of bonding energy, interface structure and composition, and the effects of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 1273 K in Ar gas. Compared with that obtained by the standard SAB, the bonding interface obtained by the modified SAB with a Si-containing Ar ion beam is ∼30% stronger and almost completely recrystallized without oxidation during RTA, which should be due to the in situ Si compensation during surface activation by the Si-containing Ar ion beam.