Method of improving the mechanical properties of semiconductor materials
US5240670A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 22, 1991 |
| Grant date | Aug 31, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 22, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/3245
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Mechanically toughened GaAs and other group III-V and group II-VI materials by hot-forging the GaAs and other materials to obtain the toughening or increase in mechanical strength. The material to be toughened is heated to its plastic temperature or higher but sufficiently below its melting point to maintain decomposition of the material to an acceptable level. A force or stress is then applied along a surface of the material which, acting in concert with the thermal energy (temperature) on the GaAs, is sufficient to nucleate and move dislocations along slip planes in the material to obtain slip or plastic deformation. The material is thereby being flattened due to the stress applied thereto, resulting in a fine, almost polycrystalline or textured (micron size grains) material. This slip process forms many dislocations throughout the GaAs and slightly rearranges most of the parts of the crystal. Therefore, if a crack must move through the material, there remains no one cleavage plane that extends from one end of the crystal to the other whereat the crack can continue to propagate. The crystallographic plane has been interrupted by all of the dislocations therein. It is this texturi…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.