Methods for bonding semiconductor structures involving annealing processes, and bonded semiconductor structures and intermediate structures formed using such methods
US8716105B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 31, 2011 |
| Grant date | May 6, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 15, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L2924/12042
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Methods of bonding together semiconductor structures include annealing metal of a feature on a semiconductor structure prior to directly bonding the feature to a metal feature of another semiconductor structure to form a bonded metal structure, and annealing the bonded metal structure after the bonding process. The thermal budget of the first annealing process may be at least as high as a thermal budget of a later annealing process. Additional methods involve forming a void in a metal feature, and annealing the metal feature to expand the metal of the feature into the void. Bonded semiconductor structures and intermediate structures are formed using such methods.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.