Synchrotron X-ray diffraction topography study of bonding-induced strain in silicon-on-insulator wafers

Large-area back-reflection and transmission X-ray diffraction topographs of bonded silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers made with synchrotron radiation allowed direct and simultaneous imaging of bonding-induced strain patterns of both the 7 μm thick (011) top layers and the (001) Si substrates of the SOI structures. The bonding-induced strain pattern consists of cells having a diameter of about 40 μm. Section topographs show a lattice misorientation of the adjacent cells of about 0.001° and the maximum observed strain-induced lattice plane rotation ten times larger, i.e. about 0.01°. Topographs made after etching away the insulator layer show no indication of residual strain or defects either in the silicon-on-insulator layer or in the substrate. This is in agreement with the experimentally determined maximum bonding stress of 30 MPa, which is much smaller than the estimated stress needed to nucleate dislocations. - Highlights: • SOI wafer strain consists of sharp-edged strain cells. • Bonding-induced strain patterns are not permanent in SOI wafers. • Observed stress was much lower than required for dislocation nucleation.