FABRICATION OF THIN-FILM ELECTRONIC DEVICES WITH NON-DESTRUCTIVE WAFER REUSE

摘要

Thin-film electronic devices such as LED devices and field effect transistor devices are fabricated using a non-destructive epitaxial lift-off technique that allows indefinite reuse of a growth substrate. The method includes providing an epitaxial protective layer on the growth substrate and a sacrificial release layer between the protective layer and an active device layer. After the device layer is released from the growth substrate, the protective layer is selectively etched to provide a newly exposed surface suitable for epitaxial growth of another device layer. The entire thickness of the growth substrate is preserved, enabling continued reuse. Inorganic thin-film device layers can be transferred to a flexible secondary substrate, enabling formation of curved inorganic optoelectronic devices.

主权项

1. A method of making a thin-film electronic device comprising a device layer, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing a growth substrate having a thickness and a surface suitable for epitaxial growth; (b) disposing an epitaxial protective layer over said surface of the growth substrate; (c) forming the device layer over the protective layer; (d) releasing the device layer from the growth substrate; (e) removing at least a portion of the epitaxial protective layer from the growth substrate to form a new surface suitable for epitaxial growth, wherein the entire thickness of the growth substrate is preserved; and (f) reusing the growth substrate, including forming another device layer over the new surface.