High-Temperature Thermoelectric Characterization of III–V Semiconductor Thin Films by Oxide Bonding

• Published in: Journal of electronic materials Vol. 39; no. 8; pp. 1125 - 1132
• Main Authors: Bahk, Je-Hyeong, Zeng, Gehong, Zide, Joshua M. O., Lu, Hong, Singh, Rajeev, Liang, Di, Ramu, Ashok T., Burke, Peter, Bian, Zhixi, Gossard, Arthur C., Shakouri, Ali, Bowers, John E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01-08-2010; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Electronics and Microelectronics; Exact sciences and technology; High temperature physics; II-VI semiconductors; Instrumentation; Materials Science; Measurement; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Molecular, atomic, ion, and chemical beam epitaxy; Optical and Electronic Materials; Physics; Solid State Physics; Substrates; Thin films; substrate removal; oxide bonding; High-temperature measurements; thermoelectric; Electrical conductivity; Semiconductor thin films; Metallizing; Surface temperature; High temperature; Substrat temperature; Covalent bonds; Thermoelectric materials; Metallic thin films; Manufacturing processes; Erbium Arsenides; Mismatch lattice; Molecular beam epitaxy; Titanium; Passivation; Measuring methods; Seebeck effect; Temperature measurement; Nanocomposites; Diffusion barriers; Silicon oxides; III-V semiconductors
• ISSN: 0361-5235; 1543-186X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11664-010-1258-5

A device fabrication and measurement method utilizing a SiO
2
–SiO
2
covalent bonding technique is presented for high-temperature thermoelectric characterization of thin-film III–V semiconductor materials that suffer from the side-effect of substrate conduction at high temperatures. The proposed method includes complete substrate removal, high-temperature surface passivation, and metallization with a Ti-W-N diffusion barrier. A thermoelectric material, thin-film ErAs:InGaAlAs metal/semiconductor nanocomposite grown on a lattice-matched InP substrate by molecular beam epitaxy, was transferred onto a sapphire substrate using the oxide bonding technique at 300°C, and its original InP substrate, which is conductive at high temperatures, was removed. Electrical conductivities and Seebeck coefficients were measured from room temperature to 840 K for this material on both the InP and sapphire substrates, and the measurement results clearly show that the InP substrate effect was eliminated for the sample on the sapphire substrate. A strain experiment has been conducted to investigate the effect of strain on electrical conductivity.