Claims
- 1. A process for forming films of material from a substrate, said process comprising steps of:introducing first particles through a surface of the substrate to a first selected depth underneath said surface, said first particles being at a first concentration at said first selected depth to define a first layer of substrate material to be removed above said first selected depth and to define a first remaining portion of substrate material below said first selected depth; freeing said first layer of substrate material from the substrate to form a cleaved surface on said substrate, including increasing a global stress at said first selected depth without initiating a cleaving action and, subsequent to said step of increasing, applying energy to a selected region of said substrate to initiate said cleaving action in a controlled fashion thus separating said first layer from said substrate; introducing second particles through said cleaved surface of said substrate to a second selected depth underneath said cleaved surface, said second particles being at a second concentration at said second selected depth to define a second layer of substrate material to be removed above said second selected depth and to define a second remaining portion of substrate material below said second selected depth; and freeing said second layer of substrate material from the substrate.
- 2. The process of claim 1 further comprising a step, prior to said step of freeing said first layer, of attaching said surface to a first stiffener.
- 3. The process of claim 2 further comprising a step, prior to said step of freeing said second layer, of attaching said surface to a second stiffener.
- 4. The process of claim 1 further comprising steps, after said step of freeing said second layer, of implanting particles and freeing additional layers.
- 5. The process of claim 1 further comprising a step of preparing said cleaved surface prior to said step of introducing second particles.
- 6. The process of claim 5 wherein said cleaved surface is prepared by polishing.
- 7. The process of claim 6 wherein said polishing comprises a chemical-mechanical polishing process.
- 8. The process of claim 5 wherein said cleaved surface is prepared by forming a planarized layer on said cleaved surface.
- 9. The process of claim 8 wherein said planarized layer comprises silicon oxide.
- 10. The process of claim 5 wherein said cleaved surface is prepared by cleaning.
- 11. The process of claim 1 wherein said substrate comprises single-crystal silicon.
- 12. The process of claim 11 wherein said substrate has a major crystallographic plane parallel to said surface of said substrate.
- 13. The process of claim 12 wherein said major crystallographic plane is a {100} plane.
- 14. The process of claim 12 wherein said major crystallographic plane is a {110} plane.
- 15. The process of claim 12 wherein said major crystallographic plane is a {111} plane.
- 16. A process for forming films of material from a single-crystal silicon substrate, said process comprising steps of:introducing first hydrogen ions through a surface of the substrate to a first selected depth underneath said surface, said first hydrogen ions being at a first concentration at said first selected depth to define a first layer of substrate material to be removed above said first selected depth and to define a first remaining portion of substrate material below said first selected depth; freeing said first layer of substrate material from the substrate to form a cleaved surface on said substrate, including increasing a global stress at said first selected depth without initiating a cleaving action and applying energy to a selected region of said substrate to initiate said cleaving action in a controlled fashion thus separating said first layer from said substrate; preparing the cleaved surface; introducing hydrogen ions through said planarized layer to a second selected depth underneath said cleaved surface, said second hydrogen ions being at a second concentration at said second selected depth to define a second layer of substrate material to be removed above said second selected depth and to define a second remaining portion of substrate material below said second selected depth; and freeing said second layer of substrate material from the substrate.
- 17. The process of claim 16 further comprising a step, prior to said step of freeing said first layer, of attaching said surface to a stiffener.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of Ser No. 09/026,113 filed Feb. 19, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,825, which claims priority from the provisional patent application entitled A CONTROLLED CLEAVAGE PROCESS AND RESULTING DEVICE, filed May 12, 1997 and assigned application Ser. No. 60/046,276, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety for all purposes. This application is being filed on the same date as related application Ser. No. 09/026,032 entitled “A PRESSURIZED MICROBUBBLE THIN FILM SEPARATION PROCESS USING A REUSABLE SUBSTRATE” and application Ser. No. 09/026,035 entitled “A REUSABLE SUBSTRATE FOR THIN FILM SEPARATION”.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60/046276 |
May 1997 |
US |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/026113 |
Feb 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/663043 |
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US |