The invention relates to a method of bonding a semi-conductor substrate in which a MEMS structure is formed with a semi-conductor substrate in which an integrated circuit is formed by eutectic bonding and a MEMS device formed by the same.
As a bonding method of these kinds of semiconductor substrates, a method has been known in which a silicon wafer formed with a MEMS structure has a germanium layer and a silicon wafer formed with an integrated circuit has an aluminum containing layer, the germanium layer and the aluminum containing layer are faced each other to be heated and pressurized, and an eutectic alloy made of the germanium and aluminum is formed to fix the substrates (Patent Document 1).
In such eutectic bonding, high sealing characteristics and electrical conduction of a bonding portion can be acquired and the film-formed aluminum layer can be used as an electrode/wirings in a process of forming the integrated circuit for forming the eutectic alloy. On the other hand, the germanium layer must be newly film-formed at the bonding portion for bonding in addition to a forming process of the MEMS structure, leading to a complex film formation process before bonding. Further, after forming the MEMS structure, there arises a problem such that undesired effect such as deformation/adhesion/breakage on a movable structure of the thin film MEMS structure might be exerted by forming the germanium layer at the bonding portion.
In view of the foregoing problem, it is an object of the invention to provide a method of bonding a semiconductor substrate by which a semi-conductor substrate formed with a semi-conductor circuit and a semi-conductor substrate formed with a MEMS can be bonded with a simple process while restraining undesired effect on the MEMS structure, and a MEMS device bonded by the same.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of bonding a semiconductor substrate having a first semi-conductor substrate formed with a MEMS structure and a second semi-conductor substrate having a bonding portion film-formed by contacting an aluminum containing layer mainly made up of aluminum with a germanium layer on either a front surface or a rear surface and formed with an integrated circuit that controls the MEMS structure, the method comprising a step of:
putting to contact either a front surface or a rear surface of the first semi-conductor substrate directly on the bonding portion of the second semi-conductor substrate to bond by eutectic bonding with pressurization and heating.
According to the structure above, since the second semi-conductor substrate formed with the integrated circuit has the aluminum containing layer and the germanium layer contacting therewith, it is not necessary to film-form a new metal layer on the first semi-conductor substrate having the MEMS structure and it is possible to bond the semi-conductor substrate, while restraining undesired influence to the MEMS structure. Further, a film formation process before bonding the first semi-conductor substrate can be reduced and an assembling process of the MEMS structure can be simplified.
In this case, it is preferable that the MEMS structure be formed to be engraved in a surface of the first semi-conductor substrate, the bonding portion be film-formed in a ring shape on a surface of the second semi-conductor substrate to surround the integrated circuit, and mutual surfaces of the first semi-conductor substrate and the second semi-conductor substrate be faced each other and be bonded such that the MEMS structure and the integrated circuit are encapsulated therein.
According to the structure above, it is possible to electrically conduct the MEMS structure and the integrated circuit and to package the MEMS structure and the integrated circuit integrally to protect from an external environment such as moisture, temperature, dust and the like.
Further in this case, it is preferable that the aluminum containing layer be film-formed in a ring shape in planar view as having predetermined width, and the germanium layer have one or more strip layer sections film-formed in a ring shape in planar view on the aluminum containing layer.
According to the structure above, since the eutectic alloy is consecutively formed in a direction orthogonal to an inner/outer direction in the semi-conductor substrates, it is possible to bond the semi-conductor substrates with high sealing characteristics.
Further in this case, it is preferable that the aluminum containing layer be film-formed in a ring shape in planar view as having predetermined width, and the germanium layer have a strip layer section film-formed in a ring shape in planar view and a plurality of branch layer sections branched from the strip layer section on the aluminum containing layer.
According to the structure above, since total extension of a contact end of the germanium layer to the aluminum containing layer can be provided longer, it is possible to bond with high bonding strength because the eutectic alloy formed with heating and pressurization easily adheres firmly on the first semi-conductor substrate.
In these cases, it is preferable that a pit be formed at a contact surface of the first semi-conductor substrate that contacts directly with the bonding portion, in which the eutectic alloy generated by the pressurization and heating fills.
According to the structure above, the eutectic alloy in a melting state formed with heating and pressurization in a vacuum fills in the pit by capillary action. Therefore, the eutectic alloy is filled in the pit thoroughly. As a result, since a eutectic alloy layer is formed to bite in the first semi-conductor substrate, the bonding strength of the bonding section can be increased. The pit formed in the first semi-conductor substrate may be a plurality of apertures formed intermittently or a slit-like groove formed continuously.
According to the other aspect of the invention, there is provided a MEMS device comprising a first semi-conductor substrate formed with a MEMS structure and a second semi-conductor substrate having a bonding portion film-formed by contacting an aluminum containing layer mainly made up of aluminum with a germanium layer on either a front surface or a rear surface and formed with an integrated circuit that controls the MEMS structure, either a front surface or a rear surface of the first semi-conductor substrate is put to contact directly on the bonding portion of the second semi-conductor substrate to bond by eutectic bonding.
According to the structure above, it is possible to fabricate a MEMS device by bonding the semi-conductor substrates, while restraining undesired influence on the MEMS structure.
In this case, it is preferable that the MEMS structure be formed to be engraved in a surface of the first semi-conductor substrate, the bonding portion be film-formed in a ring shape on a surface of the second semi-conductor substrate to surround the integrated circuit, and mutual surfaces of the first semi-conductor substrate and the second semi-conductor substrate be faced each other and be bonded such that the MEMS structure and the integrated circuit are encapsulated therein.
According to the structure above, it is possible to provide a MEMS device having high accuracy in which the MEMS structure and the integrated circuit are packaged integrally while they are electrically conducted and are protected from an external environment such as moisture, temperature, dust and the like.
Further in this case, it is preferable that the MEMS device above be either one of an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, an infrared ray sensor, a pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor and a sonic sensor.
According to the structure above, with the efficient package, it is possible to provide the acceleration sensor, the angular velocity sensor, the infrared ray sensor, the pressure sensor, the magnetic sensor and the sonic sensor having high precision.
Referring to the accompanying drawings, a method of bonding a semiconductor and a MEMS device according to one embodiment of the invention will be explained. In the method of bonding a semiconductor substrate according to the embodiment, a MEMS wafer having a number of sensing sections is faced to a CMOS wafer having a number of integrated circuits each of which controls each sensing section to bond by eutectic bonding via metal. In other words, in the invention, the formed MEMS sensors and the integrated circuits are formed in separate processes to face each other and are bonded by eutectic bonding. In the eutectic bonding, a wafer level package technology (WLP technology) is used, by which wafers are sealed collectively as they are, and then are cut off into each chip.
A MEMS device according to the embodiment is fabricated by such eutectic bonding, and, for example, may be conceived as an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, an infrared ray sensor, a pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor and a sonic sensor.
As illustrated, the MEMS chip 10 has a substrate 11 made of Silicon (Si) and a sensing section 12 formed at a center of the substrate 11 by micro-fabrication technology. The sensing section 12 is formed to be engraved at the center of the substrate 11 and is composed of an element such as an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, an infrared ray sensor, a pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, a sonic sensor or the like. Further, the substrate 11 has a ring-shaped bonding section 30a in a planar view which surrounds the sensing section 12. In the MEMS chip 10 in the embodiment, the sensing section 12 and the bonding section 30a are turned over to face the CMOS chip 20 described later and the MEMS chip 10 is bonded with the CMOS chip 20. Then, the bonding section 30a of the MEMS chip 10 is faced to a bonding section 30b formed in the CMOS chip 20, and both are bonded by eutectic bonding via a metal layer film-formed on the bonding section 30b. The substrate 11 corresponds to a first semiconductor substrate and the sensing section 12 corresponds to a MEMS structure in claims.
Further, the integrated circuit 22 has aluminum wirings, and an aluminum containing layer 31 film-formed at the time of aluminum wiring formation becomes a part of an eutectic alloy at the bonding. In other words, the bonding section 30b of the CMOS chip 20 is formed approximately in a same shape in a planar view with the bonding section 30a of the MEMS chip 10. At the bonding section 30b of the CMOS chip 20, the aluminum containing layer 31 as the eutectic alloy is film-formed on the substrate 11 and a germanium layer 32 as the eutectic alloy is film-formed on the aluminum containing layer 31 (for example, film formation by sputtering or vapor deposition technology). The substrate 21 corresponds to a second semiconductor substrate and the bonding section 30b corresponds to a bonding section of the second semiconductor substrate.
At the time of bonding, the MEMS chip 10 (MEMS wafer) and the CMOS chip 20 (CMOS wafer) are faced, are heated from both sides, that is, from the MEMS chip 10 side and the CMOS chip 20 side under vacuum environment and are pressurized from the MEMS chip 10 side. Thus, the germanium layer 32 film-formed at the bonding section 30b of the CMOS chip 20 develops eutectic reaction at a boundary surface with the aluminum containing layer 31, and an aluminum-germanium alloy (hereinafter, refereed as eutectic alloy) is formed. Especially, the eutectic alloy in a melting state is pressed against a silicon surface of the bonding section 30a to be welded by the pressurization from the MEMS chip 10 side, and then, is fixed to be bonded solidly. Further, the eutectic bonding achieves electrical conduction between the substrates 11 and 21 and high sealing characteristics. Heating temperature at the time of bonding is preferably around 450° C. in consideration of heating damage to the sensing section 12 and the integrated circuit 22. Further, the pressurization at the time of bonding may be performed from the CMOS chip 20 side or from both the MEMS chip 10 side and the CMOS chip 20 side. Then, after the bonding, an individual MEMS device 1 is fabricated through a separation process from a wafer to each chip.
Referring to
Thus, in a case that a metal layer is not film-formed at the MEMS chip 10 side before the bonding, a film formation process can be simplified after forming the sensing section 12 and undesired effect such as deformation, adhesion and breakage by film formation on a movable structure of the sensing section 12 as a thin film can be avoided. Further, since the aluminum containing layer 31 utilizes aluminum wirings of the integrated circuit 22, metal film formation needed for actual bonding is only the germanium film formation on the bonding section 30b of the CMOS chip 20, thereby a bonding process can be simplified. Still further, since the bonding section 30 is disposed to surround the sensing section 12 and the circuit central section 23 and the eutectic alloy layer 33 is formed in such away as to be orthogonal in an inner/outer direction of the facing MEMS chip 10 and the CMOS chip 20, the MEMS chip 10 and the CMOS chip 20 can be bonded with high sealing characteristics and bonding strength.
Further, since the germanium layer 32 is film-formed such that the outer end 32a of the germanium layer 32 is receded inward with respect to the outer end 31a of the aluminum containing layer 31, the formed eutectic alloy is formed without being pressed out from the bonding section 30 even if the eutectic alloy in the melting state expands to an outer side by pressurization at the time of bonding, thereby undesired conduction to an electrode can be avoided and productivity (an yield rate) of a device can be enhanced. In a case that the film formation is available with high accuracy, the aluminum containing layer 31 and the germanium layer 32 may be film-formed such that the outer ends thereof are aligned.
Referring to
As illustrated in
Referring to
In this kind of eutectic bonding, it has been known that the bonding strength is high at the end portion of the germanium layer 32. Therefore, as the modification above, a total area of the end portion in the germanium layer 32 (strip layer sections 35) can be increased by film-forming the germanium layer 32 as the strip layer sections 35, and strong eutectic bonding can be achieved without increasing an area of the bonding section 30. Further, since the plurality of strip-shaped germanium layers 32 are disposed to be orthogonal in the inner/outer direction of the bonding section 30, the MEMS chip 10 and the CMOS chip 20 can be bonded as having higher sealing characteristics and bonding strength.
Referring to
While, as illustrated in
According to the structures, a semiconductor substrate can be bonded with high bonding strength and sealing characteristics at appropriate portions while adverse effect on the sensing section 12 is restrained. Further, such effective bonding enables the sensing section 12, the integrated circuit 22 and the external circuit to conduct electrically, and high precision MEMS devices in which the sensing section 12 and the circuit central section 23 are integrally packaged can be provided while an external atmosphere such as moisture, temperature, dust and the like is avoided.
In the embodiment, the silicon wafers formed with the sensing section 12 and the integrated circuit 22 controlling the sensing section is used, but structures formed in the silicon wafer may be any circuits, not being limited thereto. Still further, a semiconductor substrate (composite semiconductor) having other base material instead of silicon wafer formed by silicon may be used. It is preferable that either one of the bonded semiconductor substrates have aluminum wirings.
1 MEMS device 10 MEMS chip 12 sensing section 11, 12 substrate 20 CMOS chip 22 integrated circuit 31 aluminum containing layer 31a, 32a outer end 32 germanium layer 35 strip layer section 36 branch layer section 41 pit
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2009/006788 | 12/11/2009 | WO | 00 | 8/7/2012 |