Large area semiconductor on glass insulator

Abstract

Methods and apparatus provide for contacting respective first surfaces of a plurality of donor semiconductor wafers with a glass substrate; bonding the first surfaces of the plurality of donor semiconductor wafers to the glass substrate using electrolysis; separating the plurality of donor semiconductor wafers from the glass substrate leaving respective exfoliation layers bonded to the glass substrate; and depositing a further semiconductor layer on exposed surfaces of the exfoliation layers to augment a thickness of the exfoliation layers.

1 . A method of forming a semiconductor on glass structure, comprising:
 contacting respective first surfaces of a plurality of donor semiconductor wafers with a glass substrate;   bonding the first surfaces of the plurality of donor semiconductor wafers to the glass substrate using electrolysis;   separating the plurality of donor semiconductor wafers from the glass substrate leaving respective exfoliation layers bonded to the glass substrate; and   depositing a further semiconductor layer on exposed surfaces of the exfoliation layers to augment a thickness of the exfoliation layers and fill gaps between adjacent exfoliation layers to form a single continuous semiconductor donor layer on the substrate.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing the further semiconductor layer includes using at least one of thermal oxidation, chemical vapor deposition, sol-gel, and sputtering to deposit the further semiconductor layer on the exfoliation layers. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising polishing the exposed surfaces of the exfoliation layers prior to depositing the further semiconductor layer. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing the further semiconductor layer includes depositing at least 1 um of semiconductor material on the exfoliation layers. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing the further semiconductor layer includes depositing between about 1 to 50 um of semiconductor material on the exfoliation layers. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing the further semiconductor layer includes depositing between about 50 to 100 um of semiconductor material on the exfoliation layers. 
   
   
       7 . (canceled) 
   
   
       8 . (canceled) 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing the further semiconductor layer results in a substantially uniform single crystal semiconductor layer bonded to the glass substrate. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein an area of the glass substrate covered by the single continuous semiconductor donor layer is at least 0.15 square meters. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein an area of the glass substrate covered by the single continuous semiconductor donor layer is at least 1.0 square meters. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the donor semiconductor wafers and the further semiconductor layer are taken from the group consisting of: silicon (Si), germanium-doped silicon (SiGe), silicon carbide (SiC), germanium (Ge), gallium arsenide (GaAs), GaP, and InP. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the glass substrate is a glass ceramic substrate. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising creating the respective exfoliation layers by performing ion implantation to create respective areas of weakening below the first surfaces of the respective donor semiconductor wafers. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of bonding includes:
 heating at least one of the glass substrate and the semiconductor wafer; and   applying a voltage potential across the glass substrate and the donor semiconductor wafers to induce the bond.   
   
   
       16 . (canceled) 
   
   
       17 . (canceled) 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 creating an exfoliation layer in the donor semiconductor layer by performing ion implantation to create an area of weakening below a first surface of the donor semiconductor layer;   bonding the first surface of the donor semiconductor layer to another glass substrate using electrolysis; and   separating the donor semiconductor layer from the other glass substrate leaving an exfoliation layer bonded to the other glass substrate.   
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 depositing a further semiconductor layer on an exposed surfaces of the donor semiconductor layer to augment a thickness of the donor semiconductor layer; and   repeating the creating an exfoliation layer, bonding and separating steps to leave further exfoliation layers bonded to the further glass substrates.   
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the step of depositing the further semiconductor layer includes using chemical vapor deposition; and   the deposition fills voids between adjacent exfoliation layers through lateral epitaxy.   
   
   
       21 - 41 . (canceled) 
   
   
       42 . A method of forming a semiconductor on glass structure, comprising:
 bonding a plurality of semiconductor layers to a substrate to cover about 0.1 square meters or more of the substrate;   depositing a further semiconductor layer on exposed surfaces of the bonded semiconductor layers to augment a thickness thereof and fill voids between adjacent semiconductor layers to form a single continuous donor semiconductor layer on the substrate;   contacting a first surface of the donor semiconductor layer with a glass substrate;   bonding the first surface of the donor semiconductor layer to the glass substrate using electrolysis; and   separating the donor semiconductor layer from the glass substrate leaving an exfoliation layer bonded to the glass substrate.   
   
   
       43 . The method of  claim 42 , further comprising repeating the contacting, bonding, and separating steps to produce respective exfoliation layers bonded to respective glass substrates. 
   
   
       44 . The method of  claim 42 , wherein an area of the glass substrate covered by the exfoliation layer is at least about 1.0 square meters. 
   
   
       45 . The method of  claim 42 , wherein the step of depositing the further semiconductor layer on the bonded semiconductor layers includes using at least one of thermal oxidation, chemical vapor deposition, sol-gel, and sputtering to deposit the further semiconductor layer on the exfoliation layers. 
   
   
       46 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein the step of depositing the further semiconductor layer includes depositing between about 1 to 100 um of semiconductor material on the bonded semiconductor layer. 
   
   
       47 . The method of  claim 42 , further comprising depositing a further semiconductor layer on the exfoliation layer of the glass substrate using at least one of thermal oxidation, chemical vapor deposition, sol-gel, and sputtering. 
   
   
       48 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein the exfoliation layer includes one type of impurities and the further semiconductor layer includes another type of impurities such that the resulting structure may be employed as a photovoltaic device. 
   
   
       49 . A method of forming a semiconductor on glass structure, comprising:
 bonding a plurality of semiconductor layers to a substrate to cover about 0.1 square meters or more of the substrate;   depositing a semiconductor layer on exposed surfaces of the bonded semiconductor layers to augment a thickness thereof and fill voids between adjacent semiconductor layers to form a single continuous donor semiconductor layer on the substrate;   contacting a first surface of the donor semiconductor layer with a glass substrate;   bonding the first surface of the donor semiconductor layer to the glass substrate using electrolysis;   separating the donor semiconductor layer from the glass substrate leaving an exfoliation layer bonded to the glass substrate.   
   
   
       50 . The method of  claim 49 , further comprising repeating the contacting, bonding, and separating steps of the donor semiconductor layer to produce respective further exfoliation layers bonded to respective further glass substrates. 
   
   
       51 . (canceled) 
   
   
       52 . (canceled) 
   
   
       53 . The process of  claim 49 , further comprising:
 polishing an exposed surface of the donor semiconductor layer;   performing the contacting, bonding, and separating steps with the polished donor semiconductor layer to produce a further exfoliation layer bonded to a further glass substrate; and   repeating the polishing, contacting, bonding, and separating steps to produce further exfoliation layers bonded to further glass substrates.   
   
   
       54 . The process of  claim 53 , further comprising:
 depositing a further donor semiconductor layer on an exposed surface of the donor semiconductor layer to augment a thickness thereof;   contacting a first surface of the donor semiconductor layer with a further glass substrate;   bonding the first surface of the donor semiconductor layer to the further glass substrate using electrolysis;   separating the donor semiconductor layer from the further glass substrate leaving an exfoliation layer bonded to the further glass substrate.