Dislocation structures in Si(110)/Si(001) wafer-bonding structures were studied by transmission electron microscopy. The behaviour of intermediate native oxide layers during high-temperature annealing, the nature of interfacial dislocations and dislocation generation mechanisms were the main issues. Samples were fabricated by direct hydrophilic wafer-bonding of 200mm wafers with native oxide. The as-bonded structures containing 140nm-thick layers were annealed at 1150 to 1200C. The dislocation structure composed of a pattern of unidirectional parallel but broken dislocation arrays was formed in the structures with partial or entire dissolution of the oxide layer. The contrast of broken dark lines usually observed in transmission electron microscopic bright field micrographs was supposed to be caused by integral effect of steps compensating twist misorientation and arrays of 60o dislocations. It was suggested that nucleation of dislocation loops at the interface due to the agglomeration of intrinsic point defects was a plausible mechanism of dislocation generation.

Dislocation Structure in Interfaces between Si Wafers with Hybrid Crystal Orientation. V.Vdovin, N.Zakharov, E.Pippel, P.Werner, M.Milvidskii, M.Ries, M.Seacrist, R.Falster: Physica Status Solidi C, 2009, 6[8], 1929-34