Room-Temperature bonding of AlN ceramic and Si semiconductor substrates for improved thermal management

An AlN ceramic substrate was bonded with a Si substrate by using a surface activated bonding method for advanced thermal management. When the sputtered surfaces were directly bonded, the bonding strength was ~1 J/m
²
. However, when the bonding process was modified to provide a Si adhesion layer with a thickness of 1.5 nm on the AlN surface, the adhesion strength become equivalent to 2.5 J/m
²
. As a device substrate can be integrated on the heat dissipation broad consisting of AlN through atomically thin bonding layer, the proposed bonding technique would facilitate efficient cooling system for future high power electronic devices.