Investigation of the Blistering and Exfoliation Mechanism of GaAs Wafers and SiO₂/Si₃N₄/GaAs Wafers by He⁺ and H⁺ Implantation

Abstract

The thermally activated blistering and exfoliation of GaAs wafers and SiO2/Si3N4/GaAs wafers after H+ and He+ implantation is systematically investigated. Surface morphologies and microscopic defects are detected and analyzed by various measurements, such as optical microscopy (OM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Blistering and exfoliation are obtained on the surfaces of the GaAs and SiO2/Si3N4/GaAs wafers by either the exclusive implantation of 5 × 1016 He+/cm2 alone or by co-implantation of 0.5 × 1016 He+/cm2 and 4 × 1016 H+/cm2. Our experimental results show that the blistering and exfoliation of the SiO2/Si3N4/GaAs layer occurred when the concentration of He+ was relatively low, where fewer dislocations and nanocavities were created near the interface between the Si3N4 and GaAs layers.

Keywords

• GaAs
• blistering and exfoliation
• microscopic defects
• dislocations and nanocavities