Hydrogel-mediated semiconductor wafer bonding

Abstract

The concept of hydrogel-mediated semiconductor wafer bonding was proposed and demonstrated in this work. The unique property of hydrogels was utilized to simultaneously realize high mechanical stability, electrical conductivity, and optical transparency in semiconductor interfaces. The high applicability of this method for rough surfaces to be bonded was also demonstrated, owing to the soft, deformable interfacial contact agent to be solidified in the bonding process. Furthermore, the bonding experiments were carried out in ambient air at room temperature, which, therefore, provides cost and throughput advantages in device production. In addition, the developed bonding technique was used for demonstrating the fabrication and operation of solar cell devices, with current paths across the bonded interfaces, which verified the method's practical applicability. Our semiconductor bonding and interfacial engineering scheme are expected to open up a pathway for simple, handy, and low-cost, but flexible and high-performance optoelectronic material integration.