Fabrication of thin-film electronic devices with non-destructive wafer reuse

Patent · Tue Mar 30 04:00:00 EDT 2021

OSTI ID:1805682

Forrest, Stephen R.; Lee, Kyusang

Thin-film electronic devices such as LED devices and field effect transistor devices are fabricated using a non-destructive epitaxial lift-off technique that allows indefinite reuse of a growth substrate. The method includes providing an epitaxial protective layer on the growth substrate and a sacrificial release layer between the protective layer and an active device layer. After the device layer is released from the growth substrate, the protective layer is selectively etched to provide a newly exposed surface suitable for epitaxial growth of another device layer. The entire thickness of the growth substrate is preserved, enabling continued reuse. Inorganic thin-film device layers can be transferred to a flexible secondary substrate, enabling formation of curved inorganic optoelectronic devices.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: SC0001013
• Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)
• Patent Number(s): 10,964,732
• Application Number: 16/703,562
• OSTI ID: 1805682
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English