ROOM-TEMPERATURE SILICON-WAFER BONDING WITH ULTRA-THIN POLYMER-FILMS

Bonding of silicon wafers is required in microelectronics fabrication, for example. A room-temperature bonding process that leads to suffici ent bond strength is necessary for bonding semi-processed wafers: i.e. , those already containing temperature-sensitive structures. The room- temperature bonding of hydrophobic wafers is reported for the first ti me, an ultra-thin Langmuir-Blodgett film of a ''hairy'' rod-like polym er being used as an intermediate layer. The effect of the polymer laye r on the surface roughness is investigated and possible directions of future work are indicated.