Modulation of post-fracture roughness with induced shear stress in the smart cut process

Surface pattern formation of Smart Cut™ silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates is investigated using a new process derived from this technology. The local control of SOI surface roughness is achieved by using hetero-temperature surface activated bonding to introduce locally bespoke shear stresses into bonded silicon wafers. The finite element method is used to back up experimental measurements of these large deformations to determine the amount of shear stresses introduced into the structure, and to determine its impact on the fracture mechanism.