Wafer-Level Transfer of GaN-on-Si Light-Emitting Devices via SiO2–SiO2 Direct Bonding: Strain Evolution and Optoelectronic Performance

GaN-on-Si light-emitting devices have been widely studied in the field of opto-electronics, while their optical performance and characterization accessibility are severely limited by the strong visible light absorption of the native silicon substrate. Conventional substrate transfer technologies often suffer from inherent thermal, optical, or mechanical bottlenecks. In this study, we developed a robust wafer-level substrate transfer strategy for 8-inch green GaN-on-Si light-emitting device wafers, utilizing a hybrid planarization process combined with SiO2–SiO2 direct bonding. The hybrid planarization precisely eliminated the 900 nm macroscopic steps, achieving sub-nanometer surface roughness for high-yield wafer bonding. We systematically investigated the physical evolution during substrate removal. Results indicate that the removal of the thick native silicon and high-stress buffer layers effectively released the additional in-plane biaxial compressive stress within the multiple quantum wells (MQWs), thereby mitigating the quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE). Benefiting from the elimination of the light-absorbing silicon substrate and the incorporation of a built-in back-surface reflector (BSR), the transferred devices achieved a remarkable 1.9-fold enhancement in relative optical performance, albeit with an inherent trade-off of increased reverse leakage current while preserving basic diode functionality. Furthermore, optothermal dynamic analysis at high injection levels suggests a potential localized thermal bottleneck at the thick SiO2 bonding interface, where a hypothesized heat-induced spectral red shift may counteract the carrier-screening blue shift. This work provides a feasible wafer-level substrate transfer process for GaN-on-Si devices and offers systematic experimental insights into stress relaxation and optothermal behaviors during the substrate transfer process.