Low-temperature direct bonding of InP and diamond substrates under atmospheric conditions

An InP substrate was directly bonded on a diamond heat spreader for efficient heat dissipation. The InP surface activated by oxygen plasma and the diamond surface cleaned with an NH₃/H₂O₂ mixture were contacted under atmospheric conditions. Subsequently, the InP/diamond specimen was annealed at 250 °C to form direct bonding. The InP and diamond substrates formed atomic bonds with a shear strength of 9.3 MPa through an amorphous intermediate layer with a thickness of 3 nm. As advanced thermal management can be provided by typical surface cleaning processes followed by low-temperature annealing, the proposed bonding method would facilitate next-generation InP devices, such as transistors for high-frequency and high-power operations.