Method for molecular adhesion bonding at low pressure

1. A method for bonding at least a first wafer and a second wafer by molecular adhesion, which comprises:

placing the first and second wafers in an environment having a first pressure (P 1 ) greater than a predetermined threshold pressure above which initiation of bonding wave propagation is prevented, and then bringing the first wafer and the second wafer into alignment and contact; and

spontaneously initiating the propagation of a bonding wave between the first and second wafers after the wafers are aligned and in contact solely by reducing the pressure within the environment to a second pressure wherein the wafers are aligned by applying a lateral force to the edges of one of the wafers(P 2 ) below the threshold pressure.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined threshold pressure is between 20 millibar and 5 millibar.

3. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises:

arranging the first wafer and the second wafer such that the surfaces to be brought into contact are facing one another, while interposing spacer elements to maintain a space between the two wafers; and

aligning the wafers by applying a lateral force to them.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second pressure (P 2 ) is less than 1 mbar.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first wafer and the second wafer have alignment marks that interact with a holding finger, and further wherein the lateral force is exerted to place the wafers in abutment against at least the holding finger interacting with the alignment marks.

6. A method for bonding at least a first wafer and a second wafer by molecular adhesion, which comprises:

placing the first and second wafers in an environment having a first pressure (P 1 ) greater than a predetermined threshold pressure above which initiation of bonding wave propagation is prevented, and then bringing the first wafer and the second wafer into alignment and contact;

arranging the first and second wafers such that the surfaces to be brought into contact are facing one another, while interposing at least three spacer elements between the two wafers to maintain the space between the wafers;

aligning the wafers by applying a lateral force to the edges of the wafers; and

initiating the propagation of a bonding wave between the first and second wafers after the wafers are aligned and in contact by reducing the pressure within the environment to a second pressure (P 2 ) below the threshold pressure so that bonding wave propagation can be initiated;

wherein the lateral force is applied to the edges of the wafers by a pusher that moves from a retracted position to an alignment position.

7. The method according to claim 6 ,wherein the bringing of the first wafer and the second wafers into alignment and contact further comprises:

applying a first lateral force by a pusher onto the edges of the wafers so as to align the two wafers with respect to one another, wherein the wafers are retained by at least one holding finger;

retracting one of the spacer elements;

retracting the pusher to thereby allow a portion of the second wafer located at the retracted spacer element to descend onto the first wafer;

applying a second lateral force by the pusher to the edges of the two wafers;

retracting the other two spacer elements;

retracting the pusher to thereby allow the lower face of the second wafer to rest on the upper face of the first wafer;

applying a third lateral force by the pusher to the edges of the two wafers so as to maintain the alignment of the two wafers with respect to one another; and

retracting the pusher before initiating the propagation of the bonding wave.

8. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the bonding wave is initiated by the application of a mechanical pressure point onto one of the two wafers.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the mechanical pressure point applied onto one of the two wafers lies between 1 MPa and 33.3 MPa.

10. A method for producing a three-dimensional composite structure which comprises:

providing a first wafer that includes a first layer of microcomponents on one face;

placing the first wafer and a second wafer in an environment having a first pressure (P 1 ) greater than a predetermined threshold pressure above which initiation of bonding wave propagation is prevented;

aligning the first and second wafers in the first pressure environment;

bringing the face of the first wafer that includes the layer of microcomponents into contact with a face of the second wafer; and

spontaneously initiating the propagation of a bonding wave between the first and second wafers after the wafers are aligned and in contact solely by reducing the pressure within the environment to a second pressure wherein the wafers are aligned by applying a lateral force to the edge of one of the wafers (P 2 ) below the threshold pressure.

11. The method according to claim 10 , which further comprises thinning the first wafer after bonding to form a thin layer.

12. The method according to claim 11 , which further comprises producing a second layer of microcomponents on the face of the first wafer opposite the face having the first layer of microcomponents prior to bonding the first and second wafers.

13. The method according to claim 11 , which further comprises forming an oxide layer on the face of the first substrate comprising the first series of microcomponents prior to bonding of the first and second substrates.

14. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the first substrate is a silicon-on-insulator structure.

15. The method according to claim 11 , wherein at least the first layer of microcomponents on the first wafer are image sensors.