Ultrathin solid state dies and methods of manufacturing the same
View Patent ↗Various embodiments of SST dies and solid state lighting (“SSL”) devices with SST dies, assemblies, and methods of manufacturing are described herein. In one embodiment, a SST die includes a substrate material, a first semiconductor material and a second semiconductor material on the substrate material, an active region between the first semiconductor material and the second semiconductor material, and a support structure defined by the substrate material. In some embodiments, the support structure has an opening that is vertically aligned with the active region.
1. A method for forming an SST die, comprising:
forming a first semiconductor material on a growth substrate;
forming an active region on the first semiconductor material;
forming a second semiconductor material on the active region;
forming a first contact on the first semiconductor material;
forming a second contact on the second semiconductor material;
forming an insulating material on the first semiconductor material, the active region, the second semiconductor material, the first contact and the second contact;
forming a conductive material on the insulating material and in contact with the first contact and the second contact; and
forming an opening in the growth substrate to form a support structure, wherein the first contact is aligned with the support structure, and wherein the second contact is aligned with the opening.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the opening in the growth substrate includes removing a portion of the growth substrate, and wherein the first contact is aligned with a remaining portion of the growth substrate.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the SST die is configured to produce radiation in a selected spectrum, and wherein the method further comprises:
enabling the radiation in the selected spectrum to pass through the opening in the growth substrate.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
forming an SSL opening in the second semiconductor material and the active region; and
forming the first contact in the SSL opening on the first semiconductor material.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
removing a first portion of the conductive material to form a first terminal corresponding to the first contact.
6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
removing a second portion of the conductive material to form a second terminal corresponding to the second contact.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the opening in the growth substrate includes removing a first portion of the growth substrate, and wherein the method further comprises:
before removing the first portion, removing a second portion of the growth substrate so that the growth substrate has a thickness of about 20 to about 50 microns.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first contact is formed on a first side of the first semiconductor material, and wherein forming the opening in the growth substrate includes removing a portion of the growth substrate to expose a second side of the first semiconductor material through the opening.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising forming a buffer material between the growth substrate and the first semiconductor material.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein forming the opening in the growth substrate includes removing a portion of the growth substrate to expose the buffer material through the opening.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the support structure comprises a support material having silicon on poly-aluminum nitride.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the growth substrate comprises a silicon material with a Si(1,1,1) crystal orientation.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the growth substrate comprises an engineered substrate having a structural material and a growth surface suitable for epitaxy.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the second contact on the second semiconductor material forms an emitter.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the emitter includes a generally triangular cross section.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the emitter includes a generally polygonal cross section.
17. A method for forming an SST die, comprising:
forming a first semiconductor material on a growth substrate;
forming an active region on the first semiconductor material;
forming a second semiconductor material on the active region;
forming an emitter by forming a second contact on the second semiconductor material;
forming an SSL opening in the second semiconductor material and the active region;
forming a first contact in the SSL opening on the first semiconductor material;
forming an insulating material on the first semiconductor material, the active region, the second semiconductor material, the first contact and the second contact;
forming a conductive material on the insulating material and in contact with the first contact and the second contact; and
forming an opening in the growth substrate to form a support structure, wherein the first contact is aligned with the support structure, and wherein the second contact is aligned with the opening.
18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:
forming a channel to divide the conductive material into a first terminal and a second terminal.
19. A method for forming an SST die, comprising:
forming a buffer material on a growth substrate;
forming a first semiconductor material on the buffer material;
forming an active region on the first semiconductor material;
forming a second semiconductor material on the active region;
forming a first contact on the first semiconductor material;
forming a second contact on the second semiconductor material;
forming an insulating material on the first semiconductor material, the active region, the second semiconductor material, the first contact and the second contact;
forming a conductive material on the insulating material and in contact with the first contact and the second contact; and
forming an opening in the growth substrate to form a support structure, wherein the first contact is aligned with the support structure, and wherein the second contact is aligned with the opening.
20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:
forming a channel to divide the conductive material into a first terminal and a second terminal.