Patent ID: 9640715
Date: 2017-05-02
CPC Classifications: H01L

Claim:
1. A method of making an inorganic semiconductor structure suitable for micro-transfer printing, comprising: providing a source substrate; forming a semiconductor layer on the source substrate, wherein the semiconductor layer has a first side and a second side opposite the first side and adjacent to the substrate; forming a first electrical contact on the first side of the semiconductor layer opposite the source substrate; removing a portion of the semiconductor layer surrounding the first electrical contact to form a trench surrounding a semiconductor element made from the semiconductor layer, the semiconductor element having a substrate side in contact with the source substrate and a handle side opposite the substrate side; providing a sacrificial layer covering the first electrical contact and covering at least a portion of the handle side of the semiconductor element and filling a portion of the trench; providing an interlayer over the sacrificial layer, the interlayer having different chemical selectivity than the sacrificial layer, wherein a portion of the interlayer contacts the source substrate at the base of the trench to form an anchor; adhering the interlayer to a handle substrate; removing the source substrate to expose the substrate side of the semiconductor element; forming a second electrical contact on the exposed substrate side of the semiconductor element; forming a tether bridging the exposed substrate side of the semiconductor element to the anchor; and removing the sacrificial layer, thereby forming a printable semiconductor structure partially released from the handle substrate and physically secured to the anchor by the tether.