Patent ID: 8329048

Claim:
A method for trimming a structure obtained by bonding a first wafer onto a second wafer by contact faces and thinning the first wafer, wherein at least either the first wafer or the second wafer is chamfered and thus exposes an edge of the contact face of the first wafer, wherein the trimming concerns the first wafer, the method comprising: a) selecting the second wafer from among the wafers with a resistance to chemical etching planned in b) that is sufficient with respect to the first wafer to allow b) to be carried out; b) after bonding the first wafer to the second wafer along the contact face of the first wafer, chemical etching the edge of the first wafer in a vicinity of the contact face of the first wafer to form in the first wafer a pedestal resting entirely on the contact face of the second wafer and supporting the remaining of the first wafer, the chemical etching reducing the surface area of the contact face of the first wafer; and c) thinning the first wafer until the pedestal is reached and attacked, to provide a thinned part of the first wafer, wherein the selecting a) includes choosing, as the second wafer, a wafer with a layer of at least one material forming a stoppage means of stopping said chemical etching; wherein the contact face of the first wafer has a layer that protects against the chemical etching for forming the pedestal, and wherein the protective layer is situated to avoid preventing the pedestal from being formed; wherein the protective layer is a layer that initially covers the surface of the first wafer, wherein the method further comprises, prior to the chemical etching to form the pedestal, chemical etching an accessible part of the protective layer; and wherein the layer of at least one material forming the means of stopping the chemical etching, on the second wafer, and the protective layer of the first wafer are different in nature, wherein the layer on the second wafer is, in b), etched more slowly than the protective layer of the first wafer.