Patent ID: 7253080

Claim:
A method of fabricating a semiconductor-on-insulator semiconductor substrate comprising the steps of: providing a first semiconductor substrate with a surface; introducing one of oxygen and nitrogen into a region adjacent the surface of the first semiconductor substrate; providing a second semiconductor substrate with a surface; implanting a rare earth into a region adjacent the surface of the second semiconductor substrate and hydrogen in a layer spaced from the surface of the second semiconductor substrate; positioning the surface of the first semiconductor substrate on the surface of the second semiconductor substrate to produce a single structure; and annealing the single structure to react the one of oxygen and nitrogen in the region adjacent the surface of the first semiconductor substrate with the rare earth in the region adjacent the surface of the second semiconductor substrate to form an interfacial insulating layer of one of rare earth oxide and rare earth nitride, the annealing also blistering the hydrogen layer; and removing a first portion of the second semiconductor substrate by cleaving at the hydrogen layer thereby leaving a second portion of the second semiconductor substrate with a surface; and processing the surface of the second portion of the second semiconductor substrate to form a thin crystalline active layer on the interfacial insulating layer.