Patent ID: 7531428

Claim:
A method for fabricating compound material wafers, comprising: providing a donor substrate having a surface; forming a weakened zone in the donor substrate to define a transfer layer that includes the donor substrate surface; bonding the surface of the transfer layer to a handle substrate; detaching the donor substrate at the weakened zone to transfer the transfer layer onto the handle substrate thus forming a compound material wafer, with the transfer layer detached, the donor substrate providing a remainder substrate having a first surface where the transfer layer was detached; epitaxially depositing an additional layer of a crystalline material onto a second surface of the remainder substrate to increase the thickness of the remainder substrate to that of the initial donor substrate to form a reconditioned substrate, wherein the second surface is positioned opposite to the first surface where detaching occurred; providing an additional transfer layer on the first surface of the reconditioned substrate by forming a weakened zone therein after depositing the additional layer; and recycling the reconditioned substrate as a donor substrate for fabricating an additional compound material wafer that includes the additional transfer layer.