National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC

Sandia Corporation

Adam Jones

Michael David Henry

Matt Eichenfield

William A Zortman

Douglas Chandler Trotter

Ryan Camacho

Randolph R Kay

Erica Ann Douglas

Seethambal S Mani

James Kenneth Douglas

Andrew Lea Starbuck

Shanalyn Adair Kemme

Andrew Pomerene

Reinhard Brock

George Burns

A method is provided for fabricating a backside-illuminated photodetector in which a device wafer is joined to a readout wafer in an IC hybridization step. Before the IC hybridization step, the device layer is defined in the device wafer, and an LPCVD layer is formed over the device layer. The LPCVD layer may be a passivation layer, an antireflection coating, or both. The side of the device wafer having the LPCVD layer is bonded to a handle wafer, the IC is hybridized by mating the device wafer to the readout wafer, and the handle wafer is then removed, exposing the LPCVD layer. Because the LPCVD layer is formed before the active devices are fabricated, it can be made by high-temperature techniques for deposition and processing. Accordingly, a layer of high quality can be fabricated without any hazard to the active devices.

Method of fabricating photosensitive devices with reduced process-temperature budget

The various embodiments presented herein relate to utilizing light in conjunction with an optical Fourier transform to examine and quantify roughness of a surface. The surface includes a plurality of flaked particles. The surface is illuminated with a light beam, wherein light reflected from the surface passes through an f-theta lens and is collected at a light sensitive array (LSA). The LSA comprises light sensitive pixels. For an arrangement where the flakes are conformal with the surface, a low degree of light scattering occurs at the surface. For a surface comprising tipped and/or tilted flakes, a correlating degree of scattering of the incident light beam occurs. The surface roughness is quantified based upon the distribution of angular reflections of the scattered light represented in an image formed through use of the LSA.

Full-field surface roughness

A modification to the standard layout of vias used for vertically-stacked wafer bonding is proposed which has been found to improve the interconnect overlay while avoiding the dishing problems associated with the planarization processes used in the creation of conductive posts within the vias. In particular, the pitch, i.e. the spacing between adjacent posts, is intentionally chosen to be different for each wafer. By using different pitches, there is an increase in the probability of overlap of posts on each wafer, even when one wafer is slightly offset with respect to the other (which is possible when aligning one wafer with another in a standard bonding tool). Advantageously, the use of different pitches allows for the use of relatively small diameter (one micron or less) posts while still creating sufficient overlap for the necessary connections.

Via configuration for wafer-to-wafer interconnection

An optomechanical force sensor includes a substrate, a cantilevered beam anchored to the substrate, and a probe tip positioned near an end of the cantilevered beam distal to the substrate. A suspended waveguide is disposed on the cantilevered beam and is optically continuous with an input/output waveguiding structure. An optical cavity is defined within the suspended waveguide.

Optomechanical force sensors, cantilevers, and systems thereof

A photonic microresonator incorporates a localized heater element within a section of an optical bus waveguide that is in proximity to the resonator structure. The application of an adjustable control voltage to the heater element provides a localized change in the refractive index value of the bus waveguide, compensating for temperature-induced wavelength drift and maintaining a stabilized value of the microresonator's resonant wavelength.

Methods and devices for maintaining a resonant wavelength of a photonic microresonator

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Albuquerque, NM, United States of America

Adam Jones