In this study, we evaluate the electrical characteristics of the SOI layer made by the wafer bonding method using a laser/microwave method. We use a He-Ne laser pulse for the photoconductivity modulation method and a semiconductor laser diode for the photoconductivity decay method as the carrier injection light source. The detected signal intensity at the void area decreases as compared with that at the center area of the SOI layer where there are no voids. The positions of the voids revealed by the proposed method are in good agreement with those by X-ray topography. We also measure the lifetime by the photoconductivity decay method using a laser diode. The lifetime at the void area is much shorter than that at the center area. It is considered that the decrease in the detected signal intensity at the void area is due to reduction in the minority carrier lifetime.

A laser/microwave method using two lasers of different wavelengths for carrier excitation is proposed to evaluate Si surfaces. These constitute a He-Ne laser (wavelength=633 nm, penetration depth=3 µm) and a YAG laser (wavelength=1060 nm, penetration depth=500 µm). Using a microwave probe, the amount of excited carriers can be detected. The carrier concentration is mainly dependent on the condition of the surface when carriers are excited by the He-Ne laser, as well as on the condition of the bulk region when carriers are excited by the YAG laser. Microwave intensities detected under the He-Ne and the YAG lasers illumination are referred to as the surface-recombination-velocity-related microwave intensity (SRMI) and the bulk-related microwave intensity (BRMI), respectively. The difference between SRMI and BRMI is called relateve SRMI (R-SRMI), and is closely related to the condition of the surface and surface active region. We evaluate the surfaces of the samples after plasma and wet etching to remove the photoresist layer. And we evaluate the surfaces of the samples after heat or HF treatment which is done to recover the damage introduced by plasma etching. It was found that the R-SRMI method is better suited to surface evaluation than conventional lifetime measurements.