Hetero-structure Device Fabrication Protocol

Minhao Zhou
The overall hetero-structure aligning process consists of two parts: the PDMS
transfer process and the hetero-structure aligning process. These two processes should
be done in a clean manner.
PDMS Transfer Process
This process usually takes approximately 2 to 3 days. Be sure to prepare as
many samples as possible for efficiency.
PDMS should be baked for approximately 1 to 2 hours with 120℃ at the very
beginning of the transfer. In most cases, as the baking time increases, more samples
with more impurities will be transferred from the Si/SiO2 substrate to PDMS after
etching, so it would be important to find the reasonable amount of time that would
balance the sample transfer and the impurities brought. After baking, the PDMS
should be checked with a tweezer. Specifically, when being scratched by a tweezer,
the PDMS is supposed to have a soft touch while no scratch should be left if it is
ready for transfer purpose.
Next, the PDMS should be cut into smaller pieces with a clean razor; a piece
should be large enough to cover the entire Si/SiO2 substrate, which is pre-cleaned by
an air gun; using a tweezer, the smaller PDMS piece should then be laid onto the
substrate’s surface with the samples. There should be no air bubbles and dust between
the PDMS and the substrate. Since PDMS is transparent, to avoid the confusion
brought by the front and back surfaces when aligning, minimal amount of marks
should be made on the PDMS for future clarification.
The substrate with the PDMS should then be left overnight. Before etching, it
should be baked for another 1 to 2 hours with 80℃ for better transfer results.
KOH solution of 1M is usually used for etching purpose. To accelerate the
etching process, more concentrated KOH solution can be used. In most cases, etching
time may vary from 4 to 12 hours or even longer. Immediately after the PDMS falls
off from the Si/SiO2 substrate, the etching is done. It would be ideal if one could
check the etching process every 30 to 60 minutes so that the PDMS could be taken
out with a tweezer as soon as the etching is done to avoid the damage to the samples
brought by the strong basic solution.
 Afterwards, the PDMS should be rinsed in freshly made deionized water for 3
times. Each rinsing should take at least 15 minutes so minimal amount of basic ions
would be left on the PDMS.
Finally, air dry the PDMS with an air gun and keep it in a clean and safe place
for future aligning purpose.
Hetero-Structure Aligning Process
The entire hetero-structure aligning process is operated with the probe station,
the photo of which is shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Probe Station Used

The target sample should first be checked and located on PDMS by the probe
station; then, the PDMS should be ideally cut into an even smaller piece carrying the
target sample with a clean razor again, for the purpose of easier and more promising
aligning.
A glass slide that is pre-cleaned by ethanol solution should then be prepared.
On top of it, a PET film is placed with a tweezer. Usually, a tiny amount of water is
dropped on the glass slide by cotton tipped applicators before the PET film placement
to provide a better interaction. Then, the prepared PDMS should be placed onto the
PET film; the surface with the target sample should face up. Air bubbles between the
PET film and the PDMS should be avoided for easier aligning. If there is dust
between the PDMS and the PET, rinse and air dry the PDMS again while replacing
the PET film. The entire glass slide/PET/PDMS structure is shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: The Glass Slide/PET/PDMS Structure

Afterwards, this entire structure should be fixed on the platform of the probe
station with scotch tape. The detailed demonstration of the configuration mentioned
above is shown in Figure 3 below. Be sure to keep the scotch tape tight.

Figure 3: The Detailed Configuration (Left: Front View; Right: Top View)
Put the Si/SiO2 substrate that has the target sample below that structure. Both
samples on PDMS and substrate should be located with the probe station first. Then,
the position of the sample on PDMS should be labeled on the computer screen; the
position of the sample on Si/SiO2 substrate is correspondingly adjusted until the 2
samples would make an ideal alignment on screen.
After the first alignment on screen is done, the platform should be moved
down by a reasonable amount so the distance between two samples is closer while the
PDMS and the Si/SiO2 substrate won’t touch each other. Alignment on screen should
be done again since the platform does not move in the vertical direction.
 Alignment on screen should be done every time the platform is moved down
until both the samples on PDMS and Si/SiO2 substrates can be seen on screen without
re-focusing the microscope, which means the distance between the 2 samples are
close enough. Then, final alignment can be done.
During the final alignment, a “phase change”, which is typically a color
change should appear. If not, a tiny but uniform weight should be placed onto the
hetero-structure carefully with the tweezer to facilitate the aligning.
The hetero-structure should be kept in a safe and clean place overnight. After
being baked for around 1 hour with 80 ℃, PET should be peeled of with the tweezer
first, and then PDMS, carefully. The hetero-structure made should be left on the
Si/SiO2 substrate.