Appeal No. 2001-2082 Application No. 08/943,146 eutectic portion (specification, page 4). A surface portion on the first substrate designates the location of bonding with the second substrate (specification, pages 9 & 10). Layers of titanium and gold are deposited on the second substrate wherein the titanium layer deoxidizes a naturally formed oxide layer on the surface portion of the first substrate while the gold layer forms the gold-silicon eutectic portion (specification, pages 22 & 23). By eliminating the naturally formed silicon oxide, a uniform and void-free eutectic layer can be formed that contacts the entire surface portion resulting in a stable and uniform bonding interface (specification, page 23). Representative independent claims 1 and 21 are reproduced as follows: 1. A semiconductor device comprising: a first substrate having a surface portion made of silicon; a second substrate bonded to the first substrate; an eutectic portion of silicon and gold interposed between the first and second substrates to directly contact the surface portion of the first substrate at a first surface thereof and containing an oxide of metal that has deoxidized silicon oxide, the oxide of metal existing in the eutectic portion apart from the first substrate; and 2Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007