JP2005268535A - Method and device for manufacturing semiconductor thin film - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the manufacturing method of a semiconductor thin film and a manufacturing device for the semiconductor thin film, which are capable of enlarging the grain size of a crystal and reducing defects in the particles of the crystal. <P>SOLUTION: The manufacturing method of semiconductor thin film comprises a thin film forming process for forming at least a non-single crystal semiconductor thin film 13 on an insulating substrate 11, and a crystallizing process for crystallizing the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film 13 by irradiating a first energy beam having an energy for crystallizing the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film 13 and a second energy beam. The absorbing rate of the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film 13 is smaller than that of the first energy beam, and is provided with an energy smaller than the energy for crystallizing the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film 13 to crystalize the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film 13 while the crystallizing process is effected under the atmosphere of gas containing the molecule of water. Further, the manufacturing device for the semiconductor thin film is employed for the manufacturing method of the semiconductor thin film. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a semiconductor thin film manufacturing method and a semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus, and in particular, a semiconductor thin film manufacturing method and a semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus capable of increasing the crystal grain size and reducing defects in the crystal grains. About.

  In recent years, in display devices such as displays using liquid crystal or organic electroluminescence, there has been increased interest in using thin film transistors (TFTs) in which a polycrystalline silicon thin film is formed on an inexpensive glass substrate. Yes.

  As a manufacturing method of this TFT, an amorphous silicon thin film is formed on a glass substrate by using a CVD method (chemical vapor deposition method) or the like, and the amorphous silicon thin film is irradiated with an excimer laser beam at about 600 ° C. The following method for polycrystallizing an amorphous silicon thin film at a low temperature has attracted attention.

  In order to manufacture a high-performance display device, it is necessary to increase the mobility of electrons in the polycrystalline silicon thin film by increasing the crystal grain size of the polycrystalline silicon thin film of the TFT used in the display device. In addition, in the crystal grains of the polycrystalline silicon thin film, there are defects consisting of a large number of silicon dangling bonds, and the movement of electrons is hindered by trapping electrons in these defects. It is also necessary to reduce this.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-172911 discloses a method for crystallizing a non-single crystal semiconductor thin film by irradiating the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film with laser light in a water vapor atmosphere and using water vapor in the vicinity of the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film as a heat retaining layer. Is disclosed. However, in this method, it is necessary to control the temperature of the water vapor within a temperature range of −10 to 100 ° C. in order to maximize the function as the heat retaining layer. It is impossible to reduce this.

“Japanese Journal of Applied Physics” discloses a method of reducing defects in crystal grains by high-pressure steam treatment at about 260 ° C. However, since this method needs to be performed separately after the crystallization step is completed, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the semiconductor thin film increases due to an increase in the manufacturing process.
JP-A-10-172911 “Japanese Journal of Applied Physics”, 2000, Vol. 39, p. 3883

  An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor thin film manufacturing method and a semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus capable of increasing the crystal grain size and reducing defects in the crystal grains.

  The present invention includes a thin film forming step of forming at least a non-single crystal semiconductor thin film on an insulating substrate, a first energy beam having energy for crystallizing the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film into the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film, The non-single crystal semiconductor is irradiated with a second energy beam having a lower absorption rate than the energy beam of 1 and an energy smaller than the energy for crystallizing the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film. And a crystallization process for crystallizing the thin film, wherein the crystallization process is performed in an atmosphere of a gas containing water molecules.

  Here, the method for producing a semiconductor thin film of the present invention includes an antireflection film forming step of forming an antireflection film on at least a part of the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film between the thin film formation step and the crystallization step, The first energy beam and the second energy beam can be irradiated to the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film through the antireflection film.

  In the method for producing a semiconductor thin film of the present invention, the gas containing water molecules is preferably water vapor.

  In the method for producing a semiconductor thin film of the present invention, the crystallization step is preferably performed in an irradiation chamber in which the atmosphere can be controlled.

  In the method of manufacturing a semiconductor thin film of the present invention, the first energy beam can be a pulsed laser beam, and the second energy beam can be an infrared beam.

  In the method for manufacturing a semiconductor thin film of the present invention, the first energy beam and the second energy beam can be formed of pulsed laser light.

  In the method for manufacturing a semiconductor thin film of the present invention, it is preferable that the first energy beam is an excimer laser beam.

  In the method for producing a semiconductor thin film of the present invention, it is preferable that at least a part of the energy of the second energy beam is absorbed by a gas containing water molecules.

  Here, in the method for manufacturing a semiconductor thin film of the present invention, the second energy beam is preferably made of a carbon dioxide laser beam.

  The present invention has an energy for crystallizing a non-single crystal semiconductor thin film into an irradiation chamber, a window portion installed on the wall surface of the irradiation chamber, and a non-single crystal semiconductor thin film installed inside the irradiation chamber through the window portion. A first energy beam supply source that irradiates one energy beam, and an energy that is smaller than an energy for crystallization of the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film and that has a lower absorptance of the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film than the first energy beam; A second energy beam supply source for irradiating a non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film installed inside the irradiation chamber through the window with a second energy beam, and means for supplying a gas containing water molecules into the irradiation chamber Is a semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus.

  Here, in the semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to include means for enlarging the cross section of the second energy beam inside the irradiation chamber and then reducing it.

  Further, in the semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the window portion may be composed of a first window portion that transmits the first energy beam and a second window portion that transmits the second energy beam.

  In the semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the first energy beam can be a pulsed laser beam, and the second energy beam can be an infrared beam.

  Here, in the semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the second energy beam is preferably made of carbon dioxide laser light.

  In the semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the first energy beam and the second energy beam can be formed of pulsed laser light.

  In the semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the first energy beam is preferably made of excimer laser light.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the manufacturing method of a semiconductor thin film and the manufacturing apparatus of a semiconductor thin film which can enlarge a crystal grain diameter and can reduce the defect in a crystal grain can be provided.

  The present invention includes a thin film forming step of forming at least a non-single crystal semiconductor thin film on an insulating substrate, a first energy beam having energy for crystallizing the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film into the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film, The non-single crystal semiconductor is irradiated with a second energy beam having a lower absorption rate than the energy beam of 1 and an energy smaller than the energy for crystallizing the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film. A crystallization step of crystallizing the thin film, and the crystallization step is a method for manufacturing a semiconductor thin film performed in an atmosphere of a gas containing water molecules.

  In the present invention, the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film is crystallized by irradiating the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film with a first energy beam having an energy for crystallizing the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film. The non-single crystal semiconductor thin film has a low absorptance and is irradiated with a second energy beam having energy lower than the energy for crystallizing the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film. As a result, the second energy beam that has not been absorbed by the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film is absorbed by the insulating substrate or the like below the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film, and the temperature of the insulating substrate or the like rises. The temperature of the thin film is kept high. And the crystal grain size in a semiconductor thin film can be enlarged by lengthening the crystallization time of a non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film. Further, by performing irradiation of the first energy beam and the second energy beam in an atmosphere of a gas containing water molecules, it is possible to terminate dangling bonds in the semiconductor thin film and reduce defects in the crystal grains. it can.

  Here, the “insulating substrate” refers to a substrate that generates dielectric polarization but does not generate direct current when an electrostatic field is applied. The “non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film” refers to a semiconductor thin film that is not a single crystal. In addition, “energy for crystallizing a non-single crystal semiconductor thin film” refers to energy that can cause crystallization of the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film by applying the energy to the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film. The “absorption rate” refers to the ratio of energy absorbed by the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film to the entire energy irradiated to the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film.

  In the present invention, it is also possible to form an antireflection film that transmits the first energy beam and suppresses the reflection of the first energy beam on the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film. Accordingly, since the first energy beam is irradiated through the antireflection film to the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film below the antireflection film, the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film below the antireflection film is irradiated. Crystallization can be further promoted.

  In the present invention, the gas containing water molecules is preferably water vapor. In this case, the number of dangling bonds in the semiconductor thin film tends to be terminated, so that defects in crystal grains can be efficiently reduced.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film is crystallized in an energy beam irradiation chamber in which the atmosphere can be controlled. In this case, since the termination of the dangling bonds in the semiconductor thin film can be performed in a more suitable atmosphere, defects in the crystal grains can be efficiently reduced.

  The present invention also provides energy for crystallizing a non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film into an irradiation chamber, a window installed on the wall of the irradiation chamber, and a non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film installed inside the irradiation chamber through the window. A first energy beam supply source for irradiating the first energy beam, a non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film having a lower absorptance than the first energy beam, and an energy for crystallizing the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film; A second energy beam supply source for irradiating a non-single crystal semiconductor thin film installed inside the irradiation chamber through a window with a second energy beam having a small energy, and a gas containing water molecules inside the irradiation chamber An apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor thin film.

  That is, the first energy beam and the second energy beam supplied from the first energy beam supply source are formed by using a means for supplying a gas containing water molecules to make the inside of the irradiation chamber a gas atmosphere containing water molecules. By irradiating the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film with the second energy beam irradiated from the source, the crystal grain size in the semiconductor thin film can be increased, and defects in the crystal grains can be reduced.

  In the present invention, it is preferable to include means for enlarging the cross section of the second energy beam inside the irradiation chamber and then reducing it. When the cross section of the second energy beam is enlarged inside the irradiation chamber and then reduced, the second energy beam is easily absorbed by the water vapor inside the irradiation chamber, thereby further reducing defects in the crystal grains. It tends to be able to be made. Here, the “cross section of the second energy beam” refers to a cut surface when the second energy beam is cut in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the second energy beam.

  In the present invention, the first energy beam is preferably composed of pulsed laser light, for example, excimer laser light. Excimer laser light is preferable in that it has sufficient energy to crystallize a non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film because it is ultraviolet light having a peak wavelength in a wavelength range of 1 nm to 400 nm. The first energy beam is preferably an energy beam having an energy capable of melting silicon from the viewpoint of crystallization of silicon.

  The second energy beam is preferably composed of infrared light, for example, carbon dioxide laser light. Infrared light such as carbon dioxide laser light tends to absorb water vapor and tend to reduce defects in crystal grains more efficiently. The second energy beam can also be formed of pulsed laser light, such as holmium yag (Ho: YAG) laser light.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a preferred example of an object to be processed including a non-single crystal semiconductor thin film used in the present invention. The object to be processed 29 includes a glass substrate 11, a base film 12 formed on the glass substrate 11, and an amorphous silicon thin film 13 as a non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film formed on the base film 12. ing. In the drawings of the present application, the same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts.

Here, the base film 12 is made of silicon dioxide (SiO ₂ ), and the base film 12 is formed by vapor deposition, sputtering, CVD, or the like. This base film 12 is formed to prevent diffusion of impurities from the glass substrate 11. Further, the base film 12 can be made of other materials instead of SiO ₂ .

  The amorphous silicon thin film 13 is preferably formed with a thickness of 30 nm to 100 nm by vapor deposition, sputtering, CVD, or the like from the viewpoint of manufacturing a semiconductor device such as a high-performance TFT. The object 29 is placed in the semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, and the amorphous silicon thin film 13 is polycrystallized.

  FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a preferred example of the semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention. In the semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, an irradiation chamber 21, a first transmission window 28 and a second transmission window 31 serving as windows installed on the wall surface of the irradiation chamber 21, and an object 29 to be processed are installed. A stage 32 inside the irradiation chamber 21, a moving mechanism 33 that enables the stage 32 to move, a gas supply port 35 as a means for supplying a gas containing water molecules into the irradiation chamber 21, and the irradiation chamber 21. A gas discharge port 34 as a means for discharging the gas to the outside, a first laser beam oscillator 22 as a first energy beam supply source, a first optical element group 23, a first mirror 24, A first field lens 25, a first photomask 26, a first imaging lens 27, and an infrared lamp 30 as a second energy beam supply source are included.

  In the semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the interior of the irradiation chamber 21 is made a water vapor atmosphere by introducing water vapor into the irradiation chamber 21 from the gas supply port 35. Here, in the present invention, air containing water molecules or nitrogen containing water molecules can be introduced instead of water vapor.

  Then, excimer laser light using XeCl as the first energy beam is oscillated from the first laser light oscillator 22, and the excimer laser light is appropriately sized by the expander in the first optical element group 23. While being shaped, the homogenizer in the first optical element group 23 makes the irradiance uniform within the irradiation region of the excimer laser light.

  Next, the excimer laser light that has passed through the first optical element group 23 is reflected by the first mirror 24 and passes through the first field lens 25 and the first photomask 26. Then, the excimer laser light that has passed through the first photomask 26 is imaged as an image of the first photomask 26 by the first imaging lens 27 and is not passed through the first transmission window 28 made of fused silica. The amorphous silicon thin film 13 is melted by irradiating the crystalline silicon thin film 13.

  In addition, infrared light having a peak wavelength in the range of 2.5 μm to 8.0 μm is oscillated from the infrared lamp 30 as the second energy beam, and passes through the second transmission window 31 made of zinc selenide or the like. The amorphous silicon thin film 13 is irradiated. Here, the infrared light oscillated from the infrared lamp 30 is absorbed by the base film 12 and the glass substrate 11 below the amorphous silicon thin film 13 to keep the temperature of the amorphous silicon thin film 13 at a high temperature. Can do. Therefore, the time during which the amorphous silicon thin film 13 is melted can be lengthened, and the crystallization speed of the melted amorphous silicon thin film 13 is decreased, so that a polycrystalline silicon thin film having a large crystal grain size is formed. can do.

  Further, a part of the infrared light oscillated from the infrared lamp 30 is also absorbed by water vapor inside the irradiation chamber 21. Therefore, inside the irradiation chamber 21 whose volume is kept constant, the pressure inside the irradiation chamber 21 is increased by water vapor whose temperature is increased by absorbing infrared light. Thereby, simultaneously with the crystallization of the amorphous silicon thin film 13, hydrogen in the water vapor terminates the dangling bonds of silicon, and defects in the crystal grains can be reduced.

  Then, the workpiece 29 on the stage 32 is moved in the horizontal direction by the moving mechanism 33, so that the excimer laser light is irradiated while scanning the amorphous silicon thin film 13, and the entire amorphous silicon thin film 13 is irradiated. Polycrystallization can be performed over a wide range.

  In the present invention, when an oscillator (for example, a carbon lamp heater) that oscillates infrared light having a peak wavelength in a wavelength range of 2.5 μm to 8.0 μm is used as the infrared lamp 30, It is preferable to use calcium fluoride that can transmit light up to a wavelength of 10 μm as the material of the first transmission window 28 and the second transmission window 31. In this case, the manufacturing cost of the semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention can be reduced by installing a wider transmission window that serves as both the first transmission window and the second transmission window.

  The expander in the first optical element group 23 is an optical system having a telephoto system or a reduction system, and determines an irradiation region of the excimer laser light on the first photomask 26. The homogenizer is constituted by a lens array or a cylindrical lens array, and the irradiance in the irradiation region on the first photomask 26 is made uniform by dividing the excimer laser light and then synthesizing it again. Is. The first field lens 25 has a function of irradiating the excimer laser light transmitted through the first photomask 26 perpendicularly to the imaging plane.

  Further, the first photomask 26 has, for example, a plurality of slit-shaped openings. The width of the slit-shaped opening of the first photomask 26 is set to 20 μm, and the first imaging lens 27 having an optical magnification of ¼ is installed, whereby the width of the amorphous silicon thin film 13 is increased. A plurality of 5 μm slit-like crystallized regions are formed. At this time, a columnar crystal is obtained by growing the crystal in the width direction of the slit-shaped opening. By moving the stage 32 by the moving mechanism 33, the irradiation region of the excimer laser light is partially overlapped and sequentially. By irradiating the excimer laser light, crystals aligned in the width direction of the slit-shaped opening can be formed.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the irradiation area of the infrared light as the second energy beam is wider than the irradiation area of the excimer laser light as the first energy beam. In this case, the crystal grain size tends to be increased stably. Moreover, the crystal grain size can be increased by making the irradiation time of the infrared light as the second energy beam longer than the irradiation time of the excimer laser light as the first energy beam. Further, from the viewpoint of increasing the crystal grain size, the excimer laser light irradiation as the first energy beam is performed either during irradiation of infrared light as the second energy beam, immediately before irradiation or immediately after irradiation. It is preferred to be done at the time.

  FIG. 3 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of another preferred example of the semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention. This semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus is characterized in that a carbon dioxide laser with a wavelength of 10.6 μm is used as the second energy beam.

  The carbon dioxide laser light oscillated from the second laser light oscillator 41 passes through the second optical element group 42 composed of an expander, a homogenizer, and the like, and is reflected by the second mirror 43, and then the second optical element group 42 is reflected. The object 29 is irradiated through the field lens 44 and the second imaging lens 45 through the second transmission window 31. The carbon dioxide laser light is absorbed by the base film 12 and the glass substrate 11 of the object 29 to be processed, and the temperature of the amorphous silicon thin film 13 is kept high by raising the temperature of the base film 12 and the glass substrate 11. be able to. Therefore, also in this case, the melting time of the amorphous silicon thin film 13 can be lengthened, and the crystallization speed of the melted amorphous silicon thin film 13 becomes slow. Can be formed.

  Here, although not shown, an optical system such as the second optical element group 42, the second field lens 44, or the second imaging lens 45 is installed inside the irradiation chamber 21, and the second laser beam The cross section of the carbon dioxide laser beam oscillated from the oscillator 41 is temporarily enlarged inside the irradiation chamber 21 and then reduced again to form an image. Then, the effect of absorption of the carbon dioxide laser beam by the water vapor in the irradiation chamber 21 is further increased, so that the dangling bonds of silicon can be effectively terminated, and defects in the crystal grains can be reduced. it can.

  FIG. 4 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of another preferred example of the object to be processed used in the present invention. The object 29 includes a base film 12 formed on the glass substrate 11, an amorphous silicon thin film 13, and an antireflection film 14 patterned on at least a part of the amorphous silicon thin film 13. Is done.

  The antireflection film 14 is made of a material that transmits excimer laser light as the first energy beam, and a pattern that suppresses reflection of the excimer laser light when the surface of the object 29 is irradiated with the excimer laser light. have.

  An excimer laser beam as a first energy beam having an energy capable of crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film 13 from above the object 29 having the antireflection film 14 and amorphous silicon than the excimer laser beam. A second energy beam that is not easily absorbed by the thin film 13 and has low energy is irradiated inside the irradiation chamber 12 in a water vapor atmosphere.

  By irradiating the amorphous silicon thin film 13 with the excimer laser light as the first energy beam through the antireflection film 14 in this way, the amorphous silicon thin film 13 below the antireflection film 14 is easily melted. Thus, since crystallization is performed in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the amorphous silicon thin film 13 from the end portion to the center portion of the antireflection film 14, the crystallization region can be uniformly formed at an arbitrary position. It becomes. Further, since the object 29 is also irradiated with the second energy beam, not only the crystal grain size can be increased, but also the width of the antireflection film 14 can be increased. In addition to improving the performance of the device, the degree of freedom in designing the semiconductor device can also be improved.

Here, the thickness d of the antireflection film 14 is λ / (4n) −λ / when the wavelength of the excimer laser beam as the first energy beam is λ and the refractive index of the antireflection film 14 is n. It is preferably set so that the relationship (8n) ≦ d ≦ λ / (4n) + λ / (8n) is established. This is because the amount of excimer laser light as the first energy beam absorbed by the antireflection film 14 tends to increase. Moreover, as a material of the antireflection film 14, SiO ₂ or the like can be used. That is, when the anti-reflection film 14 made of SiO ₂ (n = 1.54) is irradiated with excimer laser light (λ = 308 nm) using XeCl as the excimer laser light, the thickness d ( nm) preferably satisfies the relationship of 25 ≦ d ≦ 75.

  After the amorphous silicon thin film 13 is crystallized, a gate insulating film is formed, electrode wiring and impurities are doped, and a semiconductor device such as a TFT is manufactured. Here, when the antireflection film 14 is used as a gate insulating film, the object 29 is crystallized inside the irradiation chamber 21 in a water vapor atmosphere with the antireflection film 14 included. In addition to the reduction of defects, defects at the interface between the silicon crystal and the gate insulating film are also reduced, so that a higher quality crystal can be obtained.

  In the above description, a laser light oscillator that oscillates XeCl excimer laser light (wavelength 308 nm) that is easily absorbed by the amorphous silicon thin film 13 is used as the first laser light oscillator 22, but in the present invention, KrF excimer laser light is used. It is also possible to use a laser beam oscillator that can oscillate (wavelength 248 nm) or a third harmonic of YAG laser beam.

  In the above, the temperature in the irradiation chamber 21 in the crystallization step is preferably 200 ° C. or higher and 400 ° C. or lower. In this case, there is a tendency that the termination of dangling bonds of silicon can be performed more effectively. Moreover, although not shown in figure, in order to control the temperature in the irradiation chamber 21, heating sources, such as a heater, can also be installed.

  In the above, the irradiation with the excimer laser beam as the first energy beam is a linear shape having a pulse width of 1 to 90 nsec, a length of 200 to 400 mm, and a width of 0.2 to 1.0 mm. An excimer laser beam can be scanned in one direction.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a semiconductor thin film manufacturing method and a semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus capable of increasing the crystal grain size and reducing defects in the crystal grains. It is suitably used for manufacturing semiconductor devices such as TFTs.

It is typical sectional drawing of a preferable example of the to-be-processed object containing the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film used for this invention. It is typical sectional drawing of a preferable example of the manufacturing apparatus of the semiconductor thin film of this invention. It is typical sectional drawing of another preferable example of the manufacturing apparatus of the semiconductor thin film of this invention. It is typical sectional drawing of another preferable example of the to-be-processed object used for this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Glass substrate, 12 Base film, 13 Amorphous silicon thin film, 14 Antireflection film, 21 Irradiation chamber, 22 1st laser light oscillator, 23 1st optical element group, 24 1st mirror, 25 1st mirror Field lens, 26 First photomask, 27 First imaging lens, 28 First transmission window, 29 Object to be processed, 30 Infrared lamp, 31 Second transmission window, 32 Stage, 33 Moving mechanism, 34 Gas Discharge port, 35 gas supply port, 41 2nd laser beam oscillator, 42 2nd optical element group, 43 2nd mirror, 44 2nd field lens, 45 2nd imaging lens.

Claims (16)

  A thin film forming step of forming at least a non-single crystal semiconductor thin film on an insulating substrate; a first energy beam having energy for crystallizing the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film into the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film; The non-single crystal semiconductor thin film has a lower absorptance than the energy beam of the second energy beam, and is irradiated with a second energy beam having energy lower than the energy for crystallizing the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film. A method for producing a semiconductor thin film, comprising: a crystallization step for crystallizing a crystalline semiconductor thin film, wherein the crystallization step is performed in an atmosphere of a gas containing water molecules. .   An antireflection film forming step of forming an antireflection film on at least a part of the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film between the thin film formation step and the crystallization step, and through the antireflection film, the non-single crystal semiconductor 2. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor thin film according to claim 1, wherein the thin film is irradiated with the first energy beam and the second energy beam.   The method for producing a semiconductor thin film according to claim 1, wherein the gas containing water molecules is water vapor.   4. The method for producing a semiconductor thin film according to claim 1, wherein the crystallization step is performed in an irradiation chamber capable of controlling an atmosphere.   5. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor thin film according to claim 1, wherein the first energy beam is made of pulsed laser light, and the second energy beam is made of infrared light. 6. .   5. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor thin film according to claim 1, wherein the first energy beam and the second energy beam are pulsed laser beams. 6.   The method of manufacturing a semiconductor thin film according to claim 1, wherein the first energy beam is made of excimer laser light.   8. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor thin film according to claim 1, wherein at least part of the energy of the second energy beam is absorbed by the gas containing water molecules.   9. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor thin film according to claim 8, wherein the second energy beam is made of carbon dioxide laser light.   An irradiation chamber; a window portion provided on a wall surface of the irradiation chamber; and a non-single crystal semiconductor thin film disposed in the irradiation chamber through the window portion and having energy for crystallizing the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film. A first energy beam supply source that irradiates one energy beam, an absorption factor of the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film smaller than that of the first energy beam, and energy for crystallizing the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film A second energy beam supply source for irradiating the non-single crystal semiconductor thin film installed in the irradiation chamber through the window with a second energy beam having a smaller energy, and water molecules in the irradiation chamber. And a means for supplying a gas containing the semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus.   11. The apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor thin film according to claim 10, further comprising means for enlarging a cross section of the second energy beam inside the irradiation chamber and then reducing the second energy beam.   The said window part consists of a 1st window part which permeate | transmits the said 1st energy beam, and a 2nd window part which permeate | transmits the said 2nd energy beam, The Claim 10 or 11 characterized by the above-mentioned. Semiconductor thin film manufacturing equipment.   13. The apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor thin film according to claim 10, wherein the first energy beam is made of pulsed laser light, and the second energy beam is made of infrared light. .   14. The semiconductor thin film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the second energy beam comprises a carbon dioxide laser beam.   13. The apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor thin film according to claim 10, wherein the first energy beam and the second energy beam are pulsed laser beams.   16. The apparatus for producing a semiconductor thin film according to claim 10, wherein the first energy beam is made of excimer laser light.

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